A 12-year-old biologically male transgender student who sparked debate at an Achille, Oklahoma, school after he used the girls’ restroom spoke to VICE News, sharing his thoughts on the saga that has since ensued.
“I don’t care for it. I think it’s all stupid, except supporters. But the threats and that, is stupid. Who would do that to a 12-year-old?” Maddison Kleeman Rose told VICE News in an interview that aired Tuesday night.
“Some adults out there do get it but they don’t support it and that’s their choice, they can be hateful and rude about it but they ain’t dragging me down,” Rose said. “We’re all different, unique and special in our own way.”
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The school’s superintendent said there are two warring sides, describing those parents who are not comfortable with Rose using the girls’ bathroom as “the majority.”
The VICE interview comes after the school district canceled class on Aug. 13 and 14 in reaction to a saga started by Rose’s use of the girls’ bathroom, alarming a number of parents. He had originally used the bathroom on Aug. 8, which was the first day of school.
“The transgender is already using the girls bathroom,” Jamie Crenshaw, a parent in the district, posted in Achille ISD Parents Group on Facebook. “We have been told how the school has gone above and beyond to make sure he has his own restroom yet he is still using the girls.” (RELATED: Oklahoma School District Cancels Classes After Slew Of Facebook Messages Threatening Transgender Student)
A number of individuals in the parents group from other areas in Oklahoma and Texas also posted comments making threats against the student and calling him a “thing” and a “half baked maggot.”
Following the posts, transgender and LGBTQ activists wrote to the district’s superintendent and began organizing protests after which the school district canceled classes at the advice of law enforcement officials who feared the expected protests could get out of hand.
The family is intent on moving, especially following the reactions to Rose’s bathroom choice at school. “We have family in Houston that have been wanting us to move to them for years, but it has just never been a financial possibility,” Brandy Rose, his mother, said.
Oklahoma City writer and journalist L. Anne Babb created a GoFundMe on Aug. 15 — “A Move for Maddie” — which has raised over $52,990 as of Monday. The funds are intended to help Maddie Rose and his family move out of Achille.
The family previously moved from Sherman, Texas, to Achille after Maddie Rose was bullied at his old school.
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