Originally Posted by
Brat
With regard to transgender, the experience of being in a body that does not conform with one’s perception of what one should be has to be somewhat disturbing and difficult for that individual......
I agree completely. And the suicide data appears to support that. And my guess (and this is pure conjecture) whatever mental condition causes one to feel that inside they are different than outside also causes other mental/emotional instabilities independent of the society they are in. On what is this opinion based? There are societies that have accepted transgenders for generations and that even officially recognize three genders. The suicide rate of transgenders in those societies is essentially the same.
The Military has a duty to the country to try in the most cost effective way to recruit those most suitable for the purpose they are intended for, with the least disruption to it’s running. Mental stability being one quality they look for.
I agree completely. Along that line, most women probably make lousy soldiers. The US having an all volunteer military, those women self-select out of the military and into a different field. The same with gays. Those gays that would make lousy soldiers tend to select different fields. Those that join tend to do just fine. Since transgenderism cannot be tested for, if a transgender person selects the military, they are an atypical transgender person and has been seen in actual experience, they tend to do fine (Manning being an egregious exception.) But if we give transgenders a special incentive to join the military by offering free hormone treatment and surgery, suddenly the calculus has changed and we get transgenders joining for the entirely wrong reason.
As a complete aside Bradley Manning has probably not been the most suitable example of transgenders in the Military.
He/she/it/they are a very sad case. The former commander in chief choosing to commute his/her/its/their sentence is sadder still.