In 2 weeks we will be casting our votes. Choose wisely: Cyson
Forty-five years ago, when I moved to St. Cloud for a promotion to an executive position with the Dayton-Hudson Company, I was perplexed by the comments people made upon meeting me. In a furtive, conspiratorial tone, I'd be told, "You know (pause) 'they're' closing that store and turning it into a Target."
"No", I'd reply, "that's not true." And they'd look at me with sympathy because I was so uninformed. Obviously they were privy to some secret knowledge, information that was absurd, unsubstantiated and patently false, but nothing I said would disabuse them of their belief.
I thought of those moments last week when I heard that a candidate for the top government position in Minnesota was claiming that children in our schools were being allowed to use litter boxes to pee in their classrooms.
I wish I was making this up, but, no, it's true. GOP candidate for governor Scott Jensen was told by someone that children in Minnesota public schools who identify as furries were relieving themselves in litter boxes in their classrooms and not only did he believe it (google 'Scott Jensen litter box' to see the videos), but he repeated the rumor without verifying it and began to use it as a campaign talking point.
This from a highly educated person who wants to lead our state? You hear a ridiculous rumor and, rather than debunk it or even do a little research, you choose, instead, to spread it?
As a concerned voter, I'm appalled.
I'm guessing here, but I'm pretty sure Jensen has never even met a furry. I have. Several years ago I attended a convention in Pittsburgh and the furry convention was simultaneously taking place in a different part of the hotel. I shared elevator chit chat with them and found them to be no more eccentric than sci-fi fans dressed as Spock or Han Solo at a convention or manga fans dressed as their favorite character at a ComicCon. They were people who like to gather with like-minded fans, dress up in costumes and party.
Are there litter boxes in our classrooms? Of course not. So why do we have a GOP gubernatorial candidate who is willing to listen to a bizarre rumor on the topic, decide without any verification that it's true, and proceed to spread the rumor? Is this the type of behavior we, as Minnesotans, want in our top leadership?
Jensen claims, on his website, that he will "continue to tell the truth." He promises that there will be "no more reliance on bad data."
Yet here we have a "man of science" (he's a physician) not only refuting established scientific data on epidemics and vaccine efficacy, but now doubling down on rumors and outright nonsense by claiming that children in our schools are using litter boxes. Concerning the rumor, but ironically perhaps in a moment of introspection and clarity, Jensen stated, "We've lost our minds. We've lost our minds."
Minnesota has always been a leader in education and health care. It terrifies me that we have a candidate for governor who seems to be unable to grasp the basic premise of either.
In two weeks we will be casting our votes.
Please choose wisely.
— Times Writers Group member Karen Cyson is a child-care provider in Stearns County and the coordinator for Central Minnesota Mensa. Her column is published the third Sunday of the month.
This article originally appeared on St. Cloud Times: In 2 weeks we will be casting our votes. Choose wisely: Cyson
