Trans Clothing Exchanges and NC Gender Bigotry

[Stevie D]

The Department of Justice has now brought a lawsuit against the North Carolina general Assembly.

Attorney General Loretta Lynch's remarks. This is worth reading in full.

Well said, Loretta Lynch! In particular, this caught my eye:

Let me speak now to the people of the great state, the beautiful state, my state of North Carolina. You’ve been told that this law protects vulnerable populations from harm – but that just is not the case. Instead, what this law does is inflict further indignity on a population [i.e. transgendered people] that has already suffered far more than its fair share. This law provides no benefit to society – all it does is harm innocent Americans.

Speaking alongside the Attorney general was Vanita Gupta, head of the Civil Rights Division at the Department of Justice. She says:

H.B.2 denies transgender people something that all non-transgender people enjoy and take for granted: access to restrooms consistent with their gender identity. That’s sex discrimination, plain and simple. This view is only confirmed when proponents of measures like H.B.2 misinterpret or make up facts about gender identity. Here are the facts. Transgender men are men – they live, work and study as men. Transgender women are women – they live, work and study as women.

I hope justice will prevail and this ridiculous, ill-thought out, discriminatory and bigoted piece of legislation will now be overturned and thrown out without delay.

[dillon]

In the Legislature's rush to usurp authority from local governments, the HB2 law, as passed, left out any penalty or mechanism of enforcement for violations. It seems almost just an election-year ploy to motivate social conservatives, assuring them that the legislature is on their side, without actually punishing anyone. The main intention was to suppress local municipalities from establishing social identities that are contrary to the political agenda of the tea-party remnants; for this TG restroom rights were only a smokescreen. It was principally a way of institutionalizing the bigotry of the religious "anti-thinking" sector.

[pelmut]

[...] I hope justice will prevail and this ridiculous, ill-thought out, discriminatory and bigoted piece of legislation will now be overturned and thrown out without delay.

Sadly it isn't just this one piece of legislation that needs throwing out, it is the whole background of bigotry, lies and hatred masquerading as religion that needs to be thrown out. That process should begin with education, but the education system in many places appears to have been infiltrated and perverted by fundamentalist bigots.

[dillon]

It's nice to see this matter has now reached ten pages on this forum. I did not see another topic run longer than this in the last two and a half years. That indicates the strength of human compassion for those who do not fit the "pegboard" of religious conservatives.

[Judah14]

Sadly it isn't just this one piece of legislation that needs throwing out, it is the whole background of bigotry, lies and hatred masquerading as religion that needs to be thrown out. That process should begin with education, but the education system in many places appears to have been infiltrated and perverted by fundamentalist bigots.

By referring to the education system being infiltrated by religious nuts, based on my understanding only sectarian schools (which are affiliated with religious organizations) would be affected, but non-sectarian schools won't. I wonder how the entire system could be infiltrated by them.

[moonshadow]

By referring to the education system being infiltrated by religious nuts, based on my understanding only sectarian schools (which are affiliated with religious organizations) would be affected, but non-sectarian schools won't. I wonder how the entire system could be infiltrated by them.

I laughed out loud! (no offense!)

It now becomes clear to me how those who live in other nations, or even in other regions or our own continent look at me funny when I rant about southern U.S. politics.

Let me just state for the record, that just because our federal and various state constitutions ban an official "state religion", doesn't mean that we don't have one. It may not be "official", but for all intents and purposes, protestant Christianity "is" the religion of the south! Virtually ALL of our laws are based on Judea-Christian biblical law. Many schools around here still pray (ahem.... just not "forced" HA!), "IN GOD WE TRUST" hangs the main foyers of most schools, the 10 commandments are always being placed on in public squares... uh... for "the educational purposes" of course! Many police forces are getting into this trend now of placing "IN GOD WE TRUST" on their cruisers, and lest we forget "IN GOD WE TRUST" is on all of our currency. Many state license plates have the slogan as well, although it may be an option, not mandatory. I do know if Virginia ever went to an mandatory "IN GOD WE TRUST" plate, I planned on writing "DES" after "GOD" on mine.

If you've ever heard of "The Sword Of Joshua Independent Full Gospel Pentecostal Asseeemmbleee, located just off State Road 23 oowwwnnn the Frontage Road" you'll know what I mean...

"Ya'll keep'm straight up daaarrr......"


In other words Judah... you just have to live here to understand.... Even those in other regions of our own country just can't fully appreciate the gravity of state run religion in the south... it DOES exist! Every time the Supreme Court of the U.S. strikes down something for "separation of church and state", southerners get all "up in arms" (literally) and start threatening another civil war!

[Judah14]

Let me just state for the record, that just because our federal and various state constitutions ban an official "state religion", doesn't mean that we don't have one. It may not be "official", but for all intents and purposes, protestant Christianity "is" the religion of the south! Virtually ALL of our laws are based on Judea-Christian biblical law. Many schools around here still pray (ahem.... just not "forced" HA!), "IN GOD WE TRUST" hangs the main foyers of most schools, the 10 commandments are always being placed on in public squares... uh... for "the educational purposes" of course! Many police forces are getting into this trend now of placing "IN GOD WE TRUST" on their cruisers, and lest we forget "IN GOD WE TRUST" is on all of our currency. Many state license plates have the slogan as well, although it may be an option, not mandatory. I do know if Virginia ever went to an mandatory "IN GOD WE TRUST" plate, I planned on writing "DES" after "GOD" on mine.

Many of what you mentioned are somewhat common here in the Philippines, such as prayer in school (only in sectarian schools), putting the Ten Commandments in public squares (justified as a church can usually be found in public squares here, especially in older towns and cities) and putting religious stuff pretty much everywhere (such as Bible verses, pictures, statues, rosaries, etc.) in places such as offices, schools, public transport (like in this picture), etc. However, those are not done in order to enforce a state religion, but to show personal belief. Being a predominantly Roman Catholic country, most people are conservative but will respect people of other religions, as the Philippines has long been multicultural due to the presence of various ethnic groups.

[moonshadow]

Many of what you mentioned are somewhat common here in the Philippines, such as prayer in school (only in sectarian schools), putting the Ten Commandments in public squares (justified as a church can usually be found in public squares here, especially in older towns and cities) and putting religious stuff pretty much everywhere (such as Bible verses, pictures, statues, rosaries, etc.) in places such as offices, schools, public transport (like in this picture), etc. However, those are not done in order to enforce a state religion, but to show personal belief. Being a predominantly Roman Catholic country, most people are conservative but will respect people of other religions, as the Philippines has long been multicultural due to the presence of various ethnic groups.

Catholicism had it's hey-day in the middle ages. I think they have "grown up" since then, and now it seems to be a fairly reasonable faith. These days it seems they have mellowed quite a bit. Although having spent my whole life in an area where Catholics are a religious minority, that could explain their more "laid back" nature in these parts. It's hard to be arrogant about any religion when you don't have the majority's support.

Now to be clear, I don't have an issue with ones display of his or her beliefs. I really don't have an issue with religious symbols on public property... it's the INTENT behind it. It's one thing to be proud and even somewhat boastful of ones beliefs, it's another to shove it down everyone's throat under the force of LAW, and that is the case here in the U.S. south.

I myself plant bible verses everywhere.... normally focusing on ones that point up modern Christian hypocrisy.

But yeah, like I said, words and descriptions really don't do "southern life" justice. You've got the experience it for yourself. Walk into an independent fundamental church in these parts, come to Abingdon and tune your TV to channel 68 (Living Faith Television), see for yourself the infomercial on "the blood of Jesus oil", guaranteed to protect you from the baneful conduct of the heathen!

I ain't makin' this stuff up!

https://youtu.be/tuQVtvlCFYI

http://www.woodymartin.org/ heh.... Tennessee...

[dillon]

That would be funny if it wasn't terrifying... It looks like the mental patients are running the asylum.

This one I can handle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xv7REV2HEY

[Sinned]

I liked the bit about imagining Hilary Clinton wearing the thong with the bit of string up your *rs*. The mental image makes me shudder! Very funny though.

[dillon]

Ran across these items regarding the same ridiculous bathroom nonsense, only staged bigger and louder in Texas, naturally, LOL! Luckily at least a goodly number of Texans appear to be endowed with better sense and less infused vitriol than our NC Republicans. Too bad the TX Lieutenant Governor and GOP legislators are not among those decent and sensible Texans.

http://www.advocate.com/transgender/201 ... trans-bill

http://www.dallasobserver.com/news/self ... om-8259104

[crfriend]

This one I can handle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xv7REV2HEY

Alright, it took me six months to actually look at this. My BS/satire detector went off someplace around the 15 second mark -- and I'll be darned if the supporting player didn't look like a bloke in a dress. The giveaway was the admonition at the end of the vid to "click here for tour dates". Satire, not reality.

Sinned, if I ever meet you I am going to slap you silly for the reinforcement of Hillary Clinton in such a garment; the visual is at once entirely revolting and, like a motorway-crash, impossible to ignore. It's going to take a week to purge my mind of that. Blech.

If it's over the top, it's likely that way for comic effect. A quick search pointed up notes for theatre-dates. Case solved.

It's that damned visual. Thanks, Sinned. Where's the bleach for my brain?

The link from the Dallas Observer (how funny is that juxtaposition) points up, likely accurately, how folks have managed to get things twisted in their little minds. (I haven't fact-checked that, nor looked into the leanings of the Dallas Observer.) I happily admit to laughing at both; the former for its satirical value and the latter as an exemplar of just how idiotically folks can behave when unduly influenced by others. (Journalistic bias can be a difficult thing to discern. I recall back from when I was younger and a devotee of short-wave radio, I once managed to get a several-minute audio feed from Radio Free Europe (which was supposedly illegal at the time for US citizens to listen to, and was had on a double-bounce) and it sounded precisely like the bile spouted by the Boston Herald at the time. My initial reaction was, "You have got to be kidding.")

[dillon]

My point is that all these "bathroom bills" are a solution in search of a problem. Where were all the perverts when there were NO laws about men in women's restrooms? How stupid are the people who believe this BS? Even in NC, the law has no penalty. All that can happen is that a cop removes the offending individual from his/her toilet. If male perverts wanted to go into women's restrooms, why would they have waited until now to do so? The new laws are simply the first step in restoring the illegality of homosexuality and transgenderism.

[crfriend]

The new laws are simply the first step in restoring the illegality of homosexuality and transgenderism.

That's quite possible, but it begs the question, "Can we actually do anything to stop the slide?"

Whither rational thought and decent behaviour?

[dillon]

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Dylan Thomas

dillon