Some people. Why do certain folks go looking for a fight? Don't most Americans have enough to worry and argue about without this bathroom nonsense?
For all the many times we've been in a Wal-Mart, or a movie theater, or a school building, or a bank, or a Target, or a pizza joint, not once have we witnessed an argument outside a restroom about who can or can't enter. It seems this back-and-forth between the Obama administration and North Carolina is a controversial and divisive solution in search of an extremely rare problem.
How best handle this (non)situation?
Take the comment from a particular state senator from Little Rock, one Joyce Elliott, who has been mentioned once or twice in this column. Say what you will about Senator Elliott, and we do, on this subject she sounds downright sensible:
"The guidance that I really wish we would give to our schools is to say at your school site, find a way to deal with this in a way that respects all the kids, and that's the case [for] those who are non-transgender as well as those who are."
For another example to follow, take the executive director of the Arkansas Association of Educational Administrators, Richard Abernathy, who said: "Accommodations have been made for students with learning needs, physical handicap needs, safety needs, etc., and [school] districts have always tried to make sure students feel safe and secure when they enter school. Individual student rights are always taken into account as accommodations are being considered."
Or do Senator Elliott and Director Abernathy sound all too reasonable to those who'd rather argue than find solutions?
It's called common sense, y'all. Unfortunately it's not all that common these days.
Editorial on 05/23/2016