Exactly, you need a distinct “victim story” to tell in order to get into a top school. Intelligent students, especially those who are straight, white, and male, figure they have to reinvent themselves as one or more of the alphabet on their applications in order to even be considered for admission. Meanwhile, the college could care less what the student does once they are enrolled, so long as they get to check a diversity box. Sure, many likely continue the charade in order to virtue signal, but the ultimate result is 40% of the student body reportedly identifying as LBGTQetc. Within a decade, I would guess over 90% of student body at any given ivy will identify as LBGTQetc.

This episode really drove home for me the corruption of elite scientific institutions. Ten years ago, the best scientific thinking on gender dysphoria advocated for a “watchful waiting” approach, acknowledging the reality that some 80% of children who exhibit symptoms ultimately desist. Then, activists canceled (at least) one of the leading scientists on gender dysphoria, accusing him of “hate” for cautioning against immediate “affirmation.” After that, resistance aganst “affirmation” collapsed. The science didn’t change, but the “Science” did. I have actually seen very few methodological objections to the Johns Hopkins/Paul McHugh research and conclusions from 40 years ago. The main objection was that McHugh was a Catholic so his research could be ignored because it was obviously motivated by “hate.” A lot of “Science” was going on, but not much actual science.

A related point – I think a lot of our social problems today are the result of an inability or unwillingness to distinguish between hard and soft science. Psychology is not the same type of science as physics or chemistry. For example, objects in a vacuum will be accelerated by the earth’s gravity at 9.8 m/s2. Anyone who denies that, at a basic level, is a fool who, more or less, rejects science. You could say the same about the earth revolving around the sun. Psychology, on the other hand, is more of a meta-science. We understand some of the physiological processes, but don’t necessarily understand what they mean and have to make a lot of educated guesses. You simply cannot treat the conclusions of psychologists and psychiatrists the same as you do the conclusions of a physicist or chemist. Yet people do.

A monumentally sane approach, and thank you for sharing it.

Here is a post showing some of the responses to the recent NYT articles about both illegal immigration and transitioning, and they are remarkable coming from that particular subscriber base. Of course, they may not be representative of the sample, but the post’s writer thinks they were at least approved by some of the other commenters. (h/t PowerLine)
They are screen-captures, so I can’t copypasta them.

https://natpop.substack.com/p/new-york-times-readers-blast-liberal
“New York Times Readers Blast Liberal Ideology
Even The Times Readers Know There’s a Problem”
by
RYAN JAMES GIRDUSKY

Our society is Mad. Ironically, we scoff at earlier episodes of societal derangement, the “Salem Witch Trials” for instance, with a smirk as though we are more enlightened. We are no better; and I would aver worse, because with the help of modern technology, the madness easily becomes epidemic. What next?

“We are no better.” True enough, human nature being what it is. But the woke are convinced that they are so much more enlightened than those of the past- while knowing very little about the past.
Worse yet, this madness is perpetuated by people who KNOW they are improving things. Hubris, hubris…..

As you say this isn’t new. In his 1841 book, “Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds,” Charles Mackay examined “alchemy, crusades, duels, economic bubbles, fortune-telling, haunted houses, the Drummer of Tedworth, the influence of politics and religion on the shapes of beards and hair,” and more. It’s a part of human nature.

Also, Douglas Murray has written a recent book, “The Madness of Crowds,” in which he posits the following:
“In The Madness of Crowds, Douglas Murray argues that Western society is consumed by an ideology that’s obsessed with social justice and identity politics. This ideology insists that certain groups (notably women, racial minorities, and LGBTQ+ individuals) endure widespread prejudice and oppression, and that they should therefore receive sensitivity, accommodations, and apologetic behavior from the social majority.”

I think he’s got it right. These popular delusions are often hard to break. This one will be, and part of the reason is that social media encourages it. I’m hopeful that eventual suits for massive damages may stem the tide. We can hope.