"What reputation are you talking about?"

His reputation as some kind of genius, which I think he took too much to heart, and that coupled with his narcissistic personality has led to his destruction of Twitter, his own wealth and said reputation.

#211 It's hard for me to talk about a book I haven't read. In the video TH linked to, the woman who is going through the book says that it talks about a child being sexually abused by her uncle, who tells her to keep it a secret, but the child goes to her parents and tells them what is going on. You are right to raise questions, and I don't think there are any easy answers. I mentioned not long ago I was once in a survivors group for adults who were abused as children. The group was not limited to sexual abuse survivors, but there were several members who fell into that category, so I am familiar with uncles being the abusers, children physically enjoying the abuse, children feeling they are at fault for getting a relative in trouble as well as the slow, painful recovery process that sexual abuse survivors face. It seems like the book talks about falling in love, and it is in that context that the concept of sexual intercourse is introduced. But, again, having not read the book, it is hard for me to determine what if any nuances have been included in the various topics. You say the author has written other books you think are worthwhile. Maybe this one is too. I do think, however, that for that young an age group, the book should be shared at home by the parents if they deem it appropriate and not by teachers in schools without the parents' consent. Yes, I remember that 5th (or 6th for us I think) grade talk you mentioned, which ultimately wasn't all that helpful, IMO, but even that required parental permission in order to participate.

"Nie zapomnij klikn reklamy, kretynie!"

Billy Boy, is that you? Have you gotten tired of Russian? Slow night in Rochester?

A 1985 study that cites 30 instances of abuse, 24 by homosexuals, doesn't prove the point you claim it does. In fact it doesn't prove much of anything. Who the heck found that needle in a haystack anyway?

Why doesn't T_F want this discussion to focus on topic of the thread: how Elon Musk is destroying Twitter along with his own wealth and reputation?

"This book included content that was not only inappropriate for her targeted age group(4-8 year olds) but also potentially dangerous, as it could encourage small children to mimic sexual behavior with their peers or with adults. IMO it is absolutely a book that could be easily used by a predator to groom a young child. I'm not sure at what age this book would be appropriate, but clearly not 4 year olds."

If you watch the video at the link TH cited, you will see that the book talks about sexual abuse, saying no to unwanted touch and the right kids have to say no. It does all that before it talks about the part of the book you quoted from about sexual intercourse. Apparently the book was first published in Europe in 2005 and only published in the US in 2020.

"I don't think they ever conveyed NON support, but he never showed any indicators, and it just never dawned on them to talk about it, so the only input he was getting was expectations set by others outside his family group."

But don't you think their reactions to gay friends or other family members, or gay co-workers, neighbors or celebrities etc. would have given him a clue with regard to their level of tolerance?

"He had been conditioned (by the media and his peers) to believe his family would reject him because of their religious beliefs, and when they didn't, he wished he hadn't waited so long."

I doubt it was all the media and his peers' fault that the kid feared his parents reaction. The parents obviously didn't convey to their child that they were tolerant of a gay lifestyle. If they had, the kid would have known the he had nothing to fear when he came out to them.

"MOST parents will talk to their kids about sexuality. MOST parents LOVE their children, would sooner DIE than see their children hurt and will support their kids in their gender identification journey, even if they are conservative, religious wackos."

I agree with the "even if they are conservative" part. I'm less sure that religious parents will always do this and have no faith that the wackos will.

It says right on the cover, that the book is for 4-8 year olds. At some age this content could be considered appropriate, but 4 years old ain't it.
#151 | POSTED BY MIRANDA7

The page you linked to also talks about birth control pill, IUDS and diaphragms. Would a 4 year old be able to understand what was being discussed there? No.

Sorry in #145 I I cut the quote short. This quote:

"If the teacher decides to turn it into a lesson plan for 2nd graders, and discuss same sex marriage, then you have a problem. "

should read:

If the teacher decides to turn it into a lesson plan for 2nd graders, and discuss same sex marriage, with specific descriptions of how they express their love in the bedroom, then you have a problem.

"If the teacher decides to turn it into a lesson plan for 2nd graders, and discuss same sex marriage, then you have a problem. "

I think most people would agree with that. I certainly do, but I guess where we differ is that I imagine most teachers would respond by discussing same sex marriage in very broad terms that don't include "specific descriptions of how they express their love in the bedroom". In fact, I imagine most teachers wouldn't mention the bedroom in their descriptions at all.

"Frankly, you don't believe that parents love, and know their children well enough to support and protect their child better than a 24 year old teacher with hundreds of students can."

Hundreds of students? What county/state in this country assigns any teacher hundreds of students to teach on the public school level (on a college level perhaps, although I doubt a 24 year old grad student would be assigned such a class load unless they were being a TA assisting a full professor)?

"Now you do how this is about Liberals (all over the country) being concerned about kids (in Florida).....because I'm just not seeing that. It's about stopping Desantis, period."

As I pointed out upthread, any governor following in DeSantis' footsteps would be questioned and criticized. For example, this tipline by VA Gov Youngkin was discussed on the Retort:

A 'tip line' championed by Virginia Gov. Youngkin last year has been quietly shut down

A tip line championed by Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin has been quietly shut down. It was intended for parents to report "inherently divisive practices" in schools.

Going to follow up on an issue from a key race in last year's election. We learned this week that Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin's tip line for parents to, as he put it, report inherently divisive practices in schools, was quietly shut down in September. The email address sparked an immediate backlash when it was first announced after the Republican took office in January.

"Now post some excerpts and see if the moderators take down the content. Better yet, read it to your 4 year old and see how she/he reacts to it."

From what I can tell the book is not meant to be "read" to a 4 year old. See my above comment.

"You use it as an example: "To those who say this isn't happening and there is no reason for parentsto be concerned, take a look at this book, which is targeted to 4 to 8 year olds. It was placed in many school libraries."

Based on the link TH provided, it looks like the book is meant for parents as a guide to help them talk to their young children about various sex- and sexuality related topics:

"My Body is Growing by Dagmar Geisler is a German sex education book that takes a fresh approach to explaining the birds and bees to children.

Now, I have a confession to make. I have a soft spot for European sex education books as they usually take a very direct and straightforward approach to explaining the facts of life to kids. And this book doesn't let me down."

The book isn't meant for the kids themselves to read, so I don't know why it would be in a primary school library. (Realistically speaking, how many 4 to 5 year olds could actually read the book on their own anyway?)

bulleting = bulletin

Furthermore, what about those teachers who are independents or libertarians? You have identified a big part of the problems here: this isn't a liberal (bad) teacher vs conservative (good) teacher issue as much as folks like you and DeSantis want to claim that it is.

"I see your point, but I don't buy that Liberal teachers are intimidated."

What about non-liberal teachers? You act like every teacher in the state of Florida who might want to put a rainbow on the bulleting board or a photo of their same sex partner on their desk for that matter are liberals. I don't think that is the case. Many public school teachers in Florida are likely to be conservatives, but that doesn't automatically mean they are all anti-gay or don't want to teach tolerance or don't recognize that systemic racism exists.

For Liberals this isn't about kids, or free speech or LGBTQ issues in Florida or anywhere else. It is about stopping Desantis from becoming President.
#81 | POSTED BY MIRANDA7

If these same things happen in another state where the governor is not a potential presidential candidate, the objection to the rhetoric, accusations, laws would be, will be, the same.

For Liberals this isn't about kids, or free speech or LGBTQ issues in Florida or anywhere else. It is about stopping Desantis from becoming President.
#81 | POSTED BY MIRANDA7

No, you are wrong about that.

"Gal, it's pretty evident Paul is hammered (no pun intended) when he's talking."

Hammered or experiencing fear, anxiety and confusion due to the hostage situation he found himself in?

Then why the freak out over the Florida law? According to you it prohibits something that doesn't happen.
POSTED BY BELLRINGER

Because as Tao explained in #14 these laws DeSantis is instituting are meant to, and do, silence through intimidation.

Wow:

Katja Lawrence, who is in her mid-30s, launched the channel in October 2021, because she "was having a rough time finding Nazi-approved school material for [her] homeschool children," as she told the neo-Nazi podcast "Achtung! Amerikaner" last year.

Later in the same podcast episode, Lawrence expanded on her view on why she wanted to educate her children at home. "We have our children's best interest at heart and nobody can do a better job than we can because it's our child. We are so deeply invested into making sure that that child becomes a wonderful Nazi," she said.

More from the indictment:

16. During the interview, DEPAPE explained that he had a "target list." According to
DEPAPE:
a) Speaker Pelosi was on his target list.
b) He planned to hold Speaker Pelosi hostage and talk with her. If "Nancy" told
DEPAPE the "truth," he would let her go, and if she "lied," he would break "her kneecaps."
DEPAPE was certain "Nancy" would not have told the "truth."
c) He views Speaker Pelosi as the "leader of the pack" of lies told by the Democratic
Party.
d) As a result of DEPAPE breaking Speaker Pelosi's kneecaps, she would have to be
wheeled into Congress, which would show other Members of Congress that there were
consequences to their actions.
e) DEPAPE further identified another person, referred to here as "Target 1," as "way
up" on his target list, and he explained that he had a plan to use Speaker Pelosi to lure Target 1 to DEPAPE.

According to DEPAPE:

a) He broke into the house through a glass door using a hammer.
b) He found Mr. Pelosi in bed and told him to wake up.
c) He told Mr. Pelosi that he was looking for Speaker Pelosi, and DEPAPE learned
from Mr. Pelosi that Speaker Pelosi was not home. DEPAPE relayed that he told Mr. Pelosi that
he was tired from carrying his backpack to the Pelosi Residence.
d) He had zip ties that he was going to use to restrain Mr. Pelosi so that he could
take a nap.
e) He threatened Mr. Pelosi while Mr. Pelosi was "on the phone."

15. Of the assault, DEPAPE explained he had warned Mr. Pelosi:
a) He told Mr. Pelosi that Mr. Pelosi would "take the punishment" if he tried to stop
DEPAPE. He also told Mr. Pelosi that he would "go through him" because DEPAPE did not
"come here to surrender."
b) He did not leave after Mr. Pelosi's 9-1-1 call because, much like the American
Founding Fathers and the British, he was "fighting tyranny" without the option of "surrender."