George Takei made a statement about transgender kids being forced to use their “biological” restroom rather than their “identified” restroom – “this is a made up issue.”
On NPR, a man answered the question about transgender and restrooms by saying, “I don’t hang out with people like that.”
I have had the opportunity to interact with transgender kids. They are not a “danger” to “our children.” They are kids: kids who have made the most difficult decision of recognizing that their brain sexual identity and their biological sexual identity are not the same. It is such a powerful force that they are willing to face all of the barriers which society marshals against them, just as the kids who find they are gay or bisexual do. It’s not a “choice,” it’s a recognition of who they are.
It’s been going on in our schools for years. Many schools have quietly taken care of the problem: transgender girls (biological boys) who dress like girls, act like girls; use the girls restroom and no one is the wiser. The same is true with transgender boys (they go in the stalls, as do many non-transgender boys). The old argument of locker rooms and showers is from a totally different generation: today’s kids don’t “get naked” in schools anymore. Most shower rooms (other than for wrestling teams, where most kids wear some form of swimsuit) have become storerooms.
Most kids don’t have a problem with any of this. They accept the differences of their friends. It’s the adults who are hung up.
Transgender is the new frontier for identity law. Our society has reached a general understanding of gay and bisexual people; we have removed most of the laws that discriminate against their conduct. In public schools the era of the being gay meaning getting bullied and attacked has changed, the school administration is now often in a role of protecting the victims, rather than enabling the perpetrators. While incidents still occur, in general, kids accept their friends.
Transgender kids (and adults) are not “molesters” sneaking into the opposites sexes’ restroom to “catch a peep.” They are generally the victims. As a society, protecting the civil rights of folks is not a state’s right’s issue. While Attorney General Sessions argues that states should be able to determine these rights, that old argument, a hold over from the Civil War, does not pass legal muster. As the 14th Amendment to the Constitution and the multiple civil rights acts passed since it’s inception state: a citizen of the United States enjoys the rights and protections of all US citizens in every state.
We should not have different rights in Pennsylvania than we have in North Carolina. This should apply to all forms of discrimination, including transgender folks. And we must NOT discriminate against the most fragile members of our society, children who are discovering that their differences are so much greater than their peers. That’s got to be hard enough, without the government (or the Principal) checking their genitals at the restroom door.
Martin, this is the 1st one you’ve posted that I didn’t agree with at least 80, probably 90%.
On this one, I
agree 25%
disagree 25%
defer to your opinion, which I acknowledge is more informed than my own, 25%
really am not invested in this issue 25%
Is that an option?
Anyway, I have really never encountered this issue; don’t think it’s an issue that effects very many people; and don’t have really strong opinions on it. evidently, you have had more experience with it, as a teacher, than have I. so, I truly do defer to you, who has had more real life experience.
The one issue with which I will disagree is this. I think it is important that the states be laboratories. All states are NOT clones of one another. & that’s a good thing, whether you are a conservative or a liberal. In terms you, as one who is someone to the left of me, might identify with, it was GOOD that some states could approve gay marriage before the US Congress, President Obama, or anyone else, agreed. Perhaps you think completely legal marijuana freedom is best; perhaps you think medical marijuana is best; perhaps you think it should remain illegal. Regardless, that is being played out in the states right now.
Unlike you, I don’t think that’s a bad thing. I am not moving back to the 18th century. But I still believe states MATTER. And that can be a good thing, whether the pendulum swings Left, or Right. For instance, every state’s gun laws are different. I for one don’t think that’s a bad thing. Not everything needs to be federalized. Let’s try different alternatives at the state level, & see which words best.
Your friend,
DT
DT:
I agree with you that the states are good “laboratories” for finding ways through the problems our country encounters. And it is foolish to think that “one size fits all” with many problems — Montana and New Jersey may need to find different ways to find solutions to gun issues. Perhaps the best example is health insurance, where many states found ways to make health insurance available for all (Ohio surprisingly being one) at a reasonable cost, where others failed to do so. Varying Marijuana laws are another good example (but one I’m afraid the current administration will try to “snuff out”).
However, when it comes to the rights of individuals, I see the “state’s power” view as a smokescreen for discrimination. This goes back historically through Jim Crow laws, and now applies to gender issues. I view individual rights as sacred – and I believe that gender identity is an individual right. So this is a place where I don’t think the states should be able to experiment. Clearly this is the rights of a minority versus the power of the majority. Only the nation (often through the courts) can enforce those rights.
MD