It never fails. About the time you think the drama is over, it rises from the muck like a swamp monster to steal your time, attention, and, if possible, your soul. Just when we thought it would be safe for women and girls to go back onto volleyball and basketball courts and into women’s restrooms, the Left marshaled what remains of its wild-eyed forces to lurch into the trans agenda fight once again.
Yes, Gavin Newsom is repositioning himself for a 2028 run, and plenty of voters have the short-term memory to see him as a moderate and maybe even give him a win. But plenty of other Leftists are still waving the Pride/Progress flag. As you are well aware, the Democrats sat stoically through Trump’s announcement about boys and men in girls’ and women’s sports. California’s LGBTQ caucus says it was “sickened and disgusted” by Newsom’s 180 (that won’t last).
Minnesota State Rep. Liish Kozlowski (D-District 8B) likened the transgender sports ban to “state-sanctioned genocide,” and Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), while insisting he is “not dumb,” also claimed, “[And] I have a 13-year-old daughter, and she plays basketball. And I’m not afraid that she’s gonna get mowed down.” The tide is turning on this issue, so what is with all the bitter clinging from the Left?
Part of the reason is that, as I mentioned earlier in the week, progressives have more issues than the Wall Street Journal. Further, as I opined on the live blog, if Trump issued an executive order prohibiting people from drinking Drano, the emergency rooms would be full of Democrats the next day. If Democrats admit that they are on the wrong side of one thing, they may be forced to deal with the fact that they are on the wrong side of other things. But at the heart of the matter lies the Left’s proclivity for fetishizing power: the sinister yet simple compulsion to force everyone to bend to their will.
Consider the case of Frances Staudt.
On February 18, the Foundation Against Intolerance and Racism sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights regarding an incident that happened on the sixth of that month. On that day, Frances, a 15-year-old sophomore in the Tumwater School District in Washington, was getting ready for a basketball game. During the warm-up, she noticed a male player on the other team. She asked if the game could be canceled or the player removed. Her request was rejected under the auspices of the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association policy that allows people to play on a team that aligns with their gender identity. To remove the player would constitute “gender-based discrimination.
To this, Ms. Staudt responded that it is actually the failure to remove a male from the basketball game meant for girls that constitutes discrimination. Principal Suderman then ridiculed Ms. Staudt’s mother by asking her, “Are you telling me that your daughter will never get knocked down or potentially injured by someone bigger, stronger, and faster than she is while playing sports?”
Frances opted not to play but did speak openly about her concerns for the safety of the girls playing against a boy. Her brother, who is 13, filmed the game on his phone.
…a TSD employee threatened him by saying, “You better think twice about that.” When Ms. Staudt’s brother questioned what the TSD employee meant by this, the employee responded, “You better think twice about what you’re doing right now,” while standing inches within the young boy’s face.
Frances found herself the target of an investigation by the district for misgendering the player, which would constitute a violation of the district’s policies on bullying and harassment.
Here is Frances and her mother in an interview with Todd Starnes:
On February 28, the Office of Civil Rights Seattle Branch of the Department of Education opened an investigation into Title IX violations by the Tumwater School District for allowing males to play in female sports.
Here is the punchline: according to the New York Post, the trans player said that if he had known about Frances’ concerns, he would have sat the game out. He was willing to ride the pine if it would have made Frances feel comfortable. The player said on a podcast, “If any other person or player I’m playing against is like, ‘I don’t feel comfortable with this,’ I don’t mind sitting out.” Even the trans person got it.
Unlike the Democrat Party and the average North American Purple-Haired Progressive, the trans player understood that he is not the center of the universe and that living in a civilized society often means placing others before oneself. It is a remarkably well-reasoned point of view for someone in that age demographic and represents a level of empathy and advanced thinking that his “supporters” have yet to master.
By contrast, Democrats, both great and small, see trans people as another type of ammunition to add to their arsenal, alongside blacks, Hispanics, women, etc., going so far as to harass a 15-year-old girl and intimidate her 13-year-old brother. That’s not justice; that is flouting power for power’s sake. The people that the Democrats claim to be trying to protect are the ones the Democrats are using to protect themselves.
It’s hard work keeping tabs on all of the squirrels infesting the Tree of Liberty, but it needs to be done. I know at the end of a week like this, most of our writers can do with a drink. I’m ready for an ice-cold beer myself.
I don’t expect you to buy me a beer (I’m in Utah, so you can’t even send me a beer), but myself and all of us here at PJ would be much obliged if you took a second to click here and become a VIP member. By now, you probably know all about the amenities that insiders enjoy, and if you use the promo code FIGHT, you can save 60% and start enjoying them.
