I am buying Girl Scout cookies. I am even buying the ones I don't like. I am buying boxes and boxes; if you're selling Girl Scout cookies, swing by RHD.
In California, a young girl is
organizing a boycott of girl scout cookies, because the Girl Scouts included a 7-year-old transgender child in Colorado. This young lady is urging people to refuse to buy Girl Scout cookies until the organization agrees to ban transgender children.
First, really, a cookie boycott? You've got that kind of time? This is where you spend your time and energy? Really?
Second, in the many ways we've been educated about this population and the issues surrounding transgender individuals as we've been working to support
Morris House, this is the biggest takeaway, for me: The safety issue that people constantly bring up in this debate is based on nothing but prejudice. There is no reputable evidence that shows transgender people are any risk to anyone, no evidence they are any danger to children, no evidence that supports this weird "Won't someone please think of the children?" nonsense. Transgender people are no more risk to you or your children or anyone, have no greater incidence of pedophilia or at-risk behavior than the general population.
If you want to talk about safety, know this: Transgender people, especially children,
are the ones most at risk here, and it's not even close, and it's because of attitudes like the ones on display in this boycott:
33 percent of transgender children have attempted suicide.
55 percent of transgender youth report being physically attacked.
74 percent of transgender youth report being sexually harassed at school.
90 percent of transgender youth report feeling unsafe.
78 percent of transgender people report verbal harassment.
48 percent report having been the victims of assault with a weapon, sexual assault, or rape.
There's a real danger out there. But it isn't from transgender people. It's from prejudice and bigotry. We're working on that, every day.
In the meantime, in response to this boycott lunacy, I'm buying more Girl Scout cookies than ever.