Republicans Target Trans Kids Because Republicans Are Monsters
The louder and more sadistic the cruelty, the more satiated and distracted the GOP’s base is.
by Justin Rosario
The Republican Party no longer governs in any meaningful sense. Even where they control all the levers of power, the only policies they pursue involve funneling as much money to the rich as possible and codifying election fraud. They do not take any steps to improve the lives of their voters.
They do, however, keep their voters from paying attention to this by visiting pain and suffering on a rotating stable of targets. The louder and more sadistic the cruelty, the more satiated and distracted the GOP’s base is.
Muslims, undocumented immigrants, black protestors, women, and same sex marriage have all been at the top of the GOP’s hitlist in recent years. But the latest target of Republican cruelty seems to be inspiring a new level of evil. Children are already vulnerable but LGBT children are particularly vulnerable, making them ideal for the pro-life, pro-family party of Jesus to torment.
Who can be the biggest dick?
That is not a rhetorical question. Right now, two Republican governors are having a depraved competition to see who can be the biggest dick to children. The prize is not just money and popularity at CPAC, but a shot at the White House, where the real power and corruption kicks in.
It used to be just running for president was a lucrative grift, but Trump showed his fellow grifters that actually being president opened up opportunities beyond your wildest imagination. Especially if you’re less…erratic than a certain orange-skinned buffoon. Sure, Trump is dominating the field right now but he’s 75 years old, in terrible physical shape, and may go to jail/flee the country before 2024. Someone is going to have to run as the Republican candidate and it ain’t gonna be Don Jr. or Ivanka.
Which brings us to the ongoing Asshole Olympics between Florida governor Ron DeSantis and Texas governor Greg Abbott. DeSantis has been on the warpath against the children in his state for quite some time, banning trans kids from playing sports as the gender they identify as, denying funding to a shelter for LGBT kids, and putting a target of their backs by removing language meant to discourage anti-LGBT bullying from Florida’s Deprtment of Education website.
But DeSantis’ crowning achievement may be the “Don’t Say Gay” bills working its way through the legislature:
Florida's House of Representatives passed a controversial bill on Thursday limiting when and how teachers and school staff can discuss gender and sexual orientation in the classroom.
Opponents — many of whom have taken to calling the measure the "Don't Say Gay" bill — say it will make life harder for LGBTQ youth, who already face a higher rate of bullying and a higher risk of suicide than their straight, cisgender peers.
DeSantis is pretending this is about keeping parents informed but, really, it’s about erasing LGBT kids from the classroom. The idea that children in, say, 3rd grade need to be protected from talk about sexual orientation suggests that Republicans have not actually met any 3rd graders. Making the diversity of gender and sexual orientation something to be ashamed of will do nothing but hurt vulnerable children. Truly, a recipe for winning the gold in the Asshole Olympics that is Republican politics.
But not to be outdone, Greg Abbott has found a way to pole vault right over Ron DeSantis. Not content to just hurt LGBT children, DeSantis has found a way to target their parents as well:
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is calling on “licensed professionals” and “members of the general public” to report the parents of transgender minors to state authorities if it appears the minors are receiving gender-affirming medical care.
The directive was part of a letter Abbott, a Republican, sent Tuesday to the Department of Family and Protective Services, calling on it to “conduct a prompt and thorough investigation” of any reported instances of minors undergoing “elective procedures for gender transitioning.”
The threat is that trans kids getting the medical care they require will be treated as abuse victims and removed from their “abusive” parents who might even be arrested. Of course, their treatments would stop, delivering a double-whammy of punishment.
As of right now, Abbott’s directives are legal gibberish but that will not stop some horrid professionals and even more horrid members of the public from trying to enforce it. Which is exactly what is happening right now per the New York Times:
Among the first to be investigated was an employee of the state protective services agency who has a 16-year-old transgender child. On Tuesday, the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas and Lambda Legal went to state court in Austin to try to stop the inquiry.
The employee, who was not named in the court filing, works on the review of reports of abuse and neglect. She was placed on administrative leave last week, according to the filing, and on Friday was visited by an investigator from the agency, which is also seeking medical records related to her child. The family of the child, identified in court documents only as Mary Doe, has refused to voluntarily turn over the records.
There is always the possibility a Republican judge will set the Constitution on fire to make this persecution legal. It would not be the first time.
Even though the directives are currently unenforceable, they will terrorize families throughout the state. The anxiety trans children already live with on a daily basis will be cranked to 11. How many will run away from home who wouldn’t have? How many more will commit or attempt to commit suicide? How many families that would have been supportive will instead agree that it’s abuse to allow their child to transition? Children will die because of this, and that is just fine with Republicans.
Monsters Inc.
I am sure if I went back enough decades, I could find a point in time when Republicans were interested in more than being against something. But this is who they have been for my entire life and they are only getting worse. The Republican Party has no real purpose unless they have an enemy and that can only lead to very dark places.
The Democratic Party, for all its faults, does not have this problem. If Republicans were to vanish into thin air tomorrow, Democrats have years’ worth of policies to implement. We need clean air, food, and water. People need affordable medical care. People need jobs, homes, better schools, better transportation, and more. Roads need to be rebuilt. Bridges need to be repaired. The electrical grid needs to be updated.
All of this and a thousand other pressing issues do not need a single enemy to demonize. That is what it looks like when a political party has a purpose and an agenda. The GOP, on the other hand, did not even have a platform for the 2020 election and Mitch McConnell refuses to explain what Republicans stand for ahead of this year’s midterms. Republicans do not stand for anything, apparently. But, boy howdy, Republican candidates sure can tell you who they stand against.
Abbott and DeSantis know that targeting children is a surefire winner with their base. That, by itself, is a damning indictment of the moral vacuum at the center of the modern Republican Party. The closer we get to the election, the more extreme their rhetoric and actions will become. It has to. Republican voters are always demanding more cruelty.
Right now, the “enemies” of the Republican Party are trans children. As one of the most vulnerable groups imaginable, the GOP will almost certainly continue to hammer them for a good long while. Once the base gets bored of tormenting this group of kids, maybe they’ll go back to torturing children at the border. Or maybe they’ll try to deport kids with cancer again. Once you get a taste for child abuse, I suppose it’s hard to quit and Republicans really do seem to be addicted to it.
When you talk to your family and friends about the midterms, talk to them about the good Biden has done. Talk to them about how short the Omicron wave has been because of how many people Biden got vaccinated. Talk to them about how many jobs have been created and how the economy is still growing despite the massive headwinds. Talk to them about how in the face of Russian aggression, Biden has rallied the world in a unified response unlike anything seen since 9/11.
But also talk to them about the heartless cruelty of the Republican Party. How they are targeting vulnerable children for bullying. How they are intentionally driving them towards self-harm. How they are destroying lives just to gain a few more votes. Republicans are monsters and they have to be held accountable for the harm they inflict.
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Putin Is Losing In Ukraine, But Something Far Scarier Might Be Happening
If history tells us anything, it's not to underestimate the cruelty and cunning of the Russian dictator.
by Bob Cesca
WASHINGTON, DC – Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began last week, the loss of life and destruction of property has been horrendous. The latest estimate from CNN puts Ukrainian deaths at around 2,000 – roughly the same as the number of Americans who died from COVID on Tuesday.
None of what you’re about to read is intended to diminish the crisis, thrust upon the world by an increasingly deranged Vladimir Putin. But we’d be lying to ourselves if we didn’t acknowledge how relatively impotent Russia’s invasion has been so far. We’ve heard numerous reports of poor morale among the Russian troops – soldiers abandoning their posts, leaving their tanks and armored vehicles behind. Many of the vehicles were left entirely intact, allowing Ukrainian civilians to commandeer the vacant machinery, some shooting TikTok videos of their war spoils…
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As a fellow Jew, I know where this railroad leads. And every wouls be victim must be protected. Shame on everyone who votes for these monsters. "But my taxes..." Evil.