LGBT activists are running into a bit of a problem: when you tell people that they have the human right to identify however they like and that society has to accept and affirm that self-identification, many are going to take you seriously.
In some cases, the consequences are horrifying – such as male rapists and murderers getting locked up in women’s prisons because prison officials are legally obligated to accept their fresh new claims of womanhood.
In other cases, the consequences are merely amusing, albeit a sad sign of how insane we’ve become – such as the man who “transitioned” and decided to identify as female and was upset to discover that his car insurance cost more as a woman than as a man. Or the guy who decided to identify as female to get a break on his car insurance.
A recent story out of Australia falls definitively into the second category, despite the fact that the police are taking it very seriously indeed. In July, Victoria Chief Commissioner Shane Patton announced a probe that resulted in a search of the Victoria Police Force’s Frankston station. Seven officers were interviewed, as well. The reason? The officers were “accused of claiming to be non-binary to fraudulently claim more money for civilian clothing allowances.”
Female officers on the force can claim around $1,300 more than their male counterparts, and as a result the force “noted a sharp increase in the number of officers identifying as gender-neutral over the previous year.” The issue was first noted by the @discernibleofficial Instagram page in June, which wrote: “We have unconfirmed reports from inside Victoria Police that management is pulling their hair out after a majority of a CIU (crime investigation unit) in southern region changed their profile in the HR system to be ‘gender neutral.’”
Three years ago, police officers were given the option to self-identify however they chose, with the police force stating at the time that this was a way for them to support “gender diverse” employees. In order to self-identify as “non-binary,” officers must now make a sworn statement.
Commissioner Patton wants his public to know that he is taking the issue very seriously and that “conduct of this sort, if validated, is not acceptable and falls far short of the standards I expect from Victoria Police members and standards of behaviour outlined in our code of conduct and Victoria Police values.”
He continued, “This behaviour has had a significant impact on our gender diverse employees and our reputation among the Victorian LGBTIQ+ community. If validated, I will find it very disappointing that those employees have engaged in such conduct, exploiting an entitlement for those who identify as gender diverse.”
A question: How, exactly, how does one “fraudulently” claim to be non-binary? What is “non-binary”? From the definitions put forward, it merely refers to someone who does not feel they fit into the “gender-binary” – male or female. But this feeling is precisely that – merely a feeling. It cannot be confirmed or disproven for that reason. As no less a science guru Neil De Grasse Tyson sanctimoniously informed us all recently, a man can get up and feel 20% female that day or vice versa. How dare Patton investigate police officers on the suspicion that their feelings might be invalid?
I suspect these officers aren’t getting investigated for deciding to identify as gender-fluid or non-binary or whatever. They are being investigated because they are not taking this charade seriously enough. It appears that they have decided to take advantage of the insanity – but worse, they have made a mockery of a ridiculous system.
If a man wants to call himself a woman because he believes it – that demands an entire institutional overhaul of the police force. If a man claims to have no gender to make a bit of money – well, now, that’s something different entirely.
