While Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg joins his fellow troglodytes in asking the Supreme Court to endorse workplace discrimination against people who don’t conform to his preferred expressions of sex and sexuality (the argument onto which Ravnsborg signed —but which he didn’t promote on the AG’s website—boils down to saying that we must read words by their old meanings, not their current meanings… kind of like saying freedom of the press doesn’t apply to TV reporters because they don’t use a 1787 printing press), The Transformation Project launches in Sioux Falls to tell the stories of transgender youth in South Dakota:
Transgender youth and young adults are some of the most vulnerable people in our state. This is so not because of who they are but because of a lack of awareness, education, empathy, and understanding on the part of far too many of their fellow South Dakotans.
For the past five years, transgender people have faced the threat of discriminatory legislation in the state Capitol and demeaning commentary from elected officials and public leaders; additionally, youth and their families have had to advocate for themselves to ensure they are being treated fairly in their schools, workplaces, and communities. Though this has been a significant burden it has also presented an opportunity for transgender youth to develop advocacy skills that have helped them feel empowered and capable. Given the barriers to fair treatment the community continues to face it is critical that transgender people and their families are empowered to be their own champions.
We believe that transgender people know what is best for them and that they are experts in their own lives. We seek to empower youth, young adults, and their families and prepare them to advocate for the rights they deserve [“Current Initiatives,” The Transformation Project, downloaded 2019.09.03].
The Transformation Project plans to publish a magazine, Transforming SoDak, on October 17. The group offers support to parents and allies of transgender youth and appears ready to be an information clearinghouse for the brave souls who would mobilize against the anti-trans legislation factory that Pierre has become with the help of out-of-state lobbyists.
Best of luck to the Transformation Project!
Transgenderism is a strange anomaly.
We seem get caught up in a lot of issues like this that are not representative, but that the public sector feels compelled to address, even of the cost to do so is way beyond the margins.
I feel for the person in this video, but I was lost for the cause when he says, “[If you want to call me sir again we can take this outside and I’ll show you a f-in sir]”.
https://youtu.be/TgiOjhkiuhw
John, I can’t decipher your comment. Are you saying you don’t support equality for transgender folks because one person acts belligerent?
Ryan – “Are you saying you don’t support equality for transgender folks because one person acts belligerent”
I’m saying that this is a biological male, and that someone calling him “sir” does not seem to qualify as unequal. What do you think?
I agree that calling him sir once would be an innocent and fair presumption, but after the clerk is corrected he seems to intentionally rile the customer up more. But again, this is just one incident. The big picture is the more important issue. Do you, in general, support equality for transgender folks under the law and social acceptance?
Ryan – “The big picture is the more important issue. Do you, in general, support equality for transgender folks under the law and social acceptance?”
Here is what I can tell you about my belief on this issue.
If two biological males want to get “married”, they are undermining the nature and terms of the institution of marriage.
That said, I believe that any couple that wants to engaged in a loving and supporting relationship should have hospital visitation rights, inheritance rights, and other similar rights enjoyed by hetero married couples. Changing the classical definition of marriage, under which hetero couples entered their contractual relationships, is a violation of the rights of most hetero couples (I’m estimating, haven’t taken a survey, but I have reasonable confidence in this supposition). Homosexual marriage has become a weaponized cultural attack, and it’s more about acceptance and normalization of homosexuality than attaining what I would consider true “rights”.
I do not have the “right” to NOT be called a cracker, whitey, hairy, or female. The First Amendment gives people the right to classify me. Yet, if there is damage done to me as a result of the speech, I have the right to use the civil justice system to recoup losses assuming I can afford an attorney. But an attorney will also have to believe there is sufficient causality.
If that were me walking into the video game store, and the clerk kept calling me a female (mis-gendering) when I’m clearly a straight white male, I don’t think I would find a credible lawyer that would pursue damages.
In this specific case, therefore, I do not believe there were any rights violated.
I believe in equal rights for all, including gays and transgender people. However, the weaponization of culture has dragged the definition of rights outside the sphere of credulity. We do not have a right to not be misgendered unless it causes measurable damage economically. That said, if the clerk in the store had refused service, or was intentionally taunting the clearly biological male I think there would be cause for a violation of rights case. This has been proven in the courts with the “gay cake” debate .. sort of .. but even this nuanced case causes me some concern since the gay couple was forcing the baker to create a product outside of the normal inventory of the bakery. The moral equivalent would be if the offended biological male in the game store had tried to force them to carry a video game outside the normal inventory of the game store. That would be an absurd request since the game store has the right to choose their inventory.
I believe the clerk was shell shocked and in disbelief and was not intentionally making the “mistake” of misgendering. Furthermore, why was someone filming? The publication of this video has brought attention to the man’s rap career, and garnered what seems to be some much desired attention to this (in my view) confused individual who clearly has enough testosterone to make his voice manly and low.
Thanks for asking the question and giving me a chance to clarify my position. This is what I believe after some careful reflection and a good faith effort to get the issue correct, and I would be interested in your thoughts, concerns, comments, and questions.
All this being said, I do not think that as a result of being transgender, an individual should enjoy some elevated status or exceptional rights, which is the implication of much of the analysis on the transgender issue – that they actually deserve special consideration and/or more rights than everyone else. This viewpoint has the added negative externality of casting transgenderism and homosexuality as an affliction or disease.
Marriage was traditionally religious, but is now a civil status that comes with legal benefits and obligations and should not be based on gender. Your suggestion that gay marriage violates the rights of straight married people is silly. Churches and all other cults are private and can make up their own wacko superstitions, but our laws can’t be sexist.
I also agree that the customer in that video has no legal cause of action because merely being a rude employee is not a crime or tort. The employee seems like a prick, and the customer seems unable or unwilling to ignore rude strangers, but it doesn’t matter. That interaction is meaningless to the rights that should be afforded to all Americans equally, regardless of sexual preference or behavior.
I’m not sure what exceptional rights you think anybody is looking for, exactly, but I would also probably be opposed to whatever hypothetical elevated status you oppose for transgender folks.
“is now a civil status that comes with legal benefits and obligations”
I’ll address this on my Internet radio broadcast this week. Keep an eye out at Plains Tribune.
If you want to link this up to your podcast feed, https://plainstribune.com/podcastxml
… while the list of causes for transgender identity continues to grow, it has become quite clear that it is not a conscious choice – similar to what has been described for the “reasons” behind sexual orientation. Still, at least 63% of transgender individuals experience debilitating acts of discrimination on a regular basis, including incarceration, homelessness, and physical assault. When about 1.7% of the population is in some way affected by cases of ambiguous genitalia at birth, these findings seem staggering. http://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2016/gender-lines-science-transgender-identity/
leslie – irrespective of the causes of transgenderism, the fact remains that other non transgender people get assaulted regularly, become homeless, and are discriminated against.
Is there an organization that can be proven to systemically and with willful intent persecute transgender individuals?
What are your thoughts on this?
https://www.khou.com/article/news/local/houston-public-library-admits-registered-child-sex-offender-read-to-kids-in-drag-queen-storytime/285-becf3a0d-56c5-4f3c-96df-add07bbd002a
How can I get a copy of your book “Transforming South Dakota “?
John G, the group had a launch party and fundraiser for its magazine in Sioux Falls on Oct. 24. I don’t know where the magazine is available, but you could contact the project website to ask.