Here’s Linda McMahon, the nominal head of the Department of Education (is there even one current Department Secretary who cares about actually running the department they are charged to oversee?), talking about public schools and trans kids:
I need to re-write that in bold so it can sink in. The Secretary of Education actually said, “After the Biden administration allowed schools to secretly transition students without parents' knowledge, President Trump is defending parental rights like never before."
I have so many questions, my head hurts.
“In fact, gender-affirming care looks quite different for youth of different ages. Young children – those who have not yet gone through puberty – can’t medically transition. Instead, their transition is entirely social; a gender-expansive child can choose a new name and pronouns, cut their hair, or dress in a different style.”
How did schools “secretly transition students”? Did public schools provide a change of clothes for pre-pubescent students when they arrived at school? Did they provide haircuts and hairstylists for kids? Did they choose new names for students to use?
In regard, to students who have entered puberty, per WebMD,
“The next step of a child’s transition, if they and their family choose, is to take puberty blockers: medications that essentially press pause on puberty. Puberty blockers have long been given to cisgender children for precocious puberty, a phenomenon which can cause puberty to begin at an unusually young age, such as 7 or 8. As gender-affirming care, puberty blockers are only prescribed to a child once they have begun puberty, which for those assigned female at birth can begin around age 8, or slightly earlier for those who are Black or Hispanic; children assigned male at birth usually hit puberty about 2 years later, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
…
After taking puberty blockers, which are fully reversible, a child can still undergo their natural puberty, or they may begin to medically transition and eventually undergo gender-affirming hormone treatment with parental consent. The Endocrine Society recommends waiting to prescribe hormones until an adolescent can give informed consent, which is generally recognized as age 16, though it is widely accepted that starting before age 16 is appropriate in many cases. For those assigned female at birth, this would mean taking testosterone, and for those assigned male at birth, estrogen with or without a progestin and an anti-androgen. Hormone treatment is considered “partially reversible” by the SOC because some changes it causes, such as body fat redistribution, are reversible, and others, such as deepening of the voice from testosterone, are permanent.”
For students entering or in puberty, how did schools “secretly transition students”? Did they have medical surgeons in the schools? Did they provide students with puberty blockers and hormones to help the transition?
Maybe I’m dating myself, but when I was in public school, the school nurse couldn’t provide aspirin without approval from my parents.
Finally, how did schools do this “secretly”? Is it possible parents didn’t notice the new clothing or hairstyles? That kids never mentioned the hormones or puberty blockers they must have been forced to take at school?
Per the National Center for Education Statistics, there were approximately 13,300 public “regular school districts” in the United States.
How many of these districts provided this “secret” option to students? Can McMahon provide the name of one district?
Bueller? Bueller? Bueller?
Ok - I’ll wait for answers to those questions. Let’s move on to Trump. I’m sure he’ll set things straight, right?
Oh Wait. What did he say?
Again, I need to re-write that in bold so it can sink in. The President of the United States said, "In fact, hospitals now are doing reverse surgery at my order. They're doing reverse surgery. Nobody ever heard about it."
OMFG. Damn straight nobody ever heard about it because IT. NEVER. HAPPENED.
Let me be clear. We have never in the history of our country had not just a President who is a pathological liar, but the breadth of sycophantic cabinet members who are also willing to lie and debase themselves so constantly and consistently.
That’s bad enough.
But - not withstanding the Yahoo article which accurately says Trump “falsely claimed” (although just writing “lied” would have been more concise, more accurate and easier) - where the f*^k is the media? How is it possible that not one journalist at a press availability in both cases did not question or call these brazen lies out? How is it possible that not one journalist asked for proof or the name of one institution in either case?
Dictators are enabled because existing institutions fail, but “institutions” are simply aggregations of people. Dictators arise when people - as individuals and in groups - fail to standup and//push back.
I wish I had the answer on how to ensure the institutions and systems put in place by those who came before us can protect us. But in the end, it comes down to people. Whether individually or in groups, people need to have the courage and conviction and, yes, willingness to risk their personal wellbeing, to call out bullies, liars, and demagogues.
My head hurts. Where’s the school nurse? I need some drugs. Oh, I need written permission from my parents?
Bueller? Bueller? Bueller?
Yello - Oh Yeah (Theme Song from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off)
