It was a deservedly big deal last week when Chaya Raichik (Libs of TikTok) revealed that the National MS (Multiple Sclerosis) Society had ejected a 90-year-old volunteer who’d been with the organization for over 60 years because she expressed bewilderment about pronouns. The society found itself trapped in the glare of the humiliation spotlight and, after first trying to defend its actions, it finally issued an apology. The only problem is that the apology isn’t an apology at all; instead, it’s a gentle but obvious threat to double down on indoctrination.

American Thinker covered the National MS Society scandal when it first hit, including its defensiveness about the decision to eject Fran Itkoff as a volunteer. If you’re unfamiliar with the facts, the post offers a decent overview.

The same post notes that, thanks to Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch, all American employers are being forced to grapple with just how much bending over needs to be done for the so-called “transgender” crowd. (Hint: It’s never enough.) That’s because Gorsuch, ignoring all long-established rules for statutory and constitutional analysis, concluded that the word “sex” in the Civil Rights Act of 1964 included the then-nonexistent concept of “gender identity.”

Image: Fran Itkoff, the gender-identity renegade. YouTube screen grab.

Given what Gorsuch did, one could theoretically say that the MS Society, faced with a legal obligation that the Supreme Court made up out of thin air and then imposed by judicial fiat, felt it had no choice regarding its policy. However, now that the MS Society has—ahem!—apologized, it’s clear that the MS Society was not reluctantly following yet another divisive piece of judge-made law. Instead, it’s bought completely into gender madness.

Like the Borg, the MS Society policy on gender wokism (and all the other -isms under the D.I.E. umbrella) holds that resistance is futile. You will be assimilated.

Here’s the February 21 “apology” in its entirety. I’ve emphasized certain key phrases.

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society apologizes to our longtime, dedicated volunteer Fran Itkoff. Recently, we asked Fran to step down from her role as a group leader because of statements made that we viewed as not aligning with our recently implemented diversity, equity and inclusion policy. We realize now that we made a mistake, and we should have had more conversations with Fran before making this decision.

Over her 60 years of volunteer service, Fran has been a committed champion for our cause. We had an opportunity to work with her and support her as a self-help group volunteer leader, but as an organization, we fell short.

While we acted at the time with the best intentions, we did not have clear protocols in place. We should have spent more time with Fran to help her understand why, as an organization, we are dedicated to building a diverse and inclusive movement where everyone has equitable access to the care, connections, and support they need to live their best lives.  

We apologized to Fran directly and reached out to her to find a way to continue to work together. In the spirit of continuous learning, we are focused on evaluating our processes and fortifying our learning to ensure our team members are equipped on the best ways to implement all of our policies. We want everyone to feel confident and supported in their roles. This work is a journey requiring commitment, accountability, transparency, and courage.

The National MS Society is a nonpartisan organization committed to one bold vision - a world free of MS. The support of our volunteers is essential to achieving our mission and ensuring people affected by MS can live their best lives. MS does not discriminate, and everyone who shares our vision of a world free of MS is welcome here. 

We invite all to join the movement to create a world free of MS. Together we are stronger. 

If ever there was a non-apology apology, this was it. The organization isn’t apologizing for cruelly kicking out Mrs. Itkoff because she refused to accept an ideology created in the last five years. Instead, its leadership is apologizing that the society didn’t keep her around long enough to indoctrinate her properly. Or, as the statement puts it, “We should have spent more time with Fran to help her understand why, as an organization, we are dedicated to building a diverse and inclusive movement where everyone has equitable access to the care, connections, and support they need to live their best lives.” Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated.

If you were thinking of donating to the MS Society but were only waiting for an apology, hang onto your money. This is not the apology you’ve been waiting for. Instead, these are the weasel words of a totalitarian mindset that is still trying to hide its iron hand in a velvet glove. Consistent with John O’Sullivan’s law, the institution has been “lefticized” and is now corrupt to its very core. If you want to fund support for those afflicted with multiple sclerosis, go elsewhere.