Busybodies do more harm than LGBTQ individuals

Joseph Barsocchi, in his April 9 letter, says Chuck Anderson (Letters, April 2) is wrong that a person’s “gender identity harms…no one whatsoever.” In reality, it is Mr. Barsocchi who is wrong. He apparently has not heard of gender dysphoria, wherein a person’s genes, personality and psyche do not match their genitalia. This is not an “ideology” as he suggests. It is a well known and documented personality disorder, and not a choice. It is surely not a sin. Society is not harmed by the existence of those folks. To paraphrase Thomas Jefferson in his Letter to the Danbury Baptists, someone being transgender picks no one’s pocket and breaks no one’s leg. A trans person has no effect on society, as long as the trans person is not a threat to the republic or public safety. Society may be disordered, but much more so by many of the other ills in today’s world than by anyone being trans. It surely is disordered by people such as Mr. Barsocchi spreading misinformation and outright lies (They’re a “deadly scourge?” Really?) about the LGBTQ community. Most of them are useful, productive members of society who add to it, rather than detract from the world they share with the rest of us.

Chuck Anderson is correct, in that the state, and anyone else, needs to stop the bullying. It is not helpful, and is potentially dangerous to those in the LGBTQ community who bear the brunt of their misplaced ire. It’s bad enough anti-trans, and to a larger extent, anti-LGBTQ bigotry, is tolerated and pushed by the likes of Mr. Barsocchi. The state, encouraged by our bully-in-chief in Little Rock and her minions in the Capitol, seem to be waging a campaign against anyone not a straight, white Christian. Act 626 prohibiting transition for minors is a prime example of this. It’s not charitable to those individuals, to say the least, and is quite likely to cause them harm.

I have known LGBTQ people since my high school days in the 1970s. I went to school on the lower west side of Manhattan, where seeing a couple of men walking in the West Village, hand in hand, was not uncommon even then. I don’t recall that my young mind was confused by this. I just accepted them as being different. In the ensuing almost 50 years, I have not known LGBTQ folks to be a problem in society, only when those like Mr. Barsocchi make them a problem. Here’s a thought for him and the meddling busybodies in the Legislature: How about you leave people alone to live their lives. They are not causing the world at-large any damage, and surely not any of you personally. Learn to mind your own business, everyone will be better off.

TOM BECKETT Siloam Springs