Dick of the Week: Jeff Pyle

One would think that adults wouldn’t stoop to talking derogatorily about someone’s looks. And you might think educated people, in 2020, wouldn’t be transphobic. And then throw politician into the mix, you know, someone who represents all people, might watch how they speak.

Not so Pennsylvania’s GOP State Representative Jeff Pyle who is now apologizing for a Tweet comparing President Joe Biden’s pick for Assistant Health Secretary, Dr. Rachel Levine, who is a transgender woman, to Benjamin Franklin:

“American citizens express optimism and renewed hope as Benjamin Franklin joins Joe Biden’s cabinet.”

Yes; a grown man making fun of a person’s looks; a grown man denigrating a trans woman. Pyle was hammered with outrage, including that of out Pennsylvania Democratic Representative Brian Sims, who Tweeted in response:

“REPRIMAND: As Co-Chair of the LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus I have conferred with my colleagues, members Caucus & the Democratic leadership, and all are in agreement that this discriminatory & dangerous behavior by State [Jeff Pyle] must be condemned by House Republican leadership. Homophobia and transphobia have no place in the General Assembly or in our commonwealth. The kind of discrimination & hatred displayed by Rep. Pyle are a direct violation of the public trust afforded to him as a member of the General Assembly. By attacking Sec. Levine in this way, Rep. Pyle has perpetuated both transphobia and discrimination against the LGBTQ+ communities which have among the highest rates of civil rights violations and discrimination in the nation, often with deadly consequences, [Pyle] has brought the House of Representatives into dishonor and disrepute and until his actions are addressed, he continues to place her, and hundreds of thousands of LGBTQ+ people in the Commonwealth, at risk for further discrimination to attack.”

Pyle issued an apology and, believe it or not, pleaded ignorance:

“I had no idea it would be received as poorly as it was. Tens of thousands of emails assured me it was. I owe an apology and I offer it humbly. My grandfather, a very wise man, taught me within every bad situation there is a glimpse of good and I just had to find it. From this situation I have learned not to poke fun at people different than me and to hold my tongue. Be a bigger man.”

Jeff Pyle is a fifty-six-year-old man who hasn’t yet learned not to make fun of a person’s appearance … or women … or, especially considering the number of trans people murdered in this country, trans women. The good news is that Jeff Pyle is leaving Facebook because he’s too ignorant to use it like an actual adult, while the bad news, for now, is that he won’t resign.

Dick of the Week. Bigot, homophobe, transphobe, Jeff Pyle.

Towleroad