Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on the Nashville mass shooter:
The Nashville mass shooting, which resulted in the killing of three children and three adults, needs to be investigated as a hate crime against Christians. Police Chief John Drake told NBC news that “There’s some belief that there was some resentment for having to go to that school.”
The shooter, Audrey Hale, is a female who misidentified herself as a male. Her resentment against The Covenant School, a Christian school, is important given that Christianity teaches we are either male or female.
In all likelihood, this is the source of her resentment. After all, she targeted this school—she did not go on a rampage in a local public school. To top things off, her mother works at a local church and frequently posts about religion on social media.
There is another reason why Hale’s killing spree must be investigated as a hate crime: transgender persons are often taught to hate normal men and women, what transgender activists call “cisgender” persons, namely men and women who are not at war with their God-given, and nature-ordained sex. Here’s the evidence.
Lisa Littman is a physician who teaches in the Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences at Brown University. In 2018, she published an article in PLOS ONE, a peer-reviewed journal, on the subject of parents and their transgender adolescents and young persons. She touched on many issues relevant to this topic, one of them being the way these young people look at normal males and females.
Let me first say that the use of the term “normal” is mine, not Littman’s. Nonetheless, in her study she found that 46.6 percent of transgender young people suffer from anxiety and 39.4 percent suffer from depression. Almost half, 48.4 percent, said they experienced traumatic or stressful experiences prior to the onset of their problem, namely gender dysphoria. And 61.4 percent admitted that they were “overwhelmed by strong emotions and tries to/goes to great lengths to avoid feeling them.” None of this is normal.
[In the case of Hale, her close friend called a suicidal hotline shortly before she went to the school.]
As to the critical point—the way transgender youth view normal males and females—what Littman found is as enlightening as it is disturbing. She concluded that their friends “praised and supported people who were transgender-identified and ridiculed and maligned non-transgender people.”
The following are direct quotes from her article commenting on the friendship groups of transgender youth.
“The groups targeted for mocking by the friend groups are often heterosexual (straight) people and non-transgender people (called ‘cis’ or ‘cisgender’). Sometimes animosity was also directed towards males, white people, gay and lesbian (non-transgender) people, aromantic and asexual people, and ‘terfs.’ One participant explained, ‘They are constantly putting down straight, white people for being privileged, dumb and boring.’”
Another participant opined, “In general, cis-gendered people are considered evil and unsupportive, regardless of their actual views on the topic. To be heterosexual, comfortable with the gender you were assigned at birth, and non-minority places you in the ‘most evil’ of categories with this group of friends. Statement of opinions by the evil cis-gendered population are considered phobic and discriminatory and are generally discounted as unenlightened.”
In addition, transgender young people and their friendship groups “also directed their mocking towards…[their] parents, grandparents, siblings, peers, allies and teachers.” As one participant said, “They call kids who are not LGBT dumb and cis.” Another confessed they that were “asked to leave [a school-based LGBT club] because they were not queer enough [as straight and bisexual allies]. [One of them] was bullied, harassed and denounced online.”
The disparagement of normal people online cannot be exaggerated. Littman mentions Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram as the worst platforms. As one participant put it, “They speak with derision about how cis-gendered people do not understand them and are so close-minded.” Another said, “I hear them disparaging heterosexuality, marriage and nuclear families.”
Turning on their parents is another problem. “My daughter called me a ‘breeder’ and says things in a mocking ‘straight person voice.’ Her friends egg her on when she does this.” Another parent noted, “If they aren’t mocking ‘cis’ people, they are playing pronoun police and mocking people who can’t get the pronouns correct.”
Trans youth see themselves as victims. “They seem to wear any problems they may have, real or perceived like badges of honor.” Another said, “But all talk is very ‘victim’ centered.” Finally, another said, “They passionately decry ‘Straight Privilege’ and ‘White Male Privilege’—while emphasizing their own ‘Victimhood.’”
There we have it. Normal people are “privileged,” “dumb,” “close-minded,” and “evil.” They deserve to be mocked and bullied. And no one is more evil than white men.
Transgender young people have emotional and mental disorders. They need help. They are also being taught to hate everyone not like them.
When you add these conditions to the resentment that the Nashville shooter exhibited towards her Christian school, you have a recipe for disaster. We cannot allow a biased media to spin this story any other way. We need a probe to determine whether this was a hate crime.
