a. Surely trickle-down effects are real? You could debate philosophically with various thought leaders and public intellectuals on the conservative side, and if you convince one of them to publicly change their mind, some of their fans will probably follow. I think there might be room to convince Carl Trueman that, at least to some degree, not hating trans people is fine. Do that, and some of his fans will also lessen their hatred. And he'll probably be less likely to write more books that serve as ammunition for their side.
b. Luu's article, and others like it, are absolutely actively doing harm, though. Like, sitting around and waiting for the vibe shift is undoubtedly a better idea than loudly and repeatedly calling everyone that disagrees with you stupid and hateful. Average people might not respond to philosophical arguments, but they do respond (very negatively!) to name-calling and snottiness.
Good point, I do agree, but two thoughts:
a. Surely trickle-down effects are real? You could debate philosophically with various thought leaders and public intellectuals on the conservative side, and if you convince one of them to publicly change their mind, some of their fans will probably follow. I think there might be room to convince Carl Trueman that, at least to some degree, not hating trans people is fine. Do that, and some of his fans will also lessen their hatred. And he'll probably be less likely to write more books that serve as ammunition for their side.
b. Luu's article, and others like it, are absolutely actively doing harm, though. Like, sitting around and waiting for the vibe shift is undoubtedly a better idea than loudly and repeatedly calling everyone that disagrees with you stupid and hateful. Average people might not respond to philosophical arguments, but they do respond (very negatively!) to name-calling and snottiness.