On the radio WTF!

[Nicole_P]

You gals would simply be shocked- I was sitting at my computer writing a blog entry when I got a phone call from a dear friend- she said 'my husband just called me and was listening to a local radio station and they started talking about this transgendered teacher! I think they might be talking about you!' I told her thanks and went to find a radio, and sure enough, I was the topic for the talk show today. He spewed his ignorance all over the place! He is heard in all of Oregon and Washington. :eek: He went on for 2 HOURS! He was mentioning my name, where I taught, and what I taught. It was laughable and sad at the same time. At the end of the show, he had a psychologist on who he thought was going to agree that my condition is a mental disorder, and that I shouldn't be in the classroom. The psychologist did a very nice job of explaining that transgendered people can be good people indeed, and that their 'disorder', is probably genetic. PHEW! So glad he said that!

Anyway, what a deal-

As bad as he was (right wing moron), some of the callers who called in were on MY team! :) One is a very close friend, and what she said 'to the world' about me, was amazing. God love her!

SO, stay tuned- I'm sure this isn't the end of it!

Nicole

PS- After the show I got an email from a parent in another school district in the state- here's what it said:

Ms. Kintz: My children are in the Portland PS system. I was radio chanel surfing away from my usual progressive chanel and I heard about you on a right-wing local show.

Fortunately, a woman whose child was taught by you called in and said many wonderful things about you.

I just want to say that if my children were in your school, I would have no problem with you teaching them.


Take care and stay strong
(her name)

I still can't believe what's happening....

[Kaitlyn Michele]

wow

I can't beleive how calm you are....staying that way is the way to go...i hope this works out and the best case is that this is the end of it...

talk show hitmen that don't get slavish agreement tend to slither on to other subjects for their hatred.

[CharleneT]

There are times when I think they should out law "talk radio"... it is a perfectly wonderful thing that gets corrupted. Of course, it is just his/her opinion ... still arrrgggg....

Hun, I feel for you and being outed this quick and in this manner. You seem calm and strong and that is fortunate !!! You may have to consider finding your own time in rebuttal ??? Or - most likely better - just let it float away and disappear.

C.

p.s. I really like your web site ;)

[Midnight Skye]

- whistles -You took that really well Nicole! I'm not sure if I would be terrified or excited if something like that happened (probably both)! I'm so happy to hear all of the support coming in though. I truly is inspiring! And keep the posts coming in your blog, its been a very enjoyable read so far!

[Scotty]

Well you can't outlaw talk-radio just because one side is better at it than the other, that's just silly.

But what you CAN do is write a book, or have one written and then get this guy on the radio and call in..

.....simple as that because controversy sells and why not ride it all the way to the bank.

[deja true]

Had a feeling there'd be some public negativity eventually, but didn't think it would be that public... So sorry about that.

Hope your school principal and school board stand up for you through this prejudice.

Hope you're documenting all this stuff, the good and the bad... You may need it!

While you know you have us all as supporters, I fear you're going to need a few on your home front, too.

Good Luck, dear one!

(Unfortunately, the Fairness Doctrine, "that required the holders of broadcast licenses both to present controversial issues of public importance and to do so in a manner that was (in the Commission's view) honest, equitable and balanced...(Wiki)" was abolished in 1987. Kinda corresponds with the rise of these hate-mongering talk show zombies.)

["Mary"]

Hang in there Nicole. I'm waiting for the "rebound"effect from this and hope you will be vindicated.

[dilane]

I have a post-op friend who teaches elementary somewhere in California.

She is stealth, and passes perfectly, voice, size, and vibe. She was transferred to a school when she transitioned where only the principal knew, and the secret was kept. The School District, I think acted in everyone's best interests.

There will always be some who will cry "Perverts teaching kids!!!" when this gets out, unfortunately, due to the Jerry Springerization of T people, and the huge variety of Tv/TG/TS types, which all get lumped together in the public mind.

Stay strong, prayers are with you.

-- Diane

[joanlynn28]

Similar situation happened to me about a year ago. I recently moved from a small town of less than 15,000 which to me sounded a little high. Well anyway we had a small community radio station that covers all of the goings on in town. On the weekly community happenings show there was a broadcast of the local school board meeting and a heated topic was about the state senate decision on a senate bill that dealt with gender identity within the public education system. California Senate Bill 777, which only clearly defined what gender identity is in regard to the educational code. Well you can imagine that there were a bunch of upset parents and board members that were against the bill.

To make a long story a bit shorter my sister and I, who also is transgendered where just going to listen to the show and not comment about it and just see where the topic went. Well we decided that if the "trans" word came up we were going to call in an express our opinion about the subject. Well sure enough the word came up and we called in. Some of the things we did agree with but we just had to make our statement that we are just like anyone else and that we have a right to our expressions in public too.

Well anyway the host of the show is widely known throughout the town and the women that work at the local paper know him and were trying to get us and him together so that they could write a story about my sister's experience going through transition. The story never did come about. But before my sister and I made our trip overseas she ran into the radio show host at the bank and he really wanted to get my sister on the air and talk about her and my experiences of being transgendered but we ended up moving shortly after our return so we never got on the air with the exception of our phone call to the radio station.

Just have to say that eventhough there were people within our small town that we against people like us we also had others that were very supportive. Mainly Vonnie and the rest of the staff at our small town paper. They really wanted my sister and I to come out and talk, the girls told us that we didn't really know how many young people within our schools were transgendered and that we could help others to understand what it is all about. The newspaper staff were very familiar with us because both my sister and I had our ads for our legal name changes published in the local paper.

I just want to say I am inspired by you Nicole and to your students, administrators, fellow teachers, and parents for being so supportive of you. You are in a unique position to educate these young minds in a positive way about those of us that are a bit different than so called normal society.

[Jessinthesprings]

I hope the support continues. We all need every bit we can get, and now that you have become a local public figure of sorts you may just need it more. You should consider calling tomorrow to give your side. People who are ignorant deserve to be educated at the expense of their dignity. I am so happy that you have such support from faculty, administrators, friends, and parents. I think that as you teach more and more over the years it will be forgotten and all that will be remembered is that you were either a good or bad teacher. Nothing more.

I would however resist the urge to attack the ignorat as "right-wingers". I'm sure there are plenty of people all over the polictical spectrum who support us and on the same token there are plenty left, right, and middle who will attack us with fear and stupidity.

Generalized attacks on our end make us no better than those who dealt it first.

[Jessinthesprings]

There are times when I think they should out law "talk radio"...

That would not only be unconstitutional it would be a very bad thing for the rest of us. It would allow us to be controlled and if talk radio was outlawed good chance the trans haters would shut us up so all those irritating trans enclusive bills would stop popping up.

[AKAMichelle]

As bad as he was (right wing moron), some of the callers who called in were on MY team! :)

As a right winger, I have to tell you that while your charactization of the right wing may fit most of the time it is not always true. We just don't see things the same way as left wingers. Talk radio does a lot of good and harm. So you can't blame the whole system for the actions of one or a few. It is the freedoms provided us in the constitution which allows us to lobby for our causes which protects us the most. It is a tough balancing act between politicial forces, but it is the best system I know of. Luckily the fanatics on both sides seem to cancel themselves out and lets this country be governed from the center. Enough of my rant about political matters.

Truthfully there are enough nutballs on both sides of the political fence who do things for shock value with no concern for the person caught in the middle. Unfortunately, you met one of those people. I'm sorry that he had to inflict so much pain on you publicly. You employment should remain a matter between the school system and the parents of the school you teach at and not hashed out in public.

I hope he doesn't do a round 2 on you. Good luck in going forward.

[Kimberly Marie Kelly]

upset somewhat, but it is very nice people supported you and showed that not all people are so ignorant and closed minded. I commend you for coming out at work and being you. It is something I am in the process of doing myself. Best wishes from Kim :battingeyelashes:

[CharleneT]

Folks... relax, I am not advocating that we out law talk radio. I was merely saying that there are times when media (of all forms) can be used in a way that makes you want to out law it. ie, it seems unfair the way it affects those you know or love. Trust me, I believe in free speech.

[LisaM]

Nicole,

I am joining in the chorus of I can't believe how calm you are---but then again you seem to have approached transitioning so thoughtfully I suspect you have prepared for days like this. Continue to be strong and know you have lots of support!

[Sally2005]

Nicole, I see you are in the news a few times. I imagine that is pretty tough given you are not a politician or celebrity. I hope you can keep your sense of humor and ignore the big mouths who know nothing about you or your life. I hope you can report back on how your first days of teaching goes... I wish you all the best.

[Patricia1]

It beggars belief how one's personal choice to express her individuality in a forthright manner with official support should become fodder for some crusader's "righteous" cause. Nicole's exposure is a microcosm of what has occurred in recent years in our society when a "moral" issue is allowed to trump sanity. Never mind that the economy may be tanking or that we bled lives and treasure in a war of choice, let's not let "perverts" marry, or women protect their bodies, or individuals express gender preference and so on. When we attack people in the name of religious righteousness, when we marginalize people for their choices, when we condemn freedom of expression, we diminish everyone.

I greatly admire Nicole's bravery and strength of character. She is a model for all of us. Keep moving forward. :love:

[Heatherx75]

Wow. Just wow. Hon, you are really on the front lines and you have my utmost respect. My god, woman, that experience sounds like a scene from a horror movie! But your strength in dealing with it is inspiring to me. Seriously, that's the kind of story that makes me want hold my head up high. :hugs:

[Alice B]

I can't believe he mentioned you by name, what you teach and your school. Those are strong grounds for a defamation of character law suit should any negative events result.

[Tamara Croft]

Well it obviously isn't the end of it, because I've just received an email with all the details in it, including your full name... which IMHO is not cool at all...

[Jessinthesprings]

Well it obviously isn't the end of it, because I've just received an email with all the details in it, including your full name... which IMHO is not cool at all...

If that is not illegal i'd be surprised. At any rate that is wrong. It's no one's buisness. They wouldn't be attacking and publicly advertising someone with breast cancer. This is a bit rarer condition but, a condition none-the-less, and one as we all know does not step on any moral grounds.