South Carolina Sheriff Says He Would ‘Whip’ Trans Woman in Restroom by Bil Browning
Video of Spartanburg County Sheriff Chuck Wright speaking at the Greenville-Spartanburg Republican Women’s meeting shows the county’s top law enforcement officer threatening bodily harm to any transgender women who uses the ladies’ restroom in his presence. The video was posted by a conservative podcaster and shows the sheriff discussing South Carolina‘s proposed ban on public accommodations nondiscrimination protections for transgender people.
Commentary
This video is shocking to those of us who are concerned about the safety and well-being of transgender individuals who reside in states that have enacted “bathroom bills.” These bills are aimed at preventing transgender people from using the restrooms of their identified gender. If they ignore the law and use the restroom that they feel best associates with their gender identity, then they are at risk of being arrested. Even worse, they are at risk of being physically assaulted, which is very evident by the public declaration of this county official who brazenly says he will attack a transgender female who goes into a women’s restroom.
So because of these new laws, not only can transgender citizens be legally punished for using certain restrooms, but they can be physically punished by any individual who feels the law is being violated. As horrible as these laws are, it is even more horrendous that a transgender person can become a “spectacle of physical punishment” (D&P 14). Any person who steps into a public restroom can become the recipient of this punishment because a perceived violation is enough to warrant action. In line with what this particular sheriff says he’ll do to a perceived offender, citizens who feel that the law is being broken can “seize the body in the ritual of public torture” (D&P 28) in order to “reveal the truth” (D&P 44).
The fear instilled in transgender people, the worry over being “found out” and consequently publicly “punished” is supposed to serve as “an obstacle” (D&P 94). It is “the ‘pain’ and the idea of ‘pain’” that serve as a deterrent (D&P 94). And not just physical pain, but mental and emotional pain. It must be tortuous for them to go through their everyday lives fearing for their safety, when public officials, like this sheriff, can declare that they will assault them if they step foot in the “wrong” bathroom.
The point of the punishment—both the legal punishment and the citizen-enacted punishment—is “a technique for the coercion of individuals” (D&P 131) whose gender does not fall in line with the idea of “docile bodies” (D&P 138). The punishment operates as a form of social discipline, enacted once a violation has been committed or perceived to be committed. Foucault’s statement that “discipline organizes an analytical space” (D&P 143) actually applies to this situation because the public restroom becomes an analytical space where anyone who enters can and will be analyzed to determine whether or not they are legally allowed to be there. If the law works, then this analytical space will be free from gender non-conforming “criminals.” In another sense, the state laws are trying to “code a space” (D&P 143) in order to regulate the social body and encourage social conformity. The public restroom could also be seen as a panoptic space that “functions as a kind of laboratory of power” (D&P 204) where those who conform have power over those who do not conform. Ordinary conforming citizens wield a massive amount of power over those who do not conform. And when the local sheriff proudly proclaims to all who will listen that he will “whip” a transgender female who goes into the women’s restroom, none of us are safe. His declaration effectively grants ordinary citizens the right to punish and discipline transgender citizens and even perceived transgender citizens, without waiting for the actual legal system to get involved. That is a scary thought, and it shocks me that this guy can get away with making such inflammatory statements. It just goes to prove that the culture and mentality in some of these states is such that anything goes when one feels that social codes are being violated. Couple that with ignorance on transgender issues and the end result is a dangerous, discriminatory situation that can have no good outcome…
So because of these new laws, not only can transgender citizens be legally punished for using certain restrooms, but they can be physically punished by any individual who feels the law is being violated. As horrible as these laws are, it is even more horrendous that a transgender person can become a “spectacle of physical punishment” (D&P 14). Any person who steps into a public restroom can become the recipient of this punishment because a perceived violation is enough to warrant action. In line with what this particular sheriff says he’ll do to a perceived offender, citizens who feel that the law is being broken can “seize the body in the ritual of public torture” (D&P 28) in order to “reveal the truth” (D&P 44).
The fear instilled in transgender people, the worry over being “found out” and consequently publicly “punished” is supposed to serve as “an obstacle” (D&P 94). It is “the ‘pain’ and the idea of ‘pain’” that serve as a deterrent (D&P 94). And not just physical pain, but mental and emotional pain. It must be tortuous for them to go through their everyday lives fearing for their safety, when public officials, like this sheriff, can declare that they will assault them if they step foot in the “wrong” bathroom.
The point of the punishment—both the legal punishment and the citizen-enacted punishment—is “a technique for the coercion of individuals” (D&P 131) whose gender does not fall in line with the idea of “docile bodies” (D&P 138). The punishment operates as a form of social discipline, enacted once a violation has been committed or perceived to be committed. Foucault’s statement that “discipline organizes an analytical space” (D&P 143) actually applies to this situation because the public restroom becomes an analytical space where anyone who enters can and will be analyzed to determine whether or not they are legally allowed to be there. If the law works, then this analytical space will be free from gender non-conforming “criminals.” In another sense, the state laws are trying to “code a space” (D&P 143) in order to regulate the social body and encourage social conformity. The public restroom could also be seen as a panoptic space that “functions as a kind of laboratory of power” (D&P 204) where those who conform have power over those who do not conform. Ordinary conforming citizens wield a massive amount of power over those who do not conform. And when the local sheriff proudly proclaims to all who will listen that he will “whip” a transgender female who goes into the women’s restroom, none of us are safe. His declaration effectively grants ordinary citizens the right to punish and discipline transgender citizens and even perceived transgender citizens, without waiting for the actual legal system to get involved. That is a scary thought, and it shocks me that this guy can get away with making such inflammatory statements. It just goes to prove that the culture and mentality in some of these states is such that anything goes when one feels that social codes are being violated. Couple that with ignorance on transgender issues and the end result is a dangerous, discriminatory situation that can have no good outcome…
Additional Links
We Asked Cops How They Plan to Enforce North Carolina’s Bathroom Law
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/04/north-carolina-lgbt-bathrooms-hb2-enforcement
Texas City's Anti-Transgender 'Bathroom Bill' Would Levy Heavy Fines Against 'Violators'
http://www.thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/johnwright/texas_city_to_consider_anti_transgender_bathroom_law
Tennessee GOP Leader Threatens Tax Hike on Companies That Oppose Anti-trans Bathroom Bill
http://www.rawstory.com/2016/04/tennessee-gop-leader-threatens-tax-hike-on-companies-that-oppose-anti-trans-bathroom-bill/
Indiana: Pay to Pee Bill Will Punish Transgender Students with Jail and Fines for Using Wrong Bathrooms, Senate Bill 35 Under Fire
http://www.inquisitr.com/2940766/indiana-pay-to-pee-bill-will-punish-transgender-students-with-jail-and-fines-for-using-wrong-bathrooms-senate-bill-35-under-fire/
This Alabama City Will Now Put Transgender People In Jail For Peeing At Target
http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2016/04/27/3773081/oxford-alabama-transgender-jail/
Alabama City Takes Bathroom Transphobia To A Scary New Extreme
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/alabama-trans-bathroom-law_us_572130bfe4b0b49df6aa1e5a?