{"id":180131,"date":"2022-10-28T18:34:38","date_gmt":"2022-10-29T01:34:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eugeneweekly.com\/?p=188246"},"modified":"2022-10-28T18:34:38","modified_gmt":"2022-10-29T01:34:38","slug":"stoking-hate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/extra.eugeneweekly.com\/index.php\/2022\/10\/28\/stoking-hate\/","title":{"rendered":"Stoking Hate"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cGive them just an inch for managing your child and we could have a drag show up here tonight. Are you really willing to give them that inch and lose that mile?\u201d Republican state Sen. Dennis Linthicum said while giving a speech to People\u2019s Rights Oregon 5 members behind closed doors, \u201cAre you willing to give that inch and have your little boy want to become a little girl?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Linthicum stressed in his Oct. 18 speech how important it is for more common-sense, rural Oregonians to get involved in local elections by comparing what they are currently doing to a war for both Oregon\u2019s and the country\u2019s future.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

However, most of the content in his \u201cmotivational speech\u201d was cheap, reused jokes aimed at transgender people and gender-affirming care.<\/span><\/p>\n

The speech took place at Aspen Lakes Golf Club in Sisters, Oregon four days before right-wing protesters gathered across the street from Old Nick\u2019s Pub. The public house was specifically targeted for hosting a drag storytime event that was to involve an 11-year-old girl reading to audience members.<\/span><\/p>\n

Linthicum\u2019s speech’s main purpose was to encourage members of the far-right People\u2019s Rights network to get involved in local elections and inform others about issues. The network has been linked with paramilitary and right-wing militias according to a past report done by <\/span>Institute for Research and Education on Human Rights.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

People\u2019s Rights Oregon 5 (PRO5) is Central Oregon\u2019s local group of the nationwide People\u2019s Rights network. They meet every Tuesday to discuss topics like monitoring legislation, natural medicine and election integrity.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In his speech, Linthicum wasted no time attacking transgender members of the LGBTQIA community, exclaiming how the traditional, nuclear family unit must be kept strong in America. \u201cWe don\u2019t need anybody who\u2019s spent their entire life in law and can\u2019t answer the question: What\u2019s a woman?\u201d Linthicum said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Linthicum used God as evidence to invalidate both queer and especially trans people. \u201cI don\u2019t know if this is a person who thinks they\u2019re in the wrong body, could they be in the wrong body?\u201d Linthicum said, while chuckling through the microphone, \u201cLord, please answer. I don\u2019t know. I didn\u2019t get an affirmative. I didn\u2019t get a negative, but it\u2019s awfully weird and it\u2019s only happened in the last five years.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The state senator then jested about the fact that while he and his constituents will be \u201cpolite, decent, kind and courteous\u201d to queer people in public, they\u2019ll also be making bigoted jokes like the ones Linthicum is making behind closed doors.<\/span><\/p>\n

He also attacked Doernbecher Children\u2019s Hospital in Portland, \u201cDoernbecher Hospital is going to teach boys how to tuck their testicles up into the cavities to hide their \u2018private parts,\u2019\u201d he said.\u201cThis is an agenda. It\u2019s dangerous. It\u2019s ugly. It\u2019s evil and we should stop these guys cold.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

When asked to comment on the remarks the hospital said, \u201cOregon Health & Science University proudly offers gender-affirming health care<\/span> to patients of all ages, including children and adolescents,\u201d in an emailed statement. \u201cProviders follow established, evidence-based medical standards, and employ a thoughtful, multidisciplinary process that involves both patients and their support systems.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

OHSU said it was not previously aware of the comments by the senator.<\/span><\/p>\n

Whenever the senator made a statement at transgender people\u2019s expense, it was met with raucous laughter from the crowd and a percussive sting like a comedy routine on a drumset offscreen, plus an awkward wheeze and chuckle from the senator himself.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He did not stop at attacking trans people. He targeted married queer couples too, \u201c[Marriage] would be a male on one side and a female on the other side. They go together in pairs. It works really cool this way,\u201d Linthicum said.<\/span><\/p>\n

The full, bigoted speech, is<\/span> on a People\u2019s Rights-affiliated Vimeo page<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Linthicum began his career in politics when was elected to the Klamath County Board of County Commissioners in 2008. He currently represents Oregon state District 28 which includes rural counties Jackson, Klamath, Lake, Deschutes and Crook. He is up for reelection in 2025.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cGive them just an inch for managing your child and we could have a drag show up here tonight. Are you really willing to give \u2026 Continue reading\u00a0\u2192<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[101,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-180131","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ew-extra","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/extra.eugeneweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180131","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/extra.eugeneweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/extra.eugeneweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/extra.eugeneweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/40"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/extra.eugeneweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=180131"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/extra.eugeneweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180131\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/extra.eugeneweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=180131"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/extra.eugeneweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=180131"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/extra.eugeneweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=180131"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}