Two educators under fire for using district resources, revealing personal conversation with student during anti-transgender campaign

If there's one thing the religious right thrives upon, it's incidents which they can exploit and manipulate against the LGBTQ community. Religious right groups love to canonize 'ordinary American citizens' as victims of a so-called gay agenda which threatens to wreck their lives. That's pretty much what their "religious liberty" argument was all about. Now it would seem that they may have found two individuals to aid in their recent attacks against transgender youth.

From Oregon Public Broadcasting:

Two educators in Grants Pass were terminated by the school board Thursday. The board found North Middle School Assistant Principal Rachel Damiano and science teacher Katie Medart used district time and resources to promote their campaign to challenge school policies on gender identity. Both Medart and Damiano are outspoken opponents of policies meant to accommodate transgender students in Oregon schools. Last spring, they launched an online campaign called I Resolve. I Resolve calls for a rollback of those policies. For instance, they say teachers should not be required to call students by their preferred pronouns or name. They also want to change signs on restrooms and locker rooms to say “anatomical male” and “anatomical female.”

Can't you just see the headline - "Two educators fired because they would not adhere to the 'transgender agenda.'" 

I can picture Tony Perkins and the Family Research Council or the Alliance Defending Freedom and the Liberty Counsel  salivating over the mileage they could get out of this. They can probably go all day with different Fox News shows while pseudo-experts such as Abigail Shrier and the TERF community can pump up the situation to sell more books or make more ridiculous arguments about how women are being "erased."

But let's not get too hasty. Like the vast number of religious right cause celebres, this one has very interesting mitigating circumstances which may be conveniently overlooked.  As the above excerpt said, an investigation found that the ladies used district time and resources for their anti-transgender campaign. 

But it gets worse. One of the ladies seemingly exposed a student's personal business:

Medart, in particular, was accused of creating a disruption in the school district. In a video posted online, she talks about a student who had come to her with gender identity questions. Although she doesn’t mention the student by name, many in the district recognized who she was talking about.

Both former employees are suing claiming that their First Amendment rights were violated, so it will be interesting to see what happens next. One thing is for sure, though. I don't think it's fair to claim that these ladies are victims.  Using district resources for their own personal campaign in itself is a huge no-no, but mentioning private conversations had with students strikes me as worse. It's a violation of trust, not to mention something which could expose said student to embarrassment and violence. It was an absolutely selfish thing to do.

On that alone,  I fail to see how being terminated was not an appropriate action.

'Lil Nas X giving homophobes the vapors again' & other Mon midday news briefs

Y'all, Lil Nas X is raising hell and I am so here for it!! 

Lil Nas X Had A Fantastic Response For Trolls Who Accused Him Of Pushing The "Gay Agenda"

Twitter's Reactions To Lil Nas X's "Industry Baby" Are Exactly Why I'll Never Delete This App 

In other news:

These Trans Parents Gave Birth Amid a Pandemic and Right-Wing Hate - They caught hell but are coming through it with flying colors. 

Thousands join Pride event in Hungary as LGBTQ people face growing hostility - More bravery in the face of hatred and ignorance.

Televangelists want to create a safe space for young Christian men to congregate online - And the jokes write themselves.

' Joy and Hope to be Found' - CNN spotlights four parents who became fierce, loving advocates for their transgender children

CNN just published a very good article about four parents of transgender boys. The article allows them to relate about how their kids came out, how it affected their relationships, and how the recent anti-trans hysteria made them fierce for their children and other trans children.

 The article is simply amazing due to the honesty and brevity of the parents. They speak from the heart and you will learn more from reading this than any foul anti-trans book or talking points spewed from the mouths of right-wing phony experts.

Here is just an excerpt and after reading it, you will want to read more:

Anger has played a role in all four parents' efforts to speak out against transphobia. Stephen Chukumba of New Jersey told CNN he'd never considered what it meant to be trans until his son, one of his four children, came out as trans. He quickly caught up on the proper vocabulary and history and learned the myriad ways in which trans Americans have been excluded from society. "I found myself really incensed by it," he said of transphobia. "I just can't sit idly by." 

Amber Briggle would agree. It was rage that spurred the owner of a massage business to alert local media in 2016 to a Facebook post by a candidate for sheriff in Denton County, Texas, in which he endorsed physical violence against transgender people. The same year, she invited the state attorney general who criticized trans-inclusive policies to her house for dinner with her husband, daughter, and her son, Max, who is trans. She may not have changed the attorney general's mind that night, she said, but her dinner did get the attention of the Human Rights Campaign, with whom she helped create the Parents for Transgender Equality National Council. She did a TEDx Talk, too, about supporting her son's transition and started a blog about what it meant to be his mother in a state with hostile policies toward trans people.

. . . All four parents unequivocally support their children, though some said they could have been better allies in the beginning of their sons' transition. "I would say I failed at first, although my kid laughs when I say that," Trujillo said. 

From the time her son was 2, he showed her in different ways that he was a boy, Trujillo said. He'd draw himself as a boy and leave LEGO figures of boys around the house to hint at the way he saw himself, he told her. When she finally overheard Danny's friends use "him" in reference to her son, "all the puzzle pieces fell into place," she said. 

Danny was 8 when he socially transitioned, and Trujillo immediately affirmed him. Before he formally came out, she said she didn't see him as trans because she worried that she'd say the wrong thing or damage Danny in some way. But once he transitioned, she realized he knew himself better than she did. Briggle said she'd do "a million things differently" now than she did when her son came out. For one thing, she said, he'd been "expressing that he was a boy" since he was 2-and-a-half, but she didn't understand what he was trying to tell her.

After reading the article, I made one sad realization. Transgender issues are similar to the problems we are facing when it comes to misinformation about the COVID vaccine.  Too many people are being manipulated to draw their own inaccurate conclusions by others with ulterior motives.  They aren't being empowered to educate themselves. They are being empowered to think they know more than the medical experts and others invested in these issues. Sometimes people need to realize their limitations, shut their mouths, and listen to those who know what they are talking about. That would do a world of good.

Photo does not include children in CNN article. It was taken from the Human Right Campaign's Transgender Children & Youth: Understanding the Basics

'Here's all of the actions taken so far by the Biden-Harris administration to advance equality' & other Fri midday news briefs

Here’s all the actions taken so far by the Biden-Harris administration to advance equality - Thus far but no harm in wanting more. 

‘Nobody should be denied.’ Blue Cross NC expands coverage for transgender people - Kudos to Blue Cross NC. 

Senate confirms lesbian, trans nominees to high-profile defense roles - Awesome! 

Half of states now restrict conversion therapy for LGBTQ kids - Not bad. Let's work on the other half.

Video: Fox News is killing Americans

 

Not necessarily an LGBTQ issue in itself, but this situation does involve our community. There has been a snag in our country overcoming this COVID pandemic and that snag is Fox News. Even though employees of that awful network have most likely been vaccinated, day after day they spin lies and fear stories against vaccination. This has been accurately pinpointed as one of the main reasons why it has been so difficult to get folks to do the right thing. And none of them care - not Tucker Carlson, not Laura Ingraham, not Rupert Murdoch, nor anyone else employed at that network.  To them, hurting the Biden Administration is more important than saving lives.

'Louisiana lawmakers fail to overturn veto of transgender ban' & other Thur midday news briefs

Louisiana lawmakers fail to overturn veto of transgender ban - BOOM! Another well-deserved victory for the transgender community. 

Hollywood heavyweights line up to mentor LGBTQ screenwriters - A wonderful idea courtesy of GLAAD. 

Pence's 'Political Career Over' as '24 GOP Presidential Nom Slips Away - For now. But keep an eye on that rascal. Politics changes all of the time. 

House resolution apologizes for treatment of LGBTQ troops, federal workers - It's a nice start but I would prefer passage of the Equality Act. 

22 LGBTQ athletes to cheer at the Tokyo Olympics - Good luck to them.

Federal judge temporarily blocks Arkansas ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth

In what hopefully will be a preview of what's to come, a federal judge temporarily blocked an Arkansas law banning gender-affirming care for trans youth.

From Time magazine:

A federal judge on Wednesday temporarily blocked an Arkansas law that would have banned transgender youth from receiving gender-affirming health care while a lawsuit challenging the law’s constitutionality proceeds. The law would have gone into effect on July 28. In April, Arkansas became the first state in the U.S. to approve a ban that would prevent doctors from providing gender-affirming care—including hormone treatment and puberty blockers—to patients under 18. The law would also prevent doctors from referring patients to other physicians who provide gender-affirming treatment. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a lawsuit in May on behalf of four transgender children, their families and two doctors challenging the ban, arguing it violates the Constitution and threatens the well-being of trans youth. On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Kay Moody in Little Rock, Ark., placed a preliminary injunction on the law’s enforcement while the case moves through the legal system.

The Arkansas law is part of a coordinated legislative act across the nation targeting trans youth.  Republican-led state legislatures have attempted to enacted laws outlawing gender-affirming care for these youth while falsely claiming that they are trying to keep them safe. 

But to trans youth, these bills and laws are having the opposite effect:

“This is who I am, and it’s frustrating to know that a place I’ve lived all my life is treating me like they don’t want me here,” said 15-year-old Dylan Brandt, one the plaintiffs, in a statement when the suit was filed in May. Should the law go into effect, Brandt will lose access to the gender-affirming treatment he’s received for nearly a year. “Having access to care means I’m able to be myself, and be healthier and more confident—physically and mentally,” Brandt said. “The thought of having that wrenched away and going back to how I was before is devastating.” 

According to NBC News: 

Brandt's mom, Joanna Brandt, spoke on behalf of the parents involved in the suit. "We have seen the benefits of this health care firsthand," she said during the news conference. "Our children were suffering, and with this care they have a level of hope and happiness we've never seen. We are no different than any other parent in Arkansas. We love our kids and we want them to grow up healthy, loved and safe." Joanna Brandt said the law "ignores" what medical professionals say about gender-affirming care. Major medical associations such as the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association, the American Psychiatric Association and the Endocrine Society, among others, support access to gender-affirming care for transgender minors.

Arkansas Gov Asa Hutchinson vetoed the bill when it was passed, calling it "government overreach." However, his vetoed was overriden by the legislature. 

Lastly, according to NBC News:

During Wednesday's news conference, Chase Strangio, an attorney with the ACLU, noted that the group has recently had success in a number of states where measures targeting trans people were blocked by judges pending litigation. Earlier this month, a federal judge in Tennessee blocked a law that required businesses to post a notice if they allow transgender people to use bathrooms that match their gender identity. Last year, a federal judge in Idaho also blocked a law that would've banned transgender girls from playing on girls' sports teams in middle and high school and college.