It's almost frightening the way our country uses LGBTQ youth, especially trans-youth. To me, a kid is a kid, no matter what the gender is. I also realize that is my take on it, and I'm not the person in the wrong body too. Clearly the best way for all kids to learn to accept someone different is to treat them all the same. I don't think I've ever seen a more discriminatory law here in this country that simply spells out that if you are trans, you can't compete like other kids. You can't teach a kid to play a sport to lose but if they win it's because they had some kind of advantage? It's not all about winning, of course, but winning does provide just as many learning opportunities as losing does...still not the problem. It seems that if a trans kid wants to play sports at all, it becomes a controversy and now they want to make it illegal? Where is the compassion and protection for these children.
We treat them like they aren't American citizens with the same rights and protections that Marjorie Taylor-Greene has when she is cleaning her guns and talking Aryan supremacy. Should we be just as compassionate to every kid that is born in this world? Free speech is only one aspect of the Constitution...these bills seek to legislate gender, equality, and experience.
True, we have a very long way in this country to go, but at this time in this country we are dealing with more picket signs and vaccine lines, racial tension at an all time high, and still we go backwards to take away people's rights instead of including them. It's always the eternal questions applied to abortion and gays that seem to prop up conversations about guns and church. Maybe those people don't understand that equality means that church and guns are just as likely subjects for others to dislike as being trans or same sex oriented. Equality means that all of these things either exist or they don't....people exist and sub categorizing them doesn't do anything but create more hate and inequality.
Elliot Page, a good friend and incredible advocate has some suggestions that can help right now. These kids are loving, caring, hopeful people...adults shouldn't take away their right to compete and be themselves. I know that there are parents that scream "foul" at the drop of a hat, but what if trans kids were the norm and their kid was being discriminated against? I would say the same things for them as I do for the trans kids of today. Discrimination is discrimination...it means "less than someone else."
Visit Elliot Page's Insta here by clicking link and educate yourself, then do something meaningful for trans kids today....you could be the parent of one someday too, or a friend, or a colleague. This should be celebrated and protected by all, not just law. I just wanted Elliott to know how much I appreciate his efforts.
All our love and support to our friend Elliott...and all families lucky enough to have a trans relative. We support you. We love you. Teach us how we can help!
Kevin and Christopher
