Hinson puts a target on Linn-Mar again

A noted American philosopher once posed an important question that cuts to the heart of our current political era.

“Why you gotta be so mean?” Taylor Swift asks in the aptly titled song “Mean.”

It’s a good question to ask U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson, who is running for the U.S. Senate.

She delivered some Oscar-worthy pearls clutching recently when she found out Linn-Mar High School’s student-led gay-straight alliance, Spectrum, was recognizing “Bisexual Plus Awareness Week.”

Hinson was appalled when she found out students were informed about it on LMTV during the morning news.

“The morning news show at my son’s high school in Marion, Iowa, is broadcasting about “bisexual plus awareness week” and being “omnisexual.” The clip is so bad & inappropriate, I am not going to post it,” Hinson posted on X just before noon on Sept. 26. It soon became a top story on Fox News.

“As a mom and as a legislator, I am so appalled the school is promoting sexual content to minors. What administrators approved this content on the morning news program the entire student body watches every morning? Why were parents not made aware of this explicit content our children would be forced to watch? I will be calling for an investigation through the Dept of Education & working with Governor Reynolds to ensure accountability — stay tuned,” Hinson said in her post.

Release the federal hounds!

Hinson was a morning news anchor before she became a politician. And yet, our “recovering journalist” didn’t seem to consider the fact that the information in the students’ newscast likely is protected by the 1st Amendment.

“Iowa’s legal protections for student journalism … are exceptional. Students are only prohibited from publishing things that are obscene, unlawful, or objectively disruptive. None of the content in the student news piece meets this criterion,” Keenan Crow, policy and advocacy director for the LGBTQ group One Iowa, told The Gazette’s Tom Barton.

“There was nothing explicit or illegal about these segments,” Crow said.

Here's what students heard on the morning of Sept. 26.

“Spectrum has one final announcement for this week. McKenzie is here with the report. Spectrum would like to thank all of you that have took the time to listen to the information we have shared about bisexual plus individuals. We would like to conclude with just a few more facts and information about why this week is so important. Creating awareness helps to serve as a platform to address issues such as biphobia and discrimination. We hope this week has encouraged discussion, either in class or amongst friends, on how to be supportive.

“We hope that bringing awareness we have provided pride in bisexual identities as well as fostering community and solidarity. This week is celebrated to remind people that bisexuality is valid and recognized as a sexual orientation. And finally, we would just like to say that ‘Bisexual Plus Awareness Week’ is not just for bisexual individuals, but for everyone to learn and support. We conclude with a call to action for inclusive policies.“

Creating awareness? Encouraging discussion? Inclusive policies?

Was it really “so bad and inappropriate?”

Clearly, this cannot stand so long as mean moms have congressional clout to throw around. It’s got to be tough being the only parent whose opinion matters at Linn-Mar.

These kids cannot learn in peace until they are no longer needed as political pawns in Hinson’s Senate campaign. She hopes to corner the market on voters who are frightened of the existence of people who are not straight, white and Christian.

But weren’t we told repeatedly by Hinson and other weather vane politicians that trans Iowans, particularly transgender students, are who we should fear, loathe and shove back into the shadows? Hinson’s good friend Kim saw to it that transgender Iowans would lose their civil rights protections and have their identities erased under state law.

Linn-Mar adopted policies supporting transgender kids and became a national target thanks to Hinson and Reynolds.

It’s all about protecting women’s sports, remember?

Now, the enemy is bisexual awareness. The slope is getting very slippery. After all, the root word of sexuality is you know what. I’m afraid high school kids already know about it.

Hinson favors “parental rights,” so long as they’re exercised only by parents who share her political worldview. Parents who want their kids to learn about the real world have no rights.

Linn-Mar officials said parents should have been notified and will be in the future. That’s fine, although they’ll also be handing more ammunition to haters.

My question is when will Hinson have the courage of her convictions and set up a meeting between a group of LGBTQ students and their congresswoman? She can tell them face-to-face how they are part of a harmful ideology. They may even be an enemy within.

Look them in the eyes, congresswoman, and explain how they’re inappropriate, and should hide their sexuality under a blanket of shame. And explain why their feelings and struggles cannot be discussed in school.

Tell them why discrimination can’t be addressed. Tell them why they should not seek allies to help them. Tell them why they do not deserve support.

And let’s do it in public, live on LMTV. That should be educational.

Don’t hold your breath. Hinson doesn’t want to get her hands dirty. She issues statements, social media posts and press releases like a squadron of drones launched and flown by remote control.

Because facing victims of her spiteful grandstanding might just make her realize they are human beings. It’s far easier to just boil their entire identity down to sex acts.

So, why you gotta be so mean? It’s because discrimination and marginalization are no match for Hinson’s ambition.

Swift, in her catchy treatise on meanness, predicts her antagonist will eventually be “washed up and ranting about the same old bitter things.” Hinson should add the song to her playlist and put it on repeat.

(319) 398-8262; todd.dorman@thegazette.com