When Someone Says "It's Just a Distraction..."

I can’t imagine I’m the only one who is totally overwhelmed just now.

I’ve been trying to do a weekly roundup of the political news, and it’s turning into an every-two-week roundup, because every single time I try to write down events in order I get mixed up. There’s SO much going on, and all of it is important. None of it can be safely ignored.

One thing I have seen people saying often, is that this or that element of the mess is “just a distraction.” And I often see other people getting justly furious that things are labeled a distraction. And then something else will happen, which will also be labeled a distraction from the “real” issue. And on and on it goes. The manhandling of elected officials is a distraction from ICE raids and the military in Los Angeles. Trump’s teasing that he’s going to bomb Iran is a distraction from his deteriorating mental state and the flailing economy. There are so many distractions that you never get around to the real issue.

Today, for example, after the Supreme Court’s ruling denying needed healthcare to transgender children, Senator Chuck Schumer weighed in with a truly despicable tweet: “Republicans’ cruel crusade against trans kids is all an attempt to divert attention from ripping healthcare away from millions of Americans. We'll keep fighting and we'll keep marching on.”

Don’t let the irony be lost on you. Schumer apparently doesn’t think transgender people are people, according to this tweet. Ripping away their healthcare is a diversion from ripping healthcare away from another sort of human being, one he cares about. And that’s how the “it’s just a distraction” roulette works.