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Culture War Roundup for the week of August 28, 2023

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The parents can only bring the kid to the gender care clinic if they know what is going on; the school conspiring to keep this all a secret from them means they don't know.

Right, and the kid should certainly tell their parents if they think it's reasonably safe to do so.

Teachers should certainly talk to kids about telling their parents and help them determine whether it's safe and encourage them to do so if it is.

But having the state step in front of that individual judgement and make a blanket policy for everyone will cause a lot of problems. As per usual for state overreach into personal lives.

Then again, teaching kids postmodernist theories of identity in compulsory schools is an even bigger overreach into personal lives. Arguably compulsory schooling itself is. Given that we already live in a world where both of these things happen as a matter of course, what is the argument for stopping the overreach at informing the parents about their children's behavior in school?

Then again, teaching kids postmodernist theories of identity in compulsory schools is an even bigger overreach into personal lives.

First of all, no, teaching ideas is not a hostile act. If it is then we would need to have a serious conversation about teaching religion, and everything else.

Second, what exactly is it that you imagine is happening in schools? I'm sure schools in California have library books that talk about gender, and maybe as many as some kids have ever read them, but it's not going to be in the curriculum or on a test or anything.

what is the argument for stopping the overreach at informing the parents about their children's behavior in school?

Two wrongs don't make a right, I guess?

Doing a bad thing doesn't become good just because you're also doing a second bad thing. I'm not sure what argument you're really trying to make here.

  • -16

If it is then we would need to have a serious conversation about teaching religion, and everything else.

I, too, remember the popular political refrain of "it's like ramming your dick down my kid's throat" of 2010.

Of course, the same thing applies to other newly-protected characteristics like, well, sexuality; said dick-ramming happens to be a bit more literal these days.

A government that protects characteristics is, by the reasoning behind protective characteristics, not to then start "affirming" some characteristics over others. The Progress flag and the Christian cross belong in equal measure in government: completely absent.

Oh being cis and straight is absolutely affirmed by schools every minute of every day.

Like a fish in water, it's so common that you don't notice it until it's absent for a moment.

  • -14

Oh being cis and straight is absolutely affirmed by schools every minute of every day.

Indeed, thinking about it further, I see that symbols of straight pride always accompanying the not-straight ones (flags, banners, crosswalks, etc.), mandatory readings of works that are primarily about how awesome being straight is rather than more objective literary value, teachers specifically going out of their way to promote exclusively straight sexual activity and discussing it in detail, and many other examples too numerous that I'm sure I've forgotten them.

Of course, if "affirmation" means "the mere tolerance/existence of straight sexual student behavior in the halls serves as its own affirmation" (in the same way, and certainly consistent with the belief that "the tolerance of anti-whatever belief systems is affirmation of that viewpoint"), one would simply expect that to be discouraged in equal measure (and in most places, it is) rather than what we see, suggesting that the motivations are different and that those affirming aren't interested in equality.

Yes, almost every story involving romance or relationships will be about straight people being happy about their relationships models, many will talk about how awesome their straight love is, they will probably read Romeo and Juliet, etc.

I don't know how things were like when you were growing up, but from my experience most teenagers romantic feelings are barely taken seriously at best, or outright mocked at worst. Hardly what I'd call affirmation.

The example you gave here has to do with normalization, which is a completely different thing. It also has nothing to do with "gender".