These transgender discussions have revealed that many people have little understanding of the subject, not recognizing the difference between sex and gender, believing that being transgender is the same as being a transvestite, or that we have complete control over and "choose" who we are attracted to physically or emotionally.

Some claim to want to live by the Golden Rule and suggest that "they" should just go away and leave "us" alone, believing that one day very soon they will walk into a public restroom and find someone washing her genitals in the sink.

Plain and simple, this kind of hatred or misunderstanding of the transgender and the broader LGBTQ+ community is the result of (mostly) Republican fear mongering.

Statistically, there are very few transgender athletes, perhaps a few hundred out of hundreds of thousands in high schools and colleges across the country. And while most of them are not successful in competition, a few are dominant in their district or conference. As a result, Republican legislators have rushed to ban all transgender athletes from competition, in their minds solving a problem that statistically does not exist.

The suggestion that some men are transitioning in order to compete in women's sports is laughably absurd. For one thing, they are increasingly banned from competition if they've gone through puberty so for most men, it's no longer even a viable path. For another thing, in the places where they still can compete, their testosterone levels must be suppressed for two years, hardly a step that most men would want to take in order to gain an unfair advantage in women's sports.

The suggestion that transgender athletes should have their own competitions is also unworkable. In individual sports, there simply would not be enough competitors. In team sports, fielding an entire team of transgender athletes would be even more difficult, let alone assembling several teams to compete in their own leagues.

I have to say I have no transgender men or women in my personal orbit and never have I ever met someone transgender.

To the best of my knowledge, I have never even seen a transgender man or woman in a public bathroom but since I live near Chicago and am often in the city I assume that's only because I wouldn't recognize if someone was transgender just by their clothing or mannerisms.

Will competitive sports need to address the issue at some point in time? Sure, and they are right now, mostly by banning transgender athletes from competition. But that's not really a solution.

Will some men pretend to be transgender to get into women's bathrooms to "get their jollies"? I suspect most heterosexual men would rather die than wear women's clothing, make up, and a wig to then get into a women's bathroom.

Bottom line: Republicans simply love to further marginalize the already marginalized.

Transgender individuals don't commit mass shootings, don't want to groom your children, and for the most part actually do want to live by the Golden Rule.

But hey, the marginalized often are easy targets.

Same as it ever was.