How many moral panics in our lifetimes?
Five years ago Pride Month was not an issue. And now? Now trans panic is the Satanic ritual abuse panic for the early 21st century. Except the latter never really went away. But it is now joined and amplified by trans panic, fears of “grooming,” etc.
Protests outside a Glendale school district meeting turned violent as groups began several brawls as administrators discussed recognizing Pride Month, while the public debated gender and sexual identity studies.
Demonstrations outside of the Glendale Unified School District building stayed relatively civil throughout the day. However, scuffles between the around 200 protesters and counter-demonstrators began after 6 p.m. School administrators said many of the protesters did not have students in the district.
The city’s police department deployed around 50 officers to the meeting to prevent scuffles among the groups. After several brawls, officers ordered the protesters to disperse and threatened to use less-than-lethal force to break up the crowd.
The attempts to de-escalate the crowd failed, prompting officers to arrest at least three people. They are accused of using pepper spray and obstruction.
“Erroneous information is being spread on social media” may have been a factor. A report from KTLA suggests the fight was over the school board adding “LGBTQ+ instruction” to the curriculum.
“We have absolutely no agenda,” said Glendale Unified Superintendent Vivian Ekchian. “We are not in the business of converting anyone’s child.”
But CBS and the Los Angeles Daily News report that it was not an agenda item, only recognition of Pride Month (CBS again):
Tensions boiled over inside the building as people debated LGBTQ+ issues during public comment. Gender and sexual identity curriculum were not on the agenda for the meeting. The only topic related to the LGBTQ+ community on the agenda was a declaration of support for Pride Month. The district has passed this declaration for the past five years.
The Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education, however, “unanimously approved a resolution Tuesday encouraging all district schools to incorporate lessons on the LGBTQ+ community into their curriculum,” reports ABC7:
The resolution introduced by Board President Jackie Goldberg and Member Nick Melvoin served as the board’s official recognition of June as LGBTQ+ Pride Month — while also honoring October as LGBTQ+ History Month; Oct. 11 as National Coming Out Day; Nov. 20 as Transgender Day of Remembrance; March 31 as Transgender Day of Visibility; and April 12 as a Day of Silence honoring the contribution of the LGBTQ+ community.
It noted that research has suggested that 25% of high school-age students in the country identify as LGBTQ+, and youth identifying as LGBTQ+ are at a higher risk for experiencing homelessness, being victims of bullying, and attempting or dying by suicide, and national research indicates that mental health struggles and rates of suicidal thoughts have trended upward among LGBTQ+ youth in recent years.
“Every school district, including ours, must continue to take a stand in supporting our LGBTQ+ youth and ensuring that every student has the resources they need to thrive both academically and socio-emotionally as a valued member of their school community,” the resolution read, in part.
Guess them’s fightin’ words. Guess we’re going to see teachers and schools administrators accused of forcing children into subterranean chambers below schools that have none. There the innocent will be inducted into the dark arts of better skin care, fashion choices, and self-worth. We’ve seen this movie before. It did not work out well in the 1980s.