Ted Cruz harasses DC preschool teacher for being pregnant

[Figueira]

https://twitter.com/NikkiMcR/status/1582449940437307392

Kerpen's tweet has been deleted, but Cruz's tweet is still up.

[Pouring Rain and Blairing Music]

I’m honestly shocked we haven’t had another George Tiller moment yet.

[7,052,770]

It's not enough for Republicans to ban LGBT people from public schools, they're going to ban them from private schools as well and everywhere else they can.

If you vote Republican next month, this is what you are voting for.

[Orwell]

Lmao he retweeted this tho, bozo.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

"some boys have bodies that can have babies"
"my grown-ups made a guess that I was a girl" (they guessed wrong)

These are not things teachers should be confusing preschoolers with but it's now considered good and normal in our educational culture. It's perfectly fine to publicly criticize it without sharing the name of the school or the teacher.

[7,052,770]

"some boys have bodies that can have babies"
"my grown-ups made a guess that I was a girl" (they guessed wrong)

These are not things teachers should be confusing preschoolers with but it's now considered good and normal in our educational culture. It's perfectly fine to publicly criticize it without sharing the name of the school or the teacher.

With all due respect, you don't really know what you're talking about. (And to be fair, why would you, as a non-father?) "Preschoolers" can handle things like that just fine.

You realize that many trans people have families who care about them and support them, families that may include small children? And that those children might tell their schoolmates about their family members?

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

"some boys have bodies that can have babies"
"my grown-ups made a guess that I was a girl" (they guessed wrong)

These are not things teachers should be confusing preschoolers with but it's now considered good and normal in our educational culture. It's perfectly fine to publicly criticize it without sharing the name of the school or the teacher.

With all due respect, you don't really know what you're talking about. (And to be fair, why would you, as a non-father?) "Preschoolers" can handle things like that just fine.

You realize that many trans people have families who care about them and support them, families that may include small children? And that those children might tell their schoolmates about their family members?

I've been a child myself, have worked with kids, and have studied child development. So yeah 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.

[Ferguson97]

"some boys have bodies that can have babies"
"my grown-ups made a guess that I was a girl" (they guessed wrong)

These are not things teachers should be confusing preschoolers with but it's now considered good and normal in our educational culture. It's perfectly fine to publicly criticize it without sharing the name of the school or the teacher.

Is it your position that transgender people should be banned from being preschool teachers altogether?

[Figueira]

"some boys have bodies that can have babies"
"my grown-ups made a guess that I was a girl" (they guessed wrong)

These are not things teachers should be confusing preschoolers with but it's now considered good and normal in our educational culture. It's perfectly fine to publicly criticize it without sharing the name of the school or the teacher.

With all due respect, you don't really know what you're talking about. (And to be fair, why would you, as a non-father?) "Preschoolers" can handle things like that just fine.

You realize that many trans people have families who care about them and support them, families that may include small children? And that those children might tell their schoolmates about their family members?

I've been a child myself, have worked with kids, and have studied child development. So yeah 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.

Parents don't have the ability to magically know their children's gender identity, genius. What other demographics do you want to ban from having any contact with children?

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

"some boys have bodies that can have babies"
"my grown-ups made a guess that I was a girl" (they guessed wrong)

These are not things teachers should be confusing preschoolers with but it's now considered good and normal in our educational culture. It's perfectly fine to publicly criticize it without sharing the name of the school or the teacher.

With all due respect, you don't really know what you're talking about. (And to be fair, why would you, as a non-father?) "Preschoolers" can handle things like that just fine.

You realize that many trans people have families who care about them and support them, families that may include small children? And that those children might tell their schoolmates about their family members?

I've been a child myself, have worked with kids, and have studied child development. So yeah 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.

Parents don't have the ability to magically know their children's gender identity, genius. What other demographics do you want to ban from having any contact with children?

You're right, it's not magic.

I don't want to ban anyone from having contact with children, just asking they try to do it without spreading b.s.

[John Dule]

"Preschool" is a scam and is nothing more than glorified daycare. It takes zero skill to "teach" and accomplishes nothing aside from separating children from their parents. This exhibitionist display is nothing more than icing on the turd.

[Hindsight was 2020]

"some boys have bodies that can have babies"
"my grown-ups made a guess that I was a girl" (they guessed wrong)

These are not things teachers should be confusing preschoolers with but it's now considered good and normal in our educational culture. It's perfectly fine to publicly criticize it without sharing the name of the school or the teacher.

With all due respect, you don't really know what you're talking about. (And to be fair, why would you, as a non-father?) "Preschoolers" can handle things like that just fine.

You realize that many trans people have families who care about them and support them, families that may include small children? And that those children might tell their schoolmates about their family members?

I've been a child myself, have worked with kids, and have studied child development. So yeah 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.

Parents don't have the ability to magically know their children's gender identity, genius. What other demographics do you want to ban from having any contact with children?

You're right, it's not magic.

I don't want to ban anyone from having contact with children, just asking they try to do it without spreading b.s.

A trans person getting pregnant is clearly not bs

[Indy Texas]

Ted Cruz is an ass.

I'm also very confused about why someone AFAB who can't/doesn't want to be a woman would choose to get pregnant in the first place. Doesn't get much more female than that. Shouldn't getting a hysterectomy or at least tubal ligation be part of that transition?

[H.E. VOLODYMYR ZELENKSYY]

Ted Cruz is an ass.

I'm also very confused about why someone AFAB who can't/doesn't want to be a woman would choose to get pregnant in the first place. Doesn't get much more female than that. Shouldn't getting a hysterectomy or at least tubal ligation be part of that transition?

I know that for some trans men even the thought of pregnancy causes dysphoria. Others, not so much.

[H.E. VOLODYMYR ZELENKSYY]

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?

[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.

[dead0man]

maybe I'm missing something, but how is this harassment unless the teacher follows Cruz on Twitter, which seems highly unlikely.

or, maybe, lots of his friends and acquaintances that don't like him and are looking for a reason to be mean to him follow Cruz on Twitter...but even that doesn't make sense unless all his friends are closet transphobes.

No one's opinion about this teacher or trans men getting pregnant in general is going to change because of this.  No one's opinion about Ted Cruz is going to change because of this.  This is an exercise in patting each other on the back and saying to each other how horrible this Ted Cruz is or, from the other side, patting each other on the back and saying to each other how horrible these trans people are.  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?

[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.

[dead0man]

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.

but a man being pregnant is kind of, I'm not sure if ridiculous is the right word, but it's something.  We, as a society, have known for a long time that some men wear dresses, we didn't necessarily like it, but we knew it was a thing.  We also have always known "butch" women, but this is one of the first times most of us will have seen a story about a pregnant man (that wasn't on the cover of The Inquirer or on Maury Povich).  Even to people who are generally pro-LGTB rights this is a little strange.  It's like running into someone with an unusual medical condition for the first time, it's strange or meeting someone who is 7 feet tall for the first time.  That doesn't make the person with the medical condition, the tall guy or the pregnant man bad or wrong, but they are strange.  The rest of us should not react shocked in front of them, we should try to be understanding and helpful in any way we can.  Some of us will, in private, comment on the strange thing we just saw.  "whoa, did you see how tall that dude was?  That's got to suck.  It must be nice to know when it's raining first though, yuk yuk yuk"  or "whoa, did you see that pregnant dude with a beard back there, that was weird.  Do OB/GYNs even have "what gender are you?" line on their forms? yuk yuk".

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.

[Figueira]

"Preschool" is a scam and is nothing more than glorified daycare. It takes zero skill to "teach" and accomplishes nothing aside from separating children from their parents. This exhibitionist display is nothing more than icing on the turd.

"Exhibitionist"?

(Also Jesus Christ, you have never taught preschool and it shows.)

[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.

[SteveRogers]

maybe I'm missing something, but how is this harassment unless the teacher follows Cruz on Twitter, which seems highly unlikely.

or, maybe, lots of his friends and acquaintances that don't like him and are looking for a reason to be mean to him follow Cruz on Twitter...but even that doesn't make sense unless all his friends are closet transphobes.

No one's opinion about this teacher or trans men getting pregnant in general is going to change because of this.  No one's opinion about Ted Cruz is going to change because of this.  This is an exercise in patting each other on the back and saying to each other how horrible this Ted Cruz is or, from the other side, patting each other on the back and saying to each other how horrible these trans people are.  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?

If you don’t believe that a pre-k teacher who is singled out for criticism on twitter by a sitting right wing U.S. Senator is going to immediately become the target of an online bullying campaign, then I question whether you understand anything about how the internet works.

[Libertas Vel Mors]

It is not ridiculous to recognize the biological fact that men cannot get pregnant, or harassment to condemn the spread of an ideology that denies that fact in our nations elite institutions.

[No War, but the War on Christmas]

Here's what I don't understand. By all accounts, the teacher was engaging with parents, faculty and students in the most respectful way possible. Queer people exist, of all sexual orientations and gender identities, and they have in literally every single culture in history going back centuries.

Are they more visible in communities these days? I suppose from a very western centric, heteronormative, Christian morality perspective they are. But regardless, they are here and aren't going away absent some pretty serious and morally derelict changes in social opinion and progress on LGBTQ+ rights in this country.

Here's what I'll say to Conservatives who endorse this shaming and genuinely do want to go back... You want to force us back into the closet? Fine. But just be open about it instead of playing games. And you better prepare for a fight, cause we aren't going to go back without one.