Reflections on the Debate Over Transgender Restroom Use

Anti-LGBT bigot and snake oil merchant/charlatan, Anne Graham Lotz

In the wake of the release of the Justice Department guidelines to every school division in the country, the debate has been fast and furious, with those on the right showing once again their disingenuousness and the animus that they hold toward those who do not conform to their binary view of sexuality.  Sadly, many commentators and news anchors have failed to challenge one of the main supposed justification for the anti-transgender jihad of the far right, led of course by the Christofascists: safety for women and girls.  

First, we are talking about restroom use by SCHOOL CHILDREN, yet demagogues like the Texas Lt. Governor  throw out the red herring of "a 30 year old man in the same restroom as young girls." I'm sorry, but I'm not aware of any 30 year students in our public schools. As for restrooms in public places such as Target stores, the myth of predators taking advantage of the guidelines applicable to public schools is ridiculous.  Yet few have called out the religious based comments of those such as Tony Perkins, a man with documents KKK affiliations, or Franklin Graham and his equally disgusting sister, Anne Graham Lotz, who have compared the guidelines to terrorism and a social 9/11.  Neither of the latter two would be anyone but for their famous father who was little better than  con artist selling a false product.  Meanwhile, others in the Christian Taliban whine that fundamentalist Christians must take over local school boards so that they can impose their own version of Sharia Law.  Decent people ought to be disgusted. 

Second, all the talk on the right about this being something to be decided at the state or local level sounds all too much like the bloviating during the 1960's against the Civil Rights laws that desegregated public schools and sought to end anti-black employment discrimination.  Change the words "black", "Negro", "African American" to transgender or LGBT, and its the same old argument which has no other goal than to enshrine discrimination and abuse of a certain class of citizens.  If one is an American citizen, one's legal rights should not depend on whether one had the misfortune to be born in a rural backwater or "red state" rather than  a progressive city or "blue state."  Bigotry is bigotry plan and simple and, candidly, it's to the point where when I hear someone talking about states' rights or local decision making, I now assume that they are a racist, homophobe, religious extremist, or all of the foregoing.

In the final analysis, this basically comes down to one thing in my view, the last gasps of the fundamentalist Christians and those who serve them in legislatures to impose their beliefs on all citizens and to abuse and stigmatize those who do not not conform to their myth and legend based beliefs.  Folks, it's the 21st century and it is far past time that lives and society be controlled by the ignorant ramblings of Bronze Age herders.  The best thing that could happen to the world would be to have every trace of the Bible - and the Koran - destroyed and eliminated.   Both books have given the world and mankind little but hate, destruction and bloodshed. 

Sorry for the rant, but I am so over the hate merchants holding sway and rarely being challenged by a largely gutless and worthless media that continues to give religion and religious belief undeserved deference.