Saturday's Douchebag You Should Know About: Pamela Paul

I think it may have been Pamela Paul who first got me noticing that one of the absolutely snarkiest ways a transphobic individual can slide their agenda into mainstream discourse is to pretend they are simply being open-minded.

When they are not. When they, in fact, have an agenda. Which is, simply put, to tell the rest of us how to live, despite the fact our way of living might not even affect said person or anyone at all, actually, which smells a lot like fascism, hello.

There is likely no person who disgusts me more than Pamela Paul. She wrote an article about *Free to Be You and Me* and made it an occasion to argue against trans experience. She wrote a lengthy column in defense of J.K. Rowling and made no mention of the grievous violence trans humans are subjected to on a daily basis.

Oh, yeah. She is an “opinion columnist” for the New York Times, and is also the reason I unsubscribed.

When I was a tween, I played *Free to Be You and Me* on my record player LOUD, along with the soundtrack for *Godspell.* Thinking about Pamela Paul right now makes me want to burst out into that righteous lyric, “Alas for You” as it was sung by Stephen Nathan, as if I’m standing in front of that mirror in my childhood bedroom right now.

You snakes, you viper's brood

You cannot escape being Devil's food!

So, if and when you encounter her “opinions,” and she seems somehow reasonable, step back. Take a breath. She (and J.K. Rowling) has the power and platform to actively support trans people and save trans lives. But when she chooses to ignore that fact, and pretend she’s somehow benign in doing so, I blame her for upholding the reign of trans-hate in our country.