Anti-trans legislation and public schools

Somehow I was unaware until school started this week that the state I live in, Indiana, passed a law this year requiring the school to REPORT to the parents if a child requests to be called by a different name or gender pronoun than they registered under…and the parent has to give written permission for the school to use said name or gender pronouns. This has put a ridiculous burden on the teachers, of course. Today I got an email notifying me that my son, Ben, would like to be called Ben and not Benjamin. I signed a form. Thousands of other parents will do so as well.

This is absolutely fucking ridiculous in so many ways. The pursuit of eliminating trans people at all costs has gotten so out of hand. This is some Taliban shit.

Please…for fuck’s sake call my kids whatever they want to be called, have drag queens read to them…teach them that slavery was bad and gay people exist. Let the teachers teach. Help my kids to be smart and kind and call it a day…I trust our public school system. This is so infuriating.

To the people passing these laws, I hope your children and grandchildren are ashamed of you and put you in a shitty nursing home and never visit you…and then you die (of old age) and the next generation is better. This is disgusting.

BonesOfTheMoon,

Holy shit your kid has to have written permission to be called a diminutive of his own name.

That’s absolutely batshit.

mysoulishome,
@mysoulishome@lemmy.world avatar

Indeed. My sister in law has three kids they all go by shortened versions of their full names. Had to sign three forms…to really think that it is technically ILLEGAL for them to call him Ben without a form from me is so absurd.

rambaroo,

This has to be a first amendment violation. How can it be illegal to have a nickname?

mysoulishome,
@mysoulishome@lemmy.world avatar

Clearly kids don’t have first amendment rights…although maybe they should. Perhaps a non-binary minor needs to sue their parents to have that discussion.

APassenger,

While I’m completely with OP on this topic, I’m curious to know how it’s a First Amendment issue when other people don’t use your preferred name (or pronoun).

For good or for bad, they get the same First Amendment rights and protections on their speech.

BonesOfTheMoon,

That’s so… inbred to think this way.

watson387,
@watson387@sopuli.xyz avatar

All of these right wing laws are transforming schools from places of learning to places of indoctrination.

cadamanteus,

But they’re preventing that with this legislation.

/s, Florida is pulling so much shit right now too.

some_guy,

Holy shit. That they didn’t at least carve out an exception for shortening a given name shows how poorly thought through this shit is. No Mike, Luke, Dan, Jenny, Liz, Mark, Beth, and the rest of you. Your teachers and friends may have called you that all of your life, but you are now Michael, Lucas, Daniel, Jennifer, Elizabeth, Macus, Elizabeth.

mysoulishome,
@mysoulishome@lemmy.world avatar

Yep my sister in law had to sign papers that Emerson, Finley and Addison could be called Emmie, Finn and Addie. Definitely keeping kids safe from……….drag queens? Pedos? Secret gender affirming care?

Another thing I think about is that my daughter talked to a school counselor and now a therapist…I am 100% fine with them keeping things private unless it’s a threat of violence or suicide. Sometimes mental health care needs to include discussing things with TRUSTED adults and not your parents. Of course I wish she would tell her mom and I everything she tells her therapist…but no way she ever fucking would. Better the trained mental health expert than getting advice from other teens.

This essentially a direct challenge to that. Kids can’t have secrets. The school may not use discretion.

We should roll our some black mirror shit and monitor them on video 24/7 and some kind of brain chips as well…

febra,

Jesus… the US is going to shit. You’d think that the “land of the free” would be more against this surveillance campaign.

WeebLife,

It’s becoming more and more "the land of the oppressed. "

APassenger,

Currently the freedom is experienced by an organized and motivated voting block.

I continue to think the idea for some, “I should be free enough to own slaves (it may even be good for the slaves)” is out there.

I mean, they didn’t have to worry about room or board, right? They “only” had to worry about being killed, traded, raped, or beaten.

When you hear “freedom,” ask, “for who?” To them, this is freedom to protect their children from “the world.”

mysoulishome,
@mysoulishome@lemmy.world avatar

Free yep but if your kid wants to be called “they” all bets are off…declare marshall law. Put teachers in jail. Get your Bibles ready.

paddirn,

The GOP is creating the nanny state they always accused Democrats of wanting for so long.

bane_killgrind,

Now get him to ask for a new name bimonthly and keep signing those forms

orphiebaby, (edited )
@orphiebaby@lemmy.world avatar

I’m not going to lie, I misread that as: “Now get him to ask for a new name, ‘Bimothy’.”

…I’ve been joking too much with my (incidentally-trans) housemate and best friend about fake/silly portmanteau names lately. The name “Bess” came up and I’m like… “what is that even short for?” They were like “Queen Elizabeth, apparently”, but I said “Bessica”.

bane_killgrind,

"bi"-mothy omg

orphiebaby,
@orphiebaby@lemmy.world avatar

Oh! That’s not what I was going for, but lol

mysoulishome,
@mysoulishome@lemmy.world avatar

I’m totally down for protesting but fucking with the schools isn’t the way to do it…they are victims in this too and forced to do crazy things. Imagine having to ask all of the students what they want to be called on the first day of school and then having to initiate email notification/permission requests to parents. They had to build forms and systems for all of this nonsense

APassenger,

People change due to discomfort (pain) or pleasure. If neither is experienced or transmitted to the deciders, likely nothing changes.

Finding the path with the least amount of friendly-fire is good, but some civil disobedience seems fine with me.

May even be that the teacher is cool with the below:

Ben -> Benn -> Ben

Blamemeta,

Wait, you want teachers to keep secrets from parents?

Batmancer,

Yes, if a child feels comfortable sharing something in confidence with a supportive adult in their life, the adult should respect that privacy. Of course things like being a danger to themselves or others, or signs of possible abuse, should always be reported. What it comes to is that we don’t know what is waiting for that child at home. Parents are not always good, understanding, or open-minded people.

APassenger,

Is this sarcasm, “Throwaway?”

Edit: scrolled down. It’s not sarcasm. Eek.

Kowlown,

That is a good thing that the parents need to be advised. They have the responsibilities of the well beoing of their children.

orphiebaby,
@orphiebaby@lemmy.world avatar

What “secrets” are you talking about?

Blamemeta,

Any kind. Road to hell is paved with good intentions.

orphiebaby,
@orphiebaby@lemmy.world avatar

MST3K: “You’re kind of an idiot, aren’tcha?”

Oh no, Ben is keeping a secret that they want to be called “Benny” and “she”. What a road to hell we are walking down.

mysoulishome,
@mysoulishome@lemmy.world avatar

Fine, whatever I just wish she would clean her room 😭 😂

mysoulishome,
@mysoulishome@lemmy.world avatar

Explain to me the problem the law solves. Things were fine, this is a manufactured trans panic.

Blamemeta,

The government should not keep secrets from the parent without a court order involved. Thats common sense, falls under “Don’t trust the government” And yall wonder why so many are home schooling these days

NoIWontPickaName,

Who said keep secrets?

Do you expect every teacher to call parents if they hear Steven getting called Steve?

mysoulishome,
@mysoulishome@lemmy.world avatar

Apparently but it’s only the first day of school. I can’t even believe it. I would not believe this if I heard about it…I have the email from the school though.

NoIWontPickaName,

Oh I believe you, i was responding to @blamemeta

asteriskeverything,

Since when are teachers part of “the government” lmao

And no one is wondering why so many are home schooling. We are well aware it’s because ignorant parents are afraid that their children will be exposed to ideas, concepts, and facts that they disagree with. The parents are pretty vocal about it we do not have to speculate.

Blamemeta,

Okay, public school teachers. Fine, I wasn’t pedantic enough.

And yall are misinformed about homeschooling, like you are most things.

asteriskeverything,

Nah that isn’t being pedantic, you just made a really poor argument. Teachers aren’t part of “THE government” they are just teachers. That’s like saying you also don’t trust the health inspectors, social workers, firemen, USPS, doctors and nurses at county hospitals, and libraries— oh wait no that one is also under suspicion and attack because schools and libraries are a place for education and provide access to things a certain group of people disagree with.

So Okay. Enlighten me the reasons that so many people are switching to home school. I’m eager to learn.

Blamemeta,

If they work for the government directly, then they are part of the government.

And for the record, public schools are shit, kids are bullied, and they fail to teach. And any time an adult wants a kid to keep secrets, its not a good thing. Im trying very hard to not call you guys pedos, but thats what pedos do, ask kids to keep secrets from parents.

asteriskeverything,

No one is asking kids to keep secrets. The kid is free to tell anyone they want, including their parents, what name they prefer to go by for school. It’s hands down a sloppy attempt to ostracize and alienate trans children by making it the overworked teachers responsibility to police nickname use by checking with parents.

Lmao at your reach though, I hope you get deprogrammed soon.

mysoulishome,
@mysoulishome@lemmy.world avatar

My dad was a firefighter and had to give warnings and citations to hill folks who didn’t trim their grass during fire season. As crazy as it seems…in that situation to some of these people firefighters are actually the big bad government.

asteriskeverything,

Yup, it seems crazy. I believe it though I just think it’s unfortunate and depressing that people can be that narrow minded.

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