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undercutter2006 Donating Member (287 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-05-08 12:07 AM
Original message
District allows boy in girls' restrooms
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=59526

The dispute at Asa C. Adams Elementary School in Orono has the school committee on the defense, the grandfather on the march, and the local Bangor News newspaper trying to set rules for "Christian" behavior for the community.


Paul Melanson (Photo courtesy Christian Civic League of Maine)

At the heart of the issue is the treatment being provided an unidentified 10-year-old at the elementary school, according to documentation from the Christian Civic League of Maine.

The organization is reporting Paul Melanson found out his grandson's school was allowing another boy to use the girl's restroom, and decided that wasn't right. He told his grandson to follow the other boy into the girl's restroom whenever he saw the other boy doing it, and when he did, the boy was confronted by school officials and warned against such behavior, and the grandfather was confronted by police.

However, Melanson responded to those concerns by alleging the school was discriminating against his grandson by depriving him of the accommodations allowed others, simply because of his sexual orientation, an action banned under state law.





That is in interesting strategy. Kind of the same thing where the Bush administration made a big push to prosecute any crime committed by a black person against a white person as a hate crime. The thinking behind it goes like this - if hate crimes are enacted to protect minority against majority, but then we turn around and prosecute the minorities for hate crimes as much as the majority, then the law becomes meaningless. King of the same thing when men sue for sexual harrassment. Or like in the article above, when heterosexuals demand to be treated as a protected class on par with homosexuals.


comments?
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lvx35 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-05-08 12:20 AM
Response to Original message
1. Tha school policy is getting into dangerous ground...
Its one thing to talk about facilitating minorities with special needs, but those special needs have to be identifiable and unambiguous. Gender Indentity is not such a thing, its an inner state...The bottom line being that there is no way to tell if a person is really transgendered or just acting like it to look at the nudie girls in the shower room.

The best solution to this is just to offer unisex single occupancy bathrooms whenever possible.
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BearSquirrel2 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-05-08 12:26 AM
Response to Reply #1
2. I'm all for the 3 restroom system ...
Male, Female and one in between with individual partitions and baby changing centers. That would effectively deal with parents with opposite sex children.

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lvx35 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-05-08 01:17 AM
Response to Reply #2
11. My college has them, they are really good.
Set up with all this stuff for handicapped people as well, with room enough for a caregiver to assist if needed. They fill a lot of different needs for totally different people, including diaper change. I think any public institution should have them, for many reasons.
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aquart Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-05-08 12:43 AM
Response to Reply #1
5. Well, it isn't. And I don't want men where I'm adjusting bra straps.
PERIOD.
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ninkasi Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-05-08 12:38 AM
Response to Original message
3. I'm retired, now
but when I was still working, a co-worker was going through gender change, and none of us minded that even before the surgery, she used the women's restroom. What a fuss about nothing.

Later, none of us women got flustered, but some of the men at work acted like she was going to destroy them. She was funny, kind, and fun to be around. What did I care what gender she preferred?

There are many, many more serious problems in the world besides gender identification.
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alarimer Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-05-08 12:52 AM
Response to Reply #3
6. And anyway, if there are individual stalls, I don't understand the fuss
I mean, a single bathroom with a door that locks or a stall with a door that locks is all the privacy anyone needs. I personally do not check to make sure who is in the other stalls when I am in there.

I know the original story was about kids, which might be a little different but still, much ado about nothing I think.

I have a similar situation at work with one of my colleagues. The men we work with seem to have issues with her gender change but the women don't really. Or maybe they keep their opinions to themselves. but I hear all kinds of stuff from my male coworkers about how if this person was a relative of theirs, she would never be allowed to see their kids and how they are glad her children are not allowing their children to see her, etc, etc. All kinds of intolerant crap. I don't envy anyone making that decision to change.
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ninkasi Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-05-08 01:03 AM
Response to Reply #6
9. My co-worker was originally a man, named James
who changed her name to Jamie. What a fuss about nothing. The men at my office were flattering themselves, if they thought that she would have any interest in them, after they showed themselves to be the bigots they were.

For her to use the Women's restroom didn't matter at all to me. As you point out, the stalls have doors, and are private.
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hulklogan Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-05-08 12:41 AM
Response to Original message
4. Interesting perspective on the Bush war against minority rights.
Though I would suggest you not confuse sexual orientation with gender identity. Not all homosexuals are transgendered, and not all transgendered people are homosexual. It is two different things. Your last line might read better as "when non-transgendered people demand to be treated as a protected class on par with transgendred people"

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pennylane100 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-05-08 12:59 AM
Response to Original message
7. I'm sorry but I do not understand this story.
Why was the first boy allowed to use the girl's bathroom. Also, what is the grandfather doing giving such advice to his grandson. Why did he not just call the school and ask if the story was true instead of allowing his grandson to be put in such an awkward position.

If there was some rules being broken he could have addressed that through the school or the School Board.
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cynatnite Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-05-08 01:02 AM
Response to Reply #7
8. Agreed. n/t
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maddiejoan Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-05-08 01:07 AM
Response to Reply #7
10. The first "boy"
isn't a boy --SHE is a young transgendered girl, hence SHE is using the girl's room.

The Grandfather is being a prick.
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pennylane100 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-05-08 02:55 AM
Response to Reply #10
14. Did the Grandfather know that and was he just a moron.
This is really sad story for both the children involved. The transgender girl will always have to look over her shoulder in her school because there will be no shortage of jerks who feel that the lesson of hate is the most part of her education.

The grandchild, at a young age, is getting a front row seat on learning how to become a bully and a bigot. The chances are he will follow his grandfathers road through life.

What the heck is the school doing to teach tolerance and to explain to children all children are special and should be loved and cared for. A much better example to teach children.

What would really piss him off is if the became good friends and started to hang out together would care about each other. (I also believe in fairy stories).
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Der Blaue Engel Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-05-08 01:37 AM
Response to Original message
12. World Nut Daily?
I'm sure they reported this with 100% accuracy. :eyes:
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Redstone Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-05-08 01:41 AM
Response to Original message
13. Yeah, I have a comment. Any "news" from "worldnetdaily" is bullshit, and anyone who posts
it as meaning anything is either misguided, ignorant, or is looking to cause trouble.

Redstone
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Xenotime Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-05-08 11:06 AM
Response to Original message
15. Gender neutral bathrooms are more and more popular.
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knitter4democracy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-05-08 11:14 AM
Response to Original message
16. Good on ya for messing up your grandson.
:eyes: Maybe you should have him ask why the other boy is allowed to use the girls' restroom, but that's harder than just following him in, right? Jerk. If the school allows a boy into the girls' restroom, I'm sure there's a very good reason, like that boy is transgendered and really a girl. Teaching your grandson to be a prick will mess him up about a lot of things for a long time. Good going, Grandpa. :mad: If you were my dad telling my son to do that, you could bet on a massive blowup over that.
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swimboy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-05-08 02:06 PM
Response to Original message
17. when heterosexuals demand to be treated as a protected class on par with homosexuals
when heterosexuals demand to be treated as a protected class on par with homosexuals


The above statement is either indicates ignorance or dishonesty on the part of the author, possibly both, and is a tip-off to the intent of the entire article.

Someone should get sent up for stalking. Consistently following someone into the bathroom is the creepiest behavior presented here. No, I'm wrong. The grandfather's advice that the boy do that is whacked-out criminally creepy.
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