Ted Cruz harasses DC preschool teacher for being pregnant

[T'Chenka]

The "Hi Manatee Families" notice is extremely non-political and literally as non-controversial as it could possibly be without forcing the teacher to leave their job or lie about why they're taking time off, both now and going forward.

People that are against the "trans agenda" and the "woke left" should be fine with this, as it looks like the school is going out of their way to not make this into a big thing, not to be political, not to "poke the bear" in the culture wars, or anything like that. They're literally just going to tell the kids "your teacher is pregnant and is taking time off to have a baby". They've also anticipated that kids will ask why a male teacher is having a baby, and have come up with a short, simple, non-political, non-controversial answer that they can provide and then move on from.

I don't know what else you could reasonably ask for here.

[T'Chenka]

I think I know what I'm talking about enough to have a legitimate concern about what this does to a child's ability to make sense of themselves and their trust of their own and their parents' ability to know basic things about them like whether they are a boy or a girl.

Sometimes kids in an all-white area suddenly get a non-white teacher or classmate and get a little confused, and have to be introduced to the concept of race and the concept of being a white person. This is part of growing up in a multi-racial society.

Sometimes kids in an all-straight environment suddenly hear about gay people on TV or in their classmate's family or something like that, and have to be introduced to the concept of homosexuality and the concept of being straight (or not being straight).  This is a part of growing up in a culture that doesn't force LBGTQ people to live in the closet.

Trans people exist in the United States and the citizens overall do not support forcing these people to live in the closet. Therefore children will at some point hear about or interact with a trans person, and have to be introduced to the concept of gender and being cisgender. This is a part of growing up in a culture that doesn't force trans people to live in the closet.

Yes, these are things that will catch kids off guard. No, that isn't actually a problem 99.9% of the time. It's just part of life and part of growing up in a free country. It's fine.

[T'Chenka]

Everyone reading this (non)story from whatever angle is just using it to reaffirm their beliefs.

but I seriously would like someone to explain how this works as harassment.  Am I missing part of the story?

I agree with you that it isn't harassment.

A sitting senator implying that a trans man getting pregnant is ridiculous isn't really a non-story though. It's ignorant and beneath the office of a senator in 2022. We just see so much of this kind stuff from Republicans that it becomes white noise and "just another thing"... but it's notable IMO that Cruz dishonoured himself doing this.

[T'Chenka]

This exhibitionist display is nothing more than icing on the turd.

You're referring to Ted Cruz as the exhibitionist and not the teacher or the school... right?

The school not writing a letter to parents which may or may not go viral, it's out of your control, would be a terrible idea. They're just trying to cover their butts here, which is 100% reasonable.

[T'Chenka]

In short, Cruz's response isn't that unusual in 2022.  He shouldn't have made it, obviously, it give his enemies yet another "look at this douchebag" moment and more importantly, who the hell cares?  Of the few people still on the fence about Cruz, this isn't going to change their mind one way or the other, the pregnant man is not hurt, this is a non-story.

As others have said, Cruz singling out this private citizen for culture war / trans stuff is an open invitation for right winger twitter warriors to harass the teacher. That isn't appropriate for a senator or anything approaching presidential behaviour.

[T'Chenka]

Can you imagine being this teacher? Being attacked for who you are by a US Senator like this and having people like shua condone it?

The school is being ridiculed for being ridiculous.

This school is acting as conservative-friendly and non-political as possible without not allowing trans teachers who can get pregnant or forcing the teacher to lie about their pregnancy in the present AND the future. It's literally as non-ridiculous as reasonably possible.

[T'Chenka]

In short, Cruz's response isn't that unusual in 2022.  He shouldn't have made it, obviously, it give his enemies yet another "look at this douchebag" moment and more importantly, who the hell cares?  Of the few people still on the fence about Cruz, this isn't going to change their mind one way or the other, the pregnant man is not hurt, this is a non-story.

As others have said, Cruz singling out this private citizen for culture war / trans stuff is an open invitation for right winger twitter warriors to harass the teacher. That isn't appropriate for a senator or anything approaching presidential behaviour.

an open invitation to harass an anonymous teacher at an unnamed school.

should be easy to find; how many preschools in DC could there be?

- "Manatee families" ---> Manatee probably in the school name
-  preschool has a pregnant trans man teacher
- preschool is in Washington, D.C.

Yeah, I'm sure it's really hard to narrow down...

Brain fart or bad faith? Brain fart is at least excusable. Happens to me all the time.

[T'Chenka]

This school is acting as conservative-friendly and non-political as possible without not allowing trans teachers who can get pregnant or forcing the teacher to lie about their pregnancy in the present AND the future. It's literally as non-ridiculous as reasonably possible.

They can fire the teacher.

I said "as non-ridiculous as REASONABLY possible". Firing a trans teacher for being trans to satiate bigoted Republican snowflakes isn't even in the same galaxy as "reasonable".

[T'Chenka]

Many, many people in this country are simply evil and hateful.

They usually are the same people obsessed with freedom and rights... like, for example, the right for a trans person to work in the career field that they want to work in, or the right for a privately run business / preschool to decide whether or not to operate in a way that doesn't f__k over trans people.

[T'Chenka]

My main concern is that kids not have to grow up encouraged to question whether they are really a boy or a girl. They have enough to figure out already without that burden placed on them as well.   

I don't want to exclude trans people, who may have a lot to offer as individuals, but I have to admit exactly how to reconcile this in the current culture I don't know.

I don't think there's a realistic solution for this. It would be nice if kids had less to be burdened with, I agree. I just don't see a practical way to do that which also respects trans rights. It's basically impossible to do with gayness, so I don't see how gender identity could be done differently.

[T'Chenka]

This is hateful and disgusting. You should be ashamed of yourself.

[T'Chenka]

The insinuation that men can have babies is false and has no place in preschool.  Indeed, any discussion of the trans issue whatsoever has no place in preschool. 

So, what, should the teacher be fired? Should he have to lie about his pregnancy?

It's not a topic for preschool.  And, yes, preschool teachers are rightly limited as to the topics they speak about, given the age of the children.  This is not a topic that preschool children need to address in a preschool setting.

These are preschool children, not little adults.

Should army veterans with amputations be allowed to work with young children? It might lead kids to be confused and ask questions that might distress them (is war bad? is my country the good guys or the bad guys?).

That isn't rhetorical. I'm asking you.

[T'Chenka]

 This sort of thing is not something that preschoolers are not equipped to deal with.  

This is a lie that right wingers tell each other and themselves. There's no evidence that this is true for 99.9% of kids (at minimum, probably a higher percent).

[T'Chenka]

No, but the fact is that the pregnant trans man IS a woman.  That's not "misgendering"; it's a fact.  Females, and ONLY Females (biologically speaking) give birth, period.  Science may one day accomplish this, but it hasn't done so yet.

OH MY GOD STOP RESPONDING TO ARGUMENTS THAT NOBODY IS MAKING

Why should anyone take you seriously if you keep doing this?

If they can't win a debate fairly, they'll find other ways to "win".

[T'Chenka]

Seeing catastrophically injured veterans (for example) can be upsetting to small children, as can some people with serious deformities.  It's not the job of small children to adjust; it's the job of preschools to provide a secure and emotionally comfortable environment.

Kids don't need safe spaces from trans people though, that's the thing. Kids are fine with it. It's right wing parents who insist that kids need safe spaces from trans people despite no real evidence of that.

[T'Chenka]

"Men can get pregnant!" is a false statement, period.  Injecting that into a preschool in any form is confusing to children at the age of preschool students.  It's a falsehood told to kids for the benefit of an adult. 

He's literally pregnant though. He likely has ultrasounds to prove it and will have a baby to prove it in a few months. Stating that these children's teacher isn't pregnant is literally a falsehood.

[T'Chenka]

Anyway; All this just shows that Republicans are the ones who are obsssed about these things. Not the Democrats.

If by "obsessed" you mean that we are unalterably opposed to discussions of sexual orientation, gender fluidity, pronouns, etc. with children in elementary school and below, then count me "obsessed".  If by "obsessed", you mean that we are unalterably opposed to schoolteachers counseling students on "gender identity" issues without parental consent, then count me "obsessed"  If by "obsessed", you mean opposition to trans women (who are biological males) in sporting events for biological females, then count me "obsessed".  If you believe that I am obsessed in my opposition to allowing minors undergo "gender affirming care" without parental consent, then count me "obsessed".

This teacher isn't trying to talk about gender identity with the kids and likely hasn't before. This teacher is in a situation where kids will basically force a conversation about gender identity on the teacher, no matter what. So what does the school and teacher do? Keep it simple and brief and then move on from it. I don't see why you would object to that handling of the issue.

[T'Chenka]

People are getting lost in the culture wars here, which of course is partially to blame on idiots like Ted Cruz, and are missing the point of why normal parents are concerned about stuff like this in schools. Kids are incredibly gullible, easily-influenced, and they can be misled very easily. To give you a funny example, when I was a kid in 3rd grade we had a unit in health class where we learned about a bunch of horrifying illnesses but didn't learn anything about how or why anyone got them. So as an 8-year-old I spent an afternoon one day convinced that I had caught Lou Gehrig's disease. I'm not a parent myself, but I can totally understand why parents would be annoyed, to say the least, if their kids are coming home from school under the impression that men get pregnant, which is just going to lead to all kinds of ridiculous and outrageous questions at home. I imagine it's quite frustrating for parents to find out their kids are coming home from school more confused and ignorant than when they went in.

Every child in America is going to learn what gay people are and what trans people are. That's literally unavoidable and just a fact of life. If you don't want your kid to be confused, either explain it to your kids in a way that makes it less confusing, OR, wait until they learn about it somewhere else and get confused and then talk to them after so you can make them less confused. Either approach is fine, and different parents will approach it differently.

Expecting public schools to work together with right wing parents to shelter kids from knowing that LBGTQ people exist isn't reasonable and isn't the job of public schools.

[T'Chenka]

why does it need to be taught in a classroom, and especially at such a young age? I don't think my teachers ever explicitly told me what homosexuality was. It was something I learned naturally like every other young man: through the internet and the gym locker rooms.

If by "taught" you mean "providing brief explanations and then moving on when kids are confused and have questions", then it all depends on the situation I guess?

Many young kids don't know or want to know what anti-semitism is, but based on something the kids might have encountered recently (Kanye), they might have gotten confused and needed a brief and simple explanation. If they happen to have a trans man for a teacher and he gets pregnant, they might get confused and need brief and basic explanation. That's okay. Kids will continue to encounter new things and sometimes get confused as they grow up. Sometimes adults will have to explain things to them. That's okay too.

I'm not saying that kids need to learn what sexual intercourse is at that age, of course. It's very easy to explain heterosexual romance and partnership to kids without mentioning intercourse and obviously the same goes for gay couples, couples where one or both people are trans, etc etc.

[T'Chenka]

My problem isn't that it's being mentioned in school, it's that "some men can get pregnant" is a bad and unhelpful explanation that children are not going to understand.

I don't think it's really that complicated...

Kid: How can a boy get pregnant?
---> "Most boys have boy privates but there are some that have girl privates"

Kid: If he has girl privates, then why is he a boy?
---> "Boys know that they're boys and girls know that they're girls"

Easy. Simple.