What more is there to say. This is what republicans / the right wants. “… school officials have said they don’t “condone” LGBTQ+ relationships “around here.”” The boy was called “… has endured months’ worth of verbal abuse from the students who attacked him, including being called the n-word, a fa**ot, and a queer”, which means no support, no safe spaces, no help against bullies. One black asexual black boy with difficulties communicating was attacked publicly with an adult present and got no help. The boy himself had to call for medical help. The in school sheriff officer lied and down played the incident because the victim was a black non straight and so did not deserve protection from planned assaults from straight white kids. I said when the maga parents rights crowd got rid of the LGBTQ+ in schools next would be to return to separate facilities for whites and minorities. Now do people understand this is an attempt to return the country and society to a time such as the 1950s where whites were just assumed to be in charge with all the power and rights, white women were subservient to the white cis men, blacks were with our rights or authority and the LGBTQ+ were hidden terrified to come out to live their lives as themselves. That is what the republican right wants. That is why the surge in US NAZIs and the US Christian Taliban. We had moved away from these mindsets and toward an open society for all people. Sadly the right maga right minority feels embolden to take over the country and force everyone to live in the past. Do we really want to regress to the past? Look at other countries that have done that and how backward they are. Hugs
The child experienced an emotional breakdown after the alleged attack and is “terrified” to return to school, his mom says.
A mother says bullies assaulted her 13-year-old son in a middle school bathroom after months of racist and anti-LGBTQ+ slurs. School and legal officials near Allendale-Fairfax Middle School in South Carolina have been unhelpful, she adds. Now, she’s rallying community attention while pursuing charges against the students involved.
Natasha Green’s son is Black, identifies as asexual and panromantic, and has a diagnosed social communication disorder (SCD). She gave video of his assault to LGBTQ Nation and says a teacher was present when it occurred but did nothing to stop it. LGBTQ Nation won’t name the underaged students involved.
Green’s son experienced an emotional breakdown after the alleged attack and is “terrified” to return to school, Green said. He has been placed on homebound instruction while special care professionals evaluate his residual trauma.
Though the school suspended the involved students for four to five days, Green is now pressing charges. She wants the students expelled for “organizing and executing a hate crime” and for the school to remove the witnessing teacher as well as the police school resource officer (SRO) who, she says, took an inaccurate report of the attack.
The alleged attack occurred around 12:30 p.m. local time on January 25 in the band hall restroom of Allendale-Fairfax Middle School, just after her son’s lunchtime.
As the math teacher escorted his students to the bathroom, a girl pushed her son into the boys’ bathroom after she had arranged for two students to attack him, Green said.
A 48-second video of the incident shows Green’s son standing next to a row of urinals while a larger blond, white male classmate repeatedly says, “C’mon, hit me bro. Hit me. C’mon. Do it.”
Green’s son silently stands, nervously holding his left wrist with his right hand as the classmate gets closer.
“If you don’t speak, I might have to,” the blond says.
An off-camera male classmate then counts down “3, 2, 1,” before the blond kid makes an aggressive motion toward Green’s son. Another male student then runs into the camera frame, pushing Green’s son further into the bathroom while the blond follows.
The video shows the two male students grabbing and pulling her son while the blond throws punches at his head. Her son struggles to pull away from his classmates, kicking at the blond just before the blond throws another punch.
The video ends there, though the video shows another student also recording on his phone. Green says the school has three videos of the attack.
According to Green, five students total were in the restroom when the incident occurred, as was her son’s math teacher. The teacher, Green says, is a foreign-born educator teaching under a work visa as part of a year-long program for which the school paid. Green said the school principal was made aware of the teacher’s presence, apologized on his behalf, and said his inaction was likely due to shock and not knowing how to respond.
Green’s son dialed 911 after the attack, and emergency medical services (EMS) arrived at the school. EMS workers attempted calming techniques with him as school officials contacted Green and her other family members to notify them about the incident. Green’s son also spoke with the SRO, a police officer stationed at the school, about what happened.
Green’s mom (her son’s grandmother) was the first to arrive at school.
“When my mom got there,” Green wrote, “he was agitated and hallucinating again so he was transported to the local [emergency room] for evaluation. At the ER, the doctor suggested he stay out of school until he could fully calm down and see his regular doctors and therapist.”
She said that her son was so terrified after the attack that he had trouble recognizing his family members, had difficulty calming down, and felt as if he was still under attack. When she met with her son’s special needs behavioral health care workers, they said that she’d need to provide the SRO’s incident report so that they could schedule priority responsive care sessions for her son.
When Green received the report on January 27, she said the SRO slid the report to Green through a crack in the door. When Green pointed out that the report didn’t mention the female student who allegedly encouraged the boys to attack her son, she said the SRO informed her that she had based her report on the principal’s account of what happened, hadn’t spoken to any of the other students involved, and refused to change the report.
“I reminded [the SRO] that she talked to my son, and she said no, that was not true. I have video evidence that she did,” Green said.
Green provided the report to LGBTQ Nation. It says, “[The two boys] started a physical altercation with [Green’s son]. The three had a discussion while in the restroom and [the first boy] began physically assaulting [Green’s son] then [the blond boy] joined in he assault bt striking [Green’s son] with closed fist (sic) on or about his body.” It also mentions that Green’s son called EMS who came to the school to treat him, but it doesn’t mention the teacher who allegedly watched the attack.
On January 30, Green went to the Allendale County Sheriff’s Office to file a statement about what happened: One that names the girl allegedly involved and the teacher who allegedly watched the attack without intervening. She said that the Allendale County Sheriff eventually called her boyfriend into a meeting and told him that Green was making a bigger deal out of the incident than it needed to be.
Green says the school and police are treating what happened like a small school fight rather than an orchestrated attack or a hate crime. She also says that her son, who is out as asexual and panromantic at school, has endured months’ worth of verbal abuse from the students who attacked him, including being called the n-word, a fa**ot, and a queer. Her son and his alleged attackers discussed this verbal harassment earlier in the year in an office visit with the school guidance counselor, Green said.
Green’s child has SCD, a condition that affects an estimated 7.5 percent of kids. SCD makes it difficult for a young person to communicate and to understand communication, especially when it’s non-verbal or implied. Her son’s responses to questions sometimes don’t initially make sense, his attempts at “dark humor” can come off as completely serious, and he also gets nervous and has trouble communicating around people who come off as judgmental.
Her son first showed signs of SCD in third grade. As his condition has deepened, she has gotten him a specialized care team that involves his pediatrician, a behavioral health specialist who has tested and diagnosed him, and a therapist who teaches him coping mechanisms. The specialist wants to do additional testing for possible attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), she says.
Green describes her son as intelligent, highly inquisitive, and loving towards his three siblings. When her son came out to her about his asexual and panromantic identities, she said she and her partner praised him and gave him their unconditional love and support.
Her son plays euphonium in the school band and enjoys science and social studies classes. However, Green says that only one of his school teachers submitted a formally requested plan of how to accommodate his SCD-related special needs. Others have since agreed to some special accommodations during her one-on-one meetings with them, but they never submitted the formally requested plans as expected, she added.
The math teacher, on the other hand, allegedly told Green that her son is disrespectful, doesn’t complete his classwork, and doesn’t pay attention in class. When her son asks for additional help, she says, the teacher reprimands him instead of assisting.
After the attack, Green said the principal agreed to put a monitor in her son’s math class, but allegedly said that his teacher wouldn’t be dismissed since he was hired in a year-long exchange teaching program that the school had already paid for.
To Green’s knowledge, the school has no support group or visible safe spaces and allies for LGBTQ+ students. She said other LGBTQ+ parents have come forward since her son’s attack claiming that school officials have said they don’t “condone” LGBTQ+ relationships “around here.” LGBTQ Nation has contacted the Allendale Country School District seeking comment.
“We have obtained an attorney,” Green told LGBTQ Nation. “This week, a petition is being started for my son to have his rights as a citizen and press charges against the students that attacked him (including the organizer), for the students to be expelled for organizing and executing a hate crime, for the teacher to be removed from the classroom and have his work visa revoked, and for the SRO to be removed from the school and/or fired.”
“The school and the sheriff’s office have refused to acknowledge this as a hate crime,” Green added. “Other parents in the area are working on organizing a protest.”
Green herself says that she has helped organize local “Live to Love” anti-bullying and anti-suicide events for kids. The event features free food, fun activities, guest speakers, and local groups to create a safe and encouraging space for young people, she said.
Editor’s note: This article mentions suicide. If you need to talk to someone now, call the Trans Lifeline at 1-877-565-8860. It’s staffed by trans people, for trans people. The Trevor Project provides a safe, judgement-free place to talk for LGBTQ youth at 1-866-488-7386. You can also call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.
Representative Maxwell Frost cut right to the core of Republican lies about “open border” immigration policy. Ana Kasparian and Cenk Uygur discuss on The Young Turks. Watch TYT LIVE on weekdays 6-8 pm ET. http://youtube.com/theyoungturks/live
“Freshman Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-FL) used his time during the House Oversight Committee’s hearing on border security Tuesday to ask top border officials whether or not they did in fact change their policies and enforcement tactics when President Joe Biden took office.
Both Chief Border Patrol Agents John Modlin and Gloria Chavez, witnesses called before the GOP-led committee, gladly told Frost that, in fact, their approach to securing the border did not change between presidents Trump and Biden.
Forst’s line of questioning was aimed at rebuking critics’ claims that the southern border is “open.”
Right-wing pundits couldn’t wait to label citizens of Oklahoma who were excising their 1st amendment rights as a “mob”. Jayar Jackson, Ramesh Srinivasan, and AB Burns Tucker discuss on The Young Turks. Watch TYT LIVE on weekdays 6-8 pm ET. http://youtube.com/theyoungturks/live
“Hundreds of supporters of transgender people gathered at Oklahoma’s capitol this week to protest a slate of proposed legislation that would bar certain gender-affirming medical care for trans minors and young adults in the state.
Though local reports describe the protest as peaceful, some right-wing media personalities have been comparing it to the deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
The protestors gathered Monday on the fourth floor of the Capitol in Oklahoma City outside of the House chamber about an hour before Gov. Kevin Stitt, a Republican, delivered his State of the State address, according to NBC affiliate KFOR.”
A balanced and well rounded report on rabid anti-trans Walsh getting called out at a hearing on creating laws on regulating trans kids healthcare. The hosts are fair in their reporting not giving a sensationalized view of the situation. But I give credit to the Tenn democrats that came armed with facts to shoot down Matt Walsh’s bigotry. If anyone wonders at the religion category for these anti trans videos is most anti-gay / trans stuff has roots in religious bigotry. Plus Welsh is a theocrat wanting to install religious rule in the US. Hugs
Politicians and media outlets are courting anti-trans talking points – and it’s trans kids who are feeling the effects. (Getty)
When Laura’s daughter Jessica came out as trans, aged 13, she felt “total shock” – but believed every word she said.
“We believed and accepted our daughter from the beginning, even though we were processing a lot as parents,” Laura tells PinkNews. Jessica had been suffering from severe depression and anxiety.
“I sprung into action and just started reading all I could about the transgender experience. I called the paediatrician, I researched gender clinics, and we got on a waitlist for an appointment.
“There was just such a sense of urgency because we feared for her life.”
One of the first articles Laura stumbled across was one in The Atlantic – a controversial piece titled “When Children Say They’re Trans”, by Jesse Singal, which focused on the stories of detransitioners and suggested some young trans men are actually just struggling with the fact “society makes it difficult to be a girl”.
“That article really messed with my head, as the parent of a newly out trans teen searching for help,” Laura says.
“I read that article, by a publication I thought was very legitimate, and thought, ‘That does not sound right to me. What he’s saying goes against what my child has told me and it doesn’t ring true.’
“I had to wade through a lot of articles online that were literally trying to get me to question my child and it made an already really challenging time even more so.”
It’s a terrifying climate for a mother like Laura. She wasn’t aware of just how bad things were for the trans community until she started reading everything she could to inform her response to Jessica.
In the United States – and across much of the world – politicians are using trans lives to distract from their own failures. Many media outlets have shown they’re only too happy to aid lawmakers in their efforts to drum up a moral panic.
While some states have banned gender-affirming care for minors, major news outlets like The New York Timeshave published articles questioning whether kids should be able to access healthcare that’s widely seen as vital by experts.
Anti-trans media coverage pushes parents to ‘question’ their trans kids
Marjorie Taylor Greene is one of the most vocal anti-trans politicians in the United States. (Drew Angerer/Getty)
Laura kept digging and eventually she found the gender-affirming resources she needed, but she also discovered her own state was considering its own anti-trans bills, including one which would ban gender-affirming care for minors.
“All of this while my child was just starting care that was saving her life,” she says.
That revelation pushed Laura to become her daughter’s fiercest advocate – but it also inspired her to start fighting for trans rights across the board.
“It is hard enough for all of us existing in this climate, but for so many parents like me and for trans people everywhere, it feels like we are yelling into the void, imploring everyone we can to see what’s happening, to speak out, to act up, to help us.”
Trans teens shouldn’t have to fight for their right to exist
One of the most difficult days in Laura’s life as a parent came when she had to explain to Jessica that legislators were doing their best to stop her from accessing the care she needed.
“No one should have to explain to their child why a group of people wants them gone. But so many parents are in this exact position in this country right now, whether they are fighting for their trans kids, for their loved ones to be able to access abortions, for their children to not be shot by police.
A young activist joins in a protest supporting trans people. (Getty/Romy Arroyo Fernandez)
“What kind of person, what kind of country, stands by and allows a group of people to be attacked and demonised in this way?”
Laura just wants her daughter to be allowed to live her life like any other young person and not have to think about how her life can be destroyed by a politician’s whims.
“My daughter is like every other teen her age. She doesn’t want to have to fight for her right to live – she just wants to live and be free.”
The impact anti-trans debates are having on kids isn’t just anecdotal. According to The Trevor Project, an organisation that works to prevent suicide among LGBTQ+ youth, “ugly rhetoric” is causing harm.
“When you see your elected officials, neighbours, and even family members debate your very existence, those feelings of stigma and rejection can be very harmful to a young person’s sense of self,” says Kasey Suffredini, vice president of advocacy and government affairs with The Trevor Project.
“Experiences of rejection and trauma in adolescence can have long-lasting effects on a young person’s health and wellness. Adults, especially those in positions of power, should strongly consider the weight of their words and actions.”
It’s a tough time out there for trans kids, but Suffredini has some simple advice for adults who are wondering how they can help: try letting them know that you support them and that you’ll defend their right to be themselves.
“It can be tough for LGBTQ youth to always bear the burden of educating others about what it means to be LGBTQ.”
Laura and Jessica’s names have been changed to protect their identities.
But reading a book or seeing a movie with an LGBTQ+ character or seeing a commercial with a same sex couple will sexualize kids. It is grooming them for sex if their teacher is in a same sex marriage but not in a straight marriage. WTF! It never was about protecting kids from sex, it is about attacking those who are not straight cis as predators that need to be removed from society. It is about marking the LGBTQ+ as wrong, bad, evil, and harmful to children. But as you can see about the idea of old men to have sex with little kids and marry them is a religious and parental rights that is good to the republicans. Hugs
The Wyoming Republican Party is seeking to kill a bill working its way through the state Legislature proposing to raise the state’s legal marriage age to 16, arguing that putting “arbitrary” limits on child marriage interferes with parental rights and religious liberty.
The bill—which already passed the Republican-controlled Wyoming House of Representatives on a 36-25 vote late last month—proposes banning state residents from marrying anyone under the age of 16, while requiring anyone under the age of 18 seeking to get married to receive written consent from their parents under the eye of a competent witness.
Currently, Wyoming is one of just eight states in the country—including California, Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Washington and West Virginia—without a minimum age requirement for marriage.
Read the full article. Wyoming GOP chair Frank Eathorne [photo] attended the Capitol Riot and is a member of the Oath Keepers. Eathorne was endorsed by Trump after he spearheaded the campaign to unseat Liz Cheney.
Wyoming Republicans are now fighting to kill a bill that would ban marrying children under the age of 16.
Last year Tennessee Republicans tried to get rid of all age limits on marriage entirely until public backlash forced them to back down. https://t.co/69O6KNhAoU
Wyoming #GOP chair was on restricted grounds during Jan. 6 riot, report says. And of course his ethics arequestionable, based upon his past. Shocker. https://t.co/85KnvEewor via @cstribune
Let’s not forget about them drag queens and men who insist on using women’s bathrooms and participate in women’s sports. As long as we can Fuck a 13 yo.
I have a firm belief that these creepy motherfuckers want to marry young because they are also obsessed with getting a virgin who doesn’t know that all the painful, degrading things being demanded of her are things she has a right to say no to.
Cis-Het Republican Pedophile Groomers in Wyoming oppose bill that would raise the minimum marriage age to 16 – citing “parental rights.”
This news actually underscores just how pernicious and anti-child, this so-called “parents rights” movement in the fascist GQP, is. It is more widely known for supporting bullying, denial of medical care, and imposition of genocidal laws against trans children and adults, as well as against all LGBTQ+ people, and forcing schools to teach only whitewashed history.
Evidently they don’t realize their child brides will grow up. I guess the consolation is that by the time their “wife” gets too old, there will be children to abuse.
Of course – the bill is presented and supported by a bunch of old white coots who haven’t had a full erection in years. Yet somehow they think allowing men to bang rape a 12yo will restore their vitality.
Hey buddy! Go fuck yourself a sheep! You can get ’em real young!
I’m surprised the national legal minimum age isn’t 18, so the people getting married can give informed legal consent, as is required on all other contracts.
So to recap: Kids can carry guns Kids can’t handle hearing drag queens reading to them Kids can’t handle books Kids can be maneuvered into marriage Kids can’t get abortions Circumcision doesn’t count as genital mutilation Don’t teach about slavery or other struggles marginalized groups continue to encounter
While we’re touting “religious liberty” as if it is an absolute virtue unto itself, let’s not forget that religious liberty used to include things like burning people to death.
Photo: Shutterstock
Scottie's Playtime 