Benjamin Hoffman, father to 12-year-old Leo Hoffman—they/them/their pronouns—spoke out this week after his nonbinary child was violently attacked for displaying a LGBTQ+ Pride flag at a school lunch.
One student took a video of Leo being dragged with the flag around their neck, stomped on and liquid being dumped on them.
The incident took place at Seminole Middle School in Seminole, Florida. Benjamin and Leo moved there at the beginning of 2021, hoping for a fresh start. Leo had just come out as transgender and omnisexual in January but has been bullied by the same group of teens seen in the video.
Benjamin explained he didn't realize the severity of the bullying until he saw the video on Sunday.
Tuesday morning, he went to administrators and by the afternoon, several students had been suspended and expelled. Students expelled are being reassigned to a different middle school.
This is a video of my little sibling Leo who is non-binary being drug to the ground, stomped on, and covered in water just for wearing a pride flag at school. Please call Seminole Middle and request #justiceforleo at 727-547-4520pic.twitter.com/VwNRidkeuj— Ashleigh \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08 (@Ashleigh \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08) 1622566065
The scene started when a boy took the Pride flag from Leo on their friends and put it in the trash. Leo decided to take it out of the trash and wear it like a cape.
Benjamin Hoffman explained:
"That's when the tug-of-war ensued."
"Someone put their foot on their back and pushed them back to the ground."
"It's been tough. They've been dealing with this pretty well. But, yeah, it's a hard thing."
Public information officer for Pinellas County Schools Isabel Mascareñas told Bay News 9:
"The students behavior was inappropriate and not acceptable."
"They were suspended and certain students in that group will also be reassigned to another school."
Benjamin doesn't believe that the administators would have taken action if the video posted by his daughter, Ashleigh, hadn't gotten the attention that it did.
He told 10 Tampa Baylocal news:
"My oldest daughter posted the video on Twitter and it just blew up, hundreds of thousands of views."
"People started calling the school and the Sheriff's Office and then things started happening."
Gina Duncan, director of transgender equality with the LGBTQ rights organization, saw the video and said:
"It's important that this type of incident is not just brushed under the rug."
"When we see discrimination and certainly when we see violence against our young people in schools, this is something that we have to address."
Since the video went viral, many people have shared their support for Leo and their family.
Many are questioning if suspension was truly a just punishment.
This is why we need pride. The violence against the lgbtq+ people keeps happening every day... I'm sorry that your sibling had to experience this horrible thing, send my love to them.. Tell em they are loved and suspension is so not enough...— Fredy Ross \ud83d\udc51 (@Fredy Ross \ud83d\udc51) 1622593648
We need to prioritize school policy that enumerates sexual orientation and gender identity as protected identities and train educators to intervene in ongoing bullying \u2014 not just when it gets physically violent, but well before. Sending Love! #loveislove— Shawn Cyrus (@Shawn Cyrus) 1622594018
We are not stopping at suspension!— Ashleigh \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08 (@Ashleigh \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08) 1622595361
Not just the boys but the girls laughing and supporting the boys almost egging them on— Sarah Berkley (@Sarah Berkley) 1622610941
I say charge the parents.— Dar Hurtwolf (@Dar Hurtwolf) 1622672830
These kids knew exactly what they were doing. They knew it wasn\u2019t appropriate to attack someone, yet they did it anyway. Just in case someone wants to tell me \u201cthey are just kids\u201d— Brie (@Brie) 1622662990
I'm proud of all the girls who jumped in to help. This is a hate crime. No matter how old they are. And need to learn a hate crime of any kind is never ok.— \ud83c\udf08Jeanne Cruse\ud83c\udf08 (@\ud83c\udf08Jeanne Cruse\ud83c\udf08) 1622594318
I commend the little girls and other kids who were fighting to get the flag back from the bullying kids. . Kids need be EXPELLED for assault and hate crime. If they\u2019re old enough to know what that flag means/is , then they\u2019re old enough to get expelled for their actions.— Stoney\ud83d\udd2e (@Stoney\ud83d\udd2e) 1622649218
I live in the area. There\u2019s still trump flags on houses, pickups & yards. There\u2019s a Baptist church on every block. The 60th st Baptist church has a digital sign that says \u201cgender matters to god\u201d. They preach to the parish that lbgtq are going to hell. Yes it\u2019s a learned behavior— Lita Hession (@Lita Hession) 1622929783
In an update, Ashleigh explained there is an investigation.
Six students have been suspended so far.
Florida Democratic Congressman Charlie Crist also spoke with the school board on behalf of Leo, which Ashleigh is hopeful will bring positive change in the future.
UPDATE ON LEO #JUSTICEFORLEOpic.twitter.com/6PXQ1YORBR— Ashleigh \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08 (@Ashleigh \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08) 1622599535
Crist made a statement about the incident as well:
"Administrators at Seminole Middle assured my office that disciplinary action was being pursued, and I hope the students in question will be able to learn from this and do better in future."
It is imperative something be done, and soon. Rates of suicide attempts among transgender teens reached an alarming rate.
In a study by the American Academy of Pediatrics, findings express the urgency of the situation.
The Human Rights Campaign reports:
"More than half of transgender male teens who participated in the survey reported attempting suicide in their lifetime, while 29.9 percent of transgender female teens said they attempted suicide."
"Among non-binary youth, 41.8 percent of respondents stated that they had attempted suicide at some point in their lives."
The HRC suggests a few things that can be done to help transgender students. They hold a Welcoming Schools program where students can learn about LGBTQ history and Pride, which includes virtual trainings for staff and faculty to promote anti-bullying.
Studies have found that a supportive family or parent can make a huge difference in the mental health of transgender teens.
LGBTQ+ Youth can get help through:
- TrevorChat — 24/7/365 at https://www.thetrevorproject.org/get-help-now/#services
- TrevorLifeline — phone service available 24/7 at 1-866-488-7386
- TrevorText — Text "START" to 678678. Available 24/7/365.
- TrevorSpace — online international peer-to-peer community for LGBTQ young people and their friends at https://www.trevorspace.org/
- Trevor Support Center — LGBTQ youth & allies can find answers to FAQs and explore resources at https://www.thetrevorproject.org/resources/trevor-support-center/#sm.0000121hx9lvicotqs52mb1saenel
Transgender people can get help through the Trans Lifeline at https://www.translifeline.org/ or call US: 877-565-8860 or Canada: 877-330-6366
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