Florida Bigot Unclear On Concept: Are Trans People 'X-Men'? Because Those Guys Are Awesome!
Who were the good guys in the X-Men movies? That's a tough one for sure.
Florida Republicans introduced legislation last month that would make it a misdemeanor for trans people to use the bathroom in public. The so-called “Safety in Private Spaces Act" would require that people use public restrooms and changing facilities strictly according to their sex assigned at birth. (There are, of course, very strictly cis-defined exceptions for entering an "opposite sex" faciliity.) It's unclear how you'd enforce the necessary genital inspections before anyone enters the bathroom, so this just seems like legalized harassment.
The bill's supporters claim this will ensure “public safety, decency, and decorum.” Sen. Erin Grall, who sponsored this mess, said, "There are just places where we should be comfortable to do the business that needs to be done in those spaces." She's existed in a world with trans people for a while now without incident. She's the one who wants to make people uncomfortable.
Florida is still technically part of America, so several trans Floridians spoke out against the bill that would directly impact them during a committee meeting Monday. That's when the villainy escalated to comic-book proportions.
Rep. Webster Barnaby from Deltona viciously attacked these citizens, calling them "demons" and "imps."
Here's the pure, undistilled hatred:
“Florida Republican Rep. Webster Barnaby directly compared trans people to mutants in X-Men and called the trans people, including children, present in the room "demons and imps." This was during debate for HB1421 that would criminalize trans people using bathrooms.”
— Alejandra Caraballo (@Alejandra Caraballo) 1681161065
Embracing his ignorance, Barnaby said he didn't know what gender dysphoria actually is and didn't want to know.
"I'm looking at society today," he lamented, "and it's like I'm watching an X-Men movie."
That's a pretty deep cut. The first X-Men film starring Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, and a mostly wasted Halle Berry came out in 2000. But just what did he think the point of those movies were? The people terrified of mutants and who want to regulate their existence are all bad guys.
"When you watch those movies or [read] Marvel Comics ... " Oh, good, he's going to share more of his thought process with us. Better fetch an airsick bag. "... It's like we have mutants living among us on our planet. And some people don't like that, but that's a fact."
No, it's not a fact. The X-Men films weren't documentaries. Mutants aren't real, although they have served as a general metaphor for marginalized groups. (They aren't an exact metaphor, of course, but the very literal-minded still make tedious points about how trans people can't shoot lasers from their eyes and Dr. Martin Luther King never had a "Danger Room." These are not people you want to spend time with at a party or sit next to on an airline flight.)
Barnaby's diatribe continued:
"We have people who live among us on planet Earth who are happy to display themselves as if they were mutants from another planet. This is the planet Earth where God created men 'male' and women 'female.'" (Technically, we know that Adam has a rib but the Bible doesn't go into much detail about his or Eve's genitalia.)
Declaring himself a "proud Christian conservative Republican," Barnaby displayed more witch-burning contempt for the trans people before him.
"There is so much evil in the world today, and so many people who are afraid to address the evil, the dysphoria, the dysfunction. But I'm not afraid to address the dysphoria or the dysfunction," Barnaby said, perhaps hoping for an accompanying soundtrack of thunder cracking. "The Lord rebuke you, Satan, and all of your demons and all of your imps who come parade before us. That’s right, I called you demons and imps who come and parade before us and pretend that you are part of this world."
Unlike the X-Men, who I must stress again don't exist, trans people are part of this world and share the same essential humanity as Barnaby — though that does seem unfair to trans people.
"My righteous indignation is stirred," Barnaby declared. "I'm tired of this. I’m not going to put up with it. You can test me and try to take me on. I promise you, I’ll win every time.”
The resemblance to Mike Pence is purely coincidental. X-MEN: God Loves Man Kills
The bill's House sponsor, Rep. Rachel Lora Saunders Plakon, tried to distance herself from Barnaby's supervillain monologue, and Barnaby later apologized in a manner reminiscent of Nic Cage in Wild At Heart:
“I would like to apologize to the trans community for referring to you as demons."
Alejandra Caraballo tweeted, "It's extremely difficult to prove unconstitutional animus in legislation and this Rep. just managed to do it explicitly on the record in legislative debate. He may have singlehandedly helped prove discriminatory intent to get it enjoined in court."
We can only hope.
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So the guy who believes in a giant invisible sky man who is watching and judging every human being on the plant simultaneously thinks people who want to dress differently is unbelievable.
Got it.
Dr. Martin Luther King never had a Danger Room."
Dr. King's entire life was a Danger Room.