On April 18, I sat in the center of the auditorium at Elida High School for the school board meeting.
As possibly the only trans adult in the audience, the hatred in that room was palpable. There is something very unsettling about sitting in a room of people who are describing people like you as some monster that must be stopped for the crime of existing. In many – I would argue most – cases, the arguments contained religious language and justification for their bigotry. I could only imagine how the trans students must have felt to watch an audience full of adults lobby against their inclusion and say all manner of vile things about them.
Kindness should be a rather easy thing to extend, and it can actually save lives, but kindness is most certainly not on the menu with the “Elida Parents Against Bathroom Policy.” These parents scream about the risk to their children, even as they send them to afterschool religious programs and churches. One need not look hard to see where many of these abuse cases take place – and let’s just say that it’s not often a public restroom.
What we do know is that acceptance and inclusion save lives. A 2021 study found transgender youth with at least one accepting adult were at 30% lower odds of attempting suicide. Those with acceptance from their parents saw the odds reduce by 43%, by peers 34% and by school professionals 33%. What we’re seeing in our community are parents sacrificing the well-being of trans students in order to satisfy their own religious and political bigotries. In the words of musician Wrabel, “There’s something wrong in the village.”
Arienne Childrey
St. Marys
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