It seems we just have to oppress or suppress someone. It’s the Utah Way: be it your sex, race, religion, etc. — it really doesn’t matter. What else would explain the raw displays of power, seemingly fueled by the vague, self righteous personal beliefs held by a majority of Utah legislators? Did you vote for your current representative to solve this troubling trend of potentially transgender folks using the “wrong” public restroom? Did anyone actually campaign on that specific issue to get elected?
Stirring divisiveness steers attention away from urgent issues that we all are facing. Utah’s leadership, or rather lack thereof, is again stoking culture wars while existential threats are literally looming in a cloud over the Wasatch Front.
As an example, whilst our attention has been steered towards public restrooms use, the much greater threat of inland ports on wetlands of the Great Salt Lake is chugging along, full speed ahead. Meanwhile, the governor has encouraged Utahns to “stay weird,” an insult to our collective intelligence that feels tone deaf and patronizing.
In the forthcoming election year, we again are afforded an opportunity to hold our leadership more accountable. Utah deserves better than this.
Gina Timmerman, Ogden