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How about a day of silence to honor the men and women killed in Iraq and Afghanistan? Ooops, that wouldn't be PC.
I asked my kids' school if they were participating and they said NO--and would not tolerate it at all. If there is to be a "day of silence" for any group, it would be for all kids who get bullied, not for any particular group. Then my son was suspended again (twice this month--new record). I was happy the school refuses to allow this--the principal told me she's trying to get the teachers off the politics and back to the basics and things like this will not be tolerated any longer.
Liberal principal that she is even invites Veterans to the school to give talks about their experiences and allows recruiting on campus. Of course--it's a charter school.
Miss Beth, what was your son suspended for? I got suspended in my youth for fighting, but then again I got called all sorts of names and the kid who I fought was suspended too.
Drugs--again. Makes me crazy sometimes.
Day of silence? LMAO ! I will make all the noise I can during this. Unreal.....what will they think of next ?
Where to begin...
Transgendered kids are being murdered for being transgendered at the rate of 1 a fortnight in the USA. It's rare that it happens on school premises though, that's why Lawrence King's execution-style slaying eventually made the news, weeks after the event.
The Transgender Day of Remembrance 2007 went off unremarked by the media. That's where we commemorate the torture/rape/murders of our slain. The list ran to 17 pages last year.
60% of Transgendered people have served in or with the military. There are some (only in Allied forces) over in Iraq and SW Asia right now. A friend on mine in the Canadian Armed Forces is going over there soon.
It's because people in general don't know any of this stuff that the DOS is important - to publicise it.
What you decide should be done about it is up to you.We have no right to tell you that. But we have the right not to remain silenced, as we have done for so long. To tell you "we exist".
"Schroer was an Airborne Ranger qualified Special Forces officer who completed over 450 parachute jumps, received numerous decorations including the Defense Superior Service Medal, and was hand-picked to head up a classified national security operation. She began taking steps to transition from male to female shortly after retiring as a Colonel after 25 years of distinguished service in the Army.
When she interviewed for a job as a terrorism research analyst at the Library of Congress, she thought she'd found the perfect fit, given her background and 16,000-volume home library collection on military history, the art of war, international relations and political philosophy. Schroer accepted the position, but when she told her future supervisor that she was in the process of gender transition, they rescinded the job offer. "
Did anyone here have an inkling that this kind of thing happened? Some in the USAF might know of the guy who nursed home the 2/3 of his A-10 aircraft that was left after a direct hit by an Iraqi SAM in Gulf War I. An "outstanding piece of airmanship" as the commendation read. Well, *she* is now a pilot in a major US airline.
The plain fact of the matter is kids are going to pick on kids--and those who are opening themselves up to being picked on by flaunting and advertising their sexuality are going to be picked on. That's the way of the world, like it or not.
Where are the special days of silence for the disabled kids? The fat kids? The nerds? The geeks? The kids with speech impediments? The kids who wear glasses? The poor kids who can't afford the name brand clothes?
Why should one group get a day of silence of all others? The ONLY thing this does is expose those who choose to advertise their sexuality even further, and open them up to even more ridicule. It should be silence for all or none.
You are quite right, Miss Beth: I believe in equal rights, not special rights, and this is absolutely a case of pandering to a special group.
I have no issues with anyone's sexual gender, or whether he or she wishes to be a she or he ... whoa! Got dizzy there ... but trying to force a group's concerns down my throat will only succeed in my pushing back.
My two cents.
The only case for special rights for a particular group is when they are subject to special wrongs.
"A 2005 National Schools Climate Survey found that anti-LGBT bullying
and harassment remains commonplace in schools across America with
derogatory remarks and the constant threat of physical violence
impairing the educational experience for many students. Over a third
(37.8 percent) have endured physical harassment and nearly one-fifth
(17.6 percent) have been physically assaulted because of their sexual
orientation or gender expression."
Physical Harrassment means being beaten up sometimes, and yes, it's the kind of thing all too many geeks endure at high school. Physical assault is when the beating involves crowbars, knives, baseball bats, and rape.
My skull still carries the marks from the crowbar used to re-arrange my face when I was 8 years old. The broken bones from the times when I was stoned by a mob pelting me with bricks have all healed, as have the scars from the cigarettes that were stubbed out on my hands and neck.
You have absolutely no conception of what goes on, not how desperate some of these kids are. Maybe you should Wake Up. Do some research of your own.
Sounds like just about every place in America ... but, you're from Australia ... are Australians that ruthless to transgendered, lesbian, gay, and all the others?
And, pardon me for asking such a dumb question, but at eight years old, how could you even know you had sexual awareness? At least bad enough that another eight year old would beat you with a crowbar? Something doesn't sound right here.
And sorry, you are not qualified for special rights. I think Miss Beth made that perfectly clear.
Quite frankly, how would the other kids know about someone's sexual orientation if that person didn't advertise it? They wouldn't. It's that simple.
So, Zoe, you want to advertise your orientation and then expect not to be bullied. Well, too bad. The world doesn't work like that. You can claim all you want God made you gay (which I don't believe for a second, I firmly believe 99% of the gays out there choose to indulge in the behavior) but God didn't make boys wear dresses, lipstick and swish their hips. Those are choices. You make the choices, you indulge in the behavior, then you pay the consequences for your actions.
No need for a day of silence for choices you made and advertised.
And before I hear the nonsense about why would anyone let themselves in for that kind of ridicule and hatred, it's very simple--they choose to be the center of attention and disruption at all costs. Period. That, and it's the "fashionable" thing to do and be.
For all you know, I came to my conclusions by direct contact with members of the gay community. So, your little "no concept" and "do your research" are rather pithy and arrogant, aren't they?
Miss Beth - I'm straight. I'm also Intersexed, so "transgendered".
Transsexuality and Intersex has nothing to do with sexual orientation. But the same people beat us up.
Kids who are Transsexual usually know that there's something wrong by age 7 or so. Often they "smell funny" with the wrong hormonal mix, and their body language is subtly off. By the time they hit puberty, they've usually learnt to conceal things. If they don't, it's very dangerous.
For Gay kids on the other hand, they usually don't have problems until they hit high school. I'm not a specialist there, my knowledge is only in TS and IS.
T.J. - it wasn't 8 year olds who beat me, they were 10-13. But I was big for my age, part of my medical condition, not that we knew it. They didn't have the gene tests in the UK in the 1960's. As I said, being transgendered has nothing to do with sexual orientation.
Oh one more thing, Miss Beth. After making all sorts of assumptions about me, about my "indulging in behaviour" that means I must "pay the consequences" of my actions... and then accusing me of arrogance...
OK, I was pithy. Arrogant too. You catch more flies with honey than vinegar, and if I'm to convince people that I'm right, it doesn't help to get them offside. My apologies. I've seen too many obituaries recently, I'm afraid, and I'm only human. That's no excuse if I'm to do any good though.
Tell me, do you know about the "transgender day of remembrance"? How about episodes like this:
"This morning (Tuesday), they found Raychel. Her nightgown cut from her, but still attached, unconscious and with her skull fractured, her left arm broken, 6 ribs broken... and her nether regions bleeding profusely, though wrapped in a hotel towel.
...
One of them admitted that two of the others had anally raped her. His statement that, "... it was okay, though, they used condoms," makes me ill. The doctors had missed the trauma there because it was minor compared to the beating she had received.
...
One of my more ingenious cousins sat in the bushes outside Raychel's room Monday night, waiting with a camcorder. She didn't realize how severe it was going to be, or she'd've gotten help, but once it started she was afraid to let herself be known. She got it all. On Mini-DV."
The local police refused to act, calling it a "family dispute", but the county sheriff intervened when shown the video.
I think I'm right in saying that you have no idea. Or you wouldn't have said "You make the choices, you indulge in the behavior, then you pay the consequences for your actions."
At least, I hope not.
And how is that different than Victoria Lindsay being beaten to a pulp for a youtube video? Everyone was straight there, as far as we know.
How about the fat kid with coke bottle glasses and a lisp who's beaten just for that? How is that different? Or the kid in the wheelchair who'se dumped and beaten? Or the kid in polio leg braces?
It's NOT. In all instances it's a case of extreme violence. And it's not "exclusive" to one group of people. Period. And a day of silence should be for all or NONE. Over here, we're tired of the gay agenda being pushed down our throats and shoved at our kids while straight is pushed aside as abnormal. We're tired of the gay pride parades and the sex fairs in the streets. Flat out tired of it. And then we hear "but no one understands".
Zoe, we do understand all too well. I don't know what it's like where you are, but that's what it is here. It's fashionable. It's chic. And it's being pushed down our throats whether we like it or not. If anything we're overly educated about it and frankly sick and tired of it. Yes there are atrocities--there are in ANY group. We're tired of the LGBT groups saying "we just want the same as everyone else" when that is NOT what they want, they want special conditions and excuses.
Sorry, but it should be for all or none. End of story.
By the way, Raychel is now able to walk short distances unaided. Her speech therapist thinks she'll make a complete recovery from the brain damage there too. It's only been 6 months since the attack.
Her 4 attackers have actually been arraigned now, 35 charges each, some of them Federal, so there's almost a 50/50 chance they may get some jail time.
I have to help pick up the pieces in cases like this. You can see how difficult it is to remain objective. So much of this is "swept under the carpet". I can't blame people for not knowing. But that's why the DOS is so necessary.
So, did Victoria Lindsay's parents have any difficulty trying to get the police to do something? Was her assault not even covered by a single newspaper?
It's the silence, you see. There's a difference.
Transgendered people are lynched or otherwise murdered in the USA at the rate of one a fortnight. About half are minors. Did you know that?
They have seventeen times the murder rate of the general populace.
No, because the idiots purposely made the beating video for youtube. They've all been charged as adults and are facing major charges. It was the blogosphere that made the issue--not proslytizing in schools.
Again, there is no silence here Zoe. I don't know why you think there is, but there isn't. Whoever is telling you that is flat lying to you.As for transgendered minors here in the US, again, you're being lied to. Federal laws forbid that kind of surgery and procedure on minors.
I fear your good intentions are being preyed upon by a bunch of liars.
And Zoe, I'll give you an example from my own history. My two youngest children were outside playing one day when my son threw my daughter inside and slammed the door. He then proceeded to beat the tar out of 5 kids. Doesn't sound very nice at all, does it?
Here's the kicker. My daughter was 2. My son was 5. These kids were 11 and 12 and had tried to separate my children to pick on them just because they could. My son would have none of it. Now, when the parents came to my house to complain, I had to ask them--1) why were your kids travelling in a pack; 2) why were they trying to pick on kids so much younger than they were and 3) aren't you just a bit ashamed a 5 year old beat the stuffing out of your kids?
Beatings happen. Bullying happens. It's not right by any means. But it's not exclusive to one group of people. The world is much more violent than it was even ten years ago. Today, my two youngest are 13 and 16. In fact, today is my youngest's birthday. Nobody picks on either of them now and in fact, they are the ones who take care of neighborhood bullies--against my express orders. They will even take on adults. They learned to defend each other (although they tear each other up now as siblings will do) and now defend those weaker then they are. My son is HUGE--he's 6' tall, 235 pounds, has a 25" neck and size 16 shoes. He's just barely 16.
It happens. And people are taking advantage of you.
"As for transgendered minors here in the US, again, you're being lied to. Federal laws forbid that kind of surgery and procedure on minors."
I'm afraid you're incorrect.
See http://www.isna.org/faq/standard_of_care
"So far as we can tell, most medical centers still practice the concealment-centered model of care that grew out of Hopkins’ optimum gender of rearing system. We still hear many reports of “normalizing” (medically unnecessary) genital surgeries and hormone treatments that were not consented to by the patient, and of adult patients and parents of minors being denied medical records.
What we heard at the American Academy of Pediatrics meeting leads us to think doctors are fairly aware of the controversy surrounding intersex treatment, but are still taking the basic approach of “cut now, maybe ask about quality of life later.”
Again, I have to deal with cases of boys who have been surgically altered to a female appearance because "it's easier to make a hole than a pole" as one surgeon famously put it. Gender - whether one is male or female - resides between the ears, and although 99.9% of the time the body matches, sometimes it doesn't. It can be ambiguous or cross-gendered. In a few rare cases, apparent sex of the body can change over the patient's lifetime, as with the 5ARD and 17BHDD syndromes.
"Transgendered" has come to mean a grab-bag of totally different things. It includes those who are Intersexed, those who are Transsexual (and that is just a subgroup of Intersex). But it also includes anyone whose "gender expression" is not the norm, everything from butch lesbians to transvestite men who dress in women's clothes for a thrill. Again, they're different, but the various groups such as MassResistance et alia don't make any distinction. Neither do those who commit violence. It has been the practice in the past to just have phrases like "gender identity" or "gender expression" in legislation, for that very reason.
It's probable that Lawrence King was actually a TS female rather than an efeminate gay male. But we'll never know: an autopsy of Lawrence's brain would have shown the difference, but that got destroyed by two pistol bullets at close range.
Only the IS and TS categories require surgery, and not all of those. What age surgery and hormone treatments are permitted at has no effect on the basic biological condition.
No, Zoe, I'm not incorrect--my field happens to be law and the federal law is quite clear--it is forbidden on minors. Now, if parents consent, that is one thing; if there is "secret" manipulation going on, then I have to question it. That smacks of conspiracy theory and I personally have no place for conspiracy theories. Here, when transgender is used, it means surgically altered by choice.
As far as intersexed, if I'm reading you correctly, that means someone with the reproductive organs of both genders. That is something that cannot be predicted or prevented and does not fall into the GLBT umbrella.
Surprisingly, my children go to a charter school and have such a classmate. Again surprisingly, no one questions it. She shares it with who she chooses. The kids shrug it off and go on. She has never faced beatings or anything else while at this school. It's accepted as simply a part of her.
And, if people would quit jumping into things with their so-called "good intentions" that's probably what would happen in the majority of cases. Where you have the extremes is generally where people have had agendas forced down their throats and they've had enough. Or they come from ignorant households and a day of silence isn't going to cure that. To expect it to is unrealistic and naive. And, again, it opens the person up for unneeded attention and marks them as a potential victim.
I would wager it actually causes more harm than good by pointing out the people for the bullies. That should be something to be thought out well in advance and what the actual results of such an action are. If the violence has raised exponentially since this day of silence began, then perhaps the so called necessity of it should be revisited and the actual harm it's doing in relation to any perceived good scrutinized.
Miss Beth, your novel and unique definition of transgendered meaning strictly "post-operative transsexual" is not one I've seen before. It's certainly not common usage.
I'll quote Wikipedia:
While many people identify simply as transgender, transgender identity includes many overlapping categories. These include transsexual (TS); cross-dresser (CD); transvestite (TV); androgynes; genderqueer; people who live cross-gender; drag kings; and drag queens.
...
The extent to which intersex people (those with ambiguous genitalia or other physical sexual characteristics) are transgender is debated, since not all intersex people disagree with their gender assigned at birth. The current definitions of transgender include all transsexual people, although this has been criticized.
As for Intersex, it doesn't just mean someone with reproductive organs of both sexes. It includes hundreds of medical conditions such as those who are neither 46xx (female) nor 46xy (male), but 47xxy, or 45x/46xx/46xy/47xxy mixtures, women with 46xy genes but androgen insensitivity syndrome, men with 46xx genes and adrenal hyperplasia, and a variety of other conditions. The best definition is "someone neither completely male nor completely female".
Most such people have conventional male or female gender identities, and these often correspond with the sex their bodies are closest to. But a significant and increasingly vocal minority identify as neither, and a larger minority identify as the gender opposite to their main appearance.
This isn't a matter of choice: male and female brains are biologically distinct. As a lawyer, you should be familiar with the Re Kevin set of decisions in 2003, see Deakin Law Review 2004 v22
http://search2.austlii.edu.au/au...ev/2004/
22.html
which has been adduced in all US cases since then. Including the incredible Kantaras vs Kantaras appeal, where it was held that 46xy females with defective Sry complexes - and some of whom had given birth on the conventional way as they are somatically female - were legally male. While those men with 46xx genes are legally female, even though some have fathered children. As for 47xxy (Kleinfelter syndrome), they are a legal nullity, as are 45x (Turner syndrome), mosaics, chimerae, and so on.
Your point about whether publicising our existence is good from a practical viewpoint is a good one.
But with the backlash against gay marriage, increasingly restrictive interpretations of law mean that we have little to lose. Existing marriages of long standing have been dissolved. Medical and Social Security databases mean we *can't* hide any more, and more and more of us get fired from jobs when we're "outed". Various religious cults now openly call for our extermination, or at least, suppression, because we're "gay perverts".
Ironically, there's also a large proportion of the GLB clique that believes T's don't belong, that GLBT is a chimera, as so many are straight. Hence openly gay congressman Barney Frank's successful deletion of "Gender Identity" from the Employment Non Discrimination Act, so it covers GLBs only.
Getting back to the DOS... intersexed and transsexual children whose body language and mannerisms (and pheremones) do not correspond with their appearance are subject to persecution whenever homophobia is tolerated or encouraged.
One more thing - I'm very glad your children go to the school they do. If all schools were like that, there'd be no need for a DOS. But there's a reason why you sent your children to a charter school, isn't there?
One thing though - this girl - depending on the jurisdiction, she may be legally a boy. So if she acquires a boyfriend, does that make her gay in that jurisdiction? Or if she crosses a state line so she's legally female there and has a girlfriend, does that make her lesbian instead?
I won't go into the cases where apparent sex changes naturally in the course of a lifetime. Fortunately they're rare.
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