Legislature passes bill mandating history of communism classes

This is the teaching of ideology, republican capitalism ideology, something republicans keep claiming they are trying to wipe out in schools.  We can not teach comparative ideas of systems or how anything including capitalism can be taken to unhealthy extremes.  Plus this law mandates stressing how bad and harmful communism is, which means stressing how great republican strongman democracy backed by run away capitalism is.   In Florida you can not teach anything in public schools that might make straight white cis Christian kids uncomfortable (or their parents unhappy) such as the truth about racism and how it still is in effect today or how some people are not straight cis or even Christian.   But none of these laws including this one doesn’t apply to any private or voucher school.  Just public ones?  Why because poor disadvantaged kids go to public schools, so let’s force right wing Christian nationalism white supremacy on to these kids.   Hugs.  Scottie

Rep. Ashley Gantt raised questions about what would be included, at what point a deep dive into totalitarianism would be “age appropriate,” and why voucher-funded schools are exempted from this requirement.

Rep. Anna Eskamani noted that the Legislature had established bans for discussions of diversity and sociology, and “in the context of what’s happening in K-12 schools,” she claimed the legislation was based on “teaching that a political ideology is bad” rather than a good-faith comparative study of ideologies.

Ahead of the final passage, Democrats floated amendments the day before to try to expand the bill to include analysis of “McCarthyism” and how the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol Riots could lead to communism, but these did not make the final product.

 

 

A.G. GancarskiMarch 6, 20244min

The sponsor says this is not ‘indoctrination.’

The mistakes made by the Soviets, the Chinese and other communist regimes are one step closer to being part of Florida K-12 classrooms.

The House passed by a 106-7 vote SB 1264, a “History of Communism” product previously passed by a 25-7 vote in the Senate, putting the bill on a path for a Gov. Ron DeSantis signature.

Ahead of the vote, some Democrats sought to knock the bill down, while Republicans and one Democrat loved it up.

Rep. Ashley Gantt raised questions about what would be included, at what point a deep dive into totalitarianism would be “age appropriate,” and why voucher-funded schools are exempted from this requirement.

Rep. Anna Eskamani noted that the Legislature had established bans for discussions of diversity and sociology, and “in the context of what’s happening in K-12 schools,” she claimed the legislation was based on “teaching that a political ideology is bad” rather than a good-faith comparative study of ideologies.

 

Rep. Bruce Antone, a Democrat, rose in support of the bill until he was reminded he was speaking during the block of time reserved for opposition.0

Rep. Chuck Brannan, closing on his bill, said the real purpose was to address concerns of Florida’s “diverse communities” of refugees from communist countries, not to “indoctrinate anybody or promote fear mongering.”

Students in traditional public and charter K-12 schools are on track to receive instruction on the history of communism beginning in the 2026-27 academic year in what is billed as an age-appropriate and developmentally appropriate way.

The bill would also compel the creation of a museum of history of communism, create the Institute for Freedom in Americas at Miami Dade College, and rename the Adam Smith Center for Study of Economic Freedom as the Adam Smith Center for Economic Freedom.

There is a key party

..split on these bills among actual voters, meanwhile.

 

Polling conducted by Sachs Media found Republicans were overwhelmingly supportive (74%) of an effort to teach K-12 students about the “horrors of communism.” By comparison, only 41% of Democrats believe kids need a crash course on Soviet genocide.

Ahead of the final passage, Democrats floated amendments the day before to try to expand the bill to include analysis of “McCarthyism” and how the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol Riots could lead to communism, but these did not make the final product.

 

When I was a senior at Lake Worth High School, in 1964, the state of Florida required us to take a 6-week course in Americanism vs. Communism. One of the textbooks was J Edgar Hoover’s Masters of Deceit. Not a lot seems to have changed.

Florida Fascism pretends five year olds can understand economics, but not that LGBT people exist.

We aren’t allowed to explain in the classroom why Billy has two daddies because their poor innocent minds are not developed enough yet to comprehend it, but we can tell them about Communism.

Too young to learn about love, but old enough to learn about complex economic theory? Okay. Fuckers.

The fact that kindergarten friend Johnny has two moms? VERBOTEN!

Advanced socio-political/economic theory for a system of government not a single country in the world actually practices? Totes appropriate for a 5yo, sure.

 

obviously, the object is not to actually teach the kids anything – it is to establish that communism == bad, so that democrats can then be accused of being communists

 

They’ll say something like “communism is the destruction of America and evil democrats love communism “

And yet Fascism will be left off the curriculum. Not surprised, just noting it.

There aren’t communists in the USA. Fascists, however, we have plenty of and they are working pretty damn hard to overthrow our democracy.

Eventually resulting in a ban on the Democratic Party.

This.
They are trying to turn kids against Democrats early.

Hey, but what if it makes some of the kindergartners feel bad? I thought that was the cult excuse for banning accurate teaching of US history.

Oh. I assumed that they would teach the tykes something like “Communism is anything that the Republicans hate”.

Probably teaching raw fear and disinformation on base levels before they can process any of it.

Not a single one of these morons could even define what communism means.

If you fed them 6 beers, they’d define it as ‘Blacks’.

 

Half a beer, and they’d define it as Blacks.

And Browns.

 

They will tell them that sharing is communism. I’m sure that will go over well with the parent’s.
“Billy, share your toys with your brother!”
“But mommy, the teacher said that’s COMMUNISM!”

 

The parents will eventually be denounced, for not being anti-Communists.

I’m confused. Are they going to teach the little children about sharing–and how bad it is?

To be followed in Sunday school with “What Jeebus ACTUALLY Meant”.

are they going to teach the little ones how the communist leaders seized power just like the GQP is trying to do?

So in classes where we used to teach kids that sharing and treating others with courtesy are important we’re going to tell them they’re all on their own.

Technically, that is the American way, the wholly rugged individual Fuck You nonsense. I know many (I’d like to think most) Americans don’t think that way, but it is a reputation that the US has promoted over the decades.

I think this is the indoctrination the right keeps talking about.

Brought to you by people who couldn’t distinguish between communism, Marxism, totalitarianism and socialism if their lives depended on it.

I wonder how the curriculum is going to handle the whole cult leader thing. Then again, self-awareness is not a MAGA strong suit while immunity to cognitive dissonance is.

They should also do a live-action demonstration of that cartoon about capitalism, with one guy with one cookie, one guy with no cookies and the capitalist with a pile of cookies saying to the first guy, “Hey, that other guy wants to steal your cookie!”.

not to “indoctrinate anybody or promote fear mongering.”
– so, it’s an indoctrination class.

Rep. Chuck Brannan, closing on his bill, said the real purpose was to
address concerns of Florida’s “diverse communities” of refugees from
communist countries, not to “indoctrinate anybody or promote fear
mongering.”

I thought taking diversity into consideration was illegal in Florida.

 

 

 

 

Some short videos about trans kids and the harrasment and troubles they face. Anti-trans laws / hater parents do not help

Due to not feeling well and the number of videos, even though they are short so are in foreign languages so I had to use the CC for those, so it took almost a week and a half to watch these and post them.  So I did not include because it caused me to trigger, like the ones where parents beat their gender nonconforming children, to make them be the gender they were assigned at birth.  That is like trying to beat the gay out of a kid, you can scare them into hiding it but you can’t make it go way or change it.  I simply wanted to give those that don’t understand trans kids or trans people a way to see what it is these people are dealing with.  Maybe it will change some people from being haters to being trans supporters.   It only take a few people to believe in a LGBTQIA persons worth to make a huge difference in their lives, maybe even save a life.  I hope people will take their time and watch the videos as I did, a few at a time over how ever long you wish.   If you watch only one, please watch the first one where a trans hater learns that the trans neighbor she like was trans, and well she learned and grew.   Hugs.  Scottie

Get Off My Turf! is a short film about a transgender woman who finds out that her neighbour is transphobic. The film delves into some of the modern depictions of transphobia and explores friendship, solidarity and conflict between two very different women.
SYNOPSIS: Clara is a girl who cannot show herself as she is. There is something that can control her, and forces her to live under a name and appearance that are not real. “I’m not him” will show the harsh reality to which transgender children like Clara are exposed, as well as the strength they have to move forward.
“A trans boy struggles with dysphoria and anxiety as he contemplates a night out with friends.”

So for my theater class, our final was to create a short film. I decided to do a film about a female to male transgender teen. I apologize for the binder, it’s really bad. I didn’t own a real binder. Ignore that please. I hope you enjoy it.
This short documentary about transgender ftm boys was created to bring more awareness to the transgender community. We don’t personally know any mtf transgender girls so please no controversy over the subject. We own all rights to this film except the music, the quote, and the statistic. This is the first film that we’ve produced and we plan on creating more shorts. We hope you enjoy it!! *** The music on this one got louder than the voices, so I turned the sound off and used the CC. Hugs. Scottie ***
A trans themed short film, created by an all trans cast production team. On remote northern Iceland two strangers connect and realize they have a lot more in common than previously assumed.
Young and Trans. Watch this powerful short film challenging the stigma of what it means to be trans today. Let’s come together for a brighter future.
We have been filming transgender boy Kai since he was 9 years old. In this film, Kai is 14 and reflects on coming out and taking hormone blockers. We also hear from Alex, 18 who is also trans and has started taking testosterone. Kai meets with Tayler, 19 and they both visit the Museum of Transology, where founder E-J Scott gives them a tour.

This is 5 years of a 10 year project, filming Kai, as part of a wave of trans youth, who have been given the best opportunity in life, never having to go through ‘the wrong puberty’.

My Genderation is an ongoing film project focusing on trans lives and trans experiences. All our content is created by trans people, about trans people, for a much wider audience. Currently run by Fox Fisher and Owl Fisher.
Come As You Are follows Theo, a transgender female in a conservative household. This film is dedicated to the God of love, regardless of who you are or where you come from
Featuring young trans actors in trans roles, ‘Listen’ honestly and frankly depicts some of the myriad struggles experienced daily by trans children and teenagers, giving a much needed voice to this often maligned section of the community.

Running Without Sound – Gay Short Film

Coming to terms with who we are is hard enough to tell people, but for Sean he must come to terms with his exploration in a world that he cannot hear and a world that does not always hear him. A fascinating story of love, trust, and friendship.

I often wondered what my life would have been like if I had been a kid in the modern age where being gay was so much more accepting than it was for me in the 1970s with Anita Bryant spewing her hatred and lies about people like me.   Then I remember that today there are the Libs of TikTok and the red state governors / republican fundamentalist Christian legislators who are doing to LGBTQIA kids what was done to me back in the 1970s by Bryant.  Spewing lies and hate to make us hated as much as possible.  

But there is another part of my thoughts.  Like the boy in the short video I couldn’t find the spoken words to tell of my abuse and the signs I was showing people either they couldn’t hear or did not want to.  What if I had had the words to say as a four-year-old what was happening when I was asked to go next door, that even though the man was nice, kind even, it left my butt sore, and the hell spawn I lived with would make fun of me for it.  They knew, which makes me now believe the adoptive parents knew also.  Maybe they pimped me to him?  After all, someone had to tell me to go over there, to give me permission.  Yes the man was raping me.  But he was kind and nice to me.  Unlike at home.

Imagine as a 6 yr in first grade, in torn clothing who had bruises all over me who in class just put my head down on my desk and went to sleep because I knew there it was safe to do so because no one would hurt me.  To my little boy mind that was shattered when the teacher took me to what seemed to me a large room with some other adults.  Both male and female.  They asked me to remove my clothing.  I started to obey as I had learned not to disobey that demand … but when they told me to remove my underpants I started to cry, to sob.  I promised to be good, I promised not to sleep in school anymore, I begged them, I even said as I stood there after taking off all my clothing and they had me move in different ways while touching me to make me stand or show what they wanted to see, that I promised I wouldn’t tell as they asked me questions I dared not answer.  I kept repeating that, hoping they knew that I would cooperate and not tell so they would be nice when they used me.  They did not understand what I was saying when I said I promised not to tell.  I knew the punishment for telling, I did not know they were trying to help.  They scared me, because these were adults I did not know and the few times before with adults I did not know first what they did hurt really bad.    I simply did not have the words, I did not understand what they wanted, and I had no way to tell them what they wanted to know, yes I was being abused, I was being hit, I was being …  In a way that was somehow more traumatizing to me because in my 6 yr old mind I was about to be forced to please and give my body to these four or five adults … If I was lucky and they did not want to simply hit me to make me hurt even more. 

If only I could have heard them, and they could understand that which I had no voice to say.   I am really tired, I hate that just watching a short YouTube video can bring back such strong memories, making me feel those feelings, relive those events.    Hugs.  Scottie

Let’s talk about numbers from Librarians….

Award Winning SHORT FILMS Don’t Judge | BATTI Hindi Heart Touching Short Movies | Content Ka Keeda

I had to use both the CC and the ones the move provided.  I would shut the CC off when it would write over / obscure the movie ones.  Starting to feel a bit better, kept supper down last night.   Hugs.  Scottie

BIDEN VS TRUMP: DEMENTIA MATCH UP! | Christopher Titus | Armageddon Update

Let’s talk about Biden’s 2025 budget proposal….

Watch Rachel Maddow Highlights: March 4

I Shouldn’t Call This OK State Senator an Asshat…

Survey of over 90,000 trans people shows vast improvement in life satisfaction after transition

https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-news/transgender-survey-transition-hrt-surgery-gender-affirming-rcna137563

This is from corporate mainstream media.  Let’s hope it ends the myth the anti-trans haters have been pushing, which has long been debunked.   Maybe now they will stop spreading lies and learn that they have been wrong, stop hating trans people, and accept them.   Oh well, I know, some people just can not accept change and new information / understanding.   For those wanting to watch the video and better see the graph please go to the link.   Best wishes.  Hugs.  Scottie

Most people are satisfied with life after transition.   More than 9 in 10 respondents were at least a little more satisfied with their life after transitioning.


The National Center for Transgender Equality released early insights from its 2022 U.S. Transgender Survey, the largest survey of trans people in U.S. history.

A survey of more than 90,000 transgender people in the U.S. — the largest nationwide survey of the community ever — found that trans people continue to experience workplace and medical discrimination. However, the overwhelming majority of them still report more life satisfaction after having transitioned. 

The National Center for Transgender Equality, or NCTE, one of the country’s largest trans rights organizations, released its 2022 U.S. Transgender Survey Early Insights report Wednesday after a yearslong delay due, in part, to the pandemic. The survey, the most comprehensive look to date at life for transgender people in the U.S., comes as hundreds of bills in the last three years have attempted to roll back trans rights, most often by restricting trans people’s access to transition-related health care and trans students’ abilities to play school sports.

 

“There’s still a drought of information available to lawmakers, the media and advocates regarding our experiences and our needs,” NCTE Executive Director Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen said at a news conference Tuesday. “At best, we’re working in a vacuum of information. At worst, we’re combating dangerous misinformation being spread by anti-trans extremists. Without question, the misinformation and lack of understanding is underpinning these escalating legislative attacks against our community.”

A woman attends a rally in support of trans youth in schools
A woman attends a rally in support of trans youth in schools on June 26, 2023, outside the Fayette County Public Schools central office in Lexington, Ky.Ryan C. Hermens / Lexington Herald-Leader via Getty Images file

The organization’s 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey had been the largest survey of trans people in the country, with nearly 28,000 respondents 18 and older, and it has been widely cited, including by Congress and the Supreme Court. Josie Caballero, the director of the survey, said the 2022 iteration more than tripled the number of respondents — with a total of 92,329 from every state and many U.S. territories — and was improved in a number of other ways. For example, it included 605 possible questions (though no respondent received all possible questions), up from 324 in the 2015 survey, and it included more than 8,000 respondents who were 16 and 17. However, study authors note that respondents who participated in the online survey were not drawn from a random sample and that though the sample is large, the findings might not be representative of all trans people.  

Of the 84,170 adult respondents, 38% identified as nonbinary, 35% identified as transgender women, 25% identified as transgender men and 2% identified as cross-dressers.

 

Continued discrimination and mistreatment

Among the key findings released Wednesday, the survey found that trans people continue to report experiencing discrimination and mistreatment because of their gender identities and/or expressions.

More than one-third of adult respondents, or 34%, were experiencing poverty at the time of the survey, and 18% were unemployed. More than 1 in 10, or 11%, of respondents who had ever held jobs said they had been fired or forced to resign or had lost jobs or been laid off because of their gender identities or expressions. And, in line with previous survey findings, 30% of respondents had experienced homelessness in their lifetimes. 

Of adult respondents who saw health care providers in the previous 12 months, 48% reported having had at least one negative experience because they were transgender, including being refused health care, having staff members use the incorrect pronouns for them or having providers use abusive language or be physically rough or abusive while treating them. Fear of mistreatment prevented 24% of respondents from seeing doctors when they needed it in the 12 months before the survey. 

Many respondents also reported past mistreatment in school. Of adult respondents, 80% who were out or perceived as trans in K-12 experienced one or more forms of mistreatment, including verbal harassment, physical attacks, online bullying or being denied use of the restrooms or locker rooms that matched their gender identities. Of the 8,159 respondents who were 16 and 17, 60% reported such mistreatment.

Higher life satisfaction after transition

Despite those negative experiences, the vast majority of adult respondents, 79%, who lived at least some of the time in different genders from the ones they were assigned at birth reported that they were “a lot more satisfied” with their lives. An additional 15% reported they were “a little more satisfied.”

——————————————————————————————

Please see the chart at the link above.  The written version I have included below.  
This bar chart shows how respondents who had transitioned genders described their satisfaction with life after transitioning. 79% were a lot more satisfied, 15% a little more, 3% neither more or less, 1% a little less and 2% a lot less satisfied.
 

Respondents who received transition-related medical care reported similarly high rates of satisfaction. Of respondents who were currently receiving hormone treatment, 84% said receiving such treatment for their gender identities/transitions made them “a lot more satisfied” with their lives, and 14% said it made them “a little more satisfied.” Just 1% said hormone treatment made them neither more nor less satisfied, and less than 1% said hormone treatment made them a lot less satisfied.

Of respondents who underwent at least one form of gender-affirming surgery, 88% said it made them “a lot more satisfied,” and 9% said it made them a little more satisfied. Less than 2% total said surgery made them a little less or a lot less satisfied. 

“That might seem obvious to some of us that of course if you’re transgender and you need transition-related health care, of course your life is better off when you get that health care,” Heng-Lehtinen said Tuesday. “But it’s really important to have actually asked people and found out objectively what is their experience, because transition-related health care is otherwise so under attack in state legislatures around the country.”

Effects of anti-trans legislation

In the last three years, 23 states have restricted gender-affirming health care — including puberty blockers, hormone therapy and surgeries — for minors and, in a few cases, adults, according to the Movement Advancement Project, an LGBTQ think tank. Half of states have banned trans student-athletes from playing school sports on the teams that align with their gender identities rather than their assigned sexes at birth, while 10 states have passed laws restricting what bathrooms trans people can use in schools, colleges and/or government-owned buildings.

Nearly half of respondents to the latest U.S. Transgender Survey said they had thought about moving to other states because their state governments considered or passed such laws that target transgender people, and 5% — about 4,600 people — said they had actually moved to other states because of such legislation. 

The top 10 states where trans respondents most often reported moving from were, in alphabetical order, Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.

Majority report having supportive families

The state of trans rights across the country does not necessarily reflect what trans people are experiencing at home with their families. Of adult respondents, 67% reported that their immediate families were either supportive or very supportive, while 22% reported they were neither supportive nor unsupportive and 12% reported they were either unsupportive or very unsupportive. 

Of 16- and 17-year-old respondents, 44% reported that their families were either supportive or very supportive, while 28% reported that they were neither supportive nor unsupportive and 29% reported they were unsupportive or very unsupportive. 

“It’s important to see that many trans people do have supportive families, since we often hear and see otherwise,” Sandy James, one of the report’s authors, said at Tuesday’s news conference.

Heng-Lehtinen said the new data will revolutionize the field of transgender advocacy.

“I am confident that the results of the 2022 survey will not only serve as a crucial tool for education, research and policy, but it will catalyze a paradigm shift for the movement for transgender advocacy by empowering advocates with robust and current data regarding our needs and experiences,” he said.