The trans movement has reached its peak – what now?

First, we learned about transgender people. People that ignore reality and declare to the world that though they are, biologically, male, they now “identify” as a woman. We were asked to ignore biology, science, and the reality before our eyes and acknowledge that how a person feels is more important than biological reality.

We then learned about trans-racial people. These are people that though they are white, self-identify as something else: African-American perhaps. These are not people that simply enjoy and appreciate another culture and want to be an active part of the culture. These are people that, once again, have asked us to ignore reality and support their feelings; regardless of how confused they are.

Then we learned that some people identify as trans-age. This false reality allows a grown man to identify as a 9 year old boy. This is not just a case of an adult wanting to be a kid again. This is the case of an adult man accused of sexually abusing young girls and using the defense of “trans-age” to show that his actions are not sick, demented, or illegal.

And finally, this reality-denying movement has reached its peak as we now learn that some people claim to be trans-species.

Neil Harbisson was born color blind. Not the most common type of color blind where colors are dull, somewhat faded, or its hard to tell one color from another. Harbisson was born completely color blind and sees only in shades of black and white. To cope with his condition, Harbisson had an antenna installed into his head that “translates light waves into vibrations that his brain has learned to decode,” according to a recent article.

Now, I’m going to stop right here and be honest enough to say that I don’t actually know how to understand that last sentence. Do colors make “light waves?” If I see a blue car am I missing out on the “light waves” because my eyes see color and my brain interprets the colors as colors? What interaction do these “light waves” have with sound, radio waves, and other forms of technology around us?

Let’s set my curiosity aside for a moment and focus on what Harbisson says about himself. He recently said:

“I have an antenna that is implanted inside my head, which allows me to extend my perception of reality beyond the visual spectrum. I can sense infrared and ultraviolet, and I also have [an] internet connection in my head that allows me to receive colors from other parts of the world, or connect to satellite so I can send colors from space…Suddenly, my sense of color is not on earth anymore, but in space. This allows me to explore colors of space without having to go there. I call this becoming an astronaut, instead of physically going and exploring space, we can explore space by sending our senses there.”

What?

This man just said he can connect to satellites and send/receive data using a wifi connection in his head. Am I the the only person concerned over this ability? But that’s not the part I want to focus on, though the entire last statement has loads of implications that need unpacked. For now I want to focus on the fact that Harbisson says because of his antenna he is now a cyborg.

The term cyborg, according to Wikipedia, is someone that has had a function restored and/or enhanced due to the integration of technology. The problem is that Harbisson has not had his sense of color restored. He can’t now see colors, he can only “sense” colors through technology.

Is this really important? Does it matter if Harbisson is a “cyborg” or not? The answer is a resounding yes. Harbisson, like so many other trans advocates is asking us to suspend reality and view him as something he is not. He would like for the government to recognize him as something he is not: a different species. As the founder of a society that wants to recognize people as “non-human,” Harbisson is among a minority few that would like us all to view him as something other than what is biologically accurate.

But the stakes are higher in Harbisson’s case. The implications of giving legal recognition to someone as another “species” could lead down a moral hole we simply do not want to traverse. Just as recognizing someone as “trans-age” could lead to a rise in abuse of minors, so too, recognizing someone as “trans-species” could lead to abuse of animals.

Is it really so hard to imagine someone using the excuse of being “trans-species” in order to live out their sexual fantasies with animals? We live in a culture that glorifies sexual freedom and license. And though this same culture ironically supports pornography but condemns people emulating the behaviors and attitudes portrayed by pornography, the sexual revolution is strong. So the idea that a “trans-species” argument would not be used to defend bestiality, or even to promote it, is not really beyond the pale.

I continue to watch with interest at how law enforcement and legal officials handle these cases.