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YOU’RE NOT PARANOID | The G.O.P. really is out to get you 


By Johnny Trlica

Commentary: It’s been said that just because you’re paranoid, it doesn’t mean they’re not out to get you. While you may in general just worry too much, many marginalized groups are starting to recognize that the G.O.P. really is trying to harm them. Their actions speak volumes.  

LGBTQ+ 

There was a plethora of anti-gay legislation introduced and an alarming number enacted into law over the last few months. We all know about Florida’s governor and his campaign against the LGBTQ+ community. He is building his entire presidential bid on being anti-woke. 

We continue to see state legislatures advancing bills that target transgender people and limit local protections; in June, we saw the U.S. Supreme Court allow the use of religion to discriminate. 

Many state bills target transgender and non-binary people for discrimination, such as by barring or criminalizing healthcare for trans youth, barring access to the use of appropriate facilities like restrooms, restricting trans students’ ability to fully participate in school and sports, allowing religiously motivated discrimination against trans people or making it more difficult for them to get identification documents with their name and gender. 

How soon before we begin seeing signs on businesses’ doors reading, “Straights Only� 

Books that mention gays and lesbians are being banned across the nation, as well as drag shows.  

Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed into law a measure where drag performers and other “adult-oriented†entertainers are prohibited from performing in public, or in spaces accessible by minors. 

Women 

In 2022 after the Supreme Court — yes, that same Supreme Court — struck down Roe v. Wade, Republican lead states, including Texas, couldn’t wait to start enacting their anti-abortion laws. With a law that went into effect on July 1, 2022, abortion is completely banned in Texas with very limited exceptions. 

In removing a woman’s freedom to choose, Texas forces women to travel out of state to get an abortion unless they qualify for an exception. Exceptions are very limited and include: saving the pregnant person’s life and preventing serious risks to the pregnant person’s physical health. Rape and incest do not qualify as an exception. 

The Texas Tribune reports: “Despite exceptions to the law, the number of monthly abortions in Texas has dropped into the low single digits. Women are nearly dying from pregnancy complications, or dying after having to travel out-of-state for abortions or facing million-dollar lawsuits for helping friends acquire abortion medication. An unknown number are having babies they never planned for.â€Â 

Postnatal care and assistance are mostly non-existent as the Texas G.O.P. remains a pro-birth party and after that you are on your own.  

Blacks 

In a historic decision, the Supreme Court (there they go again) effectively ended the use of affirmative action in college admissions in a decision delivered in June. By a vote of 6-3, (all six nominated by Republican presidents), the justices ruled that the admissions programs used by the University of North Carolina and Harvard College violate the Constitution’s equal protection clause, which bars racial discrimination by government entities. 

Affirmative Action was enacted to level the playing field for Black people to remedy institutional racism and historical prohibitions against them from educational and employment opportunities in the United States. 

Any number of elected Republicans will tell you that racism no longer exists in America. 

Immigrants 

For a party that claims to be following the teachings of the Bible, the G.O.P. must have skipped the chapter about how to treat immigrants. Matthew 25:35 reads: “I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me.â€Â Â 

Nowhere in the Bible does it say to push the immigrant back into the river. I cannot find the verse that says to lock immigrant children in cages, nor the part about separating kids from their parents. Yet, that is what today’s Republicans support.  

Texas troopers working Greg Abbott’s Operation Lone Star initiative were ordered to push young children into the Rio Grande River and not give immigrants water, according to internal emails exclusively reviewed by the San Antonio Express-News and the Houston Chronicle. 

The July 3 email sent by a Department of Public Safety trooper to their superior details previously unreported incidents witnessed in Eagle Pass. Texas recently set up miles of barriers using barbed wire and buoys in the river, according to the Associated Press. 

In an email, the trooper reported that a pregnant woman having a miscarriage was caught in the wire in June. It also said a four-year-old girl passed out from heat exhaustion as she attempted to pass the barrier and was pushed back by Texas National Guard soldiers.  

“I believe we have stepped over a line into the inhumane,†the trooper wrote in the email. 

Reading comments in posts about this incident, reveal the complete lack of empathy and sympathy present in today’s G.O.P. 

In Conclusion 

Cruelty, blind faith in a con man, insurrection and fascist enthusiasts, and inhumane treatment of people who don’t look, act, or love like they do is today’s Republican party. Until they realize how shameful their actions are, stay on your guard. You are not paranoid. They really are out to get you.  

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent those of the Montrose Star. Johnny Trlica is the editor of the Houston Rainbow Herald’s Facebook page and has been published in several newspapers and magazines. He grew up in Rosenberg, Texas, lived for over 30 years in the Montrose, and now resides in Galveston, Texas. He may be contacted at HRHeditor@gmail.com. 

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