Bridget Ziegler is still pretending to be a tough culture warrior. How pathetic is that?

If there’s one thing we’ve learned about Sarasota County School Board Member Bridget Ziegler over the past year, it’s that she’s pretty genuine at being pretty phony.

I mean, Ziegler sure seemed genuine when she would frequently vilify LGBTQ rights, issues and individuals with a sense of gusto that was straight-out hateful at times.

Ah, but then came the reality, grounded in utter phoniness, that under bedroom sheets Ziegler was freely letting her rainbow flag fly as a consenting participant in a sexual threesome with another woman and her husband, former Florida Republican Party Chairman Christian Ziegler.

And, boy, Ziegler, sure seemed genuine when she would piously defend allowing speakers at board meetings to make unhinged comments of a personal nature about fellow School Board Member Tom Edwards – who is gay – by saying such intrusive remarks came with the job of being a public figure.

Ah, but then came the reality, grounded in utter phoniness, that behind closed doors Ziegler was sheepishly asking a Sarasota Police Department detective “How public does this become?” while being grilled – cue the “Law & Order" gong – during an investigation into a sexual assault allegation against her husband that stemmed from the ménage à trois.

(In the end, no charges were brought against Christian Ziegler.)

And, gee, Ziegler sure seemed genuine when she would rant about “woke mobs” that refuse to show unwavering deference to – and unquestioning respect for – institutions of authority in our country.

But then came the reality, grounded in utter phoniness, that after having her own brush with an institution of authority, Ziegler joined her husband in suing the Sarasota Police Department and State Attorney’s Office to block the release of any more records gathered during the criminal investigation of her husband.

More: Sarasota judge denies motion to release ex-Florida GOP chair's seized criminal records

And, yep, Ziegler sure seemed genuine whenever she would loudly call for accountability from others – even if it meant helping to publicly humiliate and discard a district superintendent who, by all objective standards, was doing an effective and competent job.

Ah, but then came the reality, grounded in utter phoniness, of Ziegler’s total unwillingness to show any acknowledgment of – much less remorse for – being a flat-out hypocrite.

More: Sarasota School Board approves resolution calling for Bridget Ziegler to resign

Some 'culture warrior'

In short, Bridget Ziegler can never again make a credible case that she's a legitimate culture warrior; she can only make a pretty lame stab at pretending she’s ever been one in the first place.

And, really, is there anything more sad and pathetic than a person who doggedly clings to keeping up false appearances long after everyone else around them has figured out the “false appearances” part?

That’s why I’ve had a different reaction than many to Ziegler’s successful drive to push through a resolution calling for the School Board to reject district compliance with the federal government’s new Title IX protections to prevent discrimination based on gender identity.

Yes, Ziegler's resolution is divisive.

Yes, it’s a blatant political act that will prove to be just as futile and grandstanding as Gov. Ron DeSantis’ legal challenge to the federal Title IX additions.

More: Florida education department says it will 'fight' new federal rules on gender identity

But the overriding feeling I've had about all this hasn't been a sense of outrage toward Ziegler for bringing this ultimately irrelevant resolution forward. Rather, it's been a sense of pity toward Ziegler for desperately holding on to the delusion that she can somehow remain relevant by pulling stunts like this ultimately irrelevant resolution.

And, come on, shouldn’t pity should be the prevailing emotion that all of us have in response to anything Ziegler does or says these days as an openly disgraced, fully discredited School Board member?

Bridget, please

Now I know, I know, the clamor is still out there for Ziegler to resign from her seat on the School Board.

But I certainly won't back down from my belief that Ziegler shouldn’t leave, if only to spare us from giving DeSantis an opportunity to appoint yet another of the clueless dopes he has a habit of putting in positions they have no business holding – and who are almost always individuals demonstrably worse than the people they replace.

On that issue I have no problem with continuing to beg Ziegler to stay on the Sarasota County School Board.

On that issue I have no problem with continuing to say, “Please, Bridget, please."

More: So you want Bridget Ziegler off Sarasota's School Board in the worst way? You may get it.

But when it comes to Ziegler’s obvious mission to keep up the pretense that she's still some authentic culture warrior we should take seriously, here’s the only plea all of us should be making to her right now:

“Bridget, please.”

Opinion Editor Roger Brown can be reached at roger.brown@heraldtribune.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter: @RBrown_HTOpin.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Sarasota School Board Member Bridget Ziegler deserves pity, not outrage