Not for the first time I had a completely different piece planned for today. Then I read an article in the Washington Post and got motivated. I really meant something else but I’m trying to keep my articles PG.

I am basically against federal block grants because, among other reasons, I don’t trust many state governments to be smart, honest, knowledgeable and courageous enough to handle the money. This week Oklahoma proved me to be correct on all four counts.

I am a white, heterosexual, cisgender male born in the 1950s. Had I the good fortune to have been born into a wealthy family I’ve have had it all. I’ve always felt comfortable inside a male body and doing mainly “male things”. The “female” things I do, like cooking, ironing and washing, shouldn’t be gender assigned roles and I suggest all parents teach all their children to do them. In our contemporary society they are simply non-gender specific life skills. The bottom line is that not every person on earth is completely comfortable in their bodies or with the gender roles society, by virtue of that body, assigns them.

As part of the American Rescue Plan the federal government block granted money to the states to fight the COVID pandemic. In Oklahoma, under pressure from far right forces, the Republican dominated State Legislature passed a law withholding $108 billion in funding from hospitals if they also engaged in gender affirming care and Republican Governor Kevin Stitt signed it into law.

So here is the bottom line according to the Oklahoma Republican “geniuses”: It is better to die of COVID than to amend your body to match your brain. That is consistent with the creed of the bully that education and intelligence are trumped by brawn and a big automatic weapon with a high-capacity clip. Did you ever notice the domestic terrorists who take over government buildings do it displaying their firearms, not their diplomas or standardized test scores. These are people who believe in groin (at birth) over cerebrum. I believe in letting your body match your brain. Not everyone is as fortunate as I am but they are just as valuable as humans. (The Christian principle of All God’s Children – and I’m not a Christian. The radical right all claims to be devote Christians. If you are going to talk the talk; then walk the walk!) It is really that simple!

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