I’ve never understood why anyone would care if a transgender person was in the same bathroom at their local watering hole or department store. After all, if that person is in the ladies or men’s rooms, that means they identify as either a woman or a man.
If you feel you can’t sit in a bathroom stall or stand in front of a urinal to pee in fear you may be sitting or standing near someone who is transgender, then seriously, go home now because you may not be fit for humanity. It’s not up to the transgender community to educate the hateful masses on gender identity, but damn if that’s not what’s happening because of North Carolina and their discriminatory law forbidding transgender people from using the bathroom that matches their gender identity.
Now, my biggest fear is that the likes of the Center for Arizona Policy, as well as the group’s state Legislature lackeys like Sen. John Kavanagh, will try to do what they pulled three years ago, and introduce another version a bathroom law. The only time I use a men’s bathroom is when we ladies take forever and my bladder pleads for help. I’ve never gotten a complaint, plus I’m quick and I never complain at the mess I see or the lack of a mirror. Listen, if we see CAP and friends introduce a law here again, you’ll most likely see me in your friendly men’s restroom. I promise to use good manners and wipe the seat if need be.
Seriously though, I’m tired of the hate, but you know who is more tired of this crap, our transgender friends and community. Maybe they know we love them and stand by them, but it doesn’t hurt to let them know more often. I know gender identity is not a choice. I know you’ve worked hard to claim that identity. I hope you know there’s a community of allies who are in your corner. Always.
— Mari Herreras, mherreras@tucsonweekly.com
This article appears in May 19-25, 2016.
The issue isn’t gender pee. It is bending the focus away from the real problems the country faces of a Social Democracy weak economy absent job creation, $25 million spent by TUSD to educate genuine illegal alien children (not born here and not one US Citizen parent), open borders and the security issues of allowing refugees and illegals into the country when the government is incapable of vetting them. Our global retreat and hollowed out military, TSA unable to find bombs 95% of the time. and baggage handlers with non-vetted radical ties having access to the secure areas of the airport who are also illegals. Wall Street Bankers who defrauded the Dodd-Frank caused the CMO/Mortgage crisis. They then payed shareholder funded shakedown like money to the DoJ under Holder/Lynch and not one of them went to jail. Why? Because 80+% of their political funds go to Democrats! Yet we allow our time to be focused on the even greater diversion to focus on the .003% that are Transgenders and not Liary Clinton’s expert failures and corruption.
That’s what I was going to say Joe.
Joe, you’re off topic – way off. There’s probably something in all that stuff you say, but I hear your fingernails scraping down the old, screedy chalkboard. This really is an important topic that shouldn’t be casually dismissed – transgenders in bathrooms. Someday, each of us is just going to have to experience it for what it is – or isn’t. If a born female dressed like a guy comes into the men’s I don’t think I’ll ever know because he will have a seat where we all get privacy. But a born guy enters the women’s and doesn’t sit, I think ladies will notice. Until accepted without prejudice, I just hope no one ever gets hurt in there.
Not Thinking. Your convoluted and arcane description of the subject makes the case for those of us from the 300 million for whom a surfeit of leadership and focus on what truly matters is the Topic. The only screech here is your failure to see this obfuscation of reality issue of Transgender potty use, along with the editor’s.
Joe,
There will always be issues that are bigger than those affecting small minority groups. In fact being marginalized is almost an intrinsic aspect for most minority groups and if their marginality is your basis for ignoring the issue then congratulations, you’ve just anointed yourself as one of those ‘bigger problems’!
Proper priority not ignoring, nor marginalizing. Despite your attempts at labeling those who don;t elevate this issue or any other marginal one as modal. The bigger problem is those that anoint themselves from the periphery to preach to the rest of us.
I mean, I agree in part to what some of the conservative folk are saying. This is absolutely a distraction from the real issues, very few lgbtq folks would say otherwise. However, it’s not lgbtq folks that are making this an issue. It’s actually heterosexual (largely white, and wealthy) men who are proposing legislation, and legally codified discrimation against lgbtq folk in public spaces, that are making a spectacle out of trans folks specifically to distract us from actual issues (including violence against LGBTQ folks).
^seconded. i actually don’t have an opinion on who should use what bathroom, but these laws are ridiculous and unenforceable no matter how you look at it. is a police officer going to be stationed at public bathrooms to check birth certificates before people enter? no. the only thing that passing these laws did was create an issue where one did not exist before.
https://eyedrumperiodically.org/index.php/article/auto-da-fe/
Read it. I lived it
The National Debt is through the roof. Racial tensions are higher than ever. Despite their moronic gun laws, children in cities like Chicago are being shot down in record numbers. And let’s not forget Russia, Syria, China and Korea. Did I mention ISIS? So, what is that moron in the White House all concerned with? Who pees where, that’s what. Tell me it’s me.
Thanks for writing this piece!!
Joe Bloom – you just did the same thing you are claiming this Editor’s Note is doing (distacting from the issue). Everyone should be able to speak up and have a voice about issues that matter to them. Yes, of course there are other issues that you feel are more important to address…so write your own opinion piece. This piece matters to a lot of people. You could clearly never understand what it is like to enter a space to take care of a basic human need and fear for your safety. And it is .3 percent not .003.
This can not be true but Snopes won’t answer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1ipUvD2IT4
I think he just read the teleprompter wrong, or somebody misspelled his name.
9 dislikes already. I have to agree with you. I don’t like it either.
Those who make an issue of this generally have never knowingly been in a restroom with transgender individual. Most of us have no idea of the birth gender of the person next to us. We often will notice their shoes as look under the door to see if the stall is occupied. And when you get the one with no TP do you really care who passes you some under the wall? The only real protest that should exist on this subject is the cost to all of us and our tax dollars being spent to enact and defend such unconstitutional laws.
Like the author I have used the men’s room when the line for women is too long. No one has ever complained. Me doing so is safe. A transgender women doing so is likely to be attacked. Why is her safety so marginalized? Seeing her attacked would be hundreds of times more traumatic to a child than wondering if a non-cisgender woman is using the next stall.
I was just watching the Julia Roberts special on Mongolia. When you got to pee you leave your yurt, walk 50 or so feet and pee. Irrelevant is the gender. When you have go you have to go.
Yeah but try entering somebody else’s yurt. Sorry Burt, this is my yurt and why the skirt?
Those that have a problem with this policy should use the potty in their cave before going out in public. That way the rest of us can go back to not caring.