Glenn Youngkin is Callously Harming Students

Glenn Youngkin and Florida's Ron DeSantis share a common trait: they care nothing about the lives their policies and political stunts harm so long as they believe they are benefitting themselves with the ugly base of the Republican Party.  In Florida, DeSantis pushed through his "don't say gay" law and used refugees seeking asylum as ciphers in a political game.  Here in Virginia, Youngkin has declared war on transgender students - many of whom may resort to suicide or end up homeless - so that he can thrill the Christofascists at The Family Foundation (a vicious hate group that masquerades as an "educational" organization) and improve his prospects for a presidential campaign he is salivating to launch. Sadly, Youngkin and DeSantis are the norm in today's Republican Party where extremism seemingly knows no limits as Republicans push for total bans on abortion with no exceptions and LGBT individuals are increasingly demonized - Pennsylvania Republicans just announced they want an even more extreme "don't say gay" law for their state.  Hopefully, Youngkin will be stopped since his new anti-transgender policies run counter to rulings in the Gavin Grimm federal court rulings and Virginia's non-discrimination law.  While the legal challenges to Youngkin's anti-trans jihad unfold, student lives will be upended with some taking their own lives, not that Youngkin cares.  With 40% of homeless teens being LGBT - many because they are disowned by their right wing "Christian" parents - Youngkin ridiculously tells trans teens to "trust their parents" when the parents are likely a large part of the problem.  In many cases, Youngkin's advice is as sensical as telling a Ukrainian to trust Putin. A Washington Post piece looks at the harm already being done to young lives.  Here are excerpts:

In Fairfax, a gender-nonconforming teen who is out at school, but not at home, is terrified their parents will discover the truth under Virginia’s new policies for transgender students. If they find out, the teen is sure, they will refuse to pay for college — and may kick the teen out of their home.

And in Chester, Ace Nash, a trans sophomore who has passed as male since starting high school, is wondering if classmates will discover his secret — and what they might say if they do. He feels broken when he imagines seeing his birth name on school records or hearing it from a teacher, as may happen under the new policies.

“If I had kept presenting as female, I would be dead,” Ace said. “I can’t imagine being forced to be female again.”

It’s been a week since the administration of Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) sharply restricted transgender student rights, debuting guidelines that say trans students must access school facilities and activities, including restrooms and sports teams, that match their sex assigned at birth. The guidelines also make it difficult for students to change their names and pronouns at school and say teachers can refuse to use transgender students’ names and pronouns if it violates their beliefs. And the guidelines suggest parents should be told about students’ gender identities, no matter if the student wants to keep it private.

Virginia’s more than 130 districts have until next month to adopt the policies, the Youngkin administration says. Already, Democratic legislators are vowing defiance, and Youngkin’s guidelines may be vulnerable to legal challenges.

In the meantime, the teenagers who will be most affected by the new policy are trying to figure out how it will reshape their lives. The Washington Post asked students statewide to share how they are feeling, garnering more than 260 submissions across 30 school districts as of Wednesday evening.

The vast majority were from transgender students who wrote in fear. Some who transitioned years ago are worried they will be outed to unsuspecting classmates. Others who are mid-transition, or just beginning to transition, are worried they will be outed to their parents and forced to leave home. Many wrote they are feeling angry, depressed, suicidal.

“Because of it, I’ll probably have multiple breakdowns a day, my grades will drop,” wrote a 16-year-old. “Everything I’ve worked so hard to overcome will have been for nothing.”

Research suggests there are roughly 4,000 transgender teens in Virginia, a state with 1.2 million public school students. Research has also shown that transgender youths are far more likely to attempt suicide.

Asked about students’ distress, Youngkin spokesman Rob Damschen provided a copy of remarks he said the governor gave to a group of reporters in Loudoun County on Tuesday.

“I would find it very hard to argue that a parent being engaged in a child’s life is inconsistent with that child’s safety,” Youngkin said then. “This is about keeping people safe, but also fully, fully, involving parents into these most important positions.”

Damschen noted that a reporter asked Youngkin what he would say to transgender students who live with parents who do not support their gender identities. “I would say,” the governor said, “trust your parents.”

Over the next several days, Ace did not learn much. He was too busy worrying a teacher would approach him about his name or pronouns, although no one did. He worried someone might stop him on the way to the boys bathroom, although no one did that either. Still, Ace began minimizing restroom trips by skipping lunch or waiting until he got home. At night he took melatonin, seeking the release of sleep. It didn’t help.

Ace’s thoughts strayed to dark places. Before this year, Ace said, he has attempted suicide three times, most recently in November, because he was miserable over the wave of anti-transgender legislation appearing across the country. More than 300 bills restricting trans rights have been proposed nationwide, according to a Washington Post analysis, and many target schools.

Since the Virginia guidelines’ release, Ace said, he has felt the impulse to harm himself. He does not know what he will do if he is forced to return to female pronouns and facilities at school. “I would not be okay,” he said. “I could not deal with that. I would genuinely be a danger to myself.”

Of the 266 submissions received by The Washington Post, 13 came from students who said they are pleased with the guidelines. Four students said they did not care. The rest — 94 percent — came from students who believe the new guidelines will make their lives worse or endanger their friends’ mental health and well-being. Eighty-two percent of the submissions came from students who identified themselves as LGBTQ.

[A] 17-year-old senior, was assigned male at birth but identifies as female. She came out to her parents a year ago, she said, but they refused to believe her. After several yelling matches, they decided to ignore the problem. Now, the teen and her parents live together uneasily, both sides afraid to broach the “taboo topic,” the teen said. The teen’s parents continue to use her old name and treat her as male. The teen spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation from her parents. School is the teen’s safe haven.

Ever since the Youngkin administration guidelines appeared, the gender-nonconforming teenager in Fairfax County has lived in dread of an email from their high school counselor.

The teenager, who is 17 and a senior, spoke on the condition of anonymity because their parents do not know they are gender-nonconforming.

The teen went public with their gender identity at school this year, announcing a different name and pronouns to friends and teachers. Until this month, the student planned to make it through the rest of senior year by existing as their true self at school and a shriveled version at home. The teen dreams of attending a university in the Northeast and majoring in gender studies. The teen meant to tell their parents about their gender once they were much older.

Under the new guidelines, though, the teen fears their parents will learn the truth now — and can almost feel their future slipping away. “It would lead to either me not having housing,” the teen said, “or them not being willing to pay for my college.” Probably both.

All so Youngkin can pursue his political ambitions even if it means he does so on the dead bodies of trans and LGBT students who take their own lives or die on the street after being thrown out by their parents.  Youngkin is despicable.