Good job, Utah Governor Spencer Cox.
He is a Republican.
"When in doubt however, I always try to err on the side of kindness, mercy and compassion."
Spencer Cox
I praised Utah's governor once before, in January. He was Utah's top election officer for the 2020 election, and a witness to Utah's election, held by mail. He said publicly it was fair and free. He was elected governor in that election. Vouching for an election conducted by mail made him a target for criticism. Speaking as Utah's new governor, he went on to make the broader point, that claims of widespread fraud elsewhere in the country were false and dangerous. I quoted from his State of the State address:
As a conservative, I believe that we should always work to make constitutional rights more accessible, not less. I am very proud that voter participation has increased since I became lieutenant governor and now governor.
Governor Cox is an outlier. Republicans nationwide remain wary of saying anything positive about the operation of the 2020 election or efforts to make voting more accessible. That includes officeholders who were elected in that very election. Cox surprised me again this week. He expressed empathy for Utah youth dealing with gender dysphoria. The issue of gender transition is one of the talking-point issues we see voiced this week in the Supreme Court confirmation hearings. GOP senators positioning themselves for a 2024 presidential run are trying out accusations about child pornography, GITMO, and issues relating to gender. "What is a woman?," Ted Cruz asked. It was a "gotcha" question.
Gender is a slam-dunk issue for Republicans, especially this week. There is little political risk for piling on in disapproval or a rush to prohibit trans women participating in sports, something that seems uncomfortably weird to some people. Boys in the girls' locker room! Junk hanging out! ! Unfair advantage! Homosexual agenda! Predator! Deviant! There is an unusual and difficult case in the news. Swimmer Lia Thomas had been a male varsity college athlete before transitioning to a woman. She then began competing in women's events as a varsity athlete and is breaking swimming records.
In the face of this political opportunity Governor Cox vetoed a bill passed by the Utah legislature that would have banned transgender girls and women from participating in girls and women's sports in Utah. The law treated a problem that didn't exist. It targeted and further stigmatized vulnerable people. His words project a tone that is almost totally absent in today's politics. Compassion.
He explains his veto:
"I must admit, I am not an expert on transgenderism. I struggle to understand so much of it and the science is conflicting. When in doubt however, I always try to err on the side of kindness, mercy and compassion. I also try to get proximate and I am learning so much from our transgender community. They are great kids who face enormous struggles. Here are the numbers that have most impacted my decision: 75,000, 4, 1, 86 and 56.
75,000 high school kids participating in high school sports in Utah. Four transgender kids playing high school sports in Utah. One transgender student playing girls sports. 86% of trans youth reporting suicidality. 56% of trans youth having attempted suicide. Four kids and only one of them playing girls sports. That's what all of this is about. Four kids who aren't dominating or winning trophies or taking scholarships. Four kids who are just trying to find some friends and feel like they are a part of something. Four kids trying to get through each day. Rarely has so much fear and anger been directed at so few.
Women's sports rules have not yet figured out how to deal with the competing interests in a complicated situation. It is a work in progress. The politically smart thing is to join the crowd and denounce trans females in athletics. Pick on the oddballs. Cox did the hard thing instead. The compassionate thing.
Good for him.
Republicans in the state legislature are preparing today to override his veto.
13 comments:
Yes, how wonderful. A Republican, in Utah of all places, conflicted about homophobia. Now, that's progress.
Basically, we have Republicans/Regressives now somewhat restrained from discriminating against skin color, and increasingly discouraged from targeting adult gays so they have focused their prejudice on transgender children.
I’m surprised Gov. Cox hasn’t been censured. Judging by their support of Trump, I thought kindness, mercy and compassion were inconsistent with Republican values. It reminds me of when Jon Huntsman was a candidate in the 2011 Republican primary. He tweeted: “To be clear. I believe in evolution and trust scientists on global warming. Call me crazy.” And with that, his campaign was over.
Speaking of the Supreme Court hearings, Judge Jackson's qualifications speak for themselves. So does the political posturing of some Republican senators pandering to their white supremacist base.
Come, come, Editor. "What happened?" is hardly a
"gotcha!" question for someone already sitting in the trap with egg on his face.
Complaints about an applied definition of "woman" are specious when the President began by making "woman" a non-negotiable, valued trait of any nominee.
The left's concept of "woman" is ad hoc and incoherent. Brown Jackson's tapdancing, then retreat into biology (!) only emphasizes that incoherency.
"Woman" is a material concept in a variety of important legal connections, not least in civil rights law, the very line of questioning raised.
Meanwhile, the good governor might as well admit he's not an expert on Scientology or Freemasonry. With the suicide numbers, he confuses disease and symptoms.
My daughter had a transgender roommate in college who killed herself. The family took her corpse and then buried her as a “boy.” It is difficult to have a life when so many reject you. Allowing boys who become girls to compete in sports does seem unfair to me though. I don’t know what is right in this issue other than people should be more tolerant and loving toward others who are different. Alas that’s a hard reach for the human race.
Biological boys and men (with male DNA) need to stay out of girls and women's sport. Another example of male privilege, misogyny and male domination of girls and women. Caitlyn Jenner, world-famous Olympian, is correct on this issue.
Transgender people need to have their their own sporting events. And anyone who wants to participate in mixed male/female sports should be eligible to participate. Leave the girls & the women alone for goodness sake. Women have fought too hard and too long for this travesty to occur.
Just imagine if the U.S. Women's Soccer team was composed primarily of trans people. Is that ok? It could happen eventually. Stealing opportunities from biological female (with female DNA) athletes. Absolutely wrong and unfair.
Regarding Jon Stewart, he would not be successful. He is a vegetarian, his wife is vegan & he has called himself a socialist. Read his Wikipedia page.
Mark Cuban might be a good candidate. Very successful and well-known businessman. He owns the Mavericks and appears every week on Shark Tank on ABC, where he invests in and helps other entrepreneurs.
The case of Lia Thomas should not be so easily dismissed as an outlier. “She“ is unfairly beating biologically female athletes who spent years training for their chance at glory. “She” is setting records in women’s sports that will be unattainable possibly forever for biologically female athletes.
Software crashes when it encounters situations unanticipated by its authors. Rules governing women’s athletics are similarly systems of logic, and the case of Lia Thomas is causing them to crash. When software crashes, the cause needs to be analyzed and the software needs to be fixed. The Lia Thomas situation has crashed the software governing women’s sports, and those rules now need to be fixed.
(I am a professional software developer.)
Who would Jesus hate?
Who would Jesus hate?
Judas? :-)
It is simple minded, absurd and misogynistic to characterize this matter as "hate." It also shows that the person has no real argument, just a bumper sticker slogan.
Misogynists always prioritize the desires of males over the needs and rights of females. That's how patriarchy and misogyny work.
Notice how no one is concerned about "trans men" competing in mens sports? Because they are not at a competitive advantage; therefore it is not an issue.
As far a Jesus Christ is concerned, I am not aware that he had anything at all to say about biological boys and men cancelling girls and women in sports.
Stay in your lane or pave a new lane. Problem solved
I haven’t heard a lot of athletic boys clamoring to be transgender so they could excel in women’s sports. Perhaps they would have an advantage, but is this an actual problem or another imaginary issue like CRT, concocted by white nationalists to convince possible converts that we’re being taken over by “others?”
Gov. Cox is an outlier among Republican politicians not just for vetoing an anti-transgender bill, but because he sounds like a decent human being who cares more about people than about getting re-elected.
Pharisees and other hypocrites.
Mc: Nobody! That’s the point, silly. Hard for me to see this issue as another opportunity for the male patriarchy to exercise privilege and oppression. Seems like some are not able to think outside the gender box.
Rarely has so much fear and anger been directed at so few. Rarely has a politician, of any tribe, spoken of higher spiritual values rather than wetting their finger to the prevailing winds.
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