As the battle for parents’ rights in the classroom continues across the country, ABC’s liberal drama A Million Little Things continued to show where they stand on the issue by painting the parents of a transgender teen as cruel, racist fools while depicting the teacher as a hero who “gets it.” Remember that ABC is owned by Disney, the company that came out strongly against Florida’s “Parental Rights in Education” law.
On Wednesday’s episode, “Out of Hiding,” teacher Rome (Romany Malco) is preparing for parent/teacher conferences at Sussex Prep. After complaining that Sussex’s parents are stuck up and unable to talk about anything other than martinis and yachts, he tells his wife Regina (Christina Moses) he’s particularly concerned about his student Madison (Ash Spencer) who said she wants to go by “Maddox” because she’s “not a girl.”
It became clear in last week’s episode that Madison/Maddox’s parents weren’t okay with this decision.
“Maddox hasn’t been coming to my class,” Rome explains. “Madison has.”
Madison/Maddox, at the end of the class prior to the conferences asks Rome for permission to talk to her parents because he “gets” the situation.
Madison/Maddox: Mr. Howard, do you still have a minute?
Rome? Yes. Thank you. I enjoyed your interview with your grandmother.
Madison/Maddox: You definitely do not want to be head-to-head in Mahjong.
Rome:…And, yes, I was going to ask you. Is that not why you are so excited for this project?
Madison/Maddox: No. No. This is not the case. Um, My parents. You’re wrong about that.Maddox was the right choice. It feels natural and is at least somewhat similar to my original name. Although I thought it would make things easier on them I was wrong.
Rome: My deepest regrets. This must have been very painful.
Madison/Maddox: Um, They see me only as their little girl. Um, so I wondered. Would you be willing to speak with my parents today at our conference? Clark and Isabelle may be more able to grasp the concept if they hear it from someone else who has it.
Rome: Clark? Clark Ainsworth can be your personal coach.
Madison/Maddox: Yes, you do know him.
Boy: Hey, Clark. Rome is here.
Rome: Yeah. They went to school together. You can talk to me about it. You have my back.
Madison/Maddox: Thanks, Mr. Howard.
When a teacher attempts to be a hero against the parents, you know that things are getting worse. And of course, the writers made Maddox’s father Clark (Sebastien Roberts) be one of the students who played a horrible, racist prank on Rome when they were students. This is a clear attempt to demean the parents.
Clark actually apologizes for the prank at the conference, but it’s clear Rome believes “some people never change”:
Clark: I’m telling you, this guy hasn’t aged at all.
Rome: You’d be surprised at how many people don’t change.. Hey, Clark.
Clark: How ya doing? Isabelle, my wife.
Isabelle: It is a delight. Madison, I have heard so much from you.
RomeYou can have a place.
Clark:…You know what? Before we begin, I want to just say that. Some of us guys and I didn’t have it easy back then, which was wrong. Also, my apologies.
RomeIt has been a while.
ClarkHowever, It’s not too late to apologize, but it is possible. It’s true. Really.
Rome: We are grateful. It’s been a joy to get to know you and your child.
Isabelle: She was so happy about the class.
Rome: Oh, it’s mutual. Maddox is a great student of mine.
Clark: Maddox. Ah, she said it to you!
Rome: He said yes.
Clark: Yeah. Uh, look now, We have to be honest, the whole Maddox affair has been quite a process.
Isabelle: Her things have always been there. Her, um, obsession with yoga. She was also into crystals. Her Goth phase followed.
Rome: While I respect Maddox, it’s not like Maddox being in The Cure. We’re not here to discuss your child’s academic performance.The whole purpose of documentary filmmaking, however, is to capture the moment. TruthFilm. In reality, That’s when I discovered Maddox.. And His achievements exceed my highest expectations. It must be hard to let go of your child, but he can be himself in class.
Clark: This makes complete sense when put in perspective.
It does not matter where you stand on this topic, but the sheer stupidity of teachers to violate the parental rights is astounding! What’s scary is this is clearly a reflection of how many public school teachers seem to think in real life, hence the fierce debates happening at school boards across the country.
Since Sussex is a private school, though, parents have more power, especially if they’re a top donor as the Ainsworths are:
Rome: Uh-oh. Someone narc me. Tell you that I had candy in lunch.
Do you need to shave?: Hey um, WeIt is important to speak about today’s events with the Ainsworths.
RomeWhat is your meaning?
Do you need to shave?: Rome. These are some of our highest donors. And today they got the impression you were at the root, or “Maddox problem.”
Rome: What? That’s ridiculous. It’s absurd.
Do you need to shave?: You’re being told to quit immediately, or you’ll lose all your funding.
The Ainsworths are doing well! Gender dysmorphia, however, isn’t something that Rome created. But he’s definitely encouraged it without ever speaking to the parents. Until Madison/Maddox is an adult, it’s up to the Ainsworths, and them alone, to research the issue and decide what course of action is best for their child without a teacher’s interference. It is also true for each parent across the country.
Thankfully, this episode caused viewership to fall to its lowest point ever this season (interestingly enough, to an eerie 1.666 viewers), a whopping drop of 24 percent in key demo viewers and a 15.35 percent drop in overall viewers. It ranked second in all of the shows that aired on the exact same night across all major networks.
We are on a slippery slope, as we fight parents against schools. If we don’t fight hard by pushing back against propaganda like this, it won’t be long before it’s considered “abuse” when parents fail to comply with teachers on these matters. If this happens teachers will be able to report the matter to child protective services. They can also have their children removed.
See below for how you can join the fight for parents’ rights and stand up to this show’s dangerous propaganda.
Conservatives Strike Back! This episode was sponsored by Toyota, Liberty Mutual, and GEICO. You can click each advertiser to get their contact information.
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