Monday, March 18, 2013

The Big Divide

If you have been following the news lately you have probably read about the battle in a Colorado school system that stooped a trans-girl from using girls’ bathroom. Or you might have heard the backlash from the release of guideline by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and the defeat in the Maryland Senate committee hearing of the gender inclusive anti-discrimination bill.

There are some who have criticized the family for going public and some who have wondered the wisdom of the public release of the guidelines in Massachusetts. The problem is that you are damned if you don’t and you are damned if you do. There will always be some people who will criticize you no matter what you do and there are those who will criticize you for doing nothing.

The opposition points to Colorado and Massachusetts and says, see what happens if you pass this law! While those who believe in diversity say, see when the laws are passed nothing happens, no rapes or assaults, nothing; all the doomsayers were wrong. Were these events a factor in the failure of the bill in Maryland, I don’t know. But I think they may have been a factor in the defeat of the bill.

The problem is that if you don’t go public no-one will know. If Massachusetts didn’t go public with their guidelines no-one would have known that this resource is available. If the family didn’t go public no-one would know of the discrimination that we face.

I believe that change is brought about by education.

That is the reason why I am an activist and why I am “out” and why I publish this blog, I want to bring about change through education. Every time I talk to someone in public or meet someone a little bit of education take place. However, I realize that this is not for everyone; some just are not cutout to be out in the public spotlight. All they want to do is to transition and move on, and that is alright.

The thing is there are many transgender children here in Connecticut who have transitioned with no problem and there are only a few kids who have problems with the students transitioning. I have read the diversity statement for gender variant students for my town and it is a good policy, only time will tell if they follow their policy.

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