53percenter's Blog

I’d like to call your attention to two stories that may seem unrelated.

First: the CrossFit executive who lost his job when he expressed on Twitter his (correct) opinion that it is a “sin” to celebrate gay pride. Russel Berger has not backed down or apologized for his beliefs, noting (correctly) that it is a matter of basic Christian orthodoxy, though he does now say that it was “imprudent” to vocalize his thoughts on a public platform. I’m not sure I agree with the latter. But, imprudent or not, the relevant point is that he took a courageous stand and has not retracted it.

Second: the two biological boys who were permitted to compete against, and handily defeat, girls at the state track and field championships in Connecticut. One of the young men, Terry Miller, set a record with a time that would have earned him 20th place if he’d run against the men. It turns out that Mr. Miller did compete against the men during the indoor track season. But suddenly, through some marvel of science, he decided in the last few months that he is actually a girl. Just in time to win a gold medal. You will notice that none of the biological boys who compete against girls in high school sports are ever good enough to beat their own gender. It always seems to be mediocre male athletes who become female athletes. We are supposed to believe that this is a coincidence, and not a clear sign that these guys are simply cheating.

Now, the thing that ties these two incidents together — aside from the leftist insanity on display — is moral courage. Specifically, the presence of it in the first case, and the utter lack of it in the second. Russel Berger clearly has courage. Meanwhile, up in Connecticut, it appears that few of the authorities involved — coaches, administration, track and field officials, parents — have even enough courage to fill a thimble halfway. Most of them are going along with the program, obediently and without protest.

The executive director of the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference said that it “doesn’t feel good” to see girls get robbed of their chance to compete in a fair race. But, she insists, this is a question of “civil rights.” “You cannot discriminate,” she said.

One of the coaches at the meet, Gary Moore, complained that the situation isn’t fair to the girls, but he still conceded that the boys should be able to compete. He just wishes there was some way to “level the playing field.” There is, of course, a very obvious way to level the playing field. You could kick the boys off of the playing field and tell them to play on their own field. But Moore, afraid of the names he would be called, would not go so far as to make that obvious suggestion.

The local media has joined in the conspiracy of cowardice. Jeff Jacobs, writing for the Connecticut Post, expressed sympathy for the girls, but he said the situation is “difficult and complex” (no, it isn’t). He declared, solemnly, that denying a biological boy the opportunity to race against females would “lower the standards of humanity.” (Uh, what?)

Then there are the parents of the girls. Many of them have remained silent. They could put an end to this lunacy by banding together and pulling their daughters from the sport until sanity and fairness is restored. Instead, they allow their daughters to participate in what has become nothing more than a charade; a kind of masquerade designed to satisfy the delusions of a couple of boys who don’t belong there.

If every parent who silently disagrees with allowing boys to steal medals from their daughters, and every coach who feels privately disgusted by the whole thing, and every school official who harbors serious reservation in their minds, would all just speak up, and, beyond speaking up, categorically refuse to participate in or facilitate any competition that involves boys, then the problem would be solved. But too many of them are afraid. Too many are cowards. And the smallest minority, pushing the craziest ideology, prevails as a result.

This is a microcosm of our culture. It’s claimed that there is a silent majority who oppose and despise radical leftism. I believe this majority probably exists. And their status as a majority just makes their cowardice all the more shameful. We have allowed the relativists and hedonists to run roughshod over our civilization, dictate terms, get their way, even to the point of intruding into our daughters’ bathrooms and sports teams. We shake our heads, furrow our brows, mutter quietly to each other, as we march to beat of their drums.

How many schools have instituted these insane “transgender” policies while a majority of parents and teachers oppose it yet do nothing and say nothing to stop it? How many communities have played host to the sinful spectacle of a “gay pride parade” while the majority of the residents are disgusted by it but say nothing and do nothing to protest it? How many people feel quite upset about the holocaust of the unborn yet refuse to say anything or do anything in opposition to it? And on and on. I’m afraid that most of us are exactly like the parents, coaches, and officials who stood off on the sidelines politely clapping while a couple of dudes cheated and humiliated their daughters.

And then, on the other end of the spectrum, you have Russel Berger. He was willing to give up his job for his beliefs. He preferred to lose his income rather than sit by silently and obediently while sin and depravity were celebrated in the streets. That took courage. It would have taken much less courage — really, just a tiny speck of it — for all parties involved to resist the demands of the two “transgender” boys in Connecticut. But even a speck of courage is too much to expect these days.

Imagine if we all had that — just a speck, a speck of courage. What a wonderful difference it would make.