For anyone who's wondering, the victim was a 15 year old FtM. I'm pleased that the news folk used the right pronouns.
From the SF Gate website story:
Charles Ramsey, president of the West Contra Costa County Unified School District board, ... sounded a warning to the attackers: "You will be expelled. You will be punished, and what we'll ask is that you are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. You can't assault students on campus, no matter who they are."
Glad to see a strong statement from the school board, but something about that "no matter who they are" part is bothering me. Does anyone think it expresses an implicit disrespect?
@3 'that "no matter who they are" part is bothering me. Does anyone think it expresses an implicit disrespect?'
I think it acknowledges a clear disrespect.
To judge beyond that, I'd want a lot more context and background, and frankly, the statement is clear and unequivocal, so I might try to issue a pass even if it did.
I think you might be reading a bit much into it, but maybe I'm just giving the board the benefit of the doubt. I'm forced to assume you read "...no matter who they are" with an implicit appendation of "...even if they're a tranny!"
I read those last 5 words as a broad stroke to reference all frequent targets for bullies. That seems like the sort of verbiage administrators need to paint with to address a wide variety of different marginalized people.
And I think we can agree, trans* people are sadly at the top of a lot of shitheads' lists.
@4, interesting that wasn't brought up. You'd think the Stranger could be a little more intersectional.
@3: I think it might, but it also might be intended to set a firm stance that the issue here isn't that a transgender student was assaulted, but that a student was assaulted, saying all bullying is unacceptable. It's hard to know, but given the power and strength of the statement, I want to give him a pass.
This is awful, and this is the sort of thing that is bred from lack of anti-discrimination laws. The gay marriage fight is coming to an end here shortly (under 2 years), so let's start mobilizing for the rights of transgender people. What are the laws in Washington State?
Given the physical plant profile of most school districts, we are not getting there in any one of our lifetimes, except perhaps at ruinous expense.
So, even if we pretend that it's free and a given we'll do this in all new schools, how many programs should we cut to do this? What new funding source could possibly get approved to limit those cuts? What time frame is acceptable to get these accommodations in place?
Lastly, can't most of this be resolved with adequate education, something which is admittedly not necessarily available in all our schools.
Carolyn Laub, executive director of the Gay-Straight Alliance Network, which supports and trains student organizations that serve gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students, said Monday's attack indicates that Hercules High has serious safety problems that have nothing to do with the new law.
"This is a horrible incident with a young person who has been sexually assaulted. It's not about bathrooms," Laub said. "It's an attack and it happened at a school where violence has been rampant and allowed to escalate to where something like this has been allowed to occur."
"It was the first assault of a transgender student made public since a new California law went into effect on Jan. 1 guaranteeing students the right to use the bathrooms and locker rooms that match the gender with which they identify."
Or Not.
So; in a state with 50,000,000 people ZERO transvestites have been attacked in bathrooms?!?
Butt! Butt!
Our Dear Leader Danny insisted it's only trans kids—and trans adults—who get assaulted in bathrooms!!!
I don't understand why people make up discrimination and attack stories like this. Don't they realize that it just makes it more difficult for the next person who really is attacked? It's like the boy who cried wolf, only instead of the same boy being left to face the wolf at the end the boy is setting it up so that some poor, innocent victim later on gets left out in the cold.
The violence against transgender people is staggering. There doesn't need to be made up stories to generate outrage. There are plenty of real stories worthy of outrage, and the fake ones only make those victims unjustly suspect too.
From the SF Gate website story:
Glad to see a strong statement from the school board, but something about that "no matter who they are" part is bothering me. Does anyone think it expresses an implicit disrespect?
I think it acknowledges a clear disrespect.
To judge beyond that, I'd want a lot more context and background, and frankly, the statement is clear and unequivocal, so I might try to issue a pass even if it did.
I think you might be reading a bit much into it, but maybe I'm just giving the board the benefit of the doubt. I'm forced to assume you read "...no matter who they are" with an implicit appendation of "...even if they're a tranny!"
I read those last 5 words as a broad stroke to reference all frequent targets for bullies. That seems like the sort of verbiage administrators need to paint with to address a wide variety of different marginalized people.
And I think we can agree, trans* people are sadly at the top of a lot of shitheads' lists.
@4, interesting that wasn't brought up. You'd think the Stranger could be a little more intersectional.
This is awful, and this is the sort of thing that is bred from lack of anti-discrimination laws. The gay marriage fight is coming to an end here shortly (under 2 years), so let's start mobilizing for the rights of transgender people. What are the laws in Washington State?
...and locker rooms, etc.
Given the physical plant profile of most school districts, we are not getting there in any one of our lifetimes, except perhaps at ruinous expense.
So, even if we pretend that it's free and a given we'll do this in all new schools, how many programs should we cut to do this? What new funding source could possibly get approved to limit those cuts? What time frame is acceptable to get these accommodations in place?
Lastly, can't most of this be resolved with adequate education, something which is admittedly not necessarily available in all our schools.
I identify as a cat, I demand a litter box!
http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section…
indubitably
it is most definitely NOT about bathrooms.
hear! hear!
being an AssHole means never having to say you're sorry.
Credulous DumbAss......
"It was the first assault of a transgender student made public since a new California law went into effect on Jan. 1 guaranteeing students the right to use the bathrooms and locker rooms that match the gender with which they identify."
Or Not.
So; in a state with 50,000,000 people ZERO transvestites have been attacked in bathrooms?!?
Butt! Butt!
Our Dear Leader Danny insisted it's only trans kids—and trans adults—who get assaulted in bathrooms!!!
something stinks in Danmark, for sure
Danny, lead us- we must march down to Californy and BURN THAT FUCKING SCHOOL DOWN!!
are we right? people?
Danny, is there anything you want to share?
instead of deleting the first comment danny should have learned from it.
you can't teach an old dog new tricks....
The violence against transgender people is staggering. There doesn't need to be made up stories to generate outrage. There are plenty of real stories worthy of outrage, and the fake ones only make those victims unjustly suspect too.
Wait, where was that again? Savage, still writing that up? Hello? Savage?
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/He…
Sigh.