I’ve always been a fighter. And I’ve chosen my vote, my pen, and my pocketbook as my weapons of choice. You generally won’t find me protesting in the streets, although I have marched on occasion. You will find me either boycotting or actively supporting certain businesses, participating in online debates on social justice issues, and speaking publicly about issues I believe are important. I regularly donate to specific political campaigns and political organizations like Moveon. org and Emily’s List. And I haven’t missed voting in an election since I was 18 years old. I recognized long ago that I can’t afford to be uninformed and silent in a society where leaders must be forced to recognize my value and full human rights.
This past week, I heard Representative Bob Good (of Virginia) on C-Spann Washington Journal say some pretty egregious things in favor of “parental rights” that were not only inaccurate but downright dangerous. And so, I wrote him a letter even though I am not in his district. Below is an excerpt from the letter I sent him. I share it with hopes that my readers will be encouraged to also communicate with lawmakers across the country on issues that affect us all.
March 23, 2023
Dear Representative Bob Good,
I saw you on C-Spann Washington Journal this morning and was deeply disturbed and greatly disappointed by your insistence that biological sex is perfectly created by God to be male or female and that science confirms this. Either you are ignorant of the science or worse, you are intentionally misleading the American public on the issue.
Because you are in a position of leadership to help make laws in this country, I believe you have a duty to be informed of the facts and also to exercise a high level of integrity. With that in mind, I am providing you with the link to the Scientific American www.scientificamerican.com . Look for an October 22, 2018 article titled, “Sex Redefined: The Idea of 2 Sexes is Overly Simplistic” with the byline, “Biologists now think there is a larger spectrum than just binary female and male”. I strongly suggest that Congress bring in scientific and medical experts to learn more on the topic before passing laws that are harmful to real Americans who do not fit the binary you articulated on national television to the detriment of many. The same can be said about the GOP stance on abortion in many respects. There is a willful ignorance on the topic.
I learned that there are multiple variations in the sex chromosomes beyond the simple XX and XY makeup. While working as a university educator, I encountered several intersex students whose parents literally were asked to choose their gender assignment at birth. Sometimes the parents got it wrong because guest what, scientists have discovered that our brains have a gender that might not match with our sexual anatomy and these brain differences can actually be observed. Sex is not just a function of anatomy, but brain neuropathways as well.
On a practical note, good teachers are trained to care for their students as whole people because we understand that learning cannot take place when a student is hungry or experiencing emotional trauma. Discovering that one is gay or realizing that you are a female trapped in a male body are traumatic events in a person’s life. Unfortunately, your Party is making the trauma worse by further ostracizing these students and by making being different something to be ashamed of. I have a nephew who is gay. He knew it early on and thankfully he had parents who were accepting and so he was able to come out to them. Not every young person has that luxury. I’ve had many college students who came out to me (not their parents) and many more who came out only after they graduated from college because the stigma was too great to bear. Forcing teachers to out a child to their parents is wrong! Some parents are narrow-minded and downright abusive. There is a reason some students choose NOT to tell their parents! I do not believe that parents have a RIGHT to know. I would wager that your parents don’t know everything about you!
I also find your stance on parent’s rights to be one-sided. Parents like me believe I should have the right to help my child to get the medical attention I believe is necessary to preserve his or her mental and physical health.
Your insensitive and ignorant policies will literally drive-up bullying, homelessness, and suicides among these young people. Perhaps that is okay with you because you might hold a religious belief that being LGBTQ+ is sinful. That’s fine on a personal level but not a public policy level in our laws. That goes against our Constitution! Our children should be taught the truth found in science and save the religious beliefs for churches and homes where they belong.
In closing, I urge you to educate yourself or stop misleading the American people, and I insist that you pass laws that honor the actual freedoms guaranteed to us in the Constitution for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness as opposed to promoting the right to discriminate and oppress others based on a particular religious belief. Sounds more like the Taliban to me.
Sincerely,
Dr. Juanita Hall
Voting citizen of the United States
I recognize that watching the news everyday can leave a person feeling depressed, discouraged, and even helpless. I’ve heard intelligent people say things like, “What’s the use?” or “Nothing’s going to change” or “No one will listen to me”. But I retort with the quote attributed to Edmund Burke, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” I’m also fond of reminding people that “Silence is consent” (taken from Plato who reportedly said, “Your silence gives consent”).
I sincerely believe that there are more of us good humans than those currently perpetuating the evil of misinformation and a roll back of our civil liberties. Many of must get off the sidelines and do something to turn the tide toward justice and liberty for all.