The first thing I want to do is to speak to the LGBT community in Grayson County and Culpeper County, as well as so many of the local communities in and around southwest Virginia. The fact you have to mourn and grieve without support over what has happen in Orlando is something I would wish on no one. I know how hard the last few days have been for me and I dare not imagine what it is been like for you. My heart, my love and my energy go out to all of you in this incredible troubling time.
But to have to do that in the midst of having your rights, liberty and identity taken from you is beyond what I would be able to endure. To have people who are your family, friends, neighbors and colleagues tell you that your well being does not matter …show more content…
As a fellow resident of Appalachia, a fellow Virginia, but most of all as a fellow human being, I understand your fears. I understand the need and desire to protect and keep safe what is most precious to all of us. Our children are worth so much more than anything else on this earth. I want to keep my nieces and nephews safe. Every time something bad happens to them, I feel a pain that does not heal until they do.
For me that includes transgender children. For me that includes the child I once was. For me that includes your children as well. That is why I am so troubled by the policy in Grayson County and by the proposed policy in Culpeper County. It troubles me for many …show more content…
I understand your concerns. I share the need to protect your students. I just think that includes all your students, not just the majority. With proper procedures, policy and education, this is achievable. I have already personally come to Superintendent Wilmore and told him my concerns. I would like to think I hear then and in turn offered solutions that protect everyone. I explained to him that the reason he didn't know of any transgender students in Grayson County is because they didn't feel safe enough to be themselves and so are living unauthentic lives where they are being forced to live lies to keep themselves safe from an administration and school body that does not understand them. I offered ways to change that and offered my time, energy and resources to helping his district become more welcome and inclusive of people they might not understand, but could given a little time. We also talked about how to keep children safe in bathrooms and locker rooms, and how to be respectful to everyone's needs. I would like to think that my words did not fall of deaf ears and I don't think they did. There are solutions out there, where we aren't told what to do, but we do what we can to do what we all want and that is to keep our children
But to have to do that in the midst of having your rights, liberty and identity taken from you is beyond what I would be able to endure. To have people who are your family, friends, neighbors and colleagues tell you that your well being does not matter …show more content…
As a fellow resident of Appalachia, a fellow Virginia, but most of all as a fellow human being, I understand your fears. I understand the need and desire to protect and keep safe what is most precious to all of us. Our children are worth so much more than anything else on this earth. I want to keep my nieces and nephews safe. Every time something bad happens to them, I feel a pain that does not heal until they do.
For me that includes transgender children. For me that includes the child I once was. For me that includes your children as well. That is why I am so troubled by the policy in Grayson County and by the proposed policy in Culpeper County. It troubles me for many …show more content…
I understand your concerns. I share the need to protect your students. I just think that includes all your students, not just the majority. With proper procedures, policy and education, this is achievable. I have already personally come to Superintendent Wilmore and told him my concerns. I would like to think I hear then and in turn offered solutions that protect everyone. I explained to him that the reason he didn't know of any transgender students in Grayson County is because they didn't feel safe enough to be themselves and so are living unauthentic lives where they are being forced to live lies to keep themselves safe from an administration and school body that does not understand them. I offered ways to change that and offered my time, energy and resources to helping his district become more welcome and inclusive of people they might not understand, but could given a little time. We also talked about how to keep children safe in bathrooms and locker rooms, and how to be respectful to everyone's needs. I would like to think that my words did not fall of deaf ears and I don't think they did. There are solutions out there, where we aren't told what to do, but we do what we can to do what we all want and that is to keep our children