TO THE EDITOR:
The bathroom bill currently before the Tennessee House would require public school students to use the bathroom that corresponds to their sex at birth. Some people, organizations and employers are opposed to bills like this claiming they are discriminatory. 
Yes, the bill is discriminatory, but not all discrimination is wrong.  Some discrimination is actually needed to avoid problems in society.
The word discrimination definitely has a negative connotation. In this usage it means making a distinction in favor of, or against, a person on the basis of the group, class or category to which the person belongs rather than according to merit. 
However, discrimination also means to note differences between things or persons. When a word has different connotations, it is misleading to always assign it the negative connotation.  It seems many have been conditioned to think all discrimination is bad.
There are obvious biological differences between boys and girls.  Requiring boys to use the bathroom marked “Boys” and girls to use the bathroom marked “Girls” is admittedly discriminatory but there is no evil in doing so. In fact, it avoids problems. A girl would rightly not want a boy to enter the bathroom she is using.
Some are opposed to the bathroom bill because it demands that biology rather than perceived gender identity determines which bathroom is used. They raise the battle cry of “discrimination” and because of its negative connotation, some become sympathetic to their cause. 
However, failing to acknowledge basic biological truths will certainly cause problems in our society.
Douglas Hoff
Byars Road
McMinnville