34 votes

School closed after parents declare ‘hunting season’ on twelve-year-old transgender student: ‘A good sharp knife will do the job’

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38 comments

  1. [10]
    Comment deleted by author
    Link
    1. [9]
      Comment deleted by author
      Link Parent
      1. [8]
        Gaywallet
        Link Parent
        Change is scary. They've never encountered this before and they don't know whether she's a threat or not. In fact, they probably don't realize she's a she, and not a he. They're used to boys being...

        Change is scary. They've never encountered this before and they don't know whether she's a threat or not. In fact, they probably don't realize she's a she, and not a he. They're used to boys being boys, and assume that someone in a male body going into a female restroom is there for nefarious purposes.

        It's tragic, but sadly understandable. The best way to combat this from happening is to educate.

        7 votes
        1. [4]
          mithranqueen
          Link Parent
          I have such a hard time wrapping my head around this concept. Even if they've never encountered a trans person before, why jump to the conclusion that she's a "threat". Why assume that any child,...

          I have such a hard time wrapping my head around this concept. Even if they've never encountered a trans person before, why jump to the conclusion that she's a "threat". Why assume that any child, in any bathroom, anywhere, is in there for any other reason than the obvious?

          18 votes
          1. [3]
            Gaywallet
            Link Parent
            Because sometimes boys do sneak into the girls restroom for nefarious purposes. Like, 0.000000001% of the time, but it happens and inevitably everyone hears about it. Or at least sees it in a...

            Because sometimes boys do sneak into the girls restroom for nefarious purposes. Like, 0.000000001% of the time, but it happens and inevitably everyone hears about it. Or at least sees it in a movie or TV show.

            1 vote
            1. [2]
              mithranqueen
              Link Parent
              I mean I get that the possibility exists - but the assumption that the least likely possible scenario is the "correct" one takes some serious mental gymnastics. These people don't assume every...

              I mean I get that the possibility exists - but the assumption that the least likely possible scenario is the "correct" one takes some serious mental gymnastics. These people don't assume every person walking near them on the street is definitely going to pull out a gun and mug them because sometimes that happens.

              I agree we need more education on the subject but I feel like we're past the point where we can call their fear "understandable" :(

              11 votes
              1. Gaywallet
                Link Parent
                I dunno, many of these states have conceal carry and stand your ground laws. Many of these states have individuals who believe a "good guy with a gun" will solve all gun problems. It would not...

                These people don't assume every person walking near them on the street is definitely going to pull out a gun and mug them because sometimes that happens.

                I dunno, many of these states have conceal carry and stand your ground laws. Many of these states have individuals who believe a "good guy with a gun" will solve all gun problems. It would not surprise me if a large number of these people think exactly what you are saying, perhaps moreso if the person in question is of a particular ethnicity or is dressed a certain way.

                This, of course, is yet another educational challenge. It's simply incorrect in face of the evidence, and is only reasoned to be true by a combination of our innate biases and their education (or more aptly, lack thereof).

                I agree we need more education on the subject but I feel like we're past the point where we can call their fear "understandable" :(

                To be clear, I simply understand why they think they do. I disagree with the line of reasoning and find it frankly offensive. But I can comprehend why the problem exists and therefore can work towards eliminating the problem.

                11 votes
        2. Algernon_Asimov
          Link Parent
          That's a bit generous. In their worldview, this kid has a penis and is therefore a boy. Full stop. You can tell them different until you're blue in the face, but they won't accept it. They fully...

          In fact, they probably don't realize she's a she, and not a he.

          That's a bit generous. In their worldview, this kid has a penis and is therefore a boy. Full stop. You can tell them different until you're blue in the face, but they won't accept it.

          They fully understand that the child's mother and the child themself both refer to the child as a girl, but they will refuse to condone that. Biology overrules everything to them.

          The irony is that, if we scanned the child's brain, it would show biological signs of being a female brain. But we're not conditioned to associate male and female with brain structures: it's penises and vaginas all the way.

          12 votes
        3. [2]
          spit-evil-olive-tips
          Link Parent
          For general transphobia, yes, more education is required. For these parents? They're adults and they're advocating violence against a child. They should fucking know better. They're past the point...

          It's tragic, but sadly understandable. The best way to combat this from happening is to educate.

          For general transphobia, yes, more education is required.

          For these parents? They're adults and they're advocating violence against a child. They should fucking know better. They're past the point where I'm willing to have empathy and say "it's understandable".

          11 votes
          1. Gaywallet
            Link Parent
            To be clear, as I mentioned in another post, I'm not condoning their behavior whatsoever. It's shitty and its inexcusable and I think they are human garbage. But I understand why they think this way.

            To be clear, as I mentioned in another post, I'm not condoning their behavior whatsoever. It's shitty and its inexcusable and I think they are human garbage.

            But I understand why they think this way.

            8 votes
    2. 39hp
      Link Parent
      Imagine wanting to stab a child while also thinking you're the good guy.

      Imagine wanting to stab a child while also thinking you're the good guy.

      22 votes
  2. [7]
    Catt
    Link
    Neither do I. Regardless of how someone may feel about, honestly anything, this is a child!

    Maddie’s mother Brandy Rose said she fears for her life: “These are adults making threats– I don’t understand it.

    Neither do I. Regardless of how someone may feel about, honestly anything, this is a child!

    16 votes
    1. [5]
      PsychoPitcher
      Link Parent
      I hope they all get charged with hate crimes.

      I hope they all get charged with hate crimes.

      16 votes
      1. [3]
        Catt
        Link Parent
        Me too, I don't see how it can be anything else.

        Me too, I don't see how it can be anything else.

        12 votes
        1. [2]
          39hp
          Link Parent
          Let's tack Conspiracy while we're at it. I am shocked, shocked, that some bullies grew up to be adult bullies.

          Let's tack Conspiracy while we're at it.

          I am shocked, shocked, that some bullies grew up to be adult bullies.

          7 votes
          1. Catt
            Link Parent
            Can't be surprised, but definitely still sad...

            Can't be surprised, but definitely still sad...

            2 votes
      2. lars
        Link Parent
        It shows a clear bias.

        It shows a clear bias.

        1 vote
    2. lars
      Link Parent
      Kevin Bickerstaff's post was terrible. He is a grown man suggesting a child gets beaten up.. As soon as I saw that article was about an OK school I knew it'd be a rough read.. I grew up in small...

      Kevin Bickerstaff's post was terrible. He is a grown man suggesting a child gets beaten up..

      As soon as I saw that article was about an OK school I knew it'd be a rough read.. I grew up in small town OK...

      These are adults, if they don't like the situation, discuss it with some tact and behind the scenes with the staff. People just like to be loud mouths and shout their views.

      6 votes
  3. [5]
    nsz
    Link
    Oh man poor kid. Life's already a lot rougher for her then it will probably ever be for many.

    Oh man poor kid. Life's already a lot rougher for her then it will probably ever be for many.

    15 votes
    1. [5]
      Comment deleted by author
      Link Parent
      1. [4]
        nsz
        Link Parent
        Well shit, thanks for correcting me.

        Well shit, thanks for correcting me.

        14 votes
        1. [3]
          235789012983
          Link Parent
          Did you edit your original comment? I thought Tildes showed when comments were edited.

          Did you edit your original comment? I thought Tildes showed when comments were edited.

          1. nsz
            Link Parent
            Just clicked edit on the side. Yeah I was under the impression it would say last edited or something like that.

            Just clicked edit on the side. Yeah I was under the impression it would say last edited or something like that.

          2. [2]
            Comment removed by site admin
            Link Parent
            1. 235789012983
              Link Parent
              Ah that makes sense, I suppose. Thank you.

              Ah that makes sense, I suppose. Thank you.

              1 vote
  4. PsychoPitcher
    Link
    If you goggle the names of the Facebook commenters they are almost all the first result for their names now lol.

    If you goggle the names of the Facebook commenters they are almost all the first result for their names now lol.

    8 votes
  5. [11]
    lars
    (edited )
    Link
    I don't mean to be that guy, but I can't help but feel this is as bad as it is because it is a boy identifying as a girl. I really don't want to sound ignorant or take away from anyone's struggle,...

    I don't mean to be that guy, but I can't help but feel this is as bad as it is because it is a boy identifying as a girl. I really don't want to sound ignorant or take away from anyone's struggle, but I feel like this kid might be getting it a little more rough / having a bigger deal made because he she was born a boy. And people look at it as a boy using the girl's restroom.

    Would grown adults really be suggesting a little girl get beaten up to teach her a lesson? And calling a little girl it and thing? I feel like people know the repercussions for that would be severe so they'd tow the line more.

    Edit: I wasn't thinking on how I was writing, and called her he. I apologize.

    7 votes
    1. [4]
      SHFFLE
      Link Parent
      A lot of transphobes forget trans men even exist. Their visibility has gone up a bit more recently (for better and worse, in different ways... more visibility and resources available, but also...

      A lot of transphobes forget trans men even exist. Their visibility has gone up a bit more recently (for better and worse, in different ways... more visibility and resources available, but also more transphobic garbage sent their way sometimes), but yeah... there’s a good bit in one of Julia Serano’s books where she suggests it may come from a place of engrained sexist thought - the idea that trans men are “moving up” in the world, and thus can’t be blamed, but trans women are “moving down” and thus make no sense to the average cishet guy, meaning they must be mentally ill or doing it for nefarious reasons. I think from what I remember she also suggested that it’s likely because it makes cis people have to confront that their gender may not be as much of a given as they thought, and that scares them.

      16 votes
      1. [3]
        CALICO
        Link Parent
        It's a pretty good example of toxic masculinity in action, with a dash of casual-sexism. We also, culturally, have a history of kinda just accepting masculine-women (e.g. Tomboys), and mocking or...

        It's a pretty good example of toxic masculinity in action, with a dash of casual-sexism.

        We also, culturally, have a history of kinda just accepting masculine-women (e.g. Tomboys), and mocking or disparaging feminine-men (e.g. flamboyance, cross-dressing). Adding the abstract concept of gender — and a mismatched one at that — to the mix turns things up to 11.

        9 votes
        1. Gaywallet
          Link Parent
          There's a certain social "sanctity" of women as well. A woman gives up their virginity, not a man. A woman seeing a penis is no big deal, but a man seeing a vagina is. I believe there's a good...

          There's a certain social "sanctity" of women as well. A woman gives up their virginity, not a man. A woman seeing a penis is no big deal, but a man seeing a vagina is.

          I believe there's a good deal of bias because if you heard of a straight woman in a man's bathroom, most people don't really freak out. But a straight man in a woman's bathroom? All hell breaks loose.

          Men are the perverts, not the women.

          Some people (ignorant) assume it's a man wanting to be a woman, not a woman born in a man's body. They assume that it's a man wanting to see women pee (I'm not even sure how you'd do that, with stalls how they are), not a woman trying to be comfortable when they need to go to the bathroom.

          9 votes
        2. [2]
          Comment deleted by author
          Link Parent
          1. SHFFLE
            Link Parent
            I don’t really like saying trans men or trans women have it easier - we both have our own struggles and contrasts. Hormones do a lot for trans guys - dropping their voices and even causing facial...

            I don’t really like saying trans men or trans women have it easier - we both have our own struggles and contrasts. Hormones do a lot for trans guys - dropping their voices and even causing facial hair to grow (testosterone is strong), but in contrast they often don’t have a choice on top surgery, other than just binding all the time. Additionally, for those who want it, phalloplasty isn’t as far along as vaginoplasty, from everything I hear. Meanwhile, for trans women, it can vary wildly, facial hair has to be removed by laser or electrolysis usually, voice has to be trained, etc, but trans women tend to have more of a chance of avoiding surgery (some get pretty impressive breasts tbh and I’m jealous and want to steal them), and for those that want it, vaginoplasty is pretty impressive.

            3 votes
    2. [3]
      Deimos
      Link Parent
      Some absolutely would. You don't even have to look very far back in history - Ruby Bridges had to be escorted to school by federal marshals for weeks (and then police afterwards), as a 6-year-old...

      Would grown adults really be suggesting a little girl get beaten up to teach her a lesson? And calling a little girl it and thing?

      Some absolutely would. You don't even have to look very far back in history - Ruby Bridges had to be escorted to school by federal marshals for weeks (and then police afterwards), as a 6-year-old girl that didn't even understand why people were angry.

      9 votes
      1. [2]
        lars
        (edited )
        Link Parent
        That's a bit different. It was a much different time, and she was a young black woman. I just feel that situation doesn't quite compare to this. (The out and out racism during school integration...

        That's a bit different. It was a much different time, and she was a young black woman. I just feel that situation doesn't quite compare to this. (The out and out racism during school integration was a much different experience and people viewed African Americans differently. So they behaved differently toward them.) I don't recall reading the race in the article, but the picture of the mother was white or was that a faculty member. I just have a hard time thinking they'd call a young white girl (and I say girl to explain my point, I know I should call a girl identifying as a boy he. I just mean people are still going to perceive the child as a girl and look at her as one when they heard the news of what happened.) it or thing and suggest she get beaten up as a way to get her to comply.

        Edit To better explain what I mean, people had this perception of African American's back then. It was a widely held view. So there wasn't a lot of people saying, "Hey how dare you treat her that way." There wasn't a lot of backlash because the group think was more collective. It's like you had this large group with the same bigoted views, so when you did something you only had a minority who looked down on the bigoted views. There wasn't a large enough collective to have any major back lash. It's like when you have a group of people and then one person no one likes. No one in the group cares what the person no one likes has to say, but they sure as heck care what the collective group thinks.

        Today, things are different and you have all of these people who are going to say, "Hey that isn't right!" It's just a different time period. And I do feel like race would place a major part in a situation like this and how people reacted. People know to tread lightly on certain things today because there are a lot more eyes and a lot more tolerant mindsets.

        1. [2]
          Comment deleted by author
          Link Parent
          1. lars
            Link Parent
            Because the aspects surrounding both situations were just different and there was different types of stigma. I just think it is two different kinds of bad. Not that one was worse, they were just...

            Because the aspects surrounding both situations were just different and there was different types of stigma. I just think it is two different kinds of bad. Not that one was worse, they were just very different situations in terms of how people look at the people.

            Mostly because of the time that happened too. I more so meant in today's time I don't think adults would be as open to saying or behaving this way about a girl identifying as a boy because they know how society would lash out.

    3. [3]
      Batcow
      Link Parent
      I mostly agree that trans women get it worse than trans men, but when talking about the child in this article, please refer to her as a girl. She's not a boy identifying as a girl, she's a girl...

      I mostly agree that trans women get it worse than trans men, but when talking about the child in this article, please refer to her as a girl. She's not a boy identifying as a girl, she's a girl who was assigned male at birth (AMAB). I know you're not being malicious, I'm just letting you know the mistake you've made.

      8 votes
      1. [2]
        lars
        Link Parent
        Sorry, I didn't mean anything by it. I was focusing on getting my point across and didn't realize I called her he. I fixed it. Any other reference was just me explaining my point and referencing...

        Sorry, I didn't mean anything by it. I was focusing on getting my point across and didn't realize I called her he. I fixed it. Any other reference was just me explaining my point and referencing what they were assigned at birth, I don't mean to infer she is a boy.

        6 votes
        1. Batcow
          Link Parent
          Don't worry, it was clearly just an accident. Thanks for fixing it up.

          Don't worry, it was clearly just an accident. Thanks for fixing it up.

          7 votes
  6. [5]
    river
    Link
    Dumb question but is there any way to put a title like that behind a trigger warning? Personally able to cope with it at this time but I can imagine others needing not to see this.

    Dumb question but is there any way to put a title like that behind a trigger warning?

    Personally able to cope with it at this time but I can imagine others needing not to see this.

    7 votes
    1. [5]
      Comment removed by site admin
      Link Parent
      1. Whom
        Link Parent
        I totally understand if we do make the "trigger warning" tag a colored one, but might it be better to standardize tagging individual things that could be triggers? I've seen too many groups in...

        I totally understand if we do make the "trigger warning" tag a colored one, but might it be better to standardize tagging individual things that could be triggers? I've seen too many groups in other places have every other post devolve into "does this really need a TW/CW?" and we could mostly sidestep that by encouraging users to filter out their specific triggers.

        It's also a little less "one size fits all," if we rely too much on the TW tag, some users will be not seeing content they could engage with just fine while others will choose not to filter out that tag so they don't miss out and end up seeing things that they would much rather not.

        Of course encouraging users to do both is also a good option, but I think being more specific might be better to focus on. Imo this element of tagging should be enforced pretty strictly.

        7 votes
      2. Deimos
        Link Parent
        We have the "nsfw" and "spoiler" tags that have different appearances now, it's easy to add more if that's something that would be valuable.

        We have the "nsfw" and "spoiler" tags that have different appearances now, it's easy to add more if that's something that would be valuable.

        5 votes
      3. [2]
        river
        Link Parent
        is it possible to hide all from a specific tag, if so that could work! Let's see what deimos has to say.

        I could add "trigger warning" as a tag on this post.

        is it possible to hide all from a specific tag, if so that could work!

        Let's see what deimos has to say.

        2 votes
        1. Catt
          Link Parent
          yes you can. Go to the sidebar, and at the bottom, you can select topic tags to filter.

          yes you can. Go to the sidebar, and at the bottom, you can select topic tags to filter.

          4 votes