Right after the legislature rushed through HB2 and Governor McCrory signed it in the dark of night, a group of friends discussed the issue over lunch in North Raleigh.

Male and female, ages 40 to 80, they included a retired judge, a couple of lawyers, several business and political consultants and a couple of family members. All Democrats or leaning that way. All smart, well-informed people.

But not one of them knew what “transgender” meant. A Google search quickly answered that question. But, still, no one really knew what the transgender-bathroom issue was about.

Since then, we’ve all had an education. Very much like the education that people had in past years about gays.

Those who grew up in the decades of the 40s, 50s and 60s recall how gays – they were politely referred to as “homosexuals” and not so politely as “queers” – were regarded then: Perverts. Predators, even.

We got past that. Most people, anyway.

Now we’re on a learning curve about transgender people.

Today, as with gays in the old days, some people translate “transgender” as perverts and predators. Why? Maybe they don’t know any transgender people. Maybe they’ve been told something that scares them. Maybe they are motivated by sincere religious or moral beliefs.

But there’s another group of people involved in this political debate. These are people who know, or should know, that transgender people are not predators. They are, in fact, far more likely to be prey than predator.

These politicians and political operatives are knowingly, deliberately and even gleefully making innocent and vulnerable people political targets.

The cure for ignorance is education and experience. The cure for cynical political opportunism is effective political action.