"One commenter and concerned teacher, Laura Morris, who had worked at Loudoun County public schools for five years, delivered an impassioned statement resigning from her position, and described how teachers were being encouraged to report each other should they overhear comments from co-workers critical of the policy."
" Girls, and their spaces, are seen as nothing more than pawns to validate a tiny minority of male students’ and staff’s feelings.”
"... surrounded by armed security guards and members of the public were patted down before being granted access, which was only permitted in groups of ten."
I am relatively new to the GC fight, the more I read and learn the more confused and stupefied I am at how underhanded this ideology is and how laws etc change to accommodate this bullshit at the expense of women's sex based lawful rights.
Can someone please tell me why there is no genuine push by lawmakers in the US, UK, Ireland, NZ, Australia and Canada to name a few for a 3rd space (or however many these gender ideologists want) in prisons, schools, dressing rooms, sports etc and that way they can live whatever way they want with their feelings and f*ck off and leave my sex alone. I genuinely do not understand any of this madness.
Not to try to answer you, but you are at the point (peaking) where many are at. Lawmakers? Caught completely offguard for one. Other distractions. Inherantly misogynisitic institutions that are often male-dominated that we accepted or fought against for generations but came to a kind of accommodation with. And a dedicated and increasingly powerful and frequently violent minority determined to succeed. It has all the hallmarks of misogyny and women hatred red in tooth and claw, but dressed up as a Women's rights movement. Throw confusion in and sit back and watch. There's a growth of male power leaders worldwide, and extremism across the political spectrum, aided and abetted by the tech bots tweaking what influences us. It's hard to grasp such a multi-faceted thing that no one can seem to agree on. It takes a while to pass laws, it suits the already powerful. It's easier to tweak them at the edges and take nibbles out of rights generations before us fought for.
People think of themselves as fair and decent, and are being conned into believing that's what this is. It's hard to change your opinion if you are being encouraged everywhere you look in a certain way and it's apparently reasonable on the surface as it co-opts other rights. The tech companies are sitting back laughing and are showing no reponsibility. They are way more powerful than any legislature - and as so many are based on the English system of governance - they all have this fatal flaw. It takes a long time to turn the ship. Any small voice can be magified and broadcast.
Perhaps this is the inevitable direction that these type of democracies would go in, where there is more supposed balance, superiority (it can't happen here) and they are exposed to their systems becoming corrupted in the name of 'fairness'. They're all Anglophone, or dominated by the English language and borrowed (or imposed) polity and justice system. I wouldn't term it Colonial, but heavily connected and maybe the grandchild to how Colonialism imposed itself and destroyed the original societal systems in these places. That tight grip has gone and left a gap to occupy.
This is also a well-funded and deliberate movement. It's brazen. It feels like a consipracy at times, but it looks a lot like it is. People are making millions as we pivot to 'new' areas to market to and manipulate populations. As is said a lot on here, follow the money.
Thank you for your reply. I have always fought for women's rights, since the 1980s in Ireland when women having access to contraception was at their doctor's discretion even though it was legalised in 1985 extraordinary as this sounds it was widespread.
When I studied Criminology/Penology in the UK nearly 30 years ago I was shocked by how unjust the criminal justice system was towards women, losing their partner, kids, houses, jobs etc when they were imprisoned compared to their male counterparts. Women were seen to have broken 2 laws, the law of the land and the 'law' of not 'behaving' the way women were supposed to. I got involved with helping women adjust after prison, to see today that men have access to vulnerable women in that most vulnerable of spaces where they cannot escape I am at a loss to understand.
Again thank you for your reply, I thought we had come a long way so to be still fighting for our rights in 2021 is hard to compute. It's great to have so many standing up to the bullies.
And thank you for yours. They are 'reframing' what many of us women (and men) have been doing for centuries and generations. I didn't think this would happen in my lifetime and feel fairly naive. The implications for women of what happens in the Family Courts in the UK right now, seem not much different to how naughty women have been treated for (again) generations. Hang on a minute, but I thought we'd won that battle I keep thinking. Hadn't we? Let's take stock. Back to skirmishes again. And yes, that nice pretend logical legal system, and that 'natural' law system that underpins it or runs in parallel.
I'm not entirely English and perhaps that gives me my critical view on it as I always felt like a bit of an outsider and I was aware of other histories. TRA often have the fervour of a Nationalist movement. I am at a loss to understand too. I am trying not to feel too desolate and numbed by all this, and it helps to know there's an awkward bunch not letting this pass without note, and as you say, standing up to the bullies.
I don't think it's a coincidence that fair Graham is Irish :-)
I have done a lot of investigating of and reporting about fundamentalist Christian and esoteric movements. The TRA movement has every characteristic of them, and copies their highly successful strategies to the letter. (What makes it even worse is the all too obvious mental health issues many TRAs have that exceed anything you can observe with esoteric groups and a fair amount of narratives it has in common with historical Fascism) I do not think that it is a coincidence that we see the worst assault on women's rights in my lifetime coming from Christian Fundamentalists and from trans ideology at the same time.
I'd like to give a copy of Orlando, and many, many other books, or paintings, or music, or lessons passed down in oral histories - stories - that show this is nothing knew, and gender expression is not the recent thing many seem to think it is. We do not have to adhere to the strict gender norms determined by a few people. I will wear trousers if I like. And trousers with pockets. And that still doesn't make me a man, or want to be a man. It makes me a woman wearing the clothes she wants. It takes me a moment to realise we back at that point.
I read and heard of a Syrian woman involved (with her family, including men) in helping women from a refugee camp to safety. The secrecy involved as this is so dangerous. Burning coverings that women have been forced to wear and making reference to God. How brave is she? Astonishing.
So for those of us in more stable countries or spaces, this extreme violence and capitulation of our public bodies does seem to be the newer element. And we are not likely to have such unspeakable things done to us in war. And where they do happen, in our homes, in toilets, restrooms and bathrooms, and on the streets, in spas and changing rooms, in classrooms and hospital wards, and at work, in the courts, and the threats of it multiply online, we must challenge them and the ideology that underpins this.
Easily into the double figures, for some. Then again, for some other ideologues, the figure could be zero; those who insist that "trans women" *are* women, and that any policy that distinguishes them from "cis" (= actual) woman is bigoted
Because that would publicly aknowledge that someone's feelings just aren't reality and that you don't get to dictate everyone else how to talk about themselves and push them around according to your every whim. That's why. We can't have that with people with mental issues who some people don't even want to call us mental health issues, now, can we? Thus we must give them access to all the girls and women they want.
What does gender-expansive mean? What is a gender-expansive student? Seeing as this is apparently now a legal term, I'd like to know. Who will be enforcing this? Do they know what this means, this part of law they will be enforcing? How will it be enforced and with what sanctions?
"The term gender expansive is increasingly being used for people who challenge cultural expectations regarding gender roles, identities, expressions or norms.
Some gender-expansive individuals identify as a man or a woman, some identify as neither, and others identify as a mix of both or on a spectrum between male and female.
Some express their gender in ways that differ from stereotypical presentations.
Sometimes gender-expansive people use gender-neutral pronouns.
Gender-expansive individuals may further describe themselves as nonbinary, gender fluid, or genderqueer."
Thanks Sianrose. None of this stands up to legal scrunity. But, no. No to the gender-expansionists. This is sheer disrespectful boundary mussing nonsense. Why would I deliberately enflame someone in my home or even another country, culture or religion, by insisting they observe my views and thoughts? How are we indulging this?
Gender-expansive means nothing. It's another woolly, poorly defined nonsense waffley waffle bunkum made up term. Because I'm no stereotype I'm therefore a genderwanged, gender-expanded expansionist? That's illogical. One is not the opposite of the other. Stop co-opting me. And what's another word for 'expanding' into other spaces, already occupied by others. Into my lebensraum eh? We need a plebiscite. Get off my lawn.
I don't 'dress as a woman', whatever that means, and yet I'm not gender-expansive in the manner they define it. They are melting all my humanity and diversity and my sex and are reframing it. Do I now need to paint my nails, wear a wig or dye my hair blue or purple or green, wear slightly revealing, yet tight, yet floaty sparkly clothes, those chokers I see everywhere from the 90s, big look-at-me earrings, an inch of slap and tip my head to the side and put on a higher pitched whispery voice to signifiy my whatever to whomever? No, let us, me, stop trans translating everything we are and do.
You're most welcome (elaborate bow). Thank you for reading it. I feel highly ranty much of the time about this. Then I feel odd, as I have been taught and learned to express myself in calm and reasoned ways, not get too womany emotional as that's a sure fire way to get sidelined and dismissed, or so as not to enflame and cause violence. That f**ks me right off too!
Ditto. So much done to annoy and oppress women. One can’t help but think these infant man children and enablers insult us on purpose. “Women are CRAZY”.....wankers.
(I've just read this through - I'm sorry for all the typos and my typing not keeping up with my thoughts. Scrutiny, scrutiny, scrutiny. And proofreading.)
I guess it's usually both, and we shouldn't forget that narcissism is the probably most serious mental health issue where people are still highly functional. A depression will knock you out every know and then, while narcissists are usually able to perform on the same level forever. And in general, there are - luckily - not that many mental disorders that mean you don't know what you are doing. Then again, that doesn't mean that you would act like a mentally stable human being. Nor, that this should be an excuse for your actions. Which is actually how most legal systems see it, too.
“All students are expected to display good sportsmanship in competitive activities, whether they are participants or spectators, and they shall conduct themselves in a manner demonstrating respect for persons and property.”
In other words, all students whether participants or spectators, will comply with OUR totalitarian rule. Where is the respect for females?
They have no choice but to pull children from these schools. We have a pattern of these school boards outright ignoring parents and constituent concerns, whether it be CRT, gender or mask wearing. The bureaucrats are not there to serve the public anymore, so no more hoping for a better result. Pull them.
We are thinking homeschooling for our kid. We are both career teachers so feel we'll be better for it than the school system with their mad new doctrine.
This is very sad to hear. I understand you if those policies are in place in the schools your kids go to. Still, the consequences for your children will be problematic. It is, perhaps, the lesser of two evils, but not by all that much. And, when a lot of parents do that, it will get even worse for the children who have no opportunity to be homeschooled.
I'm more or less holding on to hope that the world wisens up sometime soon. It'll be years before our kid starts attending school. The teacher from this article who publicly resigned got hired at a private school almost immediately. I'm currently looking for ANY sign of sanity in the world lol.
If only half of this is true - and with Glinner I have no reason to doubt all is true - these procedures are a most frightening example of shutting down public opinion and casting anyone who does not wholeheartedly agree as a potential terrorist. There has absolutely never been an example of concerned parents or other citizens using force or the threat of force to shut down such procedures. On the contrary, it is trans acitivists who regularly resort to violence against dissenters, who threaten and intimidate them. And very publicly so. Yet, it is the general public that has second thoughts about these esoteric and harmful policies that gets treated like terrorists and vilified publicly. This is getting ever more akin to 1930's Austria and Germany where fascists militia openly paraded the streets, threatenting to kill and sometimes killing leftwing activists, politicians and union staff and guess who was disarmed - the workers' militias, the Communists and the Social Democrats.
Chris, it is true. Hard to believe, but it is true. They didn't 'sometimes' kill leftwing activists and others. Entire generations were slaughtered, and those that did escape managed to somehow get to safety in other countries. Entire countries and generations also went to war to stop it. That is why when making any reference or analogy to previous historical events we must speak about it with caution and respect. And look to what is happening now.
I am very careful with these references, as I have devoted a lot of time to study the buildup of fascism and its subsequent ursurpation of power - with the help of conservatives, reactionaries and what can generally be described as the ruling and owning class. Luckily we are still faaaaar away from anything like 1933 in Germany and 1934 in Austria, which is my home country. But we are getting ever closer to the situation in the years leading up to it. No one has gotten killed to my knowledge - yet. Of course, totalitarianism has changed its face and we shouldn't expect the same reign of terror, but the differences are not as big as we might hope.
Here is how parents in Loudon County can deal with the school board (I saw this done in California in 1971). I hope someone on here has a contact in Virginia.
Remove your children from school. You can say they are sick or whatever you like. The federal government reimburses schools based on the numbers of children who are actually IN SCHOOL each day. The school board will cave to parents' pressure if they start losing federal funding. I know Biden has reinstated Obama's ruling on gender identity, but I still think this might be a tactic. In California, the students went on strike for greater racial diversity in advanced placement classes, a bare bones dress code (shoes and no underwear showing), etc. The absolute BEST school I ever attended with superb teachers and an administration which supported their teachers.
Are the board members getting backhanders from someone? why on earth would they push this through? is it cos it doesnt affect them in anyway? - im really baffled
There is the same sort of pressure on them as there is on anyone else who deals with this issues in public. Plus, neoliberalism and the re-emergence of religion have done their bit to prepare the narrative that reality doesn't really matter, or at last not anymore than someone's feelings and that it's just alright to bully someone into submission by claiming you are the victim and that accordingly the faintest shadow of doubt about your claims and statements must be the result of hatred. It takes a lot of courage and a lot of knowledge to stand up to that. Most people have neither and only few have both. We have seen lawmakers being bullied and gaslighted into passing unconstitutional laws by the Christian Right and now by TRAs. If the US Congress, a State Congress or a national parliament in Europe like that of Spain are not capable of putting up any resistance, how can we expect members of a county schoolboard to do better? Is this an excuse for their cowardice? Of course not. They must be held accountable for this. But it is an explanation.
It's like discussing feminism...with the Taliban.
You're not far off
😂
"One commenter and concerned teacher, Laura Morris, who had worked at Loudoun County public schools for five years, delivered an impassioned statement resigning from her position, and described how teachers were being encouraged to report each other should they overhear comments from co-workers critical of the policy."
" Girls, and their spaces, are seen as nothing more than pawns to validate a tiny minority of male students’ and staff’s feelings.”
"... surrounded by armed security guards and members of the public were patted down before being granted access, which was only permitted in groups of ten."
The whole thing stinks.
I am relatively new to the GC fight, the more I read and learn the more confused and stupefied I am at how underhanded this ideology is and how laws etc change to accommodate this bullshit at the expense of women's sex based lawful rights.
Can someone please tell me why there is no genuine push by lawmakers in the US, UK, Ireland, NZ, Australia and Canada to name a few for a 3rd space (or however many these gender ideologists want) in prisons, schools, dressing rooms, sports etc and that way they can live whatever way they want with their feelings and f*ck off and leave my sex alone. I genuinely do not understand any of this madness.
Not to try to answer you, but you are at the point (peaking) where many are at. Lawmakers? Caught completely offguard for one. Other distractions. Inherantly misogynisitic institutions that are often male-dominated that we accepted or fought against for generations but came to a kind of accommodation with. And a dedicated and increasingly powerful and frequently violent minority determined to succeed. It has all the hallmarks of misogyny and women hatred red in tooth and claw, but dressed up as a Women's rights movement. Throw confusion in and sit back and watch. There's a growth of male power leaders worldwide, and extremism across the political spectrum, aided and abetted by the tech bots tweaking what influences us. It's hard to grasp such a multi-faceted thing that no one can seem to agree on. It takes a while to pass laws, it suits the already powerful. It's easier to tweak them at the edges and take nibbles out of rights generations before us fought for.
People think of themselves as fair and decent, and are being conned into believing that's what this is. It's hard to change your opinion if you are being encouraged everywhere you look in a certain way and it's apparently reasonable on the surface as it co-opts other rights. The tech companies are sitting back laughing and are showing no reponsibility. They are way more powerful than any legislature - and as so many are based on the English system of governance - they all have this fatal flaw. It takes a long time to turn the ship. Any small voice can be magified and broadcast.
Perhaps this is the inevitable direction that these type of democracies would go in, where there is more supposed balance, superiority (it can't happen here) and they are exposed to their systems becoming corrupted in the name of 'fairness'. They're all Anglophone, or dominated by the English language and borrowed (or imposed) polity and justice system. I wouldn't term it Colonial, but heavily connected and maybe the grandchild to how Colonialism imposed itself and destroyed the original societal systems in these places. That tight grip has gone and left a gap to occupy.
This is also a well-funded and deliberate movement. It's brazen. It feels like a consipracy at times, but it looks a lot like it is. People are making millions as we pivot to 'new' areas to market to and manipulate populations. As is said a lot on here, follow the money.
Thank you for your reply. I have always fought for women's rights, since the 1980s in Ireland when women having access to contraception was at their doctor's discretion even though it was legalised in 1985 extraordinary as this sounds it was widespread.
When I studied Criminology/Penology in the UK nearly 30 years ago I was shocked by how unjust the criminal justice system was towards women, losing their partner, kids, houses, jobs etc when they were imprisoned compared to their male counterparts. Women were seen to have broken 2 laws, the law of the land and the 'law' of not 'behaving' the way women were supposed to. I got involved with helping women adjust after prison, to see today that men have access to vulnerable women in that most vulnerable of spaces where they cannot escape I am at a loss to understand.
Again thank you for your reply, I thought we had come a long way so to be still fighting for our rights in 2021 is hard to compute. It's great to have so many standing up to the bullies.
And thank you for yours. They are 'reframing' what many of us women (and men) have been doing for centuries and generations. I didn't think this would happen in my lifetime and feel fairly naive. The implications for women of what happens in the Family Courts in the UK right now, seem not much different to how naughty women have been treated for (again) generations. Hang on a minute, but I thought we'd won that battle I keep thinking. Hadn't we? Let's take stock. Back to skirmishes again. And yes, that nice pretend logical legal system, and that 'natural' law system that underpins it or runs in parallel.
I'm not entirely English and perhaps that gives me my critical view on it as I always felt like a bit of an outsider and I was aware of other histories. TRA often have the fervour of a Nationalist movement. I am at a loss to understand too. I am trying not to feel too desolate and numbed by all this, and it helps to know there's an awkward bunch not letting this pass without note, and as you say, standing up to the bullies.
I don't think it's a coincidence that fair Graham is Irish :-)
I have done a lot of investigating of and reporting about fundamentalist Christian and esoteric movements. The TRA movement has every characteristic of them, and copies their highly successful strategies to the letter. (What makes it even worse is the all too obvious mental health issues many TRAs have that exceed anything you can observe with esoteric groups and a fair amount of narratives it has in common with historical Fascism) I do not think that it is a coincidence that we see the worst assault on women's rights in my lifetime coming from Christian Fundamentalists and from trans ideology at the same time.
I'd like to give a copy of Orlando, and many, many other books, or paintings, or music, or lessons passed down in oral histories - stories - that show this is nothing knew, and gender expression is not the recent thing many seem to think it is. We do not have to adhere to the strict gender norms determined by a few people. I will wear trousers if I like. And trousers with pockets. And that still doesn't make me a man, or want to be a man. It makes me a woman wearing the clothes she wants. It takes me a moment to realise we back at that point.
I read and heard of a Syrian woman involved (with her family, including men) in helping women from a refugee camp to safety. The secrecy involved as this is so dangerous. Burning coverings that women have been forced to wear and making reference to God. How brave is she? Astonishing.
So for those of us in more stable countries or spaces, this extreme violence and capitulation of our public bodies does seem to be the newer element. And we are not likely to have such unspeakable things done to us in war. And where they do happen, in our homes, in toilets, restrooms and bathrooms, and on the streets, in spas and changing rooms, in classrooms and hospital wards, and at work, in the courts, and the threats of it multiply online, we must challenge them and the ideology that underpins this.
"or however many" hehe that could run into double figures
Easily into the double figures, for some. Then again, for some other ideologues, the figure could be zero; those who insist that "trans women" *are* women, and that any policy that distinguishes them from "cis" (= actual) woman is bigoted
Because that would publicly aknowledge that someone's feelings just aren't reality and that you don't get to dictate everyone else how to talk about themselves and push them around according to your every whim. That's why. We can't have that with people with mental issues who some people don't even want to call us mental health issues, now, can we? Thus we must give them access to all the girls and women they want.
What does gender-expansive mean? What is a gender-expansive student? Seeing as this is apparently now a legal term, I'd like to know. Who will be enforcing this? Do they know what this means, this part of law they will be enforcing? How will it be enforced and with what sanctions?
"The term gender expansive is increasingly being used for people who challenge cultural expectations regarding gender roles, identities, expressions or norms.
Some gender-expansive individuals identify as a man or a woman, some identify as neither, and others identify as a mix of both or on a spectrum between male and female.
Some express their gender in ways that differ from stereotypical presentations.
Sometimes gender-expansive people use gender-neutral pronouns.
Gender-expansive individuals may further describe themselves as nonbinary, gender fluid, or genderqueer."
also from Human Rights...
https://assets2.hrc.org/files/assets/resources/GEreport1.pdf
oh gwad it is so pathetic.
Thanks Sianrose. None of this stands up to legal scrunity. But, no. No to the gender-expansionists. This is sheer disrespectful boundary mussing nonsense. Why would I deliberately enflame someone in my home or even another country, culture or religion, by insisting they observe my views and thoughts? How are we indulging this?
Gender-expansive means nothing. It's another woolly, poorly defined nonsense waffley waffle bunkum made up term. Because I'm no stereotype I'm therefore a genderwanged, gender-expanded expansionist? That's illogical. One is not the opposite of the other. Stop co-opting me. And what's another word for 'expanding' into other spaces, already occupied by others. Into my lebensraum eh? We need a plebiscite. Get off my lawn.
I don't 'dress as a woman', whatever that means, and yet I'm not gender-expansive in the manner they define it. They are melting all my humanity and diversity and my sex and are reframing it. Do I now need to paint my nails, wear a wig or dye my hair blue or purple or green, wear slightly revealing, yet tight, yet floaty sparkly clothes, those chokers I see everywhere from the 90s, big look-at-me earrings, an inch of slap and tip my head to the side and put on a higher pitched whispery voice to signifiy my whatever to whomever? No, let us, me, stop trans translating everything we are and do.
A most satisfying rant, thank you.
You're most welcome (elaborate bow). Thank you for reading it. I feel highly ranty much of the time about this. Then I feel odd, as I have been taught and learned to express myself in calm and reasoned ways, not get too womany emotional as that's a sure fire way to get sidelined and dismissed, or so as not to enflame and cause violence. That f**ks me right off too!
Ditto. So much done to annoy and oppress women. One can’t help but think these infant man children and enablers insult us on purpose. “Women are CRAZY”.....wankers.
(I've just read this through - I'm sorry for all the typos and my typing not keeping up with my thoughts. Scrutiny, scrutiny, scrutiny. And proofreading.)
Anyone claiming to be "Gender expansive" is either utterly confused, and has a serious mental health condition or is just a narcissistic twonk.
My money is on the latter! They know what they are doing.
I guess it's usually both, and we shouldn't forget that narcissism is the probably most serious mental health issue where people are still highly functional. A depression will knock you out every know and then, while narcissists are usually able to perform on the same level forever. And in general, there are - luckily - not that many mental disorders that mean you don't know what you are doing. Then again, that doesn't mean that you would act like a mentally stable human being. Nor, that this should be an excuse for your actions. Which is actually how most legal systems see it, too.
“All students are expected to display good sportsmanship in competitive activities, whether they are participants or spectators, and they shall conduct themselves in a manner demonstrating respect for persons and property.”
In other words, all students whether participants or spectators, will comply with OUR totalitarian rule. Where is the respect for females?
Where is the “good dportsMANship”?
They have no choice but to pull children from these schools. We have a pattern of these school boards outright ignoring parents and constituent concerns, whether it be CRT, gender or mask wearing. The bureaucrats are not there to serve the public anymore, so no more hoping for a better result. Pull them.
We are thinking homeschooling for our kid. We are both career teachers so feel we'll be better for it than the school system with their mad new doctrine.
Best of luck!
This is very sad to hear. I understand you if those policies are in place in the schools your kids go to. Still, the consequences for your children will be problematic. It is, perhaps, the lesser of two evils, but not by all that much. And, when a lot of parents do that, it will get even worse for the children who have no opportunity to be homeschooled.
I'm more or less holding on to hope that the world wisens up sometime soon. It'll be years before our kid starts attending school. The teacher from this article who publicly resigned got hired at a private school almost immediately. I'm currently looking for ANY sign of sanity in the world lol.
If only half of this is true - and with Glinner I have no reason to doubt all is true - these procedures are a most frightening example of shutting down public opinion and casting anyone who does not wholeheartedly agree as a potential terrorist. There has absolutely never been an example of concerned parents or other citizens using force or the threat of force to shut down such procedures. On the contrary, it is trans acitivists who regularly resort to violence against dissenters, who threaten and intimidate them. And very publicly so. Yet, it is the general public that has second thoughts about these esoteric and harmful policies that gets treated like terrorists and vilified publicly. This is getting ever more akin to 1930's Austria and Germany where fascists militia openly paraded the streets, threatenting to kill and sometimes killing leftwing activists, politicians and union staff and guess who was disarmed - the workers' militias, the Communists and the Social Democrats.
Chris, it is true. Hard to believe, but it is true. They didn't 'sometimes' kill leftwing activists and others. Entire generations were slaughtered, and those that did escape managed to somehow get to safety in other countries. Entire countries and generations also went to war to stop it. That is why when making any reference or analogy to previous historical events we must speak about it with caution and respect. And look to what is happening now.
I am very careful with these references, as I have devoted a lot of time to study the buildup of fascism and its subsequent ursurpation of power - with the help of conservatives, reactionaries and what can generally be described as the ruling and owning class. Luckily we are still faaaaar away from anything like 1933 in Germany and 1934 in Austria, which is my home country. But we are getting ever closer to the situation in the years leading up to it. No one has gotten killed to my knowledge - yet. Of course, totalitarianism has changed its face and we shouldn't expect the same reign of terror, but the differences are not as big as we might hope.
Here is how parents in Loudon County can deal with the school board (I saw this done in California in 1971). I hope someone on here has a contact in Virginia.
Remove your children from school. You can say they are sick or whatever you like. The federal government reimburses schools based on the numbers of children who are actually IN SCHOOL each day. The school board will cave to parents' pressure if they start losing federal funding. I know Biden has reinstated Obama's ruling on gender identity, but I still think this might be a tactic. In California, the students went on strike for greater racial diversity in advanced placement classes, a bare bones dress code (shoes and no underwear showing), etc. The absolute BEST school I ever attended with superb teachers and an administration which supported their teachers.
Are the board members getting backhanders from someone? why on earth would they push this through? is it cos it doesnt affect them in anyway? - im really baffled
There is the same sort of pressure on them as there is on anyone else who deals with this issues in public. Plus, neoliberalism and the re-emergence of religion have done their bit to prepare the narrative that reality doesn't really matter, or at last not anymore than someone's feelings and that it's just alright to bully someone into submission by claiming you are the victim and that accordingly the faintest shadow of doubt about your claims and statements must be the result of hatred. It takes a lot of courage and a lot of knowledge to stand up to that. Most people have neither and only few have both. We have seen lawmakers being bullied and gaslighted into passing unconstitutional laws by the Christian Right and now by TRAs. If the US Congress, a State Congress or a national parliament in Europe like that of Spain are not capable of putting up any resistance, how can we expect members of a county schoolboard to do better? Is this an excuse for their cowardice? Of course not. They must be held accountable for this. But it is an explanation.
Thank you - that makes sense. I will also call it cowardice on epic levels.