Someone burned a North Hollywood transgender elementary school teacher’s Pride flag, and the act of vandalism is now being investigated as a hate crime.
“We experienced a break-in over the weekend at Saticoy Elementary that resulted in vandalism and is being investigated as a hate-motivated incident,” the school told parents — many of whom are already protesting the school’s upcoming Pride assembly. “We are cooperating with law enforcement. This is a reminder that we rely on our entire school community to keep our school safe and secure by reporting any suspicious activity on campus after hours. If you see something, say something.”
In response to Saticoy’s Pride month assembly, during which, according to the Los Angeles Times, school administrators plan on talking about “families with gay parents,” angry parents set up on May 16 an Instagram account urging people to keep their children home on June 2 “to protest against Pride Day assembly, an inappropriate topic for our kids!”
The comments have gotten heated, so much so that, following the discovery of the burnt flag and the broken pot it was planted in on May 22, the trans “male” teacher was removed from the school over concerns by the Los Angeles Unified School District for “his” safety, according to an anonymous Times source.
The school scrubbed photos of the teacher from its website for safety reasons, but on Instagram, — both pre- and post-“transition” shots were uploaded “on conservative Instagram pages mainly used by parents opposed to Saticoy’s Pride assembly,” The Times reports.
