Cruel and Usual

[Content Note: Self-harm; transphobia.]

It looks the Wisconsin legislature is about to debate a bathroom bill, because of course it is.

I don't see much point in going over the same old arguments. I've yet to see any examples of predators pretending to be trans in order to hurt people in bathrooms. People don't have a right to feel safe in their bigotry. We just need to pee. Etcetera, etcetera.

The timing of this bill is particularly callous. Last week, a sixteen-year-old trans boy in Madison took his own life. He was pretty clear that he didn't want his death to become a cause. I respect that, and since I didn't know him, that's all I'm going to say.

However, I think it's worth noting that a lot of folks in Madison are still mourning. Students, teachers, and community members are redoubling their efforts to make sure that all young people feel welcome in their schools, their neighborhoods, their city. It's an understatement to say that debating trans students' right to use the bathroom feels even more counterproductive than usual.

I'm sure that Representatives Kremer and Nass would say that the timing of their bill is a coincidence. They'll likely plead ignorance. That's the whole problem. They're not interested in our community. They can't be bothered to look into the damning testimony that's come up every other time a legislature has proposed a "bathroom bill." They can't even be arsed to poke their heads out of the Capitol to see what things are like up the street.

They're bullies. They're interested in advancing their own careers at the expensive of other people's well-being. And as usual, they're not even bothering to hide that ugly little fact.