Pronouns

People habitually mock that which they do not understand. One of the things that a lot of people don't understand is the whole concept of transgenderism. (I think I may have made up a word there) They don't "get" that some people may want to identify as a different gender than the one listed on their birth certificate, or no gender at all and adopt non-traditional pronouns to describe themselves. Their lack of understanding is manifested as derisive stabs at humor or even attempts to legislate away the existence of transgender people. Things such as gender-affirming surgery for minors or whether a person who lived most of her life as a male should be allowed to compete in women's sports may be legitimate subjects for debate, but in my observations what those who are opposed to these things are really opposed to is the very existence of transgender people. 

I'll leave the discussion of gender-affirming surgery for another day, because I believe it's a distraction - a slippery slope argument whose real goal is to erase transgender people from society. (And if you want to call it "mutilation", nobody asked me whether I wanted to be circumcised as an infant - I'll never get that foreskin back) Most things that differentiate a transgender from a cisgender person, including preferred pronouns, have absolutely no effect on any other person. So, why does anyone, other than the individual who identifies as transgender, care? In my everyday interactions with my fellow Nebraskans I can't imagine how a person's gender identity would affect me in any way. Does it matter if I can't tell whether the person who makes my latte (consumption of which is compulsory for us liberals) is male or female? Or neither? Or even whether my grandkids' teachers have identities which conform to societal gender "norms"? All I care about is whether my fancy coffee gets made with the right degree of fanciness and whether the school teachers communicate their subject matter well. 

The bigoted attacks on transgender people (and all LGBTQ+ people for that matter) has been disguised as some kind of concern for children's safety. This "concern" is based on their evidence-free perception that anyone who isn't heterosexual cisgender is by definition a child molester, a pedophile. The term "groomer", meaning someone who intentionally and incrementally gets a child comfortable with sexual activity in order to sexually take advantage of them, as been thrown around liberally. Anyone who who is in the LBGTQ+ community is tarred with this brush, allies among cisgender heterosexuals are included in their minds as "pedo groomers". It reminds me of the hysteria in the cult I was a part of in the nineties during the "homo purge", where anyone even suspected of being gay, as well as what they called "homo fantasizers" and "homo sympathizers" were purged from the ranks. If these legislators and church leaders cared about children's safety rather than performing as if they did to garner the bigot vote, they'd be looking into the many church groups where child abuse is rampant, including but not limited to, the Catholic Church. Keep an eye out for the credible accusations of child molestation and you'll see a lot of ministers and Republican politicians and zero drag queens. 

Then we have the low-key "humor" of saying things like "My pronouns are Prosecute/Fauci" or something equally idiotic. This is a bigot's attempt at cleverness. Yes, they know what a pronoun is and that what they wrote wasn't a pronoun. It a feeble attempt to mock gender identity choice and whatever else they're worked up about at the same time, while exposing both their bigotry and their ignorance. 

While parents aren't always as understanding as their children want them to be when it comes to their sexuality and gender identity, you would think that a bunch of drag queens reading to school kids, or hosting a community event where the parents are fully knowledgeable and bring their children to these events wouldn't be cause for a protest. After all, isn't the current right-wing obsession with schools are teaching all about parents' rights? Since the parents are involved, why are there scores of armed men in combat gear protesting these events? 

I think you know the answer.