Teacher suspended for mis-pronouning child

[QuietContraryMary]

Peter Vlaming is said to have refused to use male pronouns for a FTM trans-child, though he does use the child's new trans-name.

""I won't use male pronouns with a female student that now identifies as a male though I did agree to use the new masculine name but avoid female pronouns. Administration is requiring that I use masculine pronouns in any and every context at school. I was informed that any further instances of using female pronouns would be grounds for termination."

www.wric.com/news/virginia-news/controversy-surrounding-west-point-hs-teacher-placed-on-administrative-leave/1639788748

www.thepetitionsite.com/771/641/032/don%E2%80%99t-terminate-mr.-vlaming

"Legal analyst Russ Stone told 8News that it's uncertain whether or not the school has grounds to fire Vlaming."

The problem with cases like this is that the emotion obscures the principle behind it.

It appears that he’s being an arse to make a point and that’s not great where kids are concerned. But the principle behind the case is can you be legally compelled to say something against your beliefs?

It’s a bit like that case with the bakery that refused to ice something on a cake for a couple. They were being homophobic and so the instant reaction is, this is wrong. But when you look at what the principle being tested in court was it was again, can you be compelled to say something against your beliefs?

In the bakery case, the judge ruled that the bakery was not discriminating - they had baked the cake just as they would for any people and provided them materials to ice the message on, but they should not be compelled to ice that message if they disagreed with it due to their beliefs.

And I think the judge was right. I disagree with the bajery’s Stance on homosexuality and I think they’re bigoted. BUT I also think that they should not be compelled to say something that they disagree with.

So I think we should be looking behind the emotional ‘immediate reaction’ here and looking at what’s really being tested. Because what’s actually being tested is someone being forced to say people can change sex.

I would use the pronouns a colleague wanted to be used out of politeness.
I would be seriously worried for our democracy if I was compelled to do so under law.

But after an incident where the student was wearing virtual reality goggles and almost ran into a wall in the hallway and Vlaming shouted “don’t let her run into the wall,” the parents said it was unhealthy for their child to remain in Vlaming’s class, according to school division’s attorney Stacy Haney."

Seriously? This is hilarious.

They think their child would be safer with a teacher who thinks for five minutes on which gender the child was again before calling out a warning?

Well, if they think their child needs to be hit on the head to come back to its senses ...

Either we’re all being trolled or that’s the most hilarious real life analogy ever. '

Indeed.

The video with Philip and Holly is so disturbing. At the end Philip describes the fact that the two Christians believe people are born male and female as “medieval”. He also reads out a story where a three year old asks his parents if he can wear a dress as if that is supposed to be where they can trace his transgender self-identity, at three! So he is operating completely out of stereotypes.

I just can’t believe things have got so bad that an adult acknowledging biological truth gets them suspended and everyone in the school is supposed to go along uncritically with this ideology. The math teacher says that many of his students struggle and feel confused and then Holly and Philip dive in saying he should be the one teaching them how to respond, but clearly not in a gender critical way.

Holly and Phil are not neutral they have clearly chosen a side and they are not listening to gender critical arguments.

Update: school district has fired Vlaming.

www.richmond.com/news/virginia/virginia-high-school-teacher-fired-for-refusing-to-use-transgender/article_65be1826-50b2-5d38-be58-47d9b9480917.html

Second story frames the "backlash" as mostly frothing religious right. Not sure that's the case when students walked out in support of Vlaming...

www.richmond.com/news/virginia/government-politics/the-school-board-in-a-small-virginia-town-defended-a/article_4a5ba969-fe6e-5ff8-9c69-a67f3460a6c2.html

I hope he can find another job where he can be happy.

Update: Vlaming is suing for damages and to regain his position:

amp.cnn.com/cnn/2019/10/02/us/virginia-teacher-says-wrongfully-fired-student-wrong-pronouns-trnd/index.html?__twitter_impression=true

All of this does seem to be heating up in the US at the moment.

Whilst I really hope Vlaming wins, I have an awful feeling of dread that he might not. It’s crazy, I may believe I’m beautiful and wish to have other people confirm that belief....I have no powers legally to do that though. Why should a girl who believes herself to be a boy have any legal right to compel others speech? Vlaming knew this child previously as a girl FFS

It is so bad for children to have this kind of power over adults.

No child under 18 can get a gender recognition certificate.
Therefore they are not legally “transgender” (whatever that is supposed to mean).
Therefore there is surely no legal requirement for a teacher to address them by the wrong sex pronoun?
Compelling people to speak lies is very different to banning them from speaking hate speech.
Of course I should be banned from using the n word, for example. But I should not be compelled to pretend that a healthy person is disabled, or an adult man is a toddler. Or that a child can change sex.