In conservative corners, the link between “transgender Americans,” mass shootings, and mental illness has been the topic du jour: Does being trans lead to dangerous, delusional thinking? Or IS being trans dangerous, delusional thinking?
Yup, it’s the age-old question, “What came first, the rooster or the egg?”
The Minnesota school shooting was shocking and appalling. The perpetrator (who doesn’t deserve to be named — “deadname,” new name, or otherwise) was seemingly motivated by a litany of leftwing grievances against Christians (Catholics), President Trump, Israel, and other right-of-center bogeymen. Included in the madman’s notebook was a “defend equality” sticker with an LGBTQIA flag forebodingly placed over a gun.
It also marked a turning point in how the trans community is perceived by the rest of the country.
On a personal note, I’m not anti-trans: If a grownup wants to wear a dress, a tutu, or a tuxedo — or undergo radical reconstructive surgery so his or her “outside matches their inside” — he or she should absolutely have the freedom to do so. And if he wants to change his name from something masculine to something feminine (or vice versa), that’s his prerogative, too.
This is ‘Murica, after all. (My unofficial motto: “Do what you want and leave me alone!”)
Obviously, the above statement doesn’t apply to children. That’s a horse of a different gender.
I’ll also disclose that one of my best friends from college is trans. When I first met “him” at James Madison University, he was a big, bearded dude in a rock band. About 20 years later, when we were both in our 40s, “his” Facebook profile pic changed REALLY dramatically one day: gone was the beard; on was the makeup.
Next time we met up (for Buffalo wings, naturally), my buddy told me that “she” spent most of her 20s and 30s deeply depressed and borderline suicidal. It broke my heart: I had no idea my friend was suffering.
And I was mad at myself for being so oblivious. I should’ve been a better friend.
Most trans people, I strongly suspect, are a lot like my buddy: They didn’t ask to be political pawns. They don’t want to be fetishized, or for their bathroom habits to be fodder for public debate. They’re not asking to be celebrated, lionized, or to be patted on the head by their “liberal allies” for “being so brave.”
They just wanna live their life and be left alone!
There’s an old legal maxim: Hard cases make bad laws. The overwhelming majority of the time, the law works as intended, but fringe cases — especially ones with oddball, unusual scenarios — distorts the law’s intent. Weird things happen when judges try to jam square pegs into round holes.
In other words, hard cases produce goofy outcomes.
And since our legal system is largely based on precedent, bad decisions beget bad decisions: There’s a butterfly effect. (As Ray Bradbury warned, beware the butterfly!) Over time, these distortions multiply, with new (and weirder) precedents building on the old ones.
After all, that’s what activists demand.
Eventually, you end up with crazy rulings, such as Minnesota courts banning parents from halting their children’s “gender affirming care.”
In 2023, [Gov. Tim Walz (D-Minn.)] signed a “trans refuge” bill that blocks judges, courts, and law enforcement officials from other states from subpoenaing health information or issuing warrants when it conflicts with a Minnesotan’s “gender-affirming care.” This new law gives Minnesota courts the power to award custody based on which parent will change his/her child’s gender. If you want your boy to be a girl, congratulations: you win!
It's a disturbing escalation. Under Minnesota law, “gender-affirming care” can include hormones, puberty blockers, plastic surgery, breast removal, and other lifelong, permanent treatments on a minor — even if one of the parents disagrees.
Even if the other doctors disagree.
Even if another state’s court disagrees!
For most of the last decade, liberal activists weaponized “trans rights,” using it as a club to bash traditional gender roles, mock religion, and attack the so-called patriarchy. (Indeed, the Minnesota shooter used images of Jesus as target practice.) For liberals, it was less about what trans want — and all about how their pain could be exploited for political gain. So they pushed… and pushed… and pushed.
But they forgot that the PR pendulum always swings back.
It only takes one big moment to crystalize a shift in public sentiment — a landmark, high-profile event that captures how much we’ve “jumped the shark.”
Last week in Minnesota, that’s exactly what happened. The shocking visuals have permanently changed how Americans see trans people: Instead of being perceived as vulnerable, they’re now seen as violent.
Even though most trans people aren’t. Most, of course, are like my friend: They just wanna be left the frick alone (to eat Buffalo wings in peace).
Liberal activists pushed the trans community to the edge of a cliff. The Minnesota shooting pushed it over the edge. And now we’re in an entirely different PR world.
Sadly, it’s a world that will be far more dangerous to trans people.
That’s the trouble with jumping the shark: Eventually, you’ve still gotta land.
And when you do, you’re still in shark-infested waters.
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