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The Southern California News Group endorses Sonja Shaw for State Superintendent

So, as a longtime member of the media, I am loathe to dog my peers in the profession. Especially now, with newspapers slashing budgets and staffs, with magazines dying on the vine, with even the best websites paying freelancers $250 for a 1,500-word piece.

Times, they are tough.

That being said, sometimes something is so inexcusable, so bewildering, so misguided—it needs to be called out.

[Clears throat]

This morning, the Southern California News Group (aka: The Register, the Daily News and a bunch of other papers) endorsed Sonja Shaw for state superintendent of public instruction.

Here’s a snippet …

And, in scrolling my mind for a comp, I came up with this …

Put different, Sonja Shaw is a monster. And I write that neither lightly nor flippantly. She. Is. A. Monster. Moms for Liberty. Book Bans. Anti-LGBTQ+ rights. And if you need an example to perfectly exemplify the irresponsibility of the SCNG’s endorsement, look no further than her treatment of AB Hernandez, the former Jurupa Valley High track and field athlete who is trans.

Now, there is a debate/discussion to be had about trans athletes. It’s complicated, it’s delicate, it’s interesting. But Shaw—again, an absolute monster—decided the best way to address the issue was to attend one of Hernandez’s meets to berate the athlete … and the athlete’s parents. To mock them. To scorn them. To condemn them. In public. With cameras rolling. In front of others. For kicks. For giggles. For points.

And if you think I’m exaggerating …

The cruelty is beyond staggering (especially for a so-called Christian). Imagine being Sonja Shaw—wife, mother. You have problems with trans athletes competing. Your solution? Show up at the meet and ridicule a 17-year-old kid living their own personal nightmare. Imagine lacking any heart, any decency, any compassion. Just being an asshole. To be an asshole.

And that’s Sonja Shaw. MAGA to the bone. Unbothered by the Epstein Files, by “Grab ‘em by the pussy,” by Stormy Daniels, by Trump depicting himself as Christ. Unbothered by the raw meanness of an administration—but plenty up in arms about the one trans athlete in an otherwise forgettable track and field meet.

Also, not for nothing …

It seems fairly unlikely Sonja Shaw wins. But … who the fuck knows?

So vote!

Please, vote!