“We used to call something ‘Orwellian’ when it evoked a hint of Big Brother. But now we are actually living in such an Orwellian world that the adjective has lost its power.”
CONSERVATIVE PRESS AMPLIFIES TRANS KILLER
It did not help our cause that the latest school shooter, in Nashville, Tennessee, was a transgender man, who was still in the process of transitioning. Confusion and accusations followed at once, with some on the far right implying that transgender men and women are inherently violent or at least unstable, and others under the mistaken impression that “Audrey” Hale was a transgender woman.
Police and the press identified the killer as “Audrey” Hale, 28, who recently came out on social media as “Aiden.” It’s not clear to what extent Hale had moved beyond changing his name and pronouns, but it’s evident that Hale had settled into insanity, murdering three nine-year-old children and three other staff at The Covenant School.
Hale attended this same elementary school in 2005-2006 and had several targets in mind for other deadly attacks. Luckily, unlike the timid police in Uvalde, Texas, the Nashville police ran into the school with no hesitation and shot Hale before even more people could lose their lives.
At this point in the continuing culture wars, when anti-trans hysteria is fueled by absurd stereotypes and alternative facts to begin with, it’s hard enough fighting through the fog and nonsense without also having to acknowledge the fact that, yes, there might be a transgender person out there capable of becoming a lunatic mass murderer.
Our adversaries have no problem dealing with the heterosexual, cisgender white males between the ages of 15 and 25 who are responsible for 99 percent of all such shootings with nary a call for thoughtful analysis or gun laws. Yet let one transgender man emerge from the madhouse and suddenly transgender Americans are part of a vast criminal element. Go figure.
I REALLY DON’T LIKE THESE PEOPLE
We also have dozens of stories about censorship; books taken off the shelves, laws that prohibit school staff from mentioning sexual orientation, policies that forbid teachers from condemning slavery, you name it. We used to call something “Orwellian” when it evoked a hint of Big Brother. But now we are actually living in such an Orwellian world that the adjective has lost its power.
This month, to save us some anguish, let’s just consider one single recent example as a representative incident. It’s the decision by the Heyer Elementary School authorities in Waukesha, Wisconsin, to scrap a performance of “Rainbowland,” a duet written by Dolly Parton and Miley Cyrus, from the First Grade concert. The superintendent, Jim Sebert, explained that the song “could be perceived as controversial.”
Given that the lyrics are pretty anodyne, I first thought the song was nixed simply because it had “rainbow” in the title. But then I saw that the school had replaced “Rainbowland” with “Rainbow Connection,” the lovely Muppet song that also features innocuous lyrics about getting along and rainbows and what have you. What the hell? I thought. And then it dawned on me. Wasn’t there something shall we say, avant garde, about Miley Cyrus? Yes, of course. Miley Cyrus, the Disney princess turned provocative rock star, who identifies as pansexual or something that apparently does not pass muster with the gang from Heyer Elementary.
“We are rainbows, me and you. Every color, every hue. Let’s shine on through. Together, we can start living in a Rainbowland.” That was the song that was banned by some parents who didn’t like the example Cyrus set. But just let them wait until their kids grow up and start taking a close look at how they once behaved. It’s gonna be ugly.
MAY CAUSE DROWSINESS
We should discuss a few federal appellate cases, two in particular that deal with the question of whether or not a state or school district can ban transgender girls from playing on girls’ sports teams in public colleges or high schools. After all, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1978 (1979? Do we care?) forbids discrimination because of sex, which arguably includes discrimination because of gender identity.
Connecticut has a statewide policy that protects trans girls against discrimination in sports, in keeping with the Nutmeg State’s interpretation of Title IX. On the other hand, West Virginia is trying desperately to go the other way, arguing that lawmakers should be given the right to block trans girls from girls’ sports, regardless of Title this that or the other.
Now, the full court of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit will review Connecticut’s law, while the Supreme Court will shortly decide whether or not West Virginia’s law will be enforced while the law itself is tested in court. I’m guessing you’ll be closely following these cases along with me in the next few weeks.
Oh, I know you have no intention of doing so, dear Readers. I am about to close out this column, but meanwhile I am listening to the endless and annoying hold “music” from American Airlines. It’s terrible!
By contrast, the people who come up with the music for drug commercials are ingenious in a sick way. It’s not as if I actually like those drug ads, but sometimes when I fall asleep I start hearing: “Oh, Oh, Oh Ozempic!” or “Birds flying high, you know how I feel.” I’m just saying, I’m never going to be haunted by whatever it is American Airlines is now forcing down through my phone line. It’s more likely to drive me to drugs. Pass the Trelegy.
