This is Viewpoints for Sunday, Feb. 26, 2017

Jejune vapidity

“Citizens of this country are far more likely to expire due to firearm violence than at the hands of a homicidal, albeit asylum deserving, Syrian refugee. Furthermore, Gov. Deal should be ashamed for not welcoming these worthy people to Georgia and President Trump must be exhorted to open our doors forthwith.” I have omitted much of the blather but none, I believe, of the content of Frank Gadbois’ recent missive to these pages.

Although jejune vapidity is a hallmark of Gadbois’ prose, this piece may set the bar so high even he will find it a daunting hurdle to exceed. Mark Twain sagely advised us all that “It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one’s mouth and remove all doubt.” Fortunately only a few of us expose ourselves on a weekly basis.

Wrong battle?

Rinda Wilson’s letter, “More Bathroom Battles,” in the Feb. 20 Telegraph once again raises the ugly specter of “inevitable pedophiles, voyeurs and peeping Toms who will be given public places to prey upon the vulnerable” if transgendered males are allowed to use the ladies room. Wilson makes no mention of transgendered females lurking about the men’s room, just taking the NCAA, NFL and NBA to task for supporting the rights of the transgendered to use bathroom facilities they are psychologically comfortable in, stating that this policy is “unarguably dangerous to women.” I fail to see that.

A simple Google search for “transgendered pedophile” or “transgendered bathroom voyeur” really shows nothing of what Wilson obsesses about, yet a search for “preacher pedophile” or “preacher bathroom voyeur” produces page after page of instances where men of the cloth have molested and sexually abused children, both male and female, or have used hidden videos to record inside female restrooms or showers.

One has to wonder where Wilson’s priorities lay. Rather than accepting the reality that transgendered march to a different drummer, she buys into the radical right’s belief and promotion of the dangers transgendered present to society, without basis in fact.

There are societal matters more pressing that she could and should be concerned about that have far ranging impact on our nation, yet she hones in on a knee-jerk subject that is unarguably dangerous to transgendered.

Shocking

Some of my online critics, all men, believe I am attempting to accuse all transgender men of being pedophiles in the debate about allowing men into ladies rooms. The left has once again been successful in setting up a straw man to frame the transgender debate. The progressives have presented the issue as “Where is poor Caitlin Jenner going to go to pee when she attends a Lakers’ game?”

The risk to women is obviously not going to come from consistent cross-dressers like Jenner, but from the countless exhibitionists, voyeurs, peeping toms and outright pedophiles who will doubtless use gender self-identification as a ruse for preying on vulnerable women. Remember, without these bathroom protection laws, any man, no matter what he is wearing, can claim female status without legal challenge.

Even if I am overstating the risk, it is shocking to realize the large numbers of sports brass and ordinary male sports fans who refuse to err on the side of protecting their wives and daughters from even the heightened possibility of becoming victims of predators.

Open letter to our faith community

The Georgia Division of Family and Children Services believes that it takes an entire community to support families in need. We have long recognized that our work to support children and families cannot be complete without our faith partners. When children are displaced and separated from their families, having someone from the local church in their community to reach out in support brings the greatest comfort. We believe that religious institutions, because of their community reach, deep-rooted history and personal connection to children and families, often possess a rare ability to promote the desperate need for foster and adoptive caregivers.

As of February 2017 there are over 250 children in foster care in Bibb County alone. We need your support to provide resources, allowing these children to remain in their communities and linked to the faith organizations that have helped to cultivate their definition of family.

With a renewed focus, we ask that you get involved as your heart desires by:

▪ Becoming a foster or adoptive parent by calling 1-877-210-Kids or visiting www.FosterGeorgia.com

▪ Inviting your local DFCS office to host an information session at your church

▪ Creating a support network for existing foster parents and relatives caring for children in foster care in your community

▪ Collaborating with DFCS to support foster, adoptive and relative caregivers

▪ Telling at least one person a day about the need for foster homes in Georgia

There are countless other ways you can help so please contact us today to find out how. We firmly believe that with working together alongside our faith-based partners, we can help provide resources and support to our families and children in care.

Holy speech

I think that it is wrong for any newscaster to denounce President Trump’s criticism of the press and call him “un-American.” The press, like every American citizen is entitled under the First Amendment to say what he wants to say. But, it’s out of line for any news commentator to expect a personal exemption from criticism. Only real life holy men like the pope or the Dali Lama are so entitled.

Dark days

Does anyone remember what happened the last time the Republicans controlled the White House and Congress? It was a complete disaster. They turned a budget surplus of $250 billion into a budget deficit of the same amount within one year. They called themselves fiscal conservatives yet spent money like Democrats on steroids. I hope this time around they’ve learned the error of their ways. If not, I see dark days (not greatness) in store for this country.

This story was originally published February 25, 2017 at 9:00 PM with the headline "This is Viewpoints for Sunday, Feb. 26, 2017."