Yeah we really can't downplay the severity, cause that kind of reputational damage, even when it's unwarranted, can follow a person for a long time.

And ultimately that just makes the left weaker. Because someone who could otherwise be a charismatic leader, a persuasive or inspiring speaker, a brilliant thinker, a strategic planner, or an effective community organizer, might be shunned into obscurity because he said something along the lines of "I would prefer to see a female therapist" and people thought that was somehow sexist...

And how many people like that have we already lost due to this BS? How many are hiding in basements right now, waiting for the day they can actually play an active role in the progressive movement?

I think that day is coming, because people are waking up. But there's still some pretty firm resistance in pockets, and it could turn out to be enough to subvert the whole progress that's been made in that regard.

We'll see how it goes though...