Monday, August 28, 2017

Tucker Carlson rationalizes abuse of the elderly in attack on pro-transgender bill

I had to post a follow-up to my last post because this right here  pisses me off.

To recap, the conservative right is all upset over a California bill,  SB-219, which would protect elderly transgender residents of long term care facilities from potential verbal abuse from health care workers,

They don't like the fact that the bill lists deliberately and willfully misgendering the transgender resident as abuse. Members of the conservative right, such as Fox News personality Tucker Carlson (seen here in an exchange with strategist Robin Biro), claim that this is an assault on free speech:


So I guess in Tucker Carlson's world, a healthcare worker verbally abusing any elderly resident of a long term care facility should be protected under free speech. Or do scurrilous arguments about "free speech" only count when it comes to the transgender elderly?

Deliberate right-wing distortion about CA bill can endanger elderly transgender community


The right-wing locusts are buzzing around an issue. They are attempting to create a moral panic regarding nursing homes and their transgender residents:

Calif. attempting 'tyranny on the highest level'

California Threatens Jail Time for Dissenters from the New Transgender Dogma

California Could Start Jailing People Who Don’t Use Transgender Pronouns

Use wrong pronoun for transgender senior? California may punish you

These fake moral protectors are complaining about a bill, SB-219, in California which spells out the rights of nursing home residents. The part which these folks are specifically targeting speaks about abuses of these residents. The section - which they have distorted and truncated says the following (the portion aprpo to this post is put in bold)

This bill would enact the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Long-Term Care Facility Resident’s Bill of Rights. Among other things, the bill would make it unlawful, except as specified, for any long-term care facility to take specified actions wholly or partially on the basis of a person’s actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) status, including, among others, willfully and repeatedly failing to use a resident’s preferred name or pronouns after being clearly informed of the preferred name or pronouns, or denying admission to a long-term care facility, transferring or refusing to transfer a resident within a facility or to another facility, or discharging or evicting a resident from a facility. 

In other words, when you eliminate all of the name-calling (transgender dogma?) and the semantic lies about people being forced to adhere to a code which supposedly goes against their free speech and morality, what you have is a common sense way to keep  elderly transgender men and women from being abused by people who would deliberately misgender them.

And what's wrong with that? Who would be so mean-spirited and hateful to oppose a bill which would prevent the mistreatment of the elderly?

According to an article in the August 12, 2015 issue of The Atlantic magazine:

 . . .  there are more than 1.5 million LGBT people over 65 in the U.S., a number expected to double over the next 15 years as the population ages. But precise statistics on older transgender adults—or, for that matter, transgender people of any age—are hard to come by. One 2011 study using health-survey data estimated that the country’s transgender population was around 700,000; this past May, the Census Bureau published a study that analyzed the number of “likely transgender individuals” based on the people who had changed their name (around 90,000) or sex (around 22,000) with the Social Security Administration.

And they do face the possibility of discrimination, according to Transis City, a group serves the Missouri and Kansas transgender communities:

A study of 646 transgender adults living in California (80 persons being over 55) found that 30% of the group avoided medical treatment out of fear of maltreatment by the medical staff. (IOM) One large study found that nearly 40% of elderly transgender persons were afraid of seeking health care, compared to just 13% of the LGB community. On average each transgender person in the study reported 11 different severe incidents of discrimination and victimization, including verbal insults, threats, denial of employment, and police harassment.

None of these facts mean anything to the self-righteous, self-satisfied individuals on the right whose distortions are obscuring much needed education on the well-being of our transgender elderly. They are trying their damndest to make the entire situation about imposing a transgender agenda on people.

 I'm confused because I always thought that the right to live in safety and dignity, no matter who you are or what your age may be, is a part of the human agenda.

Related post: FAQ FOR TRANSGENDER AND GENDER-NONCONFORMING OLDER ADULTS 

SAGE - Transgender Aging

'Bryan Fischer adds homophobia to Confederate flag debate' & other Mon. midday news briefs



Bryan Fischer: ‘It’s Time To Have The LGBT Flag Banned Right Alongside The Confederate Flag’ - I've always compliment the religious right on the skillful they turn can turn debates on silly factoids and arguments. However, I really don't think this one is going to be successful.

Bisexual people share their experiences in dating different genders - The bisexual community simply doesn't get enough of a spotlight in the LGBTQ community or the so-called mainstream one. 

Trump’s transgender military ban met with backlash - As it should be. Don't be nice, folks. 

When Some Christians Finally Get Tired of Being Terrible - The argument over the false dichotomy of the LGBTQ community vs. the Christian community cannot be confined to those two characterizations. There is a larger battle going on here which John Pavlovitz breaks down. 

How Alex Jones attacks the LGBTQ community - Alex Jones needs a strait-jacket (preferably locked around his face) but instead possibly has a corner of Trump's ear. That's scary.

Debate proves emptiness of Trump's ban on transgender people from the military

Even when they are on Fox News, religious right spokespeople can't defend their mess when they face an informed opponent. Case in point, this exchange between the Family Research Council's Jerry Boykin and  U.S. Army Ranger,  combat veteran (and friend of mine) Robin Biro . Boykin was attempting to defend Trump's ban on transgender people from the military: