In the all-must-have-prizes way our kids are taught nowadays, there are two finals in US college swimming championships. One for the fastest eight swimmers from the heats – what we used to call “the final” in the old days – and one for the 9th to 16th fastest swimmers: they, too, have a “final”. Reka Gyorgy missed out on a “final” place in the recent 500 metres freestyle, as her qualifying time was the 17th fastest. And now she has also been banned from Twitter, as you can see below.
Her crime was to write a letter, praising all the women who competed in her event – including the “winner” – for their hard training and dedication to the sport. But she complained that one “woman,” Lia Thomas, had a penis, had gone through puberty and was thus a biological male. That is a statement of fact – as is to say that, by competing, Lia has a clear biological advantage. And it is this advantage that cost Reka a place in the second final. That is also a statement of fact.
She tweeted a link to her balanced letter and, natch, she was banned. A ban for stating facts. Not for transphobia – her letter was not transphobic – merely for stating facts. Once again the Ministry of Truth will be very pleased with Twitter.
