Charissa Graves
From the Graves
I typically try to stay very neutral in print and online when it comes to political issues, and I’ve held onto that standard for myself ever since I was a teenager and knew that this is what I wanted to do.
After all, I grew up hearing about “fake news” and how every outlet is trying to push an agenda. I wanted to be “one of the good ones,” so I made it my mission to stay objective.
As I’m sure you well know by now, the state recently passed Senate Bill 244, forcing transgender individuals to either out themselves in state-owned buildings or face possible civil or criminal charges in addition to invalidating their documents overnight.
So, allow me to talk about the bill objectively.
Objectively speaking, bearded men will now be able to, and even expected, to go into the women’s restroom, and any woman even perceived as masculine will be subject to questioning for simply needing to relieve herself.
Also objectively speaking, it leaves an estimated 1,700 to 1,800 people across the state without the ability to drive or travel out of state with no notice and no grace period because their documents are suddenly considered “invalid.”
And finally, objectively speaking, if my math was correct, the state was willing to hold an emergency meeting to pass this bill that affects less than one-tenth of 1% of Kansas residents while actively ignoring the other issues staring them in the face.
It’s not about bathrooms, and it’s not about road safety; it can only be about one thing, and that’s control.
If it was about privacy and safety in public bathrooms, they could’ve passed a bill demanding that bathrooms in every government-owned building were equipped with stalls with no gaps in the doors.
And if it was about road safety, half of the people that I see on the road every day would’ve had their licenses invalidated by now.
I’ll admit that what I’m about to say is more of an educated guess than objective fact, I would argue that it’s not even really about trans people at all.
It appears to me that this was about the Republican majority reminding an outspokenly Democratic governor that they still have all the power they want.
Once again, that last statement could just be conjecture, but I don’t think it is, and I can explain why.
We see the same thing happen every day on a national and even global scale. Politicians target a group of people to use as their pawns for as long as they need a distraction, because if they can get the public focused on and fighting over an identity-based nonissue, they won’t pay as much attention to the big stuff.
I’ll admit that I’m still learning about state politics here, and I knew when I moved from California that the culture would be different. However, the people that I’ve met here have shown themselves to be good, kind, and reasonable, and I know that this is not reflective of them. Or at least, I really hope that it’s not.
It has been well documented that I suffer from disabling chronic illness, and therefore get sick fairly regularly. But, I was actually feeling decent until last week when I saw that Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto had been overturned and people that I know were suddenly needing to source rides to and from work.
The more I read, the more I became physically ill.
Let me make one thing abundantly clear: no matter your beliefs, this should fill you with outrage.
If the state has proven that they’re willing to pull this kind of stunt for an issue that benefits exactly zero people, yet makes over 1,500 unable to work while putting them in potentially unsafe situations daily, then we all need to wonder how they’ll flex their muscles next.
If you’re unfamiliar with the postwar confessional “First They Came” by pastor Martin Niemöller, I would encourage you to look it up. To summarize, though, the speaker lists different groups that were targeted during World War II, saying that he did not speak up for them because he wasn’t one of them. So, when he was targeted as well, there was no one left to speak up on his behalf.
Whatever an authority is willing to do to one group, they’re more than willing to do to another. We should all keep that in mind.
Charissa Graves is a reporter for The Hutchinson Tribune. She can be reached at: charissa@hutchtribune.com.