[Lekooks] How we can save lives

[Kerry Duma]

I'm sharing an open letter that Dr. Jill Underly, the State Superintendent
of Public Instruction released recently.  Our local school boards are
targeting LGBTQ and specifically Trans kids with policies that make it
harder for them to be who they are and feel safe in our schools.  I found
the letter worth reading and sharing.
Kerry
How we can save lives
An open letter from State Superintendent Dr. Jill Underly to the residents
of Wisconsin
Wednesday, October 4, 2023

Dear Wisconsin,
We need to talk. I want to have a conversation based on fact and lived
experience, grounded in reality and with the intention of learning,
growing, and supporting the children of our state – *all *the children of
our state. Our trans and non-binary kids in Wisconsin are hurting. I see it
in the data. I hear it from friends. My colleagues tell me stories;
yesterday, one told me about attending a memorial service where there was a
pile of backpacks on the floor outside the funeral home because the
mourners had walked from school. We have to remember that at the center of
all of this are kids. Kids who were wanted by their parents; kids who are
cherished by their families, friends, and teachers. Kids who crave
belonging and inclusion in all the things kids do. The reality is that our
children are hurting, and the anti-trans legislation currently being
debated stands to hurt them even more.

In every single category of the most recent Youth Risk Behavior Survey
<https://dpi.wi.gov/sites/default/files/imce/sspw/pdf/WI_2021_YRBS_Summary.pdf>,
LGBTQ+ youth reported more health challenges (physical and mental) and
fewer supportive, mitigating factors (like physical activity, aka sports)
than their peers. Trans athletes compete out of a love for the sport, not
as a political statement, nor out of sheer compulsion to win at all costs.
Their stories are woefully missing from the discussion, and that’s not
because we shouldn’t be listening to them; it’s because sharing their
stories puts this small population in real danger of attack. And those of
us supporting Wisconsin’s trans children are doing it out of a belief in
support for all kids – again, not as a political or ideological statement.
I have no doubt I will also be attacked for this letter. But I’d rather it
be me than the kids.

In fact, gender identity is not about ideology at all. It is about
identity. The irony is that we all have one — a gender identity, a core
self-knowledge of our own selves. That is not the problem, nor is it
radical, it just is. What is radical, what is ideological, and what is
dangerous is this identity being used as a weapon in a political war where
the losses we stand to witness will be measured in the body count of dead
children.

I need to stop talking in future tense. We have already lost children. And
we will lose more unless we change. Take a moment. Think of four LGBTQ+
youth. The data shows that
<https://dpi.wi.gov/sites/default/files/imce/sspw/yrbs-preliminary-release2.pdf>,
of those four, two of them seriously considered taking their own lives in
the previous year, and one of them tried. I’m not willing to lose any of
them. And so, yes, I am going to continue supporting policies that support
their mental health and physical well-being, not the opposite.

Supporting trans athletes does not threaten girls. Supporting trans kids –
including trans student-athletes – supports their physical and mental
health. Attacking them in the name of protecting girls harms everyone
involved, and lets transphobic policies hide behind people hurling
accusations of sexism.

Frankly, I’ve seen this movie and I know how it ends. Hating people,
isolating them, and hurling insults at them because of their identity has
never turned out well in our history. So, let’s call this anti-trans push
for what it is – a dangerous lie – and for what the hate behind it can do –
kill children. The fact is, a discussion about what is best for kids has
been co-opted by fearmongers posing as saviors, and it’s hurting our
children and poisoning our communities – both here in Wisconsin and beyond.

The truth is, we do have an ideology as educators – it is the deep-seated
belief in the worth and value of our students, in the charge we have to
ensure their safety and their growth, in the knowledge they are the future
leaders of our world and the hope that we are preparing them well for that
role. We teach empathy, and we teach compassion – for ourselves and for
others. That is our ideology, one of kindness and fellowship. I don’t think
that’s radical. It’s definitely not sexist. Honestly, I think it’s rather
beautiful.

If anyone is radical, it is the willing peddlers of disinformation and
bigotry. We hear it all too often and at too loud a volume right now. This
is the reason I’m writing today. Because they might be loud, but we – the
kind, the compassionate, the supporters – *are right*.

Sincerely,

Jill Underly, PhD
Wisconsin State Superintendent of Public Instruction


(If you'd like more info about what's happening in our local school boards,
you might want to check out these two articles):

Pronoun policies, culture wars and partisan school boards in Wisconsin -
Wisconsin Examiner
<https://wisconsinexaminer.com/2022/10/28/pronoun-policies-culture-wars-and-partisan-school-boards-in-wisconsin/>
Rainbows and safe spaces: A tale of two districts - Wisconsin Examiner
<https://wisconsinexaminer.com/2023/07/14/rainbows-and-safe-spaces-a-tale-of-two-districts/>
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