Two individuals attended the Feb. RSU 21 School Board meeting to spread inaccurate and harmful information. These men were there to share personal opinions that are unfounded and not supported by professional medical associations, psychiatric societies, or educational institutions.

They are, sadly, invested in speaking poor quality, harmful information, and stories that are divisive and hurt our students. To suggest that the violent rape of a woman had any basis in transgenderism is horrific and, in my view, qualifies as hate speech. To refer to a sports injury as being related to someone’s gender is absurd. To trot out a statistic suggesting that the risk of suicide amongst transgender youth is high because they are transgender is patently false. The risk is high because of the oppression transgender individuals endure.

At privately held meetings, these disrupters have gone so far as to specifically name and identify vulnerable students within our school system, and they’ve done so in very mocking manner. There’s little that could be more despicable. They are not reliable sources of balanced information, nor are they empathic humans. To attend a school board meeting wearing a gun holster is a blatant act of aggression, an intended threatening gesture.

All of us benefit from living in a diverse world, whether we’re comfortable within that diversity or not. All students deserve the opportunity to receive a solid, fact-based education in a safe environment.

Marie Louise St.Onge

Kennebunk