Former Tomboy, Proud Girl

I was raised as an only girl with four brothers. When I was very young, a neighbor girl was my playmate, and we did the usual playing house and feeding baby dolls. I remember we would draw our walls in the dirt with doors to enter clearly marked off in the dirt. My brothers would come walk through the walls. That caused crying and yelling and scolding for my brothers. They were not supposed to walk through walls instead of entering at the door. That was the polite way.

When our neighbors moved away and took my playmate, I had nobody but my brothers. Of course, they didn’t play house or with dolls. I adapted to loving cowboys and Indians and holsters with cap pistols. Climbing trees became a favorite pastime. Building tree houses was also a common chore. We also did a fair amount of fishing and hunting. I will have to admit, that was not my favorite. I did become quite a tomboy though. I never wanted to wear dresses and I thought my brothers were too cool. I wanted to be just like them.

As far as I know, no one around me had ever heard of gender dysphoria or transitioning. If I had been given the chance at 10 years old, to choose my gender, I have no doubt I would have chosen boyhood.

I’ve been reading about many children who were “transitioned” and have now, as adults, “detransitioned.” Some of the stories are heartbreaking.

Duke Health has emerged as the southern hub for gender affirmation procedures. As many states have stricter laws regarding these surgeries, Duke has become the “go to” Clinic.

The numbers are skyrocketing for youth seeking this treatment. One report stated a 1,000% increase in the U.S. and a 4,000% increase in United Kingdom. What has happened in a short time to cause such a rapid increase?

Shamefully, our public schools are leading the way. I learned recently about a guide that is being distributed to school personnel nationwide. It’s produced in partnership with several far-left groups, ACLU, NEA (largest teachers union), and other LGBT groups. The title of the guide is: “Schools in Transition: A Guide for Supporting Transgender Students in K-12 Schools.”

The guide states that teachers are not ethical if they don’t affirm gender identities and that the children will be emotionally harmed. Imagine teachers being told that without this affirmation they are emotionally harming students.

The guide also encourages teachers to ask the children if their family is aware of their identity. If the family is not aware or not supportive, the guide suggests that school officials do not communicate this information to parents.

A father and his 20-something daughter visited me a few years ago. She was a beautiful young woman, and they shared their story with me. She had believed, as a young teen (can’t remember exactly how old she was) that she should have been a boy. She shared this information with a teacher who led her to begin transition without the knowledge of the father. When the father learned of this, the medication therapy was well under way and surgery was to happen in the future. He intervened and sought therapy for his daughter. She is now healthy and loving her life, as a young woman.

I was researching to see what age many facilities are beginning this process. Most say they will not begin transition until the teen years. Many clinics cited the physicians flexibility to determine the appropriate age. But I found the following on the website of Cincinnati Children’s Clinic. “Health Services for Transgender Youth: The Transgender Health Clinic at Cincinnati Children’s provides an accepting atmosphere and services for patients 5-24 years old.” Let’s hope that the services being offered to 5-year-olds is not medication therapy or surgical procedures. Surely NOT. Who could possibly think that a five-year-old can make such decisions?

On September 16, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin announced new policies on transgender student policies. The new guidelines state that public schools cannot affirm a student’s gender without written permission from the parents. Bathroom and locker room participation must be based on student’s sex as defined at birth. Sports participation must be sex-based unless federal law requires differently. Gosh, that’s way too much common sense.

What could slow the speed of this growth? The usual: lawsuits. No one knows yet what the long-term consequences will be for these children as they age. But there is a lot of evidence that some of the damage is fairly immediate.

An Australian psychiatrist, who treats patients with gender dysphoria said lawsuits have begun. These cases follow an “international trend where there are more legal cases around people who are regretting transition.” He continued, “One of the big myths of trans is they get sold this idea that if they transition, it’s going to solve their emotional distress. In the bulk of cases, it doesn’t. Their psychological problems remain. And that’s one of the most common reasons people cite when they detransition.”

A book by Abigail Shrier, “Irreversible Damage”, takes a deep dive into this subject. She states that the trans trend is being promoted by social media influencers, psychologists, politicians, and doctors. Children are being told, “if you think you might be trans, you are, “keeping secrets about your new trans identity from your parents is encouraged, your parents don’t love you if they don’t affirm your new ‘identity’.”

Friends, this is scary stuff, in my mind. It’s very damaging to our children. We’re usually told to “follow the science.” Why is science being ignored here?

I can’t help but think about how united we were on that tragic day, September 11, 2001. We were under attack, and we came together as a nation. It was a beautiful thing. 

We all remember where we were when we heard the news. We mourned the deaths of our fellow citizens. We pledged to never forget, and we knew that day, our world would never be the same again. 

Most of us will never forget. But as time goes by, there are more and more people who were not alive when it happened and will never have a true memory of it. It is up to us as a nation to remind future generations what happened that day and to honor our pledge to NEVER FORGET. 

I just learned that there are only 14 states who offer a curriculum which includes the tragedy of September 11, 2001. North Carolina is not one of those states. I intend to help change that and make certain that the children of our state will learn about 9/11 and they will Never Forget. 

When that tragedy happened, we truly were ‘one nation under God.’ We mourned for those lives that were lost. We watched as brave police and firefighters went into those blazing towers to help bring folks out. 

As usual, when danger struck, these brave servants ran to the crisis and gave their own lives to help save their fellow citizens. We were proud of these brave souls and so thankful for them.

How time has changed respect for these police officers and the sacrifices they make. Today there is a constant barrage of attacks aimed at our law enforcement officers and it is shameful and disgusting. The leftist progressive movement has been working overtime to undermine and destroy our law-and-order country.

They’ve made a lot of headway too. The “Defund the Police” movement took off in many large liberal cities. The personal attacks and lack of respect for our officers took on a life of its own. Now these officers are leaving in droves. As these cities are overrun with crime and trying to backtrack on the defund movement, officers are no longer available. Most forces across the country have a tremendous shortage of officers. 

Officers are leaving the force in droves. Many are giving up pensions because the job is not worth it anymore.

New York City has 2500 officers retiring early this year. Almost that many retired last year also. We cannot keep citizens safe without our law enforcement personnel. 

It is time to push back against this liberal leftist movement and return law and order to our cities. That’s the main goal of the government: to keep its citizens safe.

Queen Elizabeth’s death was not a surprise. She was 96. We knew she couldn’t be much longer for this world. Most people didn’t personally know her but were very saddened by her passing. She was a stabilizer in an otherwise crazy world. She reigned for seventy years and served with distinction and dignity. She never embarrassed her family or her citizens by dishonoring her position. She loved her country and her people. But most of all she loved her Lord and never hesitated to let it be known.

Calvin Robinson, an Anglican deacon at Christ Church in London said this. “She was a thorough Christian. The Queen wrote her own speeches every Christmas and she managed to get in there that the person who inspired her was Jesus Christ. And that, I think, is why she led a life of service, duty, and obligation. A servant leader if you will. She put Him at the heart of everything. And I think that’s important for someone who’s a global leader because they must be accountable to someone. And for the Queen, that was Christ.”

Her death brought forth many mourners to the castles in Great Britain. Flowers were placed in remembrance and vigils were held all around. People loved her and wanted to say their goodbyes and pay their respects. 

Then we have the leftist progressives who cannot shut up even for a short time. It is impossible for some to be respectful and let the family and friends mourn their loved one. Just being a normal thoughtful human being and acting decent for a while is too much for them.

A linguistics professor at Carnegie Mellon University, Uju Anya, is one example of pure nastiness. She tweeted, “I heard the Chief Monarch of a thieving raping genocidal empire is finally dying. May her pain be excruciating. If anyone expects me to express anything but disdain for the monarch who supervised a government that sponsored the genocide that massacred and displaced half my family and the consequences of which those alive today are still trying to overcome, you can keep wishing upon a star.”

This woman is evil personified, in my opinion. Could she not keep her trap shut out of respect for the family who is mourning, for a single day? Apparently, civility and respect mean nothing to her. She appears proud of it. Shameful.