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Transgender activists are using this classic strategy to numb the public to their radical agenda – LifeSite

Send an urgent message to Canadian legislators and courts telling them to uphold parental rights.

(LifeSiteNews) — Anyone who consumes digital media or uses social media will be familiar with “information overload.” What is less understood, however, is that information overload is also a strategy. 

If you want the public to believe something, simply hammer their senses with the same stories, over and over again. This leads to what is known as “the illusory truth effect,” which “refers to the human tendency to believe a claim or a piece of information to be true after being exposed to it multiple times.” The more we hear or read something, the more likely we are to believe it. 

READ: NCAA president dodges Senate questions on male athletes in women’s sports, locker rooms 

This is one of the tactics currently being utilized by the transgender movement. Even in countries with aggressively pro-transgender laws – such as Canada, the UK, and the United States – most people do not accept most of the premises of the transgender movement. Most people simply do not think that men can get pregnant; that some women have penises; that we should simply dispense with sex-segregated spaces to cater to the identity issues of the few – especially when those few are men, and they want access to female-only spaces. To counter this, the press releases a nearly constant barrage of propaganda to wear down people’s resistance. 

Consider just a few recent examples, to illustrate the point. A story published on October 22 is titled “Trans girl aged 11 is youngest ever Orlando Pride marshal: ‘Living her best life.’” This 11-year-old boy who believes he is a girl is being encouraged by adults to live publicly as a girl – publicly, as in riding through the streets in Orlando’s Come Out With Pride Festival, attended by nearly 200,000 people. This little boy is being feigned as a “trans girl,” and make no mistake: the powers at Pride picked an 11-year-old on purpose. It is to rub it in everyone’s faces: “ You’re upset about children transitioning? We’re going to make a little trans kid the star of the show.” 

Another story from October 22, published by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, takes a similar tack. This time, it is an essay once again condemning the decision of Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe to protect parental rights – by profiling a bunch of “transgender kids” and their parents, none of whom will actually be impacted by this law whatsoever. One student actually said: “This law is absolutely ridiculous and violating. How many more trans kids have to die before they realize that this isn’t OK?” That hasn’t happened, of course. No examples are provided; none could be found. But this is what the press does: over and over again, it asserts that involving parents in fundamental decisions about their children will make those children kill themselves. There is no evidence – and plenty to the contrary. But they say it so you’ll believe it. 

Or consider this story, in the Portland Press Herald , titled “Transgender girl makes history with victory at cross country regional.” The story features a photo of a male student outpacing the female contestants behind him, with the admiring caption: “Soren Stark-Chessa, a sophomore at Maine Coast Waldorf School, controlled the Class C South girls’ race from start to finish, with support from the crowd.” Well, you don’t say. A teen boy calling himself a girl beat the girls in a race for girls? And the cowed crowd – in Maine, of course – was supportive? No surprise there whatsoever. But the headline tells you what you’re supposed to think: this is a big deal. This is a good thing. This is history . 

READ: Medical advocacy group releases ‘Detransitioner Bill of Rights’ for states to resist gender ideology 

That story probably isn’t as offensive as this one , from October 20: “Transgender former football coach makes Maxim Australia’s Hot 100 list.” That’s right – Maxim Australia’s “Hot 100,” which “celebrates the beauty of noteworthy Aussie women,” decided to add a man to the list. Alongside women such as actress Margot Robbie, former Australian football player and coach “Danielle” Laidley is included. This is ridiculous for plenty of reasons, including the fact that Laidley isn’t fooling anyone – he can put on a dress and lipstick, but he is still, very clearly, a dude. But the point of this story is simple, as well. Those making the decision know that Laidley isn’t a beautiful woman, even if they don’t know that she isn’t a woman. But they – and we – are required to believe that. So, Laidley makes the list of “fierce femmes.” 

Those are all stories from the past few days, and there are dozens of others I could have cited. Transgender activists are “flooding the zone” in order to overload you with facts that you may not have accepted but they need you to accept – like the lines we see repeated over and over again on Twitter and t-shirts and protest signs: “Trans women are women! Trans women are women! Trans women are women!” 

They’re not, of course. But try to get that out of your head after it’s been shrieked at you from every direction constantly. Eventually, they hope, you’ll give in. You will be mentally absent under the sheer weight of the barrage. You will cave to the “illusory truth effect” – because it’s easier than hanging on to the inconvenient truth. 

Send an urgent message to Canadian legislators and courts telling them to uphold parental rights.

Jonathon Van Maren is a public speaker, writer, and pro-life activist. His commentary has been translated into more than eight languages and published widely online as well as print newspapers such as the Jewish Independent, the National Post, the Hamilton Spectator and others. He has received an award for combating anti-Semitism in print from the Jewish organization B’nai Brith. His commentary has been featured on CTV Primetime, Global News, EWTN, and the CBC as well as dozens of radio stations and news outlets in Canada and the United States.

He speaks on a wide variety of cultural topics across North America at universities, high schools, churches, and other functions. Some of these topics include abortion, pornography, the Sexual Revolution, and euthanasia. Jonathon holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in history from Simon Fraser University, and is the communications director for the Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform.

Jonathon’s first book, The Culture War, was released in 2016.

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