The following article appeared in the local alternative newspaper RiverFront Times: Missouri Bill Makes Teachers Sex Offenders If They Accept Trans Kids’ Pronouns
1st Objection
Personally, I am not a big fan of this whole pronoun phenomenon, BUT as it says in the Book of David 1:1
“Within the bounds of the Golden Rule, people being who they are, and loving who they love are not immoral acts.”
I once worked with a fellow named Walter. He was very insistent on being called Walter and not the diminutive of Walt. I understand as I prefer the formal David to any of the diminutives of that name, but most of the time I just let it slide. I am just generally glad someone has acknowledged my existence by calling me by name.
I see selecting a personal pronoun, more of less, in this same category. And yeah, I realize there is a serious qualitative difference, but isn’t it the GOP that spouts all these libertarian ideals… like getting rid of helmet laws and allowing folks to carry firearms wherever they want.
The kicker for me is from the article:
“We showed that the more contexts or settings where they were able to use their preferred name, the stronger their mental health was,” the author of the study, Stephen T. Russell, University of Texas at Austin professor and chair of human development and family science, said.
Transgender youth already face a heightened risk of suicidal ideation. Another recent study, this one by the Trevor Project, showed that in 2022 nearly half (45 percent) of LGBTQ youth surveyed seriously contemplated suicide. One in five attempted it.
Sadly the article went on to say:
Missouri remains at the forefront of anti-trans legislation efforts and is one of the most prolific in the nation for bills targeting trans youth.
2nd Objection
My wife, Señora, was a special education teacher, retiring after more than 30 years in the profession. It had changed from a job she dearly loved to one she had a very hard time with. The last three or four years she taught, at the beginning of the school year she cried for a couple weeks from having to go back. It is, without a doubt, a very hard profession, one that does not pay particularly well when you consider the level of education and expertise required. I could write several blog articles on why the profession has become so difficult, but the burnout rate speaks for itself. If you are interested here is an article on the subject: K-12 Workers Have Highest Burnout Rate in U.S.
And now the Missouri GOP wants to criminalize teachers for doing their jobs and supporting students that who in all likelihood are already having a very hard time adjusting. I just cannot get my head around the fact that there are individuals out there that want to force teachers to register as sex offenders for saying he or she when this person’s rigid beliefs insists it should have been she or he.
Some things are more than a little wrong.
A Little Lagniappe
Interestingly enough the British newspaper, The Guardian, picked up this story: Missouri: home to child marriage, corporal punishment and sick ‘child welfare’ ideas
Sometimes I do not know if I am more embarrassed by living in Missouri or being from Oklahoma.
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