Alex Getzlaf

It's not transphobia. It's not hate. Imagine you drop your child off at school one morning and a giant crucifix has been erected in front of the main entrance. You're not a Christian and this isn't a Christian school so it seems out of place. When you ask the principal about the crucifix they tell you it's merely a gesture to express solidarity with Christian students and create an inclusive atmosphere. Then the entire month of December is devoted to recognizing and incorporating Christian dogma into regular lessons. The celebration of Christianity is extended to include January. You notice your child's science class is teaching creationism instead of evolution. The school library now includes books that veer into the more extreme aspects of evangelistic Christianity- complete with graphic drawings depicting horrific acts during The Crusades. The drawings and texts not only approve of, but encourage this violent behavior. Your child begins secretly reading this material and becomes distant. They don't talk to you about their personal life. There seems to be a disconnect. You find out the school baptized your child without your knowledge, and has encouraged your child to keep their baptism a secret because you are not a Christian and you won't approve of their religious conversion. The school has even gone so far as to convince your child that you're an enemy because you are not allied with their new Christian identity. They have a new group of friends, new habits, new characteristics that don't seem natural, but your child won't talk to you about it because you're an outsider. You confront the school about this and the moment you do you're labeled a bigot and a fascist. You're told to affirm your child's new Christian identity, and if you don't there's a strong chance they'll commit suicide. What would you do if you were in this scenario? Is this hate? Is this concerned parent Christphopic? And this isn't even a good analogy because Christianity doesn't permanently mutilate and disfigure children as a baseline requirement for entry- nor would it ever try to. This isn't hate. This is love being turned against you.