Hello CEF,
I feel like I should point out that @rainyskies is a minor and that the comment you made that was deleted is frankly disgusting.
As someone who knows her very well outside of FRC and as a survivor of those very acts you implied she’s interested in, I am horrified that you would accuse her of such a thing just because she is trans. She is an incredibly amazing person, and I am so proud to call her my friend and the fact that we’ve managed to grow through FRC together has been an amazing gift I wouldn’t trade for the world.
As someone who is unabashedly a member of the LGBTQ+ community and in fact is an Dean’s List Semi-Finalist partly for my work in bringing members of the LGBTQ+ community into a team in a highly conservative area and my work on PNW’s DEI committee, your comment towards her is incredibly inappropriate, ungracious, and very unprofessional. Do better. You owe her an apology.
That aside, your attitude in this entire thread and on multiple other threads towards minorities or sensitive topics including: Here , Here, Here, and many other statements have been downright disrespectful and I think Woodie would be incredibly disappointed in you if he was witnessing this right now. If you’re going to argue, at least be professional about it and hear out the other side please instead of making strawman after strawman of an argument and not citing accurate sources.
LGBTQ+ members in FIRST deserves the same right as everyone else to feel safe at competitions, and I have worked very hard these last couple of years to help change that view in Eastern Washington and Oregon through the DEI committee. During that time I have witnessed some downright awful comments and actions toward LGBTQ people at competitions just in the PNW, and I can completely understand and agree why that community would not feel safe at all in Texas.
After centuries of oppression, I think considering this day and age that it would not only be appropriate of FIRST to make sure that Everyone in their community feel safe, it should be expected. That includes minorities.
And when a state is openly attacking a minority, FIRST shouldn’t intentionally endanger the minority by holding champs there! I already have to deal with the risk of being hate crimed by my peers on a daily basis for being who I am, I shouldn’t have to worry for my mentors and my teammates who if went to champs could risk legal trouble with the state of Texas for aiding a teammate’s transition or breaking the drag ban because they decided to present as their gender, not the one they were assigned at birth.
Thank you. I hope you take some time and listen to the others in this thread and do some research from reputable sources, and come back with a more educated point of view. Have a good night!