by Robert Norris Rigby of FCPS Pride
On September 3, 2019, the Facebook account of the Fairfax County Republican Committee (FCRC) posted two articles in a row trashing transgender children and those who support them. This, along with instigating fears about (fictitious) busing proposals and keeping Confederate names on schools, seems to be their campaign platform for the year.
The caption on that second article was “Had enough? Vote Republican.”
I wonder what they have “had enough” of. From reading their social media feeds, I guess they have “had enough” of acceptance of children who are something other than financially well-off, non-immigrant, Christian, cisgender, conservative, heterosexual, abled, and, mostly, white.
The Fairfax County Republican Committee seem to have had enough of acceptance of children who are not like themselves.
The Fairfax GOP’s endorsed school board candidates’ public image has borne that out:
- At-large, Vinson Xavier Palathingal and Priscilla DeStefano have been interviewed and accepted endorsement from neo-Nazi-connected Sebastian Gorka, and Cheryl Buford’s work background is in anti-LGBTQ “religious freedom.”
- In the Braddock district, Zia Tompkins seems to be obsessed with this “boundaries and busing” thing
- In Hunter Mill and Dranesville districts, Laura Ramirez Drain and Anastasia Karloutsos have campaigned with officials from the notoriously anti-LGBTQ Family Research Council
- In Mt. Vernon district, Steven Mosely has pushed a document that says LGBTQ people are not acceptable to God
- In Providence district, Andi Bayer has campaigned on her activism against LGBTQ-inclusive Family Life Education
- In Springfield district, incumbent Elizabeth Schultz has put forth the notion that transgender girls are potential sexual harassers of cisgender girls
- In Sully district, incumbent school board member Tom Wilson speculated, “maybe I could be a mother, could I be a mother?” when discussing a simple change to FLE to make the language more trans-friendly.
- And in Mason district, Tom Pafford was endorsed by the local Republican Committee, but not by the county-wide organization; his entire platform consists of anti-trans screeds.
That is not the Fairfax County I want to teach in. Thus, I support candidates who want to accept all children: that is, candidates who have not “had enough” of people who are different than themselves.
FCPS Pride has endorsed the following candidates. These are the people running who embrace the differences in our children:
- Karen Keys-Gamarra, Rachna Sizemore Heizer, and Abrar Omeish (At-Large)
- Tamara Derenak Kaufax (Lee)
- Megan McLaughlin (Braddock)
- Elaine Tholen (Dranesville)
- Melanie Meren (Hunter Mill)
- Ricardy Anderson (Mason)
- Karen Corbett Sanders (Mt. Vernon)
- Karl Frisch (Providence)
- Laura Jane Cohen (Springfield)
- Stella Pekarsky (Sully)
Don’t forget to vote for these candidates on November 5th!
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