I have noted countless times by now that the claims of Christian persecution so loved by Christofascists and bought into hook line and sinker by so many Republican elected officials is a lie. The truth is, Christofascists are the ones persecuting others and their main source of outrage is that increasingly the larger society is saying no to their desire to abuse and persecute others. They play the victim while in fact striving to victimize those the deem as "other" and/or who refuse to subscribe to their foul religious dogma. Save for the level of violence they are willing to use against others - at least for the most part - these people share the same mindset as Islamic extremists. In both cases, it is all about them and all about stamping out anything and anyone that challenges their myth and legend based beliefs. Nowhere is this phenomenon more visible than in a new lawsuit filed in Pennsylvania by the Alliance Defending Freedom - a certified hate group - targeting transgender students. At in Huffington Post looks at this despicable new tactic of claiming the persecutor is the victim. Here are excerpts:
On Tuesday, a teenage boy in Pennsylvania filed a lawsuit against his school district in federal court because he doesn’t want to share a locker room with a transgender student.The teen, known in the lawsuit as “Joel Doe,” claims that using the same locker room as a trans student has caused him “embarrassment and humiliation.” He is asking for damages and he wants the school district to rescind its current policy that allows trans students to use the restroom or locker room that corresponds with their authentic gender identity.
Doe believes “unconsented exposure to persons of the opposite sex in various states of undress creates a sexually harassing, hostile environment,” which violates his rights under the federal Title IX law that prohibits sex discrimination.
In other words, the cis student believes he is being discriminated against. I know. This is some next level “Twilight Zone” grade shit going on right here. But it’s not just twisted, it’s also diabolically brilliant.
Doe and his legal team are asserting that “people who oppose the equal participation of transgender people in society are the ones being victimized,” Harper Jean Tobin, director of policy for the National Center for Transgender Equality, told Bellware.
Essentially, this means that instead of claiming that trans people are (only?) a physical danger to cisgender (non-trans) people ― an argument proven baseless ― the lawsuit is positing sexual harassment and mental anguish as a possible side effect a cis student might experience upon seeing trans students being treated like human beings.
So now it’s not (just?) being raped or attacked in bathrooms that cis people are afraid of. Now it’s not (just?) the wives and daughters we’re trying to protect. Now we must look out for men and boys who are so terrified by the idea of maybe getting a glimpse of body parts that might not match their own that they can’t even function.
Doe, on the other hand, is not being barred from any situation or location. Instead, he simply wants his discomfort with transgender people to be privileged over the discrimination that keeps trans people out of locker rooms and rest rooms in the first place. . . . his case was filled by Alliance Defending Freedom ― an organization has been designated as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center ― makes me question who is really driving this crazy train and what the ultimate goal of this lawsuit really is.
So here’s what I think: If Doe can’t give this teen in his class the same respect he’d give any other person — and who I would bet both of my testicles just wants to get in and out of that locker room as quickly than Doe does ― Doe shouldn’t get to use the locker room. It’s time we start singling out those who want to make trouble and misery for others and forcing them to live their lives differently as a result instead of the other way around. If you don’t want to play nicely (a.k.a treat everyone equally no matter what they look like or how they identify), then you shouldn’t be allowed to play. See ya. Bye.
The bottom line is this: trans people aren’t looking for special or “extra” rights. Trans people are not haunting bathrooms. They aren’t looking to inflict harm or psychosis or anything else. And they have it hard enough as it is without being accused of sexually harassing cis people simply by existing.
I agree with the author - it is far past time that "Doe" and those of his ilk be the ones treated as outcasts and social lepers. Absolutely no deference or respect should be afforded to them or their hate and bigotry fueled religious beliefs. Clinging to ignorance and falsehoods is a choice. Being born transgender or gay is not. And while we are at it, it is way past time that churches lose their tax-exempt status. Overall, they do far more harm than good and do not deserve to be treated as charities.
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