University of North Texas students shut down an anti-transgender candidate on their campus on Wednesday with chants of, “Fuck these fascists!”
Meanwhile, inside Curry Hall, Jeff Younger attempted to speak anti-trans rhetoric and hate speech to 80 unreceptive protestors. There were a few YCT members in attendance, but the room was quickly filled with a chorus of air horns, “Fuck These Fascists!” and “Deadbeat Dad!” pic.twitter.com/6DMYvIJ3Qb
— Denton Possum (@DentonPossum) March 3, 2022
Texas House candidate Jeff Younger first came to ignoble prominence after losing custody of his twins due to his refusal to accept his trans daughter’s identity. Now he’s running for office with a campaign largely centered around preventing transitional care for trans youth, which he characterizes as abuse. His views matches those of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who last month instructed Child Protective Services to investigate parents who provide gender-affirming care to their kids.
Related: Texas DA’s refuse to uphold Governor’s order to investigate parents of trans kids for “child abuse”
The campus group Young Conservatives of Texas (YCT) invited Younger to speak at UNT, creating controversy ahead of time with flyers for the event they posted on campus. YCT President Kelly Neidert posted a video of herself to social media arguing with a fellow student about them, and later revealing on Twitter that one read “Criminalize child transitions,” and the other: “Ban child transitions.”
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UNT President Neal Smatresk took note of the growing tension and penned a campus-wide email saying he knew “the last several days may have felt particularly difficult for the transgender members of our community, due to the intolerant views of a handful of campus members.” Smatresk also said the campus honored “our First Amendment rights” and encouraged students to “engage in open discourse, free expression, and debate.”
NEW: the University of North Texas has issued a statement in response to outrage on campus regarding anti-trans flyers distributed by @YctUnt.
The university describes the views of "a handful of students" as intolerant but defends their right to spread intolerance. 1/ pic.twitter.com/VAWgzj52p0
— steven monacelli (@stevanzetti) February 22, 2022
Students did indeed organize, turning up at the event by the dozens, pounding on desks and drowning out Younger, who egged them on, clapping and yelling back, “Louder!”
According to video, he also appears to misgender a student between heckles, upsetting protesters and causing one to spit.
Jeff repeatedly misgendered the student, goading them until they stood up and spit towards the front of the room. Around 8pm, the police escorted him out of the building shortly after, and the crowd cheered. Protestors were held in the room until Jeff was outside. pic.twitter.com/d4IxL6Rrwd
— Denton Possum (@DentonPossum) March 3, 2022
In the end, Younger walked out of the room earlier than planned, prompting cheers.
(edited to hide shown faces of people protesting)
Here he is, the dead beat, bootlicking, nazi fucker himself jeff younger getting escorted out an hour before he was supposed to be, after being unable to get through more than 10 of the 63 powerpoint slides.
FUCK JEFF YOUNGER! pic.twitter.com/V8yWngVK3W
— Col-B (@surfcursedbolby) March 3, 2022
UNT student Ismael Belkoura, who attended the event and took videos of the scene inside the classroom, told Vice during his truncated time Younger also misgendered his own child, compared the protesters to Russia and claimed there was no such thing as a transgender person.
After the event, students continued to demonstrate outside, as Neidert was led out of the building by police, according to footage tweeted by YCT UNT and Neidert herself.
Video has also emerged showing what appears to be a member of the UNT Police Department hitting a protester.
Denton’s police apparently have no qualms about running over students. As soon as Kelly was settled in the car, the driver accelerated towards the crowd rapidly. A protestor was unable to back away fast enough, and was struck by the front of the vehicle. pic.twitter.com/DOvf7ob4c0
— Denton Possum (@DentonPossum) March 3, 2022
Police injured one protester after mobilizing against a large crowd on the #UNT campus that shut-down Jeff Younger, a Republican running for office on an anti-trans platform hosted by a 'Young Conservative' group who last year declared support for "Christian fascism" at a rally. pic.twitter.com/2gBDRMLQY7
— It's Going Down (@IGD_News) March 3, 2022
Independent journalist Steven Monacelli identified the individual struck by the car as a transgender man, who, according to Denton Police, reported having “been hit by a UNT Police Department vehicle.”
Deleted the original statement from Denton Police because they misgendered the victim, a trans man pic.twitter.com/VpZGIPniFo
— steven monacelli (@stevanzetti) March 3, 2022
“I was so proud of our students for being there, protesting, for going against having a speaker on our campus inciting stuff like that, and supporting trans people even if they weren’t trans themselves,” James Jackson, a UNT employee and alumnus, who is also trans, told Vice. “It was wonderful to hear them just saying ‘trans rights’ and ‘trans rights are human rights.’”
Queerty has reached out to the UNT Police Department for comment.
Related: LGBTQ activists protest in support of Ukraine at Stonewall Inn
SamB
These stories are getting more and more ridiculous. If they don’t like him, don’t go. Don’t vote for him. Talk to others about him. These are the same people who called the trucker protestors “terrorists” for basically a peaceful protest. There they don’t let the person talk. Intimidate him. Try to SPIT on him?? What kind of group does that sounds like? Who’s the fascists?
white-queer-african
What is getting more and more ridiculous is you constantly spewing sh*t! I am starting to think you and all your other “used” screennames are not human? What a miserable POS you are.
SamB
WQA: Cam? Are you the one who really has multiple screen names?
MarcyMayer
I don’t agree with this Jeff Younger, but, because I’m a civil libertarian, I believe he has a right to speak and say what he believes – especially at a government-financed public university. His detractors also have a right to say they disagree with him. However, neither side has a right to shout over or physically abuse each other. If we’re not for free speech and freedom of conscience, then we’re as bad a Vladimir Putin.
Selverd
Jeff Younger was egging the crowd on.
He also has a history of lying and he’s been harassing his ex-wife for years. Just take a look at the Save James Facebook page.
Cam
@SamB
Sweetie, if this wasn’t effective, you right wing trolls wouldn’t be so panicked about posting attacks on those students.
And to your other screename @MarcyMayer, you constantly try that, “I don’t agree with this person BUT…..before posting a complete defense of them.
As always, your troll game is boring and weak.
mailliw110
They just did what GED Boebert and her side kick did during the SUTU speech. Isn’t free speech wonderful!
ZzBomb
“oMg ThEy SpIt On HiM”
Do clutch the pearls more!? The people you support have actually killed people.
Seen “Unit the Right” rally in Charlottesville for further reading. (I have numerous other examples of right wing violence and murder I can cite as well)
James
SamB
Oh right, let’s let the nazis tell us who we should be….. you are crazy.
SDR94103
obviously, there is something wrong with you. STAND UP, FIGHT BACK.
wikidBSTN
They spit towards in him, not on him, – in a Monty Python general direction sort of way.
ChrisGMN
You. YOU, Sam B, are the facist. It is called freedom of speech. These students have EVERY RIGHT to drown out the hate speech being spewed by this idiot.
leo1008
It’s increasingly clear to me that the extremism of the trans rights movement is backfiring, and I’m genuinely concerned how much that backlash will harm gay men/women as well.
white-queer-african
@leo1008 I do not agree with you. We should be standing with all marginalised groups that are discriminated against. As gay men/woman we were there once before.
SamB
leo: i hate seeing that alphabet soup lgbtqaaiaqqprpwfje. There are four sexualities. Straight. Gay. Lesbian. Bisexual. Trans is not a sexuality, we can support them but it’s a totally different umbrella.
MarcyMayer
I have no problem with an adult transitioning from one gender to another. That’s their business; not mine. However, as a civil libertarian, everyone’s views have a right to be heard, even if I disagree with them. I agree with British author, Evelyn Beatrice Hall, who said (but mistakenly attributed to Voltaire): “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”
Selverd
I admit I have some concerns about the activism going one right now, but as someone who’s been following this case for years I can say for certain that Jeff Younger is an abusive charlatan.
Even Glenn freaking Beck admitted he was sketchy. The guy once pretended he was gay to get out of the army and then claimed he had done it to support a gay friend.
Cam
Wow, the right wing troll brought in THREE screenames. These students are onto something.
Polaro
I have to agree with Leo. Jeff Younger is terrible, but the bullying is also bad. I only wish transgender issues were as simple as either side presents it. Gender re-assignment is not a trivial process without life long ramifications. I am concerned about children making decisions they are not rational enough to make. I have lived through this with family. Turns out our trans demanding child changer her mind. Reality.
mailliw110
So disrupting the SOTU speech was ok?
Brian
“running for office with a campaign largely centered around preventing transitional care for trans youth”
What a useless man! Any ideas for economic recovery? How to attract employers or create jobs? How about cleaning up parks or protecting air & water? I also heard that there’s some kind of virus going around…?
MarcyMayer
I agree with you.
You can add to that list:
1. America needs to become energy independent and not reliant on Putin’s oil.
2. The crime rate is astronomical.
3. The supply chain is still crippled.
4. The Southern Border and illegal immigration are out of control.
Cam
@MarcyMayer
You want us off Putin’s oil, yet Republicans keep attacking American solar and wind projects.
The crime rate is far lower than it was in the 80s and 90s unless you live in a large city in a red state like St. Louis, Birmingham, Memphis, Houston, etc.
How is the supply chain crippled when all of the stores have goods on the shelf.
The southern boarder? Actually fewer people are getting through.
But your comments make it so obvious, Republican trolls NEED America to fail, and you Putin supporters actually want that.
ZzBomb
@ Marcy
The southern border is not out of control. You people are ridiculous.
MarcyMayer
Cam & ZzBomb:
You’re both in denial and peddling fake news.
Americans see through your lies.
The Republicans will retake control of the House and Senate in January, 2023, and then there will be impeachment hearings for demented Joe.
MarcyMayer
Cam & ZzBomb:
According to the latest polls, Biden has a 37% approval rating. lol
Selverd
@MarcyMayer False. “Biden’s approval rating jumps to 47 percent after State of the Union address.”
white-queer-african
SamB et al. I am queer, white and African. I am not Cam. I admire him standing up to sickos like you et al.
Bosch
Your speaking-style is clearly different from Cam’s, it doesn’t take a psycholinguist to see that. All the right wing accounts, however, use the exact same grammar and idioms. Ain’t that a hoot?
Selverd
@Bosch Except Cam accuses everyone with a different opinion of being the same troll. He’s accused me of it multiple times because for all her faults I don’t think Meghan McCain is a homophobe only pretending to support gay rights.
There may be a couple of posters who are sock puppets but the idea that hundreds of accounts on Queerty are run by some right-wing troll veers into tinhat territory. It’s not like this is a site like twitter or Facebook.
Cam
@Selverd
Seriously? You may have had it until you tried to hide bigotry and hate behind “They have different opinions”.
As for Meghan McCain, let’s see, she helps fund her husband’s rac-ist, anti-LGBTQ website, but by all means, tell me about what a wonderful person she is.
Selverd
@cam you keep saying she funds his website but I’m still waiting for an actual source.
And did you miss my comments here where I condemned Jeff and talked about how he harassed his ex-wife and pretended to be gay to get out of the army? See, I use actual arguments to support my point.
Bosch
@Selverd I’m not sure I’ve seen your posts before today, so you certainly weren’t part of the “all the right wing accounts” I was describing
Cam
@Selverd
You mean you are wondering how a guy who lost his job, had no source of income and married an heiress who bought her first house as a teenager, and who has a massive trust fund courtesy of her Grandfather, funded his website?
Hmmmm, I wonder.
Selverd
@cam Google “Who Funds The Federalist? Finally, We Know.” if you want the answer; it’s not Meghan.
Chrisk
Selverd
Yes they found a billionaire to fund their racist/ anti-lgbt website.
What difference does it make who funds it? She’s married to the guy that runs it. She of course would hold the same views.
Selverd
@Chrisk it makes a difference because Cam’s argument against Meghan was that she was funding the website, which was false. And she has crappy taste in men but that doesn’t mean she shares all of his politics; she’s repeatedly spoken out in support of gay rights for over a decade, I don’t think that’s all an act.
Cam
@Selverd
No, you found an article that shows some people who donate to “The Federalist”, but what you keep trying to deflect from is that husbands and wives don’t need to report comingled funds.
But nice try, I also notice that you are VERY engaged in trying to deflect the topic from the anti-LGBTQ candidate. Hmmmm
Selverd
@Cam lol have you missed half of my comments in this post? I’m the only one actually contributing new information about this guy and why he’s shitty. Do you even know anything about him besides what was posted here?
And once again, you have nothing to back up your claim of Meghan funding the website besides “She’s rich and she’s his wife.” You keep on making up baseless claims and acting like they’re established fact that everyone knows. But thanks for proving my point.
Cam
@Selverd
Aaaaannnnd, once again you try to deflect off the topic onto Meghan McCain. You’re putting up a decent effort, but come on. Trying to claim that a wealthy wife isn’t funding her broke husband’s start up because somehow they live together but their funds aren’t at all shared is just beyond absurd.
But I’ll give it to you, you’re putting in a bit more effort here than you usually do.
MarcyMayer
You’re Cam too. You’re not fooling anyone.
Selverd
@Cam So did you just once again happen to miss the other comments I’ve made about Jeff in this post? If I was trying to deflect from him why would I bring up how he harassed his ex-wife or lied about being gay to get out of the army? I just brought up Meghan as another example of how you accuse everyone here of being a sockpuppet.
And did you actually type “you can offer no proof for your comment” with a straight face below when you’re unable to do it yourself here? I gave you an actual source about the people funding the Federalist, all you’ve given me is “He’s married to Meghan so she must be giving him all the money!”
Also, Ben’s net worth is $2 million so I’m not sure where you got that he was broke.
Cam
@MarcyMayer
Sweetie, you’ve already been exposed as another screename of SamBs so nice try.
@Selvard you seem hyper focused on defending Meghan’s bigoted husband and trying to claim that the guy who was fired for plagerism and had no job is somehow not using some of his wife’s money.
If you weren’t a troll, then why are you so zeroed in on trying to claim Meghan McCain is a wonderful, non bigoted person and her husband and she have nothing to do with each others money?
Selverd
@Cam lol I’m not defending Ben Domenech, I’m questioning your facts. According to you he was jobless after being fired for plagiarism, he got married to Meghan, and then he started his website. He WAS fired from the Washington Post for plagiarism in 2006, but he was back to regular writing columns for other websites two years later. Then he co-founded the Federalist website in 2013 along with two other guys (this is all from his wikipedia article). That was FOUR YEARS before he got married to Meghan. So the idea that she is somehow behind his website is ridiculous and just shows you don’t know what you’re talking about.
And I’ve already said why I’m defending Meghan; in addition to being a critic of Trump she’s been speaking out for gay rights since 2010. You’re ignoring all that and making stuff up so you can make her the enemy.
Mister P
Illegal immigration is not out of control. Trump has people believing it though. You should just say you are racist and don’t like Latin Americans.
MarcyMayer
ALL of the polls show that a vast majority of Americans believe that the Southern border is out of control.
Cam
The same argument Republicans used against Black people, women, and gay people fighting for rights is being repeated to the trans people.
Oh golly gee, why are you so rude? He was polite and smiled when he said you should all have your rights taken away and be thrown in jail. And you are all so “angry”. You are definitely the problem, look at now nice and quietly he argued against your civil rights, what a nice, polite man.
It’s the same B.S they always use. Remember how panicked they were attacking that restaurant that wouldn’t let Sarah Huckabee eat there? They panicked because real world consequences like this work. Sarah Huckabee quit her job the next week.
To these students I say, Keep it up!
Bosch
The only way they know to unite is by their mutual hatred of others.
Polaro
No, the issue concerned people have over transgender medical gender reassignment is real. I support transgender people. I am very uncomfortable with allowing children to make medical changes that have life long ramifications. I don’t reject the concept out right, but its been trivialized. I think the trans campaign club are pushing this to rationalize their own political and social goals and are not focused on what’s right for the child. Some children are trans. However many trans identifying children change their minds. I think most trans girls are just fem gay boys being pushed. Hard to recover from these mistakes if they have medically altered their bodies.
Selverd
@Polaro all they’re doing with Jeff’s child right now is social transitioning, letting them wear dresses and going by a female name. Nothing else would happen until they’re older.
Polaro
@Selverd – I’m totally fine with that.
SamB
White-Queer-African: No one was ever “panicked” over SHS not being served at a restaurant. All people did was point out liberal hypocrisy.
Cam
@SamB
Were you trolling another thread on a different screen and forgot which page this screename was on?
Cam
@Polaro
I wasn’t talking about the validity of concerns in this one. I was talking about the attacks on the audience who protested him. 🙂
Mister P
I don’t think gender reassignment surgery is happening to minors. Puberty blockers which are reversible are being used to buy time for the child and parents to figure things out. That is not child abuse. That is parents trying to figure out what is best.
SamB
To say puberty blockers are “reversible” is an oversimplification. They can cause long term harm depending on how long the kid is on it. Nothing you do to your body can be 100% reversed.
Cam
@SamB
And yet you can offer no proof for your comment.
SamB
White-Queer-African: I can’t tell if you’re a millennial or a boomer because you seem incapable of looking things up on Google. I’m not adding footnotes or references because you yourself, the great adjudicator on these comments, never provide proof of anything.
Cam
@SamB
I love it when you trolls lie and then claim it’s OTHER people’s responsibility to look up things to defend YOUR point.
As always, your trolling is sad and weak.
Oh, and it’s cute you keep accusing other accounts of being me. I love it, it just proves to those other accounts that you are a troll since they know they aren’t me. So by all means, accuse everybody in here of being me. LOL
SamB
Cam: LOL you did exactly what I knew you’d do! LOL.
The Accidental Polemicist
The National Health Service (NHS) no longer says that puberty blockers are ‘reversible.’
The new updated section on the NHS website is an improvement on older versions, the information is more accurate and fact-based, there is less ideology and more care is taken with language.
Progressive overlords train-of-thought:
Pumping cows full of hormones is BAD.
Pumping growing, changing children full of hormones is GOOD.
white-queer-african
SamB et al, you bore me. The only thing you prove by your comments is that you not well! Mentally that is. You and et al.
GREATGLORYHOLER
MarcyMayer, Or Right Wing TRUMP TROLL To Answer Your Comment on the Sully Chain Issue. Major Retailers have Warehouse Full of Products as well as Semi Trailers Filled with Stock that are sitting in in lots all over the United States. All in a Holding Pattern. So Prices can rise and and Their Profits can Skyrocket while Idiots like YOU blame President Biden. I am from a Trucking Family and I have seen the Warehouses and the Full Semi Trailers parked in Lots. It is crazy to see how bad Big corporation will screw over the American People over the Mighty Dollar
The Accidental Polemicist
Democrats have always believed in free speech.
Republicans have always believed in free speech.
Leftists do, and have always done, everything they can to suppress free speech.
Leftists are the enemy of democracy.
Kangol2
And yet it’s you right wingers who are passing bill after bill all over the country banning free speech involving race, sexuality, you name it!
Look in the mirror, cookie, and see the hypocrisy before that glass cracks!
The Accidental Polemicist
Kangol2:
Please give me your top 5 examples of grown, consenting “right wingers who are passing bill after bill all over the country banning free speech involving race, sexuality….”
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
sbsfo
Hey AP, it’s not clear if you’re attempting to equate Leftists and Democrats, or if you see Leftists, Democrats, and Republicans as three different animals (as it were).
You might clarify/correct your last two statements by substituting ‘Authoritarians’ for ‘Leftists’, as authoritarian and totalitarian regimes may lie anywhere along the left-right spectrum. Regardless, it’s true that authoritarians suppress free speech and are enemies of democracy… because free speech & democracy (and the very notion of truth) are anathemas to authoritarian regimes.
At least two axes are needed to accurately and meaningfully characterize someone’s political leanings — left-right along the X (or economic) axis, and libertarian-authoritarian on the Y (or social) axis. To wit, politicalcompass.org offers some interesting perspectives and additional resources on this subject, plus a fun self-assessment tool that plots where you stand in relation to some well-known (and infamous) historical political thinkers & leaders. (FWIW I’m far down in the lower-left quadrant at (-7.4 economic left, -7.3 social libertarian) although I don’t consider myself libertarian.)
In this context, Joseph Stalin was a pretty far-left totalitarian communist dictator (and genocidal mass murderer), while Benito Mussolini was an extreme-right-wing totalitarian fascist dictator (fascists are generally (but not always) at the extreme-right). What they have in common is how they employed a textbook set of authoritarian tactics to obtain and maintain power… and the horrific humanitarian consequences for which they were responsible. (Vladimir Putin holds both of these men in high regard (per his own writings) and you can see how he’s channeling Lenin (or much worse) at this very moment.)
I encourage anyone who’s interested to check out the following two essays as we witness many of these same tactics being deployed on the world stage today:
1) https foreignpolicy dot com/2019/11/02/donald-trump-fascist-nazi-right-wing/
2) https vox dot com/2018/9/19/17847110/how-fascism-works-donald-trump-jason-stanley
Oh yeah, picking on trans people is one of those tactics, too. This frenzy about the “extremism of the trans rights movement” is a manufactured “crisis” fomented by the likes of Greg Abbott in order to instill fear, division, and hatred toward a greater end (i.e. to rise to power).
To my fellow readers – and especially gay folks who can’t relate to or even acknowledge that trans people exist – I say: they’re coming for you and me next. Just look at Florida’s “don’t say gay” law that just passed. They want to oppress and erase ALL of us, not just trans people. And so it goes with the vilification of immigrants, people of color, etc.
Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
SDR94103
Best thing I’ve seen in a long time.
Doug
As a gay man I can’t tell you how empowering these videos are to watch. Even though we still have a long ways to go, we’ve come so much farther than I ever thought we could in my lifetime. Really proud of these students. This is what it takes to make change.
HenryCameron
The article notes that Younger egged the protesters on. Of course he did. He couldn’t have paid for better footage to make his points.
GreekKeys
So biology is fascist, now?
inbama
Not fascist, but White Supremacist.
I doubt any of these students could survive a biology course; the textbooks are full of words that are literal violence.