24 Comments

Medium took *this* down? What a shame. It’s such a wonderful, sincere, heartfelt letter. It’s full of love and appreciation but none of the fake validation and simpering. I wish more parents were like Donna. The world needs Donnas.

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There are in fact lots of Donnas out there, and yes the world really needs to hear from them, but they have to be invisible, stay hidden. They cannot speak out. This mother was only able to share her close knowledge of her kid and his online indoctrination because she was anonymous. And look what happened!

Loving, rational parents get shouted down as transphobic bigots, their kids told they have hateful parents and that they'll want to kill themselves because their parents don't 'support' them in their new belief. Parents are prohibited from being truthful about their own child's sex, cannot breathe the birth name they've known them by their whole lives, nor try to help their kid address their real issues. It is horrendous gaslighting of parents.

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A masterclass in the exhausting art of parenting teenage kids.

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Beautiful letter, so full of love.

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Weird is all I've ever known. Donna's letter is beautiful - disappointing Medium cannot see the beauty and love here...

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This is parenting are it should be. Love, truth, compassion.

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Beautiful. A mother's love for her beautiful boy.

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This resonates so much with me and my daughter.

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Weird is awesome! Great letter!

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Medium TOOK THIS DOWN? Too much truth in it, or what?

This is exactly the kind of sane testimony about gifted kids, Aspie kids, ADHD kids and the way they get groomed online to reinterpret themselves as trans that NEEDS TO BE KNOWN.

It is insane and sinister that this got removed. Was an excuse given?

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Absolutely! Wonderful letter. Nothing wrong in being weird. Far too much pressure is put on children to conform to ridiculous so-called “norms”. My family is weird and we like it that way.

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I can really relate to this letter, very much so. I *was* that weird kid, desperate to fit in. I can totally see teenage me getting caught up in all this - now I'm a weird adult and happy to be so.

Vulnerable young people need to be protected and allowed to grow into themselves, not groomed into transing.

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I just finished making a series of podcasts on mental illness and trans, and this letter made me cry.

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Well done for putting it up. I thought you would. It is very beautiful. I hope that young lad will hear the love and listen.

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How lovely to have a family that know you’re weird and embrace it....all the best families have someone a little weird in the mix. Beautifully written and so so true of so many teens..

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Fantastic piece, thanks for sharing that Graham

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I could have written this letter. It resonates so much. But unfortunately my son's been so brainwashed he rejects everything I have to say on the subject (not so weird for a teenager after all!).

What I'd really love is for someone else to say all this to him. I was hoping that by going to the NHS in his time of crisis he would end up with a kind counsellor who would lead him gently towards this conclusion (cue hollow laughter - we were basically offered a one way ticket to the Tavistock instead). No idea how to find a good therapist privately.

Can't wait for the Keira Bell appeal to be over - with every day that goes by he gets nearer to another crisis point and to the age where it's all completely out of our hands.

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