Wall Street Journal on Gender Storytime in Montgomery County

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The people saying that parents who have a problem with this type of thing should withdraw their kids from public schools are making a big mistake. When people withdraw their kids from public schools, it results in less funding.

It would be better to acknowledge that people have different opinions about this particular issue, just like religion, and to agree that it’s inappropriate to discuss it in the classroom just like a religious teacher shouldn’t be allowed to read bible stories in the classroom (or stealthily put them on display in their classrooms for the kids to choose or otherwise “just make them available”) or discuss how or why certain kids will be going to hell. Just because they believe it, and believe it’s a moral failing for families to not teach it to their kids, doesn’t make it appropriate for the classroom in any form.

The First Amendment and subsequent Supreme Court rulings uphold that religious beliefs cannot be pushed in government institutions. There is no Constitutional basis for controlling discourse on ideas people may disagree with that don't have a religious origin. You can't equate teaching about hell with teaching that some families have two moms.

Why does it need to be taught at all beyond a quick lesson on families are different? We adopted our kids. MCPS never taught adoption was ok and mine were bullied. We had a teacher have a fit that in the family tree assignment we did not do a traditional tree and included birth family information as we are very close to them. Why is that the only family that gets recognition? There are great books that are more neutral that talk about foster care, adoption, two moms, two dads, kids living with grandparents or other relatives. So many better options some of us use at home than what MCPS is pushing. Normalize all families, not just this population. If you took that approach it would go over better. Same with religion and atheism-agnostic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:“I don’t think it’s appropriate to read about war because I’m a Quaker.”

“I don’t want my kid to read stories with girls or women who wear shirts or skirts above the ankles because it’s immodest and in my religion women cover up.”

“I believe Jews killed Christ and so I don’t want to read any book that glorifies their religion.”

See how this is going to go?

Well, MCPS never offered an opt-out for any other category of books. In this case, they did from the start, then canceled that option because.. it was too popular.

And because Lynne Harris thought the parents who wanted the opt-out were ignorant bigots who were beneath her and not worthy of acknowledging or engaging with:

She doesn’t acknowledge any groups. She needs to go.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The people saying that parents who have a problem with this type of thing should withdraw their kids from public schools are making a big mistake. When people withdraw their kids from public schools, it results in less funding.

It would be better to acknowledge that people have different opinions about this particular issue, just like religion, and to agree that it’s inappropriate to discuss it in the classroom just like a religious teacher shouldn’t be allowed to read bible stories in the classroom (or stealthily put them on display in their classrooms for the kids to choose or otherwise “just make them available”) or discuss how or why certain kids will be going to hell. Just because they believe it, and believe it’s a moral failing for families to not teach it to their kids, doesn’t make it appropriate for the classroom in any form.

The First Amendment and subsequent Supreme Court rulings uphold that religious beliefs cannot be pushed in government institutions. There is no Constitutional basis for controlling discourse on ideas people may disagree with that don't have a religious origin. You can't equate teaching about hell with teaching that some families have two moms.

Why does it need to be taught at all beyond a quick lesson on families are different? We adopted our kids. MCPS never taught adoption was ok and mine were bullied. We had a teacher have a fit that in the family tree assignment we did not do a traditional tree and included birth family information as we are very close to them. Why is that the only family that gets recognition? There are great books that are more neutral that talk about foster care, adoption, two moms, two dads, kids living with grandparents or other relatives. So many better options some of us use at home than what MCPS is pushing. Normalize all families, not just this population. If you took that approach it would go over better. Same with religion and atheism-agnostic.

Correct. If this was JUST about helping kids understand different family structures, there are a plethora of unoffensive books and material that can do that.

This whole scam was about pushing ideology and an agenda. MCPS is just mad they got caught and challenged.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:“I don’t think it’s appropriate to read about war because I’m a Quaker.”

“I don’t want my kid to read stories with girls or women who wear shirts or skirts above the ankles because it’s immodest and in my religion women cover up.”

“I believe Jews killed Christ and so I don’t want to read any book that glorifies their religion.”

See how this is going to go?

Well, MCPS never offered an opt-out for any other category of books. In this case, they did from the start, then canceled that option because.. it was too popular.

And because Lynne Harris thought the parents who wanted the opt-out were ignorant bigots who were beneath her and not worthy of acknowledging or engaging with:

She doesn’t acknowledge any groups. She needs to go.

She is gone. She was replaced by Rita Montoya.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve never once seen an example of a book that was actually being read in class that was actually offensive. The examples they have in the lawsuit seemed to be books that were on lists to possibly be read but no one ever seemed to say “yes my kids second grade teacher is reading this.”
It just seems like a huge non issue.

+1

Not one of these books was ever used in the classroom

The people are lying. They don't even have kids in public school. This lawsuit is absurd.

SCOTUS will give them this win God help all of us. It is not going to end well. UGH

That’s not true. My DD’s 4th grade class had to read the Boy Named Penelope book. I think that book is absolutely ridiculous and dangerous.

Huh? What on earth is "dangerous" about it? I've read it, it's a simple kids book about a kid who's trans... It honestly seems fine even for 5 year olds let alone 4th graders, nothing about genitals or sex or anything else folks might think is age-inappropriate, just a little trans kid being a kid. I can't imagine anything offensive or problematic about it, unless you don't think kids should know that trans kids exist? And even then, dangerous suggests someone could somehow be hurt by it and unless your kid is such a fragile snowflake you think they're going to collapse upon learning of the existence of trans kids (super weird if so), how could a book like this possibly hurt anyone?

I think the argument people are having here is about: do you think kids can change their gender just by thinking it is so, and do you think we should teach them about it. I think there is a reasonable difference of opinion on this.

Correct. This is one of the main arguments that LGBTQ advocates insist is truth and must be accepted by all as truth that the silent majority is resisting.

"silent majority"?

LOL, no.

+100000. I don’t think you can change your gender by thinking you’re a different gender. Plenty of people agree with me. The transgender movement is odd and I don’t know how we got here. I don’t want to discriminate against transgender kids but I also don’t want to teach young children that this is normal behavior. In my opinion, it’s often girls who 50 years ago would be a tom boy.

Hardly. The shift that freaks so many of these people out is boys who decide they are girls. THAT is the thing that freaks conservatives out. You never hear them talking about trans boys. It's all a huge freak out about trans girls.

If you ask me, all of this is the fault of the MAGA/Trumper idiots. THEY brought this very small group of people to the forefront to scapegoat them and use them to whip the conservative haters into a frenzy. Same things with immigrants. It's their typical divisive sh*t to use people's prejudices and demonize a vulnerable group for their own political gain. On the other side, people find this demonization of vulnerable groups so repulsive (fittingly) that they go hard in the other direction in an attempt to defend people they think are vulnerable.

So if you don't like having to talk about trans people all the time, go tell the MAGA morons who won't let it rest.

NP. This is just demonstrably untrue. Rapid onset gender dysphoria amongst groups of teenage girls caused by social contagion is a widely-documented phenomena which many people across the ideological spectrum regularly voice concerns about.

Most of them go with nonbinary and it will pass. It is nothing compared to the mouth-frothing response of MAGA to trans women.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve never once seen an example of a book that was actually being read in class that was actually offensive. The examples they have in the lawsuit seemed to be books that were on lists to possibly be read but no one ever seemed to say “yes my kids second grade teacher is reading this.”
It just seems like a huge non issue.

+1

Not one of these books was ever used in the classroom

The people are lying. They don't even have kids in public school. This lawsuit is absurd.

SCOTUS will give them this win God help all of us. It is not going to end well. UGH

That’s not true. My DD’s 4th grade class had to read the Boy Named Penelope book. I think that book is absolutely ridiculous and dangerous.

Huh? What on earth is "dangerous" about it? I've read it, it's a simple kids book about a kid who's trans... It honestly seems fine even for 5 year olds let alone 4th graders, nothing about genitals or sex or anything else folks might think is age-inappropriate, just a little trans kid being a kid. I can't imagine anything offensive or problematic about it, unless you don't think kids should know that trans kids exist? And even then, dangerous suggests someone could somehow be hurt by it and unless your kid is such a fragile snowflake you think they're going to collapse upon learning of the existence of trans kids (super weird if so), how could a book like this possibly hurt anyone?

I think the argument people are having here is about: do you think kids can change their gender just by thinking it is so, and do you think we should teach them about it. I think there is a reasonable difference of opinion on this.

Correct. This is one of the main arguments that LGBTQ advocates insist is truth and must be accepted by all as truth that the silent majority is resisting.

"silent majority"?

LOL, no.

+100000. I don’t think you can change your gender by thinking you’re a different gender. Plenty of people agree with me. The transgender movement is odd and I don’t know how we got here. I don’t want to discriminate against transgender kids but I also don’t want to teach young children that this is normal behavior. In my opinion, it’s often girls who 50 years ago would be a tom boy.

Hardly. The shift that freaks so many of these people out is boys who decide they are girls. THAT is the thing that freaks conservatives out. You never hear them talking about trans boys. It's all a huge freak out about trans girls.

If you ask me, all of this is the fault of the MAGA/Trumper idiots. THEY brought this very small group of people to the forefront to scapegoat them and use them to whip the conservative haters into a frenzy. Same things with immigrants. It's their typical divisive sh*t to use people's prejudices and demonize a vulnerable group for their own political gain. On the other side, people find this demonization of vulnerable groups so repulsive (fittingly) that they go hard in the other direction in an attempt to defend people they think are vulnerable.

So if you don't like having to talk about trans people all the time, go tell the MAGA morons who won't let it rest.

NP. This is just demonstrably untrue. Rapid onset gender dysphoria amongst groups of teenage girls caused by social contagion is a widely-documented phenomena which many people across the ideological spectrum regularly voice concerns about.

Most of them go with nonbinary and it will pass. It is nothing compared to the mouth-frothing response of MAGA to trans women.

It sounds like you are completely dismissing the feelings of these teen girls who are experiencing rapid onset gender dysphoria.

The vast majority of students who are experiencing being trans/questioning their gender is happening to teenage girls in middle and high school. If it does happen to pre-school boys, it too is a phase. That's why I think these books fall more on the propaganda side.

To really reflect what's going on and if the point is to give kids the recognition, why don't you go with what is most likely going to happen? Instead of "A Boy Called Penelope", why aren't there books called "A Girl Named Storm" and it can talk about a girl on the spectrum who questions their gender identity. Or if the authors must go with a boy, can't they have their parents help them determine if they are gay or really believe they are a girl? Why can't these books represent what is really going on with youth?

Why are trans-supporters so insistent on telling the trans story through the lens of trans girls? Why don't you fight hard for books about tran-boys and make it really realistic so the girls can feel like they are being represented too?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve never once seen an example of a book that was actually being read in class that was actually offensive. The examples they have in the lawsuit seemed to be books that were on lists to possibly be read but no one ever seemed to say “yes my kids second grade teacher is reading this.”
It just seems like a huge non issue.

+1

Not one of these books was ever used in the classroom

The people are lying. They don't even have kids in public school. This lawsuit is absurd.

SCOTUS will give them this win God help all of us. It is not going to end well. UGH

That’s not true. My DD’s 4th grade class had to read the Boy Named Penelope book. I think that book is absolutely ridiculous and dangerous.

Huh? What on earth is "dangerous" about it? I've read it, it's a simple kids book about a kid who's trans... It honestly seems fine even for 5 year olds let alone 4th graders, nothing about genitals or sex or anything else folks might think is age-inappropriate, just a little trans kid being a kid. I can't imagine anything offensive or problematic about it, unless you don't think kids should know that trans kids exist? And even then, dangerous suggests someone could somehow be hurt by it and unless your kid is such a fragile snowflake you think they're going to collapse upon learning of the existence of trans kids (super weird if so), how could a book like this possibly hurt anyone?

I think the argument people are having here is about: do you think kids can change their gender just by thinking it is so, and do you think we should teach them about it. I think there is a reasonable difference of opinion on this.

Correct. This is one of the main arguments that LGBTQ advocates insist is truth and must be accepted by all as truth that the silent majority is resisting.

"silent majority"?

LOL, no.

+100000. I don’t think you can change your gender by thinking you’re a different gender. Plenty of people agree with me. The transgender movement is odd and I don’t know how we got here. I don’t want to discriminate against transgender kids but I also don’t want to teach young children that this is normal behavior. In my opinion, it’s often girls who 50 years ago would be a tom boy.

Hardly. The shift that freaks so many of these people out is boys who decide they are girls. THAT is the thing that freaks conservatives out. You never hear them talking about trans boys. It's all a huge freak out about trans girls.

If you ask me, all of this is the fault of the MAGA/Trumper idiots. THEY brought this very small group of people to the forefront to scapegoat them and use them to whip the conservative haters into a frenzy. Same things with immigrants. It's their typical divisive sh*t to use people's prejudices and demonize a vulnerable group for their own political gain. On the other side, people find this demonization of vulnerable groups so repulsive (fittingly) that they go hard in the other direction in an attempt to defend people they think are vulnerable.

So if you don't like having to talk about trans people all the time, go tell the MAGA morons who won't let it rest.

NP. This is just demonstrably untrue. Rapid onset gender dysphoria amongst groups of teenage girls caused by social contagion is a widely-documented phenomena which many people across the ideological spectrum regularly voice concerns about.

Most of them go with nonbinary and it will pass. It is nothing compared to the mouth-frothing response of MAGA to trans women.

It sounds like you are completely dismissing the feelings of these teen girls who are experiencing rapid onset gender dysphoria.

The vast majority of students who are experiencing being trans/questioning their gender is happening to teenage girls in middle and high school. If it does happen to pre-school boys, it too is a phase. That's why I think these books fall more on the propaganda side.

To really reflect what's going on and if the point is to give kids the recognition, why don't you go with what is most likely going to happen? Instead of "A Boy Called Penelope", why aren't there books called "A Girl Named Storm" and it can talk about a girl on the spectrum who questions their gender identity. Or if the authors must go with a boy, can't they have their parents help them determine if they are gay or really believe they are a girl? Why can't these books represent what is really going on with youth?

Why are trans-supporters so insistent on telling the trans story through the lens of trans girls? Why don't you fight hard for books about tran-boys and make it really realistic so the girls can feel like they are being represented too?

A Boy Named Penelope is a book about a trans boy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MCPS has gone overboard with the LGBTQ stuff. My middle school-aged daughter commented once that she felt they were trying to turn the kids gay. I'm being 100% real here.

It grooming , plain and simple.

You keep using that word. I don’t think it means what you think it means.

Fine, it’s indoctrination.

Forced indoctrination. DP

+1 it's disgusting.

I am an atheist so nothing to do with religion, but pushing LGBTQ agenda on elementary school kids is just sick.

100%. I have kids in MCPS elementary and middle school - also an atheist. It is sick.

I think you both need to take a hard look in the mirror, and think about why you think it's "disgusting" or "sick" to include books about people who are different from you in a school curriculum where students will come from all different family types, and will be feeling all different things, and might just see themselves in some of these books.

And please educate yourselves. Gay and trans kids are the ones who get kicked out of the house and live on the streets, who self medicate with drugs and alcohol, who kill themselves at significantly higher rates, etc., etc. These kids need to know they are not alone, and that most people don't consider them "sick" or "disgusting."

Yah, 5 year old gay and tans kids? It's just disgusting that this gay, trans, sex parade idea gets pushed into 5 years old elementary school kids. Keep this for high school.

We had one Gay parent pushing their kid for this as early as K in Richard Montomery cluster( Bell Elementary). Now the same parent wanted everyone else to normalize the idea that 5 years old should be thinking about Gay, trans etc.

It's just sick. Trying to indoctrinate 5 years old kids for this is not helping any kid, it's destoying the life. I felt so sorry that little kid.

It's one thing to realize your sexual orientation when you grow up. But totally another to be indoctrinated by LGBTQ lobby in elementary school and have your life destroyed. Worse it's done by their own parents.

Often it’s the parents pushing it at that age.

It's mostly the parents and their circle otherwise a 5 year kid is not going to start thinking about becoming tran and gay.

Talk about living in a bubble - tell me you don't know any gay people without telling me you don't know any gay people!

Gay people don't "become gay," and certainly didnt change because of exposre to other gay people: they are born that way, the same way you are born tall or short, or with brown eyes or green eyes, or curly hair or straight hair, or white skin or dark skin, etc., etc., etc.

I am a cis, white, female, and my gay friends knew they were gay long before elementary school. And many of them thought something was wrong with them, or they were sick, or evil, because of who they were. They were scared, and anxious and suicidal.

By having books that shows different people, including lgbtq+ people, you allow these kids to exist without the terror and fear.

Wow, kids 3-4 years old knew that they were gay. We have these kind of weirdos and mentally sick lecturing others.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So what’s next? Banning gay or trans parents from back to school night so they don’t make these snowflakes uncomfortable?

Trans and gay kids have to go to separate schools to keep them apart from these plaintiffs’ kids?

Creating a registry of LGBTQ kids?

Next is simply stopping LGBTQ grooming agenda outside of elemnatry school. If it's too much for you then you are mentally sick.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The people saying that parents who have a problem with this type of thing should withdraw their kids from public schools are making a big mistake. When people withdraw their kids from public schools, it results in less funding.

It would be better to acknowledge that people have different opinions about this particular issue, just like religion, and to agree that it’s inappropriate to discuss it in the classroom just like a religious teacher shouldn’t be allowed to read bible stories in the classroom (or stealthily put them on display in their classrooms for the kids to choose or otherwise “just make them available”) or discuss how or why certain kids will be going to hell. Just because they believe it, and believe it’s a moral failing for families to not teach it to their kids, doesn’t make it appropriate for the classroom in any form.

+100

You can believe in religion or boy being a girl, just keep it out of elementary school.

Elemtary school is not a place to push religious. or LGBTQ agenda.

[Anonymous]

DCUM is really quite bigoted towards trans people. I have to remember that this site bends deeply conservative.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:“I don’t think it’s appropriate to read about war because I’m a Quaker.”

“I don’t want my kid to read stories with girls or women who wear shirts or skirts above the ankles because it’s immodest and in my religion women cover up.”

“I believe Jews killed Christ and so I don’t want to read any book that glorifies their religion.”

See how this is going to go?

Well, MCPS never offered an opt-out for any other category of books. In this case, they did from the start, then canceled that option because.. it was too popular.

And because Lynne Harris thought the parents who wanted the opt-out were ignorant bigots who were beneath her and not worthy of acknowledging or engaging with:

She is a one of the biggest bigot I have seen. Due to incompetence of MCPS, we are wasting tax payers money on debating if LGBTQ agenda should be pushed on elemnetary school kids or not. Talk about priorities of a one of the largest school system in country.

MCPS has gone down in academics drastivcally in the last 10 years and at same tiome gon up in BS like this.

[Anonymous]

To avoid the inevitable opting out of anything that makes someone uncomfortable, MCPS should have some method of ascertaining the religion and religious adherence of the children. Like a statement from a church about the child’s attendance there and deeply held beliefs.

After all the case is based on religion. The opt outs should only be for the very religious.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DCUM is really quite bigoted towards trans people. I have to remember that this site bends deeply conservative.

No one will care about tran, LGBTQ etc as long as there is no attempt to push it in elementary schools.

For parents , their kids come first.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To avoid the inevitable opting out of anything that makes someone uncomfortable, MCPS should have some method of ascertaining the religion and religious adherence of the children. Like a statement from a church about the child’s attendance there and deeply held beliefs.

After all the case is based on religion. The opt outs should only be for the very religious.

Are you afraid of most parents protecting their kids against LGBTQ agenda by opting out?