If first reaction to transgender issues is fear, second should be education

To The Daily Sun,

I am writing in response to Gail Ober's article on Feb. 7 headlined "Bigotry or biology?" Objections from citizens like Mr. Brake and Mr. Fogg who stress the safety of their children in their defense would do well to note this quote from an article in Time magazine from May 2, 2016:

"Studies show transgender people are more likely to be victims. What is really unacceptable," says (attorney Kathryn) Oakley (of the Human Rights Campaign), "is we're pinning (these fears) on people who are, in fact, themselves incredibly vulnerable in bathrooms." In a study from UCLA's Williams Institute, nearly 70 percent of transgender people said they had experienced verbal harassment in a situation involving gender-segregated bathrooms, while nearly 10 percent reported physical assault. And, advocates argue, laws that force transgender people to use restrooms where they can look out of place makes them more likely targets."

When we allow fear to lead our judgments, we do more harm than good. Segregation has used the threat of attack and abuse as its defense in the past. Remember the civil rights movement of the 1960s? Studies have shown that any attacks in women's restrooms are more likely to be from cisgendered (those who identify with their birth gender) men posing as transgendered women, rather than transgendered women themselves.

My advice — and even more importantly, my plea — to people of a like mind to Mssrs. Brake and Fogg is this: If your first reaction is fear, your second should be self-education. Read up on the thing that frightens you, and you may find that it is far less frightening than you first assumed. Remember Mary Shelley's famous message: "That which appears monstrous may be gentle and harmless, and the true monsters lurk within the minds of men."

Those who wish to educate themselves in the face of fear may visit https://www.glaad.org/transgender/transfaq. If you do not have internet access at home, I am sure your local library would be more than happy to assist you.

Angela D'Onofrio

Laconia