This September 29 piece was submitted by a confirmed Oregon resident and contains new information.
The videos made waves across the nation and beyond, and the story continues to make headlines. Here is more of what happened and what it means.
When yet another video of yet another act of brutal violence at their school burst online, quite a few parents and children in Tualatin, Oregon had the same thought: it was only a matter of time. The Portland-area suburban middle school had developed a sort of underground Fight Club-esque infamy for its frequent brawls, many of which were captured on video and uploaded to social media.
Many were fights in the traditional sense, truly between two participating students – to reference the strained and dishonest phrasing assembled and released today by KATU, which described the incident as “an assault between students.” That most of the fights appeared to be between willing participants eased the concerns of some Hazelbrook Middle School parents. My daughter doesn’t want to be in any of these fights, so she should be fine, many likely thought.
Yet one girl reportedly was injured by an inadvertent blow as she tried to intervene in a fight between two boys. In another video, a large boy stalks to the back of a bus to pummel a girl. She gets up off of the school bus floor by her own power once he is done. The video is difficult to watch, though that girl at least saw her attacker coming.
How have the school and the district handled these incidents? The male student rumored to have inadvertently struck a female student reportedly had the book thrown at him. The bully on the bus is rumored to have gone unpunished. But information is quite hard to come by, and not just about the legal proceedings of minors, and that is very much by design.
What happens during such incidents, one might ask? What do teachers and staff do? Well, on the one hand, not much. And on the other hand, quite a lot.
Fights are allowed to run their course. No one physically intervenes. In an MMA fight, a referee intervenes when a fighter is beaten too severely or no longer is able to defend him or herself. In a boxing match, a pugilist being pummeled past a certain point can be saved by his trainer throwing in the towel, if not by the bell. Those fighters choose to fight. The students targeted at Hazelbrook Middle School appear to enjoy no such protection. They have no one in their corner.
That isn’t to say that Tigard-Tualatin School District administrative personnel don’t support any of their students. If you’re a parent of a daughter and hope they will protect and support her, you may be disappointed. If you’re the parent of a son and hope district leadership will defend him, you may be in for a letdown. But another parent, of another child, hoping that his or her child will be protected – maybe even celebrated and honored! – likely will find that district and school administration proudly, staunchly stands behind them 110%.
Why doesn’t school staff stop the fights, the beatings? Are they cowards? Do they just plain not care? Before you condemn your local teachers, understand that some surely are frustrated, and that these things do not happen by accident. They are not the result of carelessness or individual cowardice. The orders within the education aristocracy frequently are adamantly delivered loudly and from on high: thou shalt not halt a student’s beating.
How heavy, how brutal, how prolonged a beating is your eleven-year-old prepared to take? Does she even own a mouthpiece? How versed is she in concussion protocol? If you don’t know the answers to these questions, then just how is it that you believe you have prepared your little sweetheart for Hazelbrook Middle School? Forget the math tutor; did you not get her into taekwondo? Jujitsu? If she has braces, by the way, an off-the-shelf mouthpiece just won’t do. Maybe students should wear those padded amateur boxing helmets.
The astute reader may recall that an “on the other hand” was pending. The seemingly passive, hands-tied Hazelbrook staff positively leaps into fierce action when a child’s beating is recorded. Want to beat a child? No big deal. Not being beaten probably is “privilege” anyway. Want to film your friend as her head and face are repeatedly punched or stomped upon? Not so fast.
When one of Hazelbrook’s frequent child-poundings is recorded, faculty reacts like Uma Thurman with a hypodermic needle thrust through her sternum. Staff pounces on students committing so grievous and harmful an offense as to collect and preserve evidence of the crime against their classmate. Hazelbrook faculty actually seizes the phones of students and accesses their camera rolls, cycling through students’ private pictures and videos and deleting forever any evidence of the crime.
I’m no constitutional scholar, but what is this about seizing a students’ phones and going through their private pictures and videos? And, isn’t there a term for the deliberate destruction of the evidence of a crime?
And, what happens if a video slips past the district’s agents? What happens if they fail to wipe away all the prints?
Which brings us to yesterday’s incident. Despite desperate and extensive efforts to evade and conceal the truth, the truth has been identified. The factual, true reality is that a larger, stronger, male student came up behind a smaller, unsuspecting female student, grabbed her and threw her to the ground, yanked her head about by the hair, and pummeled her face and head. This male student – please pardon the cumbersome phrasing, but this entire piece will be discredited as “hate” if proper, efficient English is utilized to indicate this individual – then called the fallen girl a “bitch” and walked off.
This situation may appear clear. The offending student is in big trouble, right? And as a society, we long have disapproved strongly of the violent abuse of a girl by a member of the less-fair sex. So, what’s the hang-up?
Forgive me if I drag this out. The hang-up, of course, is that the chap who bushwhacked and beat this girl “identifies” as “transgender.” It’s no big secret that the educational establishment and elites aggressively and doggedly pursue an agenda that has nothing whatsoever to do with education. And part of that agenda is that some types of people are far more valuable, and far more deserving of rights and protection, than others. I know this is so dreadfully 2018 of me, but remember when violence against women was a big deal? Remember the “war on women?” #Metoo. And if you’re so behind the times that you think protecting women and girls is still in fashion, well, sit down and have yourself a coffee, or maybe a Coke and a smile.
No, in our schools, one or two classes of child clearly are of vastly higher status than the rest. One type is privileged to be celebrated front-and-center. The category of mere “girl” has been shunted off to the margins.
A corollary of that agenda is that the educational authorities are even more beside themselves than usual that evidence of this recent violent assault slipped past their efforts to obstruct or destroy it. Please consider the statement released yesterday by the district, and please consider it carefully.
I will note that the first few paragraphs, which do acknowledge that violence matters, couldn’t be more bloodless and lifeless. They would be read aloud best in a monotone, perhaps by the voice that tells you where next to turn to get to Walmart. Following a flat declaration that the public will be excluded from any knowledge of the investigation (this theme, again), the tone changes starkly. Suddenly, here, we see passion:
“Students and adults contributed to the sharing of this recording that exposed minors who were directly and indirectly involved without consent.” Were any English teachers consulted in the crafting of this message? Ok, well, take the girl who was beaten. She plainly was involved without her consent. Or, do these best-of-the-best of our educators mean that these minors were “exposed” without their consent? I suspect they mean the latter, since they overwhelmingly care more about the concealment of reality and truth than they do about any harm to children revealed therein.
Continuing:
“In addition, the sharing of this incident has spread across the country and beyond, inspiring false information and a focus and discourse on sexual identity.” Well, heaven forbid, we know that our educators strive above all else to avoid a focus and discourse on sexual identity. But wait, what is this about false information? I will interpret: Hazelbrook faculty failed to prevent the escape of the truth. The truth got out. And then the truth spread. How does the district leadership view that? When they are able to destroy the truth, so that it remains unknown, that is considered success. But when the truth breaks free? That, they call false information.
This suddenly strident paragraph concludes: “These acts have contributed to the trauma individuals and families are already experiencing.”
Speak for yourself, Doc. These educational emperors summon no such passion for the actual victim in this case. Nor do they emote any indignation whatsoever about the in-plain-daylight beating of a girl in their school. What we witness is their fury that the world found out. They don’t hate the beating of a girl – that they can tolerate. What they hate, what they cannot tolerate, is the truth and those who share it.
As for trauma, the mother of the actual, real victim is being interviewed shortly. Would anyone like to take bets on what it is about this episode that upsets her, that angers her, that traumatizes her? Go ahead and put your money with the good doctor on “that the truth got out.” Go for it. I’m betting that she is upset that her daughter was beaten in her school. Her anger may even extend – if I may hazard a bold guess here – to the very Tigard-Tualatin School District administrators who are so intent on protecting her and her daughter from the trauma of the truth’s escape into public.
Golly, what a disconnect, no?
I believe we all – all of us who are honest – know the district’s twin priorities here. If there is one trans that the education establishment does not celebrate, does not exalt on high on a pedestal above everyone and everything else, it is transparency.
The district’s abhorrence of transparency might rise to the level of hatred, or even a phobia.
Easy to overlook in that madness was the lament that the truth had spread “across the country.” Informed readers may have detected echoes of some dreadful happenings in the state of Virginia. Frustrated by the schools’ growing elitism, political extremism, and exclusion of parents from say and information, blue-leaning Virginia shocked the nation in November, 2021 by electing Republican Glenn Youngkin Governor. Shortly prior, a trans student raped a girl in a school girls’ restroom. The school district executed a cover-up of the incident and, demonstrating a surprising eagerness to take its cues from the darkest corners of the Catholic Church, quietly transferred the rapist – who, forgive me, may or may not identify as a rapist – to another school. Upon being inserted into the new school’s unsuspecting student body, “she” promptly sexually assaulted another girl.
But the important thing is that they kept the first girl’s rape a secret, right? Right?
At least for a while.
Was this drama a Harvey Weinstein production?
The father of one of the girls raped at school, whose rape was covered up, raised hell at a school meeting. He was, naturally, physically detained, arrested, charged with multiple crimes, and convicted. This must be that “rape culture” we used to hear so much about.
Perhaps KATU will describe it as a “rape between two students,” if it gets the opportunity.
I’m sorry that this discussion has veered into politics. But this father and his daughter, and the victim(s) at the next school, learned a lesson that was more or less articulated by Trotsky: You may not be interested in politics, but politics is interested in you.
As I write this, more action is afoot. Hazelbrook Middle School was evacuated today due to “direct threats of violence.” This certainly poses the possibility of a narrative shift, no? And I imagine that would be very welcome at the Tigard-Tualatin School District offices right now. Whoever threatened violence, if he or she is found out and has a “side,” did “the other side” a huge favor.
The district superintendent made a statement to supportive media. Dr. Sue Rieke-Smith dropped the “Dr.” and spoke of her Christian faith. Seemingly unhumbled, she spoke of her “righteous anger” at not being able, for half a day, to do the amazing work she does “serving kids.” We know how ardently our educational authorities positively loathe closing a school for even half a day.
There is much we don’t know. What do we know? I know what I predicted last night. I predicted with as much certainty as I would the rising of the sun the commencement of a feverish effort to spin the narrative. These people need the “trans community” to be the victims. They need to persecute certain “communities,” even those not bestowed with that exclusive honorific, “community.” They know who they want to blame; next they must find a way to transfer that blame.
One spin attempt already occurred, in the form of a student’s highly suspicious social media claim that the victim was uttering transphobic hate speech, or something of that predictable sort, just prior to her beating. This explanation does not square with the victim turning her back on the notoriously violent trans student.
Additionally, we are told constantly that the “trans community” cowers beneath a relentless bombardment of hate-speech, intolerance, and phobia. This particular member of the favored community is reported to have recently attacked at least three or four girls. Videos of at least some of these incidents are in circulation. If this particular trans gladiator is constantly reacting to verbal torment from horrid bigots, how is it that every single attack is upon a girl? Are we to believe that boys are innocent of all such bigotry? Of course not; this student is not a victim, and many of us have tired of the crybully routine. This bully serially assaults girls. I won’t write the attacker’s (plainly male) name here, but for a new, more feminine name, I suggest “Miss Ogyny.”
This incident helps reveal just who is intolerant. I may write about that at a later date.
Virginia’s Governor Youngkin recently pardoned the father who offended sensibilities so uncouthly in response to his daughter’s rape and its cover-up by the educational authorities entrusted with her protection. Superintendent Scott Ziegler is so far not so lucky, having been convicted today of retaliating against a female teacher who complained of inappropriate sexual contact. He is set to stand trial for his role in the rape cover-up.
Oregon is not likely to elect a governor anytime soon who would do as Youngkin did in Virginia. But if one “community” in America is deplorably lacking in diversity and tolerance, it is our educational elite. Tigard-Tualatin School District’s leaders have not demonstrated that they are Scott Ziegler, but they have not demonstrated that they are not.
The most recent attack is reported to have happened more than a week before the evidence went viral. The attacker was then arrested, with charges pending, within a day. With the light of day now upon this incident, it appears this attacker is being treated just as any other attacker would be. The rainbow shield appears, ironically, to work best in darkness.
Why Does Hazelbrook Middle School Matter?
Why have I written this? Two additional reasons are worth getting into.
First, many parents rightfully fear speaking up. They don’t want their children labeled bad people and targeted in the next round of violence. They don’t want their children to be bullied by teachers and administration. They don’t want their children to get bad grades. I’ve made plain that many teachers are fine people, and genuinely care about children, and this holds true at Hazelbrook. But parents who don’t believe that some teachers will join students in targeting their children if they speak against education establishment dogma are quaintly naive.
Second, our local media have so far, predictably, done a sleazy job of covering the matter. KATU was mentioned above. KPTV Fox demonstrated its devotion to the woke faith by writing, “a student appears to pull another student to the ground, then repeatedly punch the student in the face and pull their hair.” Well, at least KPTV didn’t downplay the violence. But the attacker didn’t pull the hair of both students – the attacker pulled the hair of the victim only. The victim is a girl. She is entitled to her pronouns too, surely, no? Even though hers comport with reality? Maybe it isn’t conservatives that are obsessed with transgenderism.
The very next sentence: “The video has gained traction in conservative media due to rumors that the attacker is a transgender child.” Well. First, we know the attacker is a child, since the attacker is a middle school student. Second, the student is transgender. This isn’t rumor; this is what a journalistic organization might call, “the facts,” and they even are expressed in the media’s preferred new language. Aside from that, remember the need to shift blame? A target has been located. “Conservative media,” naturally, will be framed as a villain, which tells you both what KPTV is and is not.
The other insinuation is that “conservative media” care for only one reason, the simpletons. Leaving aside the open hostility and obvious falseness of that smear, let’s hold it up to just one dose of scrutiny. If the video showed a transgender male getting into a fight with a boy, does anyone believe that “conservative media” would be up in arms about it? I could go on, but the slander is just plainly slander.
KGW singled out women’s rights advocate Riley Gaines for some drive-by disdain, claiming falsely that she “has spoken out against the inclusion of trans athletes in sports.” KGW also chimed in with this gem: “Conservative activists claimed, without confirmation, the attacker was transgender based on the student’s appearance and clothes.” No, KGW, the attacker simply is transgender. By “confirmation,” perhaps KGW meant that reality cannot be spoken of until some left-wing media outlet has given the nod. It is obvious onto whom KGW wishes to shift blame, with this entry into the hallowed annals of “Conservatives Pounce” and “Conservatives Seize Upon” stories. Also, KGW, get an editor.
Dr. Sue Rieke-Smith insisted that gender had nothing whatsoever to do with the incident and lashed out at any who disagree with her. “[T]here is no connection. And that is the hate we are dealing with now.” If the good doctor revealed any “hate” with that statement, it was not the hate she intended to reveal.
Rieke-Smith again railed on the sharing of the videos, lamenting “the impacts on those children.” As for the child who suffered the genuine impacts to her face and head, it looks like she has people in her corner, now – at least while she is off of school grounds.
As for the Tigard-Tualatin School District, I have been harsh here, and I believe it is deserved. Many believe that nothing whatsoever would have been done about this incident had the evidence not escaped seizure and destruction by the faculty and – reportedly more than a week later – gone viral, and the district has swiftly done much to reinforce that belief. However, the district – and local law enforcement – do appear to be treating the attacker as they would a non-trans student who committed the same acts. Perhaps the district would have done so without the video’s having eluded their grasp, but the educational establishment has squandered the community’s trust, goodwill, and benefit of the doubt. That is why this is a national story.
T.S. Soul has submitted this piece to speak up for children and parents and, yes, girls, and shield them from retaliation by students and educational administration and staff. T.S. has not yet selected a gender by which to identify publicly, but has narrowed it down to two. He or she can be reached with questions, comments, intolerance, and hate at [email protected].
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