The More Things Change...

It seems like we've been here before.  I remember a time, not really all that long ago, when a teacher made national news because of her gender transition. 

The year was 1999, and David Warfield was nine years into an award-winning career as a high school teacher at Center High School in suburban Sacramento, CA.  By all accounts this was a special teacher - regarded by students as the one teacher most likely to be remembered as a major influence in their lives. He developed an innovative program to get unmotivated students involved in extracurricular activities. He coached baseball.   He was honored as a role model to teachers, students, and his community. He was arguably Center High's favorite teacher.

That all came into question when David announced his intention to transition over the summer and return to school the following fall as Dana.

Initially, the school board was supportive.  They voted 3-2 to renew her contract to teach.  Make no mistake, that's all Dana was asking for.  That's what she loved.  She loved to teach.  She loved her students.  And, in a perfect world, that would have been enough.

But the world in 1999 was far from perfect.  During the summer a small group of parents learned of Dana's transition and decided to fight it.  Under pressure from them, one school board member changed his vote.  So, before school resumed in September Dana received a letter from the school board asking her to resign.

During the early days of my own transition Dana Rivers became a symbol for courage.  Dana's students stood up for her.  They rallied in front of the school, locally, and all the way to the state capitol.  None of it mattered.  In the end Dana found herself without a job - and brightly in the spotlight.  She was on 20/20 (twice), Oprah, in People Magazine, and won the Colin Higgins Foundation Courage Award.  The question at hand: What makes a proven, respected teacher somehow be forced to lose her job simply for being true to herself?  The answer is easy.  Hate.  Bigotry.  Discrimination.

Why was I not surprised to see it happening again?  This time we have Lily McBeth - a transsexual woman who happens to be a substitute teacher in Eagleswood Township, New Jersey.  She, too, allowed her history to become public.  As with Dana, the school board supported her.  As with Dana - a parent decided that they were unhappy about it and lobbied to have her fired. But this time, things are different.

One parent, in particular, objected to Lily's right to teach. He says that the idea of someone who had a sex change teaching his two children is an affront to his convictions.  "It violates my religious beliefs," the 39-year-old told the reporters. The battle lines had been drawn.

This one parent took out a full-page ad in the local newspaper urging parents to attend the Board of Education's Monday meeting, where school officials planned to discuss the situation in a private session.  On the other side, local and national organizations rallied behind Lily   The ACLU was there.  So was Garden State Equality.  So was HRC (see HRC's Press Release here), and NCTE.  All vowed to be there to support her.

As with Dana, this was news.  The fact that a transgender person should have the right to be a teacher was BIG news.  The story was featured as far away as India, and China.  It is being featured in Newsweek, USA Today, on ABC News, on CNN, and in any number of other prominent venues. (Here are some recent examples)...

After Monday evening's meeting - Lily still has her job.  That being said, the cynic in me can't help but say: We'll see how long that lasts....

Make no mistake - this issue isn't about children.  Those who are so reticent in their disapproval aren't so concerned about their kid's education so much as they're trying to make their own personal statement.  The fact that this situation may be against one parent's religious beliefs has nothing to do with Lily's right to have and do her job.  If the freedoms we purport to hold so dear truly do mean anything these days we need to appreciate the simple fact that your right to disagree cannot interfere with my right to be me.  "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness" needs to mean more than words.

In the same vein, make no mistake - the issue at hand isn't simply Lily McBeth's right to be a teacher.  It's about freedom.  It's about personhood.  It's about ignorance. To somehow imply that Lily's exemplary career and life is somehow tainted by her transgender nature is to call into question fundamental assumptions we make about each other.  For any of us to allow ourselves to somehow be defined by one single aspect of ourselves, to be marginalized because someone doesn't like who or what we represent to them, or to buy into the argument that somehow Lily's journey has any aspect of morality to it is to bow to our own fears and misconceptions.  None of us can allow that to happen - transgender or not.

The fact that students, teachers, and parents of students stood up to defend Lily is indeed a bright spot.  It demonstrates that others realize what is going on here.  As I said in my keynote address at Colorado Gold Rush this past weekend, Hate wrapped in anything is still Hate. Ignorance disguised as anything else is still Ignorance.  The way to deal with it is to expose it for what it is, not to bow to the manipulative pressures and fears that a few loud-mouthed opponents would exert.  I am as happy as I am relieved to see that others see through this charade and are willing to stand up for Freedom.

Mob mentality cannot be passed off as democracy - the two are not one and the same and they never will be.  As Edmund Burke said, "All it takes for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing."  In this case, good people didn't do "nothing".  However, I doubt that any of us are naive to believe that this will be the end.  There is still a long way to go.  The mettle will be tested again, and again.  As more and more people who are somehow perceived to be "different" come forward there will be more challenges. 

Dana came to Phoenix to talk in early 2000.  I went to watch her speak, and I daresay her story and her words planted the seeds that would later bud into the passion that would fuel my own advocacy efforts. To this day, I don't know whether I should thank her or curse her.  The simple fact that people could be stripped of their livelihood, their passion, their self-worth, and their history simply because others might not like it eventually brought me to my own personal tipping point.  That's when I realized I could not sit by and do "nothing".

Kudos to Lily McBeth for her courage, determination, and dignity.  She rocks.  And, kudos to those who stepped up to support her.  The more that all of us - as freedom-minded people - become re-committed to actually defending freedom through our voices and our actions, the more that those who would would threaten Freedom will realize that their day is done. 

Each of us will find ourselves faced with tough choices in our lives.  The decisions we make will ultimately define us.  They will become our legacy.  Sometimes we get to choose our battles and sometimes they choose us.  All any of us can do is to trust our heart to do the right thing, to trust our courage to overcome our fear, and to trust that time is on our side.  If we can do those things, we'll prove to all that the more things change, the more they really can change.

Donna Rose - 02/28/2006
www.donnarose.com