Cultural Separation from Parents

[ken_sylvania]

That is the really weird thing about it. When somebody posts about the trash and bad influence of TV, Youtube, or the violent video games you think it's no big deal, but as soon as they mention the damaging effects of the normalization of identity confusion suddenly you get your knickers all in a twist. Conservative Mennonites have been preaching and teaching about the evil influence of TV, the loose morals of Hollywood, and the damaging effect it's having on our nation ever since TV first came out. They were wayyyy ahead of their time in recognizing the power dynamics and sexual misconduct among actors that everyone else wanted to "not see". They're not breaking character to decry the influence society is having on the self-identities of impressionable children and young people - just for some reason you feel the need to pretend this is the only issue they speak to.

When have I ever posted that trash on TV or violent video games are no big deal?

I drew that conclusion in part based on my sense of the proportionate amount of text generated relative to each topic.

When it comes to the specific issue of gun violence, I don't think the epidemic of school shootings in this country is due to violent video games as opposed to an endless supply of guns. If it was the video games at fault then Japan would be experiencing the same rash of school shootings as the US. That is obviously not the case. And I have said as much here to those who want to blame school shootings on video games instead of the fact that teens can buy AR-15s and thousands of rounds of ammo without anyone blinking twice.

But I don't approve of violent video games or the hyper-sexualized world that this society has created for our children. Whether it is the Disney Channel princess stuff, Barbie dolls, Forever 21 and other teen fashion stores at the mall, or peewee football where the dads scream at their little kids and the referees like raving maniacs.

That also doesn't mean I think a crazed Texas cheer mom can turn her daughter into a sexy little gidget who goes on to the best southern sorority if that isn't who her daughter already is. Or that a crazed peewee football dad can turn is son into a monster linebacker bound for D1 college scholarship if what he really wants to do is read literature or be artistic. What it means is that their kids end up a mess and are taught to hate who they are, and will eventually tune their parents out. And that instead of putting enormous energy into getting their kids to conform to those rigid expectations, parents should just listen to their kids and encourage them to be who they actually are.

Way to go! If your child happens to be an egotistic, self-centered, cruel bully, be sure to listen to him and encourage him to be who he actually is.

[temporal1]

This forum is a great place to learn first-hand why home schools+private schools are thriving, as they should be.
In spite of extra costs, and personal commitment required.

It’s all spelled out in everyday English. Not pretty. Convincing.

One tangible positive of the pandemic was, lots more parents learned about alternatives to gov ed.
Shutting down gov schools was a long time dream of a number of people. O. The possibilities!

- - - - - - -

In a better world, my preference would be for all children to attend public schools.
Due to increasing awful policies, partisan politics driven, no.

If the politicians, activists, lobbies, unions, lawyers, could be cast out, maybe.

[Ken]

It doesn't describe me. And I'm not having a connipition as it appears you are assuming. I was merely agreeing with your previous statement. Yes, your right, our society is hyper sexualized. Did I say they weren't? Does "bigot" describe you perchance?

I was responding to the notion that somehow we live in this neutral world where a school teacher can tilt some child into transgenderism or some such.

When in fact, the real world we live in is one in which kids are endlessly and relentlessly sexualized and pushed towards traditional gender roles from toddlers onwards. They get it at every turn. And so when kids violate those traditional gender norms in some LGBT way it is because they are very much going against the flow not with it as your comment suggested. Even in 2023 if you want to be popular and accepted it is 100-times easier to be the cute gurl or the jock boy. The pressure is all in that direction. Even in liberal blue areas. And kids who go in the other direction are very much going against the flow. The difference between today and say the 1980s when I was in HS is that nonconforming kids are no longer mercilessly bullied and persecuted like they used to be. And I think that is a good thing. But it isn't some easy path of least resistance.

As for bigotry. You brought up the term. I simply provided the actual definition for clarity.

[Ken]

Way to go! If your child happens to be an egotistic, self-centered, cruel bully, be sure to listen to him and encourage him to be who he actually is.

Usually when I encounter kids like that it is because they learn it from their parents. Pretty much every time.

[Nomad]

It doesn't describe me. And I'm not having a connipition as it appears you are assuming. I was merely agreeing with your previous statement. Yes, your right, our society is hyper sexualized. Did I say they weren't? Does "bigot" describe you perchance?

I was responding to the notion that somehow we live in this neutral world where a school teacher can tilt some child into transgenderism or some such.

When in fact, the real world we live in is one in which kids are endlessly and relentlessly sexualized and pushed towards traditional gender roles from toddlers onwards. They get it at every turn. And so when kids violate those traditional gender norms in some LGBT way it is because they are very much going against the flow not with it as your comment suggested. Even in 2023 if you want to be popular and accepted it is 100-times easier to be the cute gurl or the jock boy. The pressure is all in that direction. Even in liberal blue areas. And kids who go in the other direction are very much going against the flow. The difference between today and say the 1980s when I was in HS is that nonconforming kids are no longer mercilessly bullied and persecuted like they used to be. And I think that is a good thing. But it isn't some easy path of least resistance.

As for bigotry. You brought up the term. I simply provided the actual definition for clarity.

I didn't bring bigotry up. You did. In the 1st post I responded to.

And just so your aware...I wasn't stating whatever you were assuming I stated. Nothing you just said actually even entered my thought process. Again, I was merely agreeing with the previous post you stated on teachers being labeled bigots (or possibly being fired) for the entire year if they don't accept the students chosen pronouns. The teachers have my sympathies.

[MaxPC]

That also doesn't mean I think a crazed Texas cheer mom can turn her daughter into a

sexy little gidget

who goes on to the best southern sorority if that isn't who her daughter already is.

This statement itself is rife with bigoted dog whistles. Quite sad.

[Josh]

That also doesn't mean I think a crazed Texas cheer mom can turn her daughter into a

sexy little gidget

who goes on to the best southern sorority if that isn't who her daughter already is.

This statement itself is rife with bigoted dog whistles. Quite sad.

Good catch.

What is interesting is that plain Anabaptists have long taken stances against sinful things like cheerleading squads, organised sports, and higher education (where sororities and “rush week” are found).

[Szdfan]

Matthew being called Matt is just not pertinent to this conversation.

It is absolutely pertinent.

You either accommodate students in their wish to go by a different name or you don't. You don't just accommodate only the students who's preferred name is one that you personally approve of because it conforms to your own personal notion of what is gender appropriate. That would be treating your students in a highly unequitable manner.

I have students who are not trans and go by radically different names than the ones on their birth certificates.

I have an Uphorion that goes by Rueben
I have a Darian that goes by Pedro.
I have a Brooke that goes by Mari.
I have a Louis that goes by Jerome
I have had an Emily that goes by Neli.
I have had a Jose that goes by Joey.

Florida now requires schools to have permission slips for parents to give permission for schools to call kids by anything other than their formal names and I think that includes calling Matthew "Matt." I think that's an unnecessary level of bureaucracy and intrusion into people's lives.

In the US, parents can name their kids whatever they want, which is why Elon Musk can name his son X Æ A-Xii, but according to some of you, the kid can't ask his teachers to use a name that's pronounceable without his parent's permission.

Some countries regulate the names parents can give their children. Germany has an official list of approved names. There are no X Æ A-Xiis or boys named Sue running around there. I guess that's the next step. Should the state regulate the names you're allowed to call your children?

I also want to point out that schools using the preferred names of their students is not indoctrination and not remotely the same thing as forcibly separating children from their families to send them to boarding schools thousands of miles away in order to acculturate them into another culture.

[GaryK]

I also want to point out that schools using the preferred names of their students is not indoctrination and not remotely the same thing as forcibly separating children from their families to send them to boarding schools thousands of miles away in order to acculturate them into another culture.

The OP is not about schools using preferred names, but rather about promoting transgenderism behind parents backs. In some cases, including the NYT article, it appears acculturation into another culture is happening in school districts without parental consent. Sending one's child to a school 2 miles away, day after day, can end up with parents losing their children to another "culture" the parents want no part of.

[Josh]

I think it's completely reasonable for schools to notify parents if their child goes by an alternative name (and such nicknames or alternative names could be listed on the child's application for school).

When my parents went to school, nicknames weren't allowed. Everyone had to go by their first names. I think that promoted an atmosphere of respect.

But in any case, that's not the topic of this thread, despite Ken and Szdfan's attempts to change the topic.The topic is a child who is male or female who starts going by a different name belonging to the wrong sex.