Have politics always been this dumb?
When Obama was elected, I thought the nation had come really far, and we were headed into a new era of enlightenment and acceptance. And then Trump came along, and undid four years of progress within his first couple of months. And I’m not even talking about specific policies he put into place (though I could), but rather the “If I don’t want to believe it, it’s fake news” mindset he put out into the universe.
We have one side that believes in science, and research, and observable facts and data. Then we have another side who just says, “They’re the enemy, so whatever they say, do the opposite.” It is amazing how predictable they are. Just this morning, a notable Republican spoke out against NYC citizens wearing masks as protection from wildfire smoke, simply because the Democrats suggested it.
And I have to wonder, has it always been this bad, or do I just pay more attention to politics than I used to? To put it bluntly, it’s hard for me to believe that Republicans were this stupid my entire life. I just don’t believe the party would have survived if, say, Ronald Reagan had told people not to wear condoms during the AIDS pandemic. Or if Bush (either one) had told schools, “Stop teaching about World War II, it makes Nazis feel bad.”
There’s always been boogeymen, I know that much. Mountains are made out of molehills, to distract voters from the actual, important issues. Right now, Republicans would have you believe that all of the world’s ills stem from drag queens and trans children. They’ve blown the issues extremely out of proportion, because with all the bad press the party has received lately, it’s one of the few issues they can count on to get votes. The bigot demographic is very important to the Republican party.
If you’re a Republican and you’ve read this far, let me clear a few things up for you. You’re not going to believe me, and you’re going to claim I’m “brainwashed by the Liberal media” or whatever, but I’m going to say it anyway. I have a close relationship with the groups in question, so my first-hand knowledge isn’t filtered through the bias of the news programs.
1. Drag is an umbrella term. Saying, “all drag shows are adult” is like saying “all video games are about Mario.” Stop accusing events like “Drag Story Time Hour” of being adult content.
2. Unless, of course, you think “man in woman’s clothing” automatically makes something adult, in which case, you’re a fucking idiot. Do you honestly think Mrs. Doubtfire should have an X rating? Or MASH? Some Like It Hot? Bosom Buddies? Bugs frikken' Bunny? If you can’t see a man in a dress without thinking impure thoughts, that’s your fetish, but don't assume everyone else shares your kink.
3. There is no sudden surge of trans kids. There was a time when kids weren’t allowed to be left handed. Parents and teachers taught all kids to use their right hands, because they didn’t know better. Once they realized that it was healthier for kids to write with their dominant hand, left-handedness went on the rise. If you look at the graph, it looks like people just suddenly started being left-handed starting at a certain year. But, obviously, left-handedness didn’t start then, that’s just when it started being accepted. Same with trans kids. They’ve always been here, but now we’re better at identifying it and understanding it. Well, some of us, anyway.
4. No one is “transing” their kids. I can’t believe that I even have to say that, but apparently you really are that stupid. No one wants their kids to be trans. Nobody is saying, “I wanted a girl instead of a boy. That’s okay, I’ll make my boy a girl.” This is real life, not Sleepaway Camp. These kids were already trans, whether you want to believe it or not. We don’t want to make kids trans, we just want the kids who are trans to live safe, happy lives.
5. Yes, kids know they’re trans from a pretty early age. Stop acting like you suddenly gained all the knowledge of the universe the day you turned eighteen. Admit it, you knew early on that you liked your gender. When I was in third grade, every boy I knew bragged about how boys were better than girls. I knew guys who were against the existence of female GI Joe characters. One guy refused to play as Lizzie in the video game “Rampage,” because the monster was really a woman. Another friend told me he’d kill himself if his penis ever got cut ever off. But what if you’d had all those same feelings, but for the opposite sex? Because some kids do.
6. No one is rushing their little boy to the gender therapist just because he tried on mommy’s bra that one time. I see this so often from transphobes. “So what if he wants to be a girl? When I was his age, I wanted to be a fire engine.” I’m sure you did. For like, a day. But your child’s passion for painting sure lasted a long time, didn’t it? So much so that they grew up to be a professional artist. Attentive parents will recognize the difference between passing whims and core aspects of their child’s personality.
7. No one is performing genital surgery on kids. If you watch Fox News (and shame on you), they’d have you believe it’s being done on a daily basis, but even adults have to jump through 1,000 hoops to get gender affirmation surgery. The only thing they’re doing to trans kids is putting them on puberty blockers, which postpone puberty until the child is old enough to make an adult decision. Puberty blockers have been in use for decades (and not just for trans issues), and they’ve been proven to be safe.
Okay, a quick side note – when I say “no one” is doing something, I’m not saying it’s never happened in the history of the planet. There’s 8 billion people in the world. If something is possible, it’s probably happened at some point or another. But none of this is happening on a regular basis in America. Don’t dig up an article about some nutjob who performed amateur surgery on their kid, and present it like it’s proof of a widespread epidemic. The only genital mutilation that regularly happens to kids in America is circumcision.
And yes, I know, there were a couple of cases in the news where 16-year-old trans boys had mastectomies. But those were rare events, there’s more to those stories than the headlines, and you’re moving the goalposts. A handful of teenagers getting breast surgery isn’t proof of “widespread underage genital mutilation.” You do know the difference between breasts and genitals, right? And I’d be hesitant to call 16-year-olds “children” in this case. I’m not saying 16 is old enough to transition, but it’s disingenuous to lump them in with eight year olds when making your case.
8. We Liberals actually do agree with you. We don’t want people performing genital surgery on children either. We don’t want parents brainwashing cis children into thinking they’re trans. We don’t want kids attending shows with explicit content. But none of that is actually happening. Your crusade against “the enemy” keeps you from acknowledging the world that’s right in front of you.
Please, please, please start showing a bit of critical thinking skills. Your beliefs aren’t just harmful, they’re illogical. And you know it. Some part of you has to see that A+B isn’t adding up to C. If those “drag queen story time” events involved nudity, you’d have actually heard of a specific instance by now. If boys were fully transitiong into girls, you’d be able to name at least one by name. It would be such a scandal, it would be on every news program. You’ve known who Christine Jorgenson was since you were a kid, but can you name one trans child? Your “news” programs make nebulous claims, telling you these things happen all the time without ever revealing specific cases.
Because they’re lying.
Do better.
