Boise school board member Shiva Rajbhandari did nothing wrong with his tweet | Opinion

Profane tweet

Shiva Rajbhandari did nothing wrong.

Idaho’s conservatives have no decency and no line they will not cross in ensuring that transgender people are not welcome here. When I first came out as trans, two of the three trans people I’d known at that point had died by suicide because our culture was unbearably inhospitable and hateful. Conservatives’ quixotic political rampage against transgender people is beyond the pale, beyond disgusting, and beyond civility.

I was so grateful that Mr. Rajbhandari tweeted what he did, and how he did. He is the only political figure in Idaho who properly expressed how outrageously evil the actions of our governor and legislator are. Thank you, Mr. Rajbhandari, for being an ally. Thank you for recognizing in that moment, that obscenity was a perfectly appropriate rhetorical strategy for responding to an attack on our lives.

And shame on the Boise School District and the Idaho Statesman for their asinine and condescending nonsense about decorum. The transgender people of Idaho and the transgender students of the Boise School District deserve better than your cowardice and your mealy-mouthed slapping down of the only politician in the state willing to speak appropriately.

June Meissner, Boise

Rajbhandari

I watched Shiva Rajbhandari’s attempt to testify against House bill 71, the one I call the “trans youth bill” when Rep. Heather Scott chaired the public testimony on this bill. While I was annoyed by Rajbhandari’s profane tweet, he is a good choice for the school board. He is a member of the population that school board decisions affect, plus he is bright and usually articulate. However, when it came to testimony on HB 71, he spoke not to the bill as Rep. Scott kept telling him fiercely to do, but with his heart. He could not distance himself enough to speak of it sanely. Rep. Scott as chair said little beyond “You have two minutes,” “speak to the bill” and “your time is up.”

While I abhor the language Rajbhandari used in his tweet, Shiva is young, and the trans youth bill is state overreach. It interferes with family medical decisions, attempts to govern medical decisions made in doctors’ offices and instructs law enforcement to get involved. The younger the voter is, the more they understand the injustice of HB 71. More young people age into voting every year. Shiva is an example. The “trans youth bill” will not last.

Janelle Wintersteen, Boise

Ethics

Shiva Rajbhandari, a Boise School Trustee, recently violated the Boise School Board Code of Ethics Policy 1126 with his hate-filled tweet to Governor Little after the governor signed HB71, the Vulnerable Child Protection Act, into law. He should resign immediately. His behavior is despicable and unacceptable, and it sets a very poor example for Boise’s school children. Does he think that it’s ever acceptable to use hatred to attack someone with whom we disagree? As a young, inexperienced person he has much to learn, including behavior becoming a school trustee, accepting defeat graciously and living to fight another day.

Darcy Horton, Boise

House Bill 71

Governor,

So you had to do it. You signed HB 71, making life immeasurably more difficult, maybe even impossible, for transgender children and their families. Those that can, will probably leave this cruel state. But that will almost certainly prove impossible for some. Without a doubt, tragedies will happen. That’s on you. You’ll be responsible for heartache, financial insecurity, pain, and most likely some deaths.

I should say that I hope you realize the horrible mistake you’ve made but you obviously don’t care. So, I’ll say that as your grandchildren get older and they (maybe) have kids of their, I hope they look at what you did and despise you as much as you despise transgender kids. You deserve it.

Cindy Myers, Boise