OPINION

The End of the Father-Daughter Dance

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They'll tell you they're only interested in protecting transgender and LGBTQ+ rights. 

They'll tell you that these laws and regulations must be passed for your child's government-run school to prevent hostile bullying of vulnerable children.

They'll tell you that without these so-called "transgender rights" laws, children will be driven to runaway, self-harm, and even suicide... in fact, they'll tell you that if you oppose these laws, you are responsible for those suicides. 

As usual, they are lying to you. That's what they do... they're the Left. 

Wednesday night, the school board in Washington, DC, suburb Loudoun County, Virginia, voted to approve transgender rules using the same manipulative tactics described above. 

"This means that they have a chance to go back to school, feel safe, feel accepted and feel affirmed," Chris Candice Tuck (he/him), VP of Equity Loudoun, told WUSA after the vote. "They no longer have to worry about the bullying and the harassment. They don't have to fight with staff about which restroom to use...they can just be an average normal student without all of this hanging over their head."

When one of the two dissenting members of the school board pointed out that there were multiple regulations and policies already in place prohibiting bullying, he was accused of bigotry. 

"This has turned into some kind of political football to try to frighten families," State Senator Jennifer Boysko (D) said. "What we know is that when students are treated with kindness and respect and given dignity in the classroom, we are all better off."

You see how these debates go. 

"It's just about dignity and respect."

"It's to ensure children feel safe, accepted, and affirmed."

"It's just about pronouns and bathrooms."

"If you oppose this, you are empowering the bullies who lead these children to suicide."

They steamroll their way through and jam these policies down the throats of taxpayers and parents, claiming that they only support inclusive policies that won't affect other children in any negative way. It's only to promote inclusiveness for the children who currently feel isolated, bullied, and threatened because of their sexual and gender identity. 

Loudoun County Schools provides a handy-dandy FAQ page on its website, which provides guidance for how these policies will be implemented. 

"Examples of practices that may be based on gender, and which should be eliminated, include grouping students for class activities, gender-based homecoming or prom courts, limitations on who can attend as 'couples' at school dances, and gender-based events such as father-daughter dances."

And there you have it. 

See how quickly we go from "this is to prevent bullying and teen suicide" and "we just want to provide a safe, affirming environment free of bullying" to "WE ARE DOING AWAY WITH FATHER-DAUGHTER DANCES!"?

LCPS claims in its document that such practices as father-daughter dances "can have the effect of marginalizing, stigmatizing, and excluding students, regardless of their gender identity or gender expression."

And the thought process here, we are told, is that if just one student feels excluded because they/he/she can't fully participate in the father-daughter dance for reasons related to their LGBTQ+ identity, the only possible solution that is acceptable within the guidelines of these new policies is to completely eliminate the event. 

Funny how when selling these policies, they don't lead with that, right? 

The media and the politicians pushing these new rules always call them "transgender rights" policies for a reason. If you oppose the policies, you are, by definition, against granting rights to a transgender individual. But that's not entirely correct, is it? 

If you oppose the gender-bending policies that allow a biological young man to compete in an athletic competition against biological women, you are doing so not because you are denying anyone their rights, but because you are trying to protect the rights of women to not have to compete in an unfair environment. 

But good luck seeing any articles describing these laws from that point of view. 

Imagine this opening paragraph: "Last night, the Loudoun County school board voted to deny young women the right to privacy with female-only locker rooms. They voted to force minor, adolescent girls to disrobe alongside individuals with male genitalia under the guise of inclusiveness and tolerance." 

You'll never see it framed that way, but that's an entirely accurate description of the policy and the vote. 

In the same way, you won't see much discussion of the illumination of the father-daughter dance, but that's exactly what they did. 

It's sad, and it's maddening, and if you dare say so, you're responsible for ten suicides, so shut your hateful mouth. 

Ready to run for your local school board yet?