South Westernās elected school board is making some strange decisions.
For the last two years, theyāve fixated on which bathrooms LGBTQ+ kids use. In 2023, officials in this Hanover-area district played musical chairs with school bathrooms in a misguided attempt to appease the loudest bigots among them ā ending up with five different types of bathrooms.
After a low-turnout school board election in which several far-right members joined their ranks, they hired a Christian law firm, decided to begin banning books and reopened the bathroom issue. Board President Matthew Gelazela, who was elevated to his post after previously serving as the boardās most vocal bomb-thrower, pointed to Red Lionās discriminatory policies as something to aspire to.
Now, upon the advice of that law firm ā the Harrisburg-based Independence Law Center ā the board approved spending $8,700 to cut windows so passersby can look into the so-called āgender-identityā student bathrooms.
Iāve stopped giving USA republicans the benefit of doubt years ago, Trumpās first year in office was enough to convince me. Iāve accepted that they are comically evil and that they have no redeeming qualities. So if I see something that is comically evil, then Iām not going to invent possibilities of why it might not be as bad, because in my experience it will turn out that after a little digging, itās actually worse.
Also the administration was given the opportunity to justify or explain their actions by the reporter, and they chose not to, most likely not because they didnāt want to, but because they couldnāt do so in a matter that did not make them appear like spiteful bigots. Thereās no point in inventing possible defenses for them if they could not provide them themselves.
Republicans donāt have five types of bathrooms. Republicans have two. That alone should tell you that the Republicans arenāt actually in control here.
What is actually happening is that the Republicans are trying to get rid of the āgender inclusiveā restroom, and revert it to boys only. They donāt want 5 kinds of restrooms. They want two.
After reading some more, it turns out the Republicans are claiming the area outside the stalls is a āchanging areaā, and the law prohibits coed changing areas. Be āinclusiveā of more than one gender in a āchanging areaā, and you violate the law.
Changing areas donāt have public-facing windows. Areas with public-facing windows arenāt changing areas. Without the window, the Republicans get to make it a boys-only room. With the window to the sinks - not the toilets - it is not a changing area, and the Republican argument fails.
Seems reasonable and likely, but thatās not what people here want they want an enemy they can pretend is pure evil so they can feel good about themselves
This is really just a messaging problem. If you asked the students and parents if they should renovate a communal bathroom into multiple, single-user unisex bathrooms, they would likely receive enthusiastic support. If you then asked if it were reasonable to use communal hand washing facilities in a public area outside the restrooms instead of a sink in every unisex bathroom, youād still get plenty of support.
Itās only when you start talking about āwindowsā that shit goes sideways. They could completely tear out the wall, and this plan would be fine: they would be single-user restrooms along a hallway, with communal sinks also in that hallway.
My town hosts public festivals all the time. They bring in a dozen portapotties and a hand washing station. Nobody seems to have a problem washing their hands in sight of the general public. Thatās basically what is happening here.