My dad was a lifelong conservative. Even he wouldn't misgender Rep. Sarah McBride. | Opinion
My dad wasn't woke, but he knew how to treat people.
The comments by Texas Congressman Keith Self last week ‒ wherein he referred to transgender Congresswoman Sarah McBride as "Mr. McBride" and later doubled down by saying he is not obligated to "participate in his (Ms. McBride's) fantasy" ‒ have me thinking about my dad.
Joe Greiner, who died 30 years ago, was a loyal Republican. He was a conservative Catholic. He was civic-minded, having served as an appointed and elected official in our hometown of Cheviot, Ohio.
I don't know, but I suspect he never met a transgender individual. I don't know, but I suspect he knew next to nothing about gender dysphoria. I don't know, but I suspect he would have been uncomfortable around Congresswoman McBride.
My conservative father wouldn't have misgendered Rep. McBride
Here is what I know with 100% certainty. He would never, under any circumstances, have been as disrespectful to Congresswoman McBride as was Congressman Self. And that's not because my dad was by any means "woke."
First off, Dad died about 25 years before "woke" became a thing. Second, he wasn't woke.
But he was decent and kind. He raised kids from Pearl Harbor through Watergate, which means he saw his kids and their friends transition from crew cuts and poodle skirts to shoulder-length hair and miniskirts. And he never gave any of our friends a hard time about the clothes they were wearing or how long they wore their hair (full disclosure – Dad and I had some battles over my hair, but looking back over old photos, he was right). The point is that he respected people, even if he disagreed with their choices.
It simply was not in my dad to humiliate someone in public or score political points by using a colleague as a prop. Whatever his politics or his religion, simple decency was his North Star.
The point of this column is not to examine in detail last week's events, other than to observe the incredible grace with which Congresswoman McBride conducted herself. This is not ultimately about the issue of transgender rights. It is simply an observation that the decency I observed in my house daily seems to be out of fashion in some quarters.
I don't expect us to agree on all or even some issues, but I fervently hope we can be decent.
Jack Greiner is a contributing writer for the Cincinnati Enquirer, where this column originally appeared.