Polaris:

Forgive me if I've misinterpreted the meaning of your words, but I'm just not sure a discussion on whether or not transgendered people are pathetic is permissible on Lernu at all. If that was not your intent then I suggest the post be edited to avoid further misunderstandings. I would gladly continue to discuss the other subjects that have been brought up.

No, I'm sure you have NOT misinterpreted the meaning of my words; I meant exactly what I said--nothing to misunderstand...nothing to edit. I think it's time for people to call a spade a spade and throw political correctness in the garbage can where it belongs--and not just about this issue, either. BUT BACK TO OUR POINT--Esperanto provides a means of sharing viewpoints, reasoning about issues, and gaining insights and perspectives with people from all around the globe about matters that affect society. To suggest that some ideas or schools of thought should be forbidden from discussion is pure censorship and amounts to thought-control--THE OPPOSITE of what Esperanto is all about.

Trust me, I don't believe anything should be off the table for rational discussion, and I believe the "political correct" garbage only hurts those whom it claims to protect. I have misinterpreted comments in the past to negative effect, however, so I wanted it to be clear I have no intention of trying to smear anyone's image (in my experience people can do this just fine on their own).

If you wish to discuss this topic further, I will allow you to make the thread in vidpunktoj. I would feel odd starting a thread by citing your post, and you could further clarify your position. Expect a lot of flak from other users, although you'll probably make some Russian comrades.

The relevant point here is that the apparent liberal/leftist slant of our movement turns off a lot of more conservative people, at least at the outset. I, personally, had second thoughts about Esperanto when I first encountered it because of that very thing. Just as soon as you are able to read article titles (which doesn't take very long), one of the first things you run into is material from socialists, world federalists, and fringe life-style groups. If you stop and think, though, that's understandable--these groups are movements in their own right--they want to promote their causes, and Esperanto provides a platform for extending their messages beyond their national borders. However, after becoming more involved, one finds blogs, political discussions (of every type), news and national-interest reports from other countries, and information about world events from people who actually live there. That's when the fascinating and truly intriguing side of the movement comes into focus.

As Esperantists, yeah, we're a colorful bunch--afterall, we're the kind of people who would sit down with a book or at a computer and teach ourselves a language. Not everybody is going to do that-and that, in itself, says something about us. But we need to emphasize to prospective newcomers that Esperanto is simply a language, I.E., a means of communication--and languages are neutral. Everybody can bring his perspectives to the market place of ideas and speak his mind--only with Esperanto, his audience will be global, not just his insular community. That's an exciting thought!