New Effort by the CRC
Interesting, the CRC's newsletter this week is really trying to ratchet up the volume on the gender identity nondiscrimination bill.
I'm not sure what they have against it. They don't seem to mind that you can't fire somebody because of their religion, or that Presbyterians use the same bathrooms as Baptists, but somebody with an unusual personal experience about who they are deserves to be the target of discrimination.
A couple of people have questioned why we would get involved in this issue, the county's consideration of a bill that would protect transgender people from certain kinds of discrimination. After all, we started out as an education advocacy group. Let me explain.
TeachTheFacts.org started back in late 2004, when the RecallMontgomerySchoolBoard.com group started to organize and became Citizens for a Responsible Curriculum. A tiny handful of people were able to get the attention of the press, especially, in those days, Fox News and the Washington Times, besides local talk radio (Chris Core in particular), and they were able to create the appearance of a controversy in Montgomery County about the sex-ed curriculum. There wasn't one, really, everybody here understood and accepted the classes as they were, except for these few nuts.
This was right after the 2004 elections, and "those people" felt they had a mandate, if you remember. Well, they didn't have any mandate in Montgomery County, but somebody had to stand up and tell them that.
That was us.
Over the years, they tried to stop the sex-ed curriculum and failed at everything they tried except for one drive-by lawsuit, where they were able to get a judge to hastily eyeball their evidence and rule that there might be a reason to think the "old new" curriculum might violate some law. Other than that, every single thing has backfired on them or just plain failed, partly because we were here pointing out the lies and bull-oney. I would say "keeping them honest," except they're beyond that.
Now the same group of weirdos has changed their focus. They have decided it will be the end of the world if Montgomery County stops discriminating against people who have an unusual gender identity, guys who are feminine or women who are masculine, guys who are too masculine or women who are too feminine, or whatever. To back this up, they have made up a story about how not-discriminating will result in perverted men hanging around ladies rooms peeking at women and children on toilets. Lots of places have this kind of law, and that has never happened, but reality has never dampened their spirits. Their story assumes that 1. guys want to see women peeing, 2. your run-of-the-mill bathroom voyeur is smart enough to convince authorities that he is really a woman on the inside 3. women won't peek at guys peeing 4. transgender people should have a third bathroom or else just stop existing, etcetera.
Like a lot of things in our postmodern world, it fits easily on a sign or bumper sticker or sign, but the story is totally disconnected from hard reality.
So here's the latest from the CRC newsletter:
The CRC is not strictly Christian, some of them are Mormon. The Family Leader Network is an LDS group that, in this area, overlaps with CRC.
You can read the new bill HERE.
I've never really understood what motivates these people, but there's something about being fair to people that really irritates them. First, they were upset because the schools were going to teach stuff that the American Medical Association and other scientific and medical groups believe, and now they're upset because maybe you won't be able to discriminate against transgender people in our county any more.
Like, tell me, how many times does this come up? How many transgender people do you encounter in a typical day? How many times have you seen an ambiguous-looking person standing outside the restrooms, looking at the signs, trying to decide which one to go into? How many guys have you ever seen that actually want to go into a ladies room and see women's feet under the stall doors?
There are a few people whose gender identity is outside the mainstream. Maybe you and I don't know why that happens, but it doesn't matter. They're people, and somehow that bothers people like the CRC to no end.
I'm not sure what they have against it. They don't seem to mind that you can't fire somebody because of their religion, or that Presbyterians use the same bathrooms as Baptists, but somebody with an unusual personal experience about who they are deserves to be the target of discrimination.
A couple of people have questioned why we would get involved in this issue, the county's consideration of a bill that would protect transgender people from certain kinds of discrimination. After all, we started out as an education advocacy group. Let me explain.
TeachTheFacts.org started back in late 2004, when the RecallMontgomerySchoolBoard.com group started to organize and became Citizens for a Responsible Curriculum. A tiny handful of people were able to get the attention of the press, especially, in those days, Fox News and the Washington Times, besides local talk radio (Chris Core in particular), and they were able to create the appearance of a controversy in Montgomery County about the sex-ed curriculum. There wasn't one, really, everybody here understood and accepted the classes as they were, except for these few nuts.
This was right after the 2004 elections, and "those people" felt they had a mandate, if you remember. Well, they didn't have any mandate in Montgomery County, but somebody had to stand up and tell them that.
That was us.
Over the years, they tried to stop the sex-ed curriculum and failed at everything they tried except for one drive-by lawsuit, where they were able to get a judge to hastily eyeball their evidence and rule that there might be a reason to think the "old new" curriculum might violate some law. Other than that, every single thing has backfired on them or just plain failed, partly because we were here pointing out the lies and bull-oney. I would say "keeping them honest," except they're beyond that.
Now the same group of weirdos has changed their focus. They have decided it will be the end of the world if Montgomery County stops discriminating against people who have an unusual gender identity, guys who are feminine or women who are masculine, guys who are too masculine or women who are too feminine, or whatever. To back this up, they have made up a story about how not-discriminating will result in perverted men hanging around ladies rooms peeking at women and children on toilets. Lots of places have this kind of law, and that has never happened, but reality has never dampened their spirits. Their story assumes that 1. guys want to see women peeing, 2. your run-of-the-mill bathroom voyeur is smart enough to convince authorities that he is really a woman on the inside 3. women won't peek at guys peeing 4. transgender people should have a third bathroom or else just stop existing, etcetera.
Like a lot of things in our postmodern world, it fits easily on a sign or bumper sticker or sign, but the story is totally disconnected from hard reality.
So here's the latest from the CRC newsletter:
The opposition to Bill 23-07 has risen to a new level. This issue is so important to decency and modesty that Family Leader Network – our partner in the lawsuit against the school board --has decided to place ads on WMAL, with our members help. Family Leader Network feels the media is not doing its job of informing the citizens of the County about this affront to our privacy and safety.
WMAL charges $675 per 30-second spot and remember the vote will take place next Tuesday so you only have a few days to act. In addition, Monday is Veteran’s Day and the Council’s offices will be closed so we really only have 4 days to act.
Here is the ad copy for WMAL:THE FOLLOWING IS PAID FOR BY THE FAMILY LEADER NETWORK.IF THE MONTGOMERY COUNTY COUNCIL HAS ITS WAY, MEN WILL BE ABLE TO USE WOMENS AND GIRLS LOCKER ROOMS. THAT’S RIGHT. GIRLS MAY FIND THEMSELVES DRESSING IN A LOCKER ROOM ALONGSIDE A BIOLOGICAL MALE -- WE CALL THIS BILL INDECENT EXPOSURE. THE COUNCIL CALLS IT THEIR GENDER IDENTITY BILL. CALL THE COUNCIL NOW. 240-777-7900 THAT’S 240-777-7900 GO TO FAMILYLEADER.NET FOR MORE. PAID BY THE FAMILY LEADER NETWORK
FLN’s goal is to run 10 ads over this week on the Chris Core Show, Rush Limbaugh Show and Sean Hannity Show, beginning as soon as enough donations are received. Please give as generously as you can through FLN online at http://familyleadernetwork.org:80/Home/servlet/NetworkDonate?subsite=
FLN is a national organization, but FLN will use all donations from Maryland, Virginia, and DC coming in this week for the ad buy. Donations to the FLN are not tax deductible.
Thanks…
Theresa Rickman
CRC Secretary
The CRC is not strictly Christian, some of them are Mormon. The Family Leader Network is an LDS group that, in this area, overlaps with CRC.
You can read the new bill HERE.
I've never really understood what motivates these people, but there's something about being fair to people that really irritates them. First, they were upset because the schools were going to teach stuff that the American Medical Association and other scientific and medical groups believe, and now they're upset because maybe you won't be able to discriminate against transgender people in our county any more.
Like, tell me, how many times does this come up? How many transgender people do you encounter in a typical day? How many times have you seen an ambiguous-looking person standing outside the restrooms, looking at the signs, trying to decide which one to go into? How many guys have you ever seen that actually want to go into a ladies room and see women's feet under the stall doors?
There are a few people whose gender identity is outside the mainstream. Maybe you and I don't know why that happens, but it doesn't matter. They're people, and somehow that bothers people like the CRC to no end.
posted by JimK at 8:02 AM
7 Comments:
"I've never really understood what motivates these people, but there's something about being fair to people that really irritates them."
Maybe it's the introduction of the term, gender identity. Most people think of someone's gender as being evident from their anatomy. The county bill defines this as whatever the individual "perceives" it to be as evidenced by "appearance, expression, image and behavior". To say your gender is based on how you feel and act is to simply try to warp semantics and social convention. So redefining gender to mean whatever the individuals chooses is offensive. Gender is not a social club.
Then, there's the whole public accomodations thing. You act as if these transgenders won't have anywhere to go to the bathroom without this bill and yet they are currently free go to the appropriate anatomically segregated restroom. They may not feel like it but I don't think anybody seriously considers this a hardship. And no one is stopping any, say, coffee shop in Takoma Park from doing what the bill mandates. The bill just tries to force this view on everyone.
The housing and employment sections of the bill are maybe not as obnoxious but if I don't want to rent a room to a guy who dresses like a girl or hire such a person as a babysitter, why should I have to? It's also open to abuse. After all, there is no objective proof of how a person feels.
If these guys want to go have themselves operated on, they're grown-ups and can do what they want. At that point, after they've taken this drastic step, the rest of us might reasonably start saying there has been a gender change.
First, they were upset because the schools were going to teach stuff that the American Medical Association and other scientific and medical groups believe, and now they're upset because maybe you won't be able to discriminate against transgender people in our county any more.
These people are traitors.
They’ve got a PFOX letter up now:
“Furthermore, Montgomery County residents who believe it is better for men to remain men and women to remain women ought to have freedom to act on those beliefs, without facing stigma or punishment. This is the central reason for my opposition to this bill.”
They actually believe they “ought to have freedom” to deny other Americans their freedoms, “without facing stigma or punishment.”
They don’t just hate LGBT Americans, they hate the very concept of America.
We need to get CRC and PFOX out of our schools... they are always misinforming our students while causing others great, and unnecessary, distress. Yes, PFOX and CRC to hate America. Agreed.
andrea- not anon
People who have money to give should give it to some of the many organizations that help others- like SOME or Martha's Table or DC Central Kitchen or help fund microloans in other countries through KIVA instead of funding hate. I guess when you are a bigot supporting your hate habit is more important than anything else. If these people were truly Christians, wouldn't they be trying to "Love thy Neighbor as thyself" instead of promoting hatred and strife? $375 would go a long way at KIVA to help someone be self supporting or feed many people through DC Kitchen.
"If these people were truly Christians,"
As Jim was kind enough to point out, neither CRC or FLN are "Christian" groups.
"wouldn't they be trying to "Love thy Neighbor as thyself" instead of promoting hatred and strife?"
Depends on your perspective. They think they are promoting the restoration of a wholesome and healthy culture to our county, which would benefit everyone. Doing this would be loving their neighbor. Say what you will about them, they don't really seem to getting any personal gain from this whole situation.
"$375 would go a long way at KIVA to help someone be self supporting or feed many people through DC Kitchen."
That could be said about so many things. Like think if the money that will go to lawyers everytime a transgender convinces themself that they didn't get a job or apartment because they dress funny were to go to the DC Kitchen. Or if the money spent treating intestinal fissures or AIDS in those kids who learned in MC schools that anal sex with a condom is perfectly safe were to be given to SOME. Or if TTF members who spend so much time trying to defend the teaching of false and dangerous facts to high school students were to spend that time helping out at the local pregnancy center.
It's not hard to imagine.
Anonymous said...
Andrea- not anon: "If these people were truly Christians,"
"As Jim was kind enough to point out, neither CRC or FLN are "Christian" groups."
First of all, the context of that statement, "truly Christians," is talking about “Christian” in the sense of being Christ-like. Not “Christian” in the CRC FLN sense that if one believes in Jesus as savior, then their sinful behavior is therefore automatically Christ-like.
Secondly, “not stricly” were Jim’s exact words:
“The CRC is not strictly Christian, some of them are Mormon. The Family Leader Network is an LDS group that, in this area, overlaps with CRC.”
Thirdly, Mormons consider themselves to be Christians:
"Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Under the direction of your Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ created the earth (John 1:10; Hebrews 1:1-2). Through His Resurrection, Jesus Christ overcame death for you."
And fourthly, the CRC hides behind mainly Christianity as well:
"Faith Positions
-What does the Bible say about homosexuality?
-What does the Catholic Church say about homosexuality and specifically this curriculum?
-What does Islam say about homosexuality?
-What does the Church of Jesus Christ of Later Day Saints say about homosexuality?"
If it weren’t for religious supremacy, there would be NO public controversy. So your little bit about how “Jim was kind enough to point out,” is petty semantics. Even the “Christians” involved with the CRC and FLN are the antithesis of Christian in any Christ-like sense.
(No God had to come down from infinity to teach us how to continue being a-holes to each other.)
They’re both supremacist hate groups that use religion to justify their anti-American bigotry as a "right" and a “freedom.”
"Depends on your perspective. They think they are promoting the restoration of a wholesome and healthy culture to our county, which would benefit everyone. Doing this would be loving their neighbor."
Their efforts certainly are not “loving” of their Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and transgender neighbors, in fact they’re down right HATEFUL. Their efforts are also HATEFUL of the families and friends of those LGBT persons. So to claim that they are “loving their neighbor” or promoting what would “benefit everyone,” IS A LIE.
"Say what you will about them, they don't really seem to getting any personal gain from this whole situation."
Au contraire, and “seem” being the operating word here. They get the personal gain of pride, the worst sin of all, and the definition of idolatry—the love of self, AT THE EXPENSE of thy neighbor.
As andrea- not anon said...
“I guess when you are a bigot supporting your hate habit is more important than anything else.”
It’s an addiction for them, and I suspect for you too. It’s like a drug. They get high off the idea that they are “better” than others. Every press release that goes out, every time they can convince someone else to hate as much as they do. Every time they come up with a new and ingenious way of dehumanizing the least among us, they swell with pride, and the notion that they are EVER-SO-SPECIAL, especially in "God’s eyes."
They literally define themselves by whom they love to hate. To that extent it actually is their religion, because they practice it religiously. “Christian” or otherwise, but certainly not Christ-like.
Anonymous said "You act as if these transgenders won't have anywhere to go to the bathroom without this bill and yet they are currently free go to the appropriate anatomically segregated restroom. They may not feel like it but I don't think anybody seriously considers this a hardship."
Anonymous, if you believe that (and I know you don't) why don't you try putting on a dress and venturing into a few men's bathrooms and see what happens?
Fact is that any transwoman is in danger using the men's bathroom. If she passes she risks an attempted sexual assault and if she doesn't she may as well be wearing a "kill me" sign on her back. A transwoman causes little or no disruption in the ladies room but is sorely out of place and in danger of assault in the men's room.
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