Speaker 1: Let's get to, as we often do on Fridays, some stories that I just sort of ran out
of time for during the week. I want to talk about Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis, who represents
Wyoming. Senator Cynthia Lummis spoke the other day at the commencement of University
of Wyoming. She gave the graduation speech and during the graduation speech. For some reason,
I don't know why she went in a transphobic direction, injecting into the speech almost
like you would bleach for COVID, which is a bad idea. And that was this was also a bad idea.
The fact that people aren't telling the fundamental truth, that there are only two sexes,
that anything can be challenged. And in fact, what she said was quite post-modern in the sense that
she made the claim that now there is no empirical realities. You can just sort of challenge anything
which is a post-modern idea at its core. So let's look at the clip and then we'll discuss. Now,
she she criticized that. I want to be clear, she didn't make the postmodern argument. She made the
argument that sex has become almost postmodern in that any opinion about what sex is is equally
valid and whatever. Okay, let's listen. Speaker 2: You woke up this morning
with more individual freedom in themost creative, divinely inspired nation on earth.
Speaker 1: Oh, and one of the things is that the video is sort of like sped up, so I'm
going to turn it down. So it's like normal speed. Speaker 2: The transformations and disruptions I
have alluded to are testing those very freedoms beyond watch. There are those in government who
believe not that the Creator endowed us with inalienable rights as the founders of our nation
acknowledged in the Declaration of Independence. Speaker 1: So, by the way, first of all.
Suggesting that it sort of should be like the official thing in the United States that
everything we have, all the rights we have came from God, which remember, they they love to do
this. They love to say the creators, the framers of the Constitution, the founding fathers,
they believed that rights came from God or in religion or whatever the case may be. Sure,
they were deists, but they believed it shouldn't have a role in civil government. They'll
they'll skip that part. But let's continue. Speaker 2: Government created those rights,
and the government should redefine those rights, including our rights to freedom of speech,
religion, property, assembly, and to keep and bear arms. Even fundamental scientific truths
such as the existence of two sexes, male and female, are subject to challenge these days.
Speaker 1: And they do. Unidentified:
You know, I. Speaker 1: It's not normal
for a commencement speakers to be booed. Speaker 2: And I challenge those of you.
I'm not making a comment on the fact that there are
people who transition between sexes. Speaker 1: So just stepping into it
further and further. So there's a couple of different things here. First of all, as usual,
sex and gender. Lummis is quite confused at the same time. It is a scientific truth that some
people are born intersex. So even though, of course she's confused between sex and gender,
she also states wrongly that it's a fundamental scientific truth that there is male and female.
But in fact, I know it's a small percentage of people, but if you want to bring up science, you
kind of have to acknowledge that she's also wrong on that. But that's not even really the issue.
These commencement speeches, the whole idea is you bring a speaker who ideally is going
to be inspiring to the people in the audience. It is going to sort of set off. You're going
to kind of wind them up and send them off with energy and and hope and ambition to do things
to improve the world. And instead, she took the speech as an opportunity to do transphobic stuff,
to do religious stuff, as religion should be part of government. Talked about guns. You saw her talk
about the Second Amendment. This is just the complete wrong place for it. And unfortunately,
the initial response from the school president was pretty mealy mouthed. Ed Seidel, or Seidl
is the president of UW and initially put out a statement saying On Saturday, the university
celebrated spring commencement with a series of events that showcased blah, blah, blah. One of
our speakers made remarks regarding biological sex that many on campus take issue with. While
we respect the right of all to express their views from students to election of elected officials, we
unequivocally state that UW is an institution that supports and celebrates its diverse communities
that collectively make us the wonderful place that we are. We welcome the incredible individuality
and intellect of all of our dynamic and diverse students and never want you to feel otherwise.
So not really a criticism of the actual speaker. And then that statement, after being decried as
not very good. Another statement was put out the following day from the university,
which was a little more clear. And it said, unfortunately, during one of the ceremonies,
there was reason for pause amid the celebration. And they name her, they say Wyoming Senator
Cynthia Lummis offered the following statement. They quote the statement about two sexes,
our faculty, staff and students. No, that is not the scientific truth. We affirm that humans
may comprise various chromosomal variations. Not every person is strictly born female or
male. Intersex members of our community who have diverse chromosomal makeup should be
seen and recognized. Now, that's also kind of a copout, only in the sense that. The reason.
The Lummis statement confuses sex and gender anyway because she's confused. And they take
the same approach I initially took, which is to say even assuming she meant sex, she's wrong.
Really, the issue here is a broader issue about gender and transgender, but it doesn't matter.
It was good to see that after being shamed, University of Wyoming put out and listen.
You don't always want to attack the speakers that you invite. I get it. But they said it and
I'm glad to see it. But just what? What a dumb speech. I don't know any other way to say it.