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It took one nonbinary student to distill all the hateful anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric and ads into the most consequential question for us in this election, John Casey writes.
"Do you see me as a human?"
Those words have been ringing in my ears ever since I saw a nonbinary student answer a question from MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle about what they would ask former President Donald Trump.
These words made such an impact, not only with me but with the thousands of people who are clicking and sharing that snippet of Ruhle’s interview, because that’s what it all boils down to. All the hateful anti-trans, and anti-LGBTQ+ venom, rhetoric, and ads that have been blaring from Trump and Republican candidates across the country comes down to one question:
Do you see me as a human?
The question is simple, and so is the answer. No. And it goes to the heart of so much anti-queer hate — and lie after lie after lie — spreading wildly and going unchallenged across the country. We are — again — the punching bag for the GOP and for Trump. Our lives, inhuman to them, are being tossed like chips on a craps table, with the bet that hating us, treating us as less than human, will win elections.
And pundits and prognosticators go right along with them. They treat us as an issue — flippantly as a “wedge issue,” rambling incoherently that it’s a cultural divide. They say callously that it’s men in women's sports — it’s not. Or repeat claims that children are going to school and getting gender-affirming surgeries — they are not. They bring it up, roll their eyes, and on to blabbing about tariffs, the economy, the border.
- YouTubewww.youtube.com
But all of this is beside the point. The ads, the rhetoric, the robotic repeating are all referring to human beings, whose lives are being negated and denigrated. These are human beings who have families and friends. They are living their lives as, yes, human beings, but under a cloud of shame and fear. And this inhumane, anti-queer agenda swallows up every one of us under the umbrella of LGBTQ+, especially those who are transgender.
The Trump campaign has — so far — spent more than $19 million on two anti-trans television ads that have aired nearly 55,000 times since October 1, according to CBS News and AdImpact, And these ads are repugnant. They are going unchallenged and, worse, validated.
We wrote yesterday about Ohio U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, a longtime LGBTQ+ ally who acquiesced to pressure and started running an anti-trans ad of his own in his heated reelection race. I spoke to Brown previously, and he talked about his unwavering support for our community.
Brown’s decision to cave is a conundrum. We need Brown to retain his seat in the Senate, and polls show he’s behind his Republican challenger. So are we to look the other way while Brown obfuscates about his LGBTQ+ support in order to win? Must we accept that? Or, does Brown come out boldly and courageously in support of trans rights, only to slip in the polls against conservative Ohioians and therefore lose his race.
If he does the latter, does he help the GOP win the Senate and in the process enable Republicans to introduce inhumane anti-queer legislation and block an Equality Act? Brown is one example of going low when they go low. And opting against Michelle Obama’s plea to go high when they go low comes with consequences.
Anti-LGBTQ+ legislation and rhetoric have spread throughout state legislatures and society during the last several years. It’s so bad that when I spoke to Dr. Tony Fauci recently, he told me that the anti-LGBTQ+ attitude of people was has bad as he’s ever seen. And he has ground to stand making that observation. He endured the horror of the AIDS crisis in the 1980s and 1990s.
When Speaker Mike Johnson condemns us to hell, and state legislatures introduce anti-queer bathroom, sports, marriage, and discrimination bills, it validates hate speech and hate crimes, making it fair game to trash our community, to treat us as less than human.
It happened in my own life. I wrote this summer about my best friend of over 40 years who inexplicably went on an anti-queer tirade and attack. He turned on me, using vulgar language to describe trans women, and said that queers were indoctrinating children in schools and that we were ruining society, among many other horrible things.
To me, the verbal assault was threatening, and after hearing the nonbinary student’s question about humanity, I now understand that my former friend does not see me as human.
Just this week, Marta Xargay Casademont, the wife of New York Liberty star Breanna Stewart, also was on the receiving end of inhuman, threatening, and homophobic anonymous emails after game 1 of the WNBA Finals. Just last month, Phoenix Mercury star and former Russian prisoner Brittney Griner said she has been facing racist and homophobic threats.
The vitriol being bandied about like throwaway lines from a B movie has a nasty undertone of giving abhorrence affirmation. And in the process, it makes those of us in the queer community, particularly our trans siblings, feel less than human. These sinister forces are gaining strength, and as they do, they are answering, in no uncertain terms, that they see the queer community as less than human.
And if they win, if Trump and the GOP are successful in using these dangerous ads and smears against LGBTQ+ humans, then we ain’t seen nothing yet. They will carry through on their quest to treat us as less than human.
The question to Trump and the GOP of “Do you see me as a human?” is simple. They’d say “no.”
Voices is dedicated to featuring a wide range of inspiring personal stories and impactful opinions from the LGBTQ+ and Allied community. Visit pride.com/submit to learn more about submission guidelines. We welcome your thoughts and feedback on any of our stories. Email us at voices@equalpride.com. Views expressed in Voices stories are those of the guest writers, columnists and editors, and do not directly represent the views of The Advocate or our parent company, equalpride.
