Back in the 1990’s we still used paper Intake Forms at Circle Of Concern. Every member of each household got recorded by name, birth date and sex.
One evening I stepped-in to handle a few interviews. A nice young couple had brought all their receipts and such and the interview went well until I asked an usual question. In the little box for their youngest, instead of a “M” or “F” the previous interviewer had placed a diagonal line.
Well, that line was the correct answer. The child was neither predominately male nor predominately female.
Fortunately the family had been guided to experts and were getting professional counseling and specialized physicians’ services. It was still a complicated situation.
For decades a debate raged over how to treat and what to call a variety of children born with ‘differences.’ A long list of conditions have been catalogued but determining the incidence rate or tracking the lives of such children has been spotty. And, in some cultures murdering such non-conforming births probably still happens.
Add to that people who do not identify with the sexuality of their birth. Mental health experts have their debates about that too.
Now, one would think that all good people would feel empathy for those with physical or developmental issues which create pain and, often, chaos.
The Republican Party no longer believes in empathy.
Each day scores of GOP commercials decry trans kids and accuse the leftist, socialist Democratic controlled health care industry of fostering sexual identity crises. Some of them really believe that a teacher or librarian can turn someone gay or trans.
How can it be that so many people in our society have never encountered a person (to use the old term) intersex? Or a person who has discerned that they are happier living as the alternative to their birth certificate? To believe the ads girls’ sports are damned because of boys pretending to be girls are going to win every competition!
Yet, in worrying about soccer teams the GOP pointedly omits discussions of the kids with those ‘diagonal lines.’ They get lumped into the same column as children supposedly ‘groomed’ to be an affront to God.
For the past few years the Republicans in the Missouri legislature have tripped over each other trying to place more restrictions on kids, and, our idiot attorney general demands medical records of children lucky enough to get help dealing with their situations.
Let’s be clear: this is not politics, it is child abuse. Damning all such kids does not mean individual children will not suffer, no, the more the weight of pontificating politicians condemns kids the more harm is done. This being 2024 there is little chance the courts will protect these kids and their families. They will remain laugh lines in political speeches, targets in TV ads. Ostracizing them will remain acceptable Republican behavior.
Once again, that is The Missouri Way.
Consider it another reason to vote for sanity and Democrats this November.
Glenn Koenen