A week of LGBTQ acceptance education in a middle school. Really?

VA Cowboy said:

If a transgendered person thinks he's a woman and feels like he has to sit when he pees, well guess what, there are stalls in the men's bathroom he can use. You'd think the main issue would be to have a place to relieve yourself. But apparently that isn't good enough for these people who want to keep changing society and have everyone else cater to their overly sensitive 'needs'.

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Exactly, this is a fringe group demanding special treatment. I don't believe in pandering to groups like that simply so I can make myself feel progressive.

By the way, now that Target is basically saying anyone can use either bathroom, I seriously wonder what would happen if I walked into the woman's bathroom. I can't imagine that would go over well and I'm not an attention seeking whore but I think the whole fight for transgenders is more attention seeking then anything. A sort of desire to not conform and to stick out.

townsend said:

Acceptance in this case means society has to alter itself,which is what it usually means. You can't say you're accepting of handicapped people, and not have a wheelchair ramp. You can't say your accepting of blacks, and have a blacks only restroom.

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No, society does not have to alter itself to satiate those with mental illness. The compassionate thing to do is to provide medical and psychological help to get them on their way. Every person that has a different idea of themselves or their sexuality does not need to be catered to or tolerated in society. We have institutions full of mental people that we don't cater to in public. What's worse is parents who pull this shit with the very young kids like that moronic couple in Colorado who let their 5 year old boy be a girl.

townsend said:

I don't much kow to the tyranny of the majority. Although I recognize that legislating acceptance against its wishes is no real solution, hearts and minds don't change overnight after all, and enforcing an ideal not reflected by your population will polarize people against it.
I'm far more opposed to legislation against inclusion than I am in favor of legislation requiring it. If Target or whoever is allowed to make its own decision, than I can let my dollars do the talking. But the plurality shouldn't be permitted to outlaw the policies of free enterprise, and that's what we're seeing a rash of. North Carolina, Mississippi, and Idaho.

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Rule of law is generally established by a majority for the betterment and safety of a society. Commons sense rules and laws aren't a tyranny just because you don't agree with them.

Iamtdg said:

Good lord. You are just trolling at this point. You have to be. You can't seriously believe this drivel.

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Towns is the exactly the image that comes to mind when you think liberal, leftist, (likely democrat), so yes, he believes it to his core.

townsend said:

Because conflating mental retardation with an insult is to implicitly insult retarded people. This keeps happening to people use "special needs" as an insult, and so on. It's just actively shitting on a group of people who have a hard enough road in life.

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If you have that view of the word then you have jack shit knowledge of what it means and have been societally modeled to view it as something else.

townsend said:

I'm just out in front of the bandwagon this time.

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What a guy. Model citizen even.

townsend said:

I don't disagree with it as a medical diagnoses, I disagree with it as an insult. Like I said, I disagree with it being used as a pejorative. PC police weren't the people who created it as an insult, every kid in junior high used it as a synonym for stupidity. As Iamtdg did in his post. If Retardedness is equated to perceived stupidity of a hypothesis, it's not being used as a medical diagnoses.

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You really should research the word more.

townsend said:

So if you called someone you disrespected "retarded" in front of a retarded person, you would feel a little bit guilty? You don't think that equating someone who has qualities you dislike with the handicaps that someone has to endure isn't deeply disrespectful?

How would you explain that to a retarded person, that you like to use their affliction as as insult, that you so inherently disrespect them, that you compare well-bodied, well-minded people to them, to demonstrate how foolish they are. Nope, no bigots in this crowd.

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Dude, I have a mentally retarded daughter. Your crusader is stupid. Retarded is just a fucking word that people have made to mean something it didn't before. Stop being such a champion for PC bullshit. It's not flattering.

Hey Phil, this may actually make 1000 posts before it's done. Was that a guarantee you made before?

Iam,
My stepson had issues with serious seizures not retardation. But his Mom had dealt with the seriousness of it for years before we married. I found this poem and it's written for a Mom, but to me applies to both parents equally. I'm sure you have seen it before but I post this for you sir.

God Chooses Mom for Disabled Child
Written by Erma Bombeck Published in the Today Newspaper Sept. 4th, 1993

Most women become mothers by accident, some by choice, a few by social pressures, and a couple by habit. This year, nearly 100,000 women will become mothers of handicapped children.

Did you ever wonder how mothers of handicapped children are chosen? Somehow I visualize God hovering over Earth selecting his instruments forpropagation with great care and deliberation. As he observes, he instructs his angels to make notes in a giant ledger.
"Armstrong, Beth; son; patron saint, Matthew.
"Forrest, Marjorie; daughter; patron saint, Cecelia.
"Rudledge, Carrie; twins; patron saint.... give her Gerard. He's used to profanity.
" Finally, he passes a name to an angel and smiles, "Give her a handicapped child."
The angel is curious. "Why this one, God? She's so happy."
"Exactly," smiles God. "Could I give a handicapped child a mother who does not know laughter? That would be cruel."
"But has she patience?" asks the angel.
"I don't want her to have too much patience or she will drown in a sea of self-pity and despair. Once the shock and resentment wears off, she'll handle it."
"I watched her today. She has that feeling of self and independence. She'll have to teach the child to live in her world and that's not going to be easy."
"But, Lord, I don't think she even believes in you."
God smiles. "No matter. I can fix that. This one is perfect. She has just enough selfishness." The angel gasps, "Selfishness? Is that a virtue?"
God nods. "If she can't separate herself from the child occasionally, she'll never survive. Yes, there is a woman I will bless with a child less then perfect. She doesn't realize it yet, but she is to be envied. She will never take for granted a spoken word. She will never consider a step ordinary. When her child says "Momma" for the first time, she will be present at a miracle and know it! When she describes a tree or a sunset to her blind child, she will see it as few people ever see my creations." "I will permit her to see clearly the things I see---ignorance, cruelty, prejudice--- and allow her to rise above them. She will never be alone. I will be at her side every minute of every day of her life because she is doing my work as surely as she is here by my side."
"And what about her patron saint?" asks the angel, his pen poised in midair.
God smiles. "A mirror will suffice."

Cowboysrock55 said:

So if a person leaves the door open when they go in the stall and they are standing their taking a piss when a child see their dick out you think that's a crime? Of course it isn't a crime.

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What a contrivance. In my life I've never walked into a restroom where a closeable stall door is left open while a person was shitting. Theoretically a portapotty could get left open too, should men be allowed to use those? Or does having a penis mean you need to seperate enclosures in order to use the facilities? A lot of gas station bathrooms only have one door, in fact so does the bathrooms in most homes. Can trans people use toilets in their house with children around, or should they leave the premises just in case they accidentally leave the door open?

Iamtdg said:

Dude, I have a mentally retarded daughter. Your crusader is stupid. Retarded is just a fucking word that people have made to mean something it didn't before. Stop being such a champion for PC bullshit. It's not flattering.

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I knew you had a daughter with Down's, and I was a little taken aback that you used the term. I figured if anyone would want to snub out the word it would be someone who's family member could very likely have it used against them.

I was raised with a cousin who had Down's syndrome in my house for most of my childhood. As it turns out this has been considered a slur for the better part of 20 years. Which is to say, I knew not to say it when I was a child in the 90s. Me, as a homeschooled kid from a conservative family knew that was a bad word. So no, it's not any social justice crusade, it's just expecting people to act respectfully.
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townsend said:

I knew you had a daughter with Down's, and I was a little taken aback that you used the term. I figured if anyone would want to snub out the word it would be someone who's family member could very likely have it used against them.

I was raised with a cousin who had Down's syndrome in my house for most of my childhood. As it turns out this has been considered a slur for the better part of 20 years. Which is to say, I knew not to say it when I was a child in the 90s. Me, as a homeschooled kid from a conservative family knew that was a bad word. So no, it's not any social justice crusade, it's just expecting people to act respectfully.
.

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If any word is used in its proper context it isn't a slur. That's where you are having a problem. To change a legitimate word to something else because it is difficult to accept is escapism. It makes someone feel better to use a different terminology but in truth it's a form of deniability. Guys like me may prefer the term advanced maturity instead of old but the truth is people of my age group.are old. If you call me an old guy it's correct. If you call me an old fart its probably a slur but the old part is still correct.

townsend said:

I knew you had a daughter with Down's, and I was a little taken aback that you used the term. I figured if anyone would want to snub out the word it would be someone who's family member could very likely have it used against them.

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Typical liberal, assuming you know best for everyone while social justice crusading. Newsflash, not everything is a problem that needs fixing.

My problem with this is still there are a tiny handful of trans people and the law is utterly unnecessary. If there's any attempt to enforce it at all, it will be people randomly calling the cops on women with masculine features for trying to use the restroom. People are freaking out and trying to fight an imaginary threat because "won't someone please think of the children".

Clay_Allison said:

My problem with this is still there are a tiny handful of trans people and the law is utterly unnecessary. If there's any attempt to enforce it at all, it will be people randomly calling the cops on women with masculine features for trying to use the restroom. People are freaking out and trying to fight an imaginary threat because "won't someone please think of the children".

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May be but I feel there would not have been a law enacted had there not been circumstances or issues of aggressive behavior in the first place. I don't agree that people will go into hysterics. I think they will continue to behave in the same manner unless there is something that prompts them to act.

Target Changes Restroom Policy After Receiving Boycott Threats
http://associatedmediacoverage.com/target-announces-reversal-restroom-policy-boycott-threats/

mschmidt64 said:

Typical liberal, assuming you know best for everyone while social justice crusading. Newsflash, not everything is a problem that needs fixing.

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I'm not a typical anything, you're just a guy who hasn't bothered to challenge himself or his own views. You're a man with a 20 year old's view on life, who colors his world with the small box of crayons, which is why dismissing someone as some archetypal other is so easy for you.

Which isn't to say you're unintelligent, just incredibly lazy, and too scared to come out of the cocoon of your post adolescent worldview.

I had a similar perspective to you. But then I travelled the world and met people who my small box of crayons didn't work for, and became a better person. It's better to live with some kind of empathy and humility.

Maybe you'll make it out of your blankey one day, but then you might not get to think you're right all the time.

L.T. Fan said:

May be but I feel there would not have been a law enacted had there not been circumstances or issues of aggressive behavior in the first place. I don't agree that people will go into hysterics. I think they will continue to behave in the same manner unless there is something that prompts them to act.

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No one has posted any issues with aggressive behavior associated with any actual trans people. Since these laws are tacked onto 'religious freedom' acts, it sounds more like a temper tantrum over losing the gay marriage fight.

Clay_Allison said:

No one has posted any issues with aggressive behavior associated with any actual trans people. Since these laws are tacked onto 'religious freedom' acts, it sounds more like a temper tantrum over losing the gay marriage fight.

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By aggressive I mean actually accessing the wrong rest room intentionally.

L.T. Fan said:

By aggressive I mean actually accessing the wrong rest room intentionally.

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they are such a tiny % of the people in the US, how often could that possibly be happening.

Clay_Allison said:

they are such a tiny % of the people in the US, how often could that possibly be happening.

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Clay. Most laws of a criminal nature deal with a few or tiny amount of the population but nevertheless the laws are needed. This law will probably only deal with a few but that's the nature of things. Most people obey laws so would you repeal laws because only a few people break them?