The biological male who stormed into the stands during a high school hockey game in Rhode Island on Monday, killing and injuring others before killing himself, was transgender. The suspected shooter, 56-year-old Robert Dorgan, also went by the name Roberta Esposito. Only one day before his deadly rampage, Dorgan posted a reply on X regarding transgender individuals, saying, “keep bashing us. but do not wonder why we Go BERSERK.” It was a chilling statement from someone who was quite clearly mentally ill.
Dorgan’s online anger was directed at actor Kevin Sorbo for stating Delaware Rep. Sarah McBride, the first openly trans member of Congress, is a biological male. Sorbo’s statement is fact, because DNA does not lie. But Dorgan’s reaction speaks to an ongoing issue. Namely, the idea that we are not allowed to criticize members of the transgender community.
A frequent argument against criticism aimed at the LGBTQ+ community centers on the fact that we live in the United States, and this country values freedom. We’re told, “But adults can live as they please!”
It is true we are a nation that prizes individual choice. At the same time, that individual choice doesn’t shield anyone from condemnation. This applies to everyone, no matter which side of the aisle they’re on.
Increasingly, we’re told to act as though being part of the trans community should preclude harsh censure. This is nonsense. It is especially so because the trans community continues to encroach on sex-specific spaces. They seek to alter concrete definitions of male and female. They seek to co-opt the experiences of adult men and adult women. Many encourage children to transition. This is not done quietly. Instead, it’s done in a way that demands attention. All the while, anyone who has a problem with these campaigns is told they’re a bigot.
If anything, we’re in this cultural moment because far too many people in the chain did not put their foot down. And we’ll continue on this path as long as others bend to the delusions being thrust upon us.
In what is just the latest in a long list of these occurrences, a trans high school athlete in California came in first this month in triple jump at the VS Athletics CA Winter Championships. The 16-year-old is a biological male who came out as trans in just the eighth grade. In Kansas, Republicans overrode a veto of a hotly debated bill placing restrictions on bathroom use by transgender individuals. Opponents of the bill, such as trans lawmaker Abi Boatman, said “this bill obviously discriminates against transgender people in ways that make our lives exponentially more difficult and dangerous.” Supporters of the bill have correctly argued that it protects women and girls.
These are just two of the latest examples showing how the public at large is required to accept behavior that goes against reality. Female athletes are discouraged from speaking up about transgender athletes. And even if they did, far too many cowardly adults prefer to grovel and appease a small, but often histrionic, minority. We’re told demanding sex-specific bathrooms is wrong and even dangerous. There’s an epidemic of obsequiousness. And it’s only getting worse.
Take, for instance, Robert Dorgan’s online rage. His anger was due to the fact that someone correctly identified the biological makeup of another human being. Neither hormonal manipulation nor surgical mutilation makes anyone the opposite sex, no matter how strong their desire is for change. This is a fundamental truth. But it is deemed offensive by transgender community members and their supporters. Why? Because it goes against feelings. But as Ben Shapiro famously said, “Facts don’t care about your feelings.”
Leftist arguments include “if it doesn’t affect you, don’t worry about it” or “if you don’t like it, you don’t have to choose it.” This works well when something is behind closed doors in the privacy of an adult’s home, with other adults. This applies to countless decisions made by people on the Left and Right. We can live as we please. But if those private choices spill over into public life in a way that demands obedience or even celebration, then a line has been crossed. And it is both our duty and our right to say “enough.”
The demand that we remain quiet in the face of obvious intrusions into our lives, spaces, and shared reality should be rejected outright. People of all political stripes who value common sense, order, and reality have every right to stand their ground. Refusing to affirm something you know is untrue does not make you a bigot. It does not make you hateful. It means you are unwilling to surrender reason to ideology. It means you refuse to let the nonsense go by you unaddressed.
RUBIO’S CHURCHILLIAN MOMENT IN MUNICH
There comes a point when silence stops being civility and starts becoming complicity. We passed that point some time ago.
