A purrrr-fectly wacky rumor!
I should title this blog “things I should not have to blog about”, however here I am blogging about something that is utterly ridiculous and not talking about the real issues plaguing education in North Carolina.
Sometimes teachable moments come up in the classroom and teachers go off the lesson to address it because it’s important. Well, that’s how I feel here. This is a teachable moment about a lie that is circulating. My goal is to not only encourage you to ask questions, think logically and critically, but also to crush this lie right here.
Over the last few years opinion news and social media has become a cesspool for perpetuating lies. I’ve lost count of all of the crazy, delusional Q-Anon lies and conspiracy theories that have been spread; some by this country’s leaders like the President, members of Congress, Governors, state legislators and the average law abiding citizen.
The craziness that I have seen spew forth from the mouths of our “leaders” has left me gobsmacked. I have the word leaders in quotes because a good leader would never stoop so low as to perpetuate such nonsense and contribute to the erosion of our society. So what nonsense am I babbling about?
Litter boxes in schools.
Yep…you read that correctly.
Litter boxes in schools.
In early 2021 rumors started circulating on social media about schools providing litter boxes for students to use that identified as cats. These students are often referred to as furries. A quick Google search will educate you about furries.
Shortly afterwards, Republican politicians (I have not heard or seen any Democrats make these claims) issued warnings during school policy debates about children acting as cats and the schools allowing it. By the fall of 2021 far-right Republican House representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Lauren Boebert (R-Co) started pushing these unsubstantiated claims.
By early 2022 Michelle Evans (R-Tx) running for congress claimed, without any proof, that school cafeterias were accommodating furries so that they could eat without utensils. Schools across the country were being accused of not only allowing & accommodating furries, but also putting litter boxes in hallways, bathrooms and classrooms to allow students that identified as cats to use.
All of these claims were made without any proof and when fact-checked by Reuters, Politifact, the Associated Press, USA Today, and Snopes, no credible evidence could be found to support these outrageous claims. Over 20 schools have been named and all 20 of those schools were contacted. Not one of the claims could be proven to be true.
In September of 2022 at a rally for former President Donald Trump, far-right congresswoman Marjorie Taylor-Green (R-Ga) continued to promote these rumors without providing any proof. At least 20 far-right Republican politicians have claimed, without proof, that schools are making accommodations, including providing litter boxes for students who identify as cats. These lies are being spread by people who hold or are seeking office, while others have their own Podcast or blog to spread these lies to thousands, all while providing zero evidence to substantiate these claims.
Now we are seeing these lies surface on people’s personal Facebook Pages, Twitter feeds and TikTok videos. Here is an example of a local post here in the Franklin County/Wake Forest area. I have taken out the names to protect their identities. Who they are is irrelevant, but take note of the verbiage. It is a reflection of what they are seeing and hearing from our so-called “leaders”. They make the claim, provide no concrete evidence, swear they heard from a teacher (which makes them seem more credible) or a parent who claims this is happening in their child’s or nieces or nephews classroom; again without naming the school or providing any information that could be fact checked for truth.
The original poster posted this on his personal Facebook page, claiming he was told this by a teacher at a Wakefield school.
Wakefield is an affluent community in Northern Wake County. There are several schools in the Wakefield community, but he does not say which school this teacher teaches. He also claims that this was a random conversation with a teacher while standing in line to vote in the middle of the day. Maybe he did have a conversation with a teacher, however it seems to be a highly unusual conversation to have with a random teacher on a Monday when school was in session. Not sure how a teacher had enough time during the day to leave school and go vote.
Also, as a teacher I engage in random conversations with strangers regularly. The main questions I get asked are; where do I teach, what grade do I teach and what subject do I teach? Then they bless me with praises and tell me how underpaid we are and that there is no way they could teach. Rarely if ever, does anything controversial come up in a random conversation with a stranger. So I find it highly questionable to say the least, that a current teacher would discuss the litter box rumor and actually confirm that there are litter boxes in their school and students are answering questions by barking or meowing as this gentleman claims.
I did go out to our NC Teachers page to ask if anyone could confirm these claims and hundreds of teachers responded, including a few teachers that teach in the Wakefield schools. No teacher in any district, grade level or school could substantiate this claim.
This post had 111 responses. Sadly, without asking any questions or seeking any proof, most were choosing to believe the original poster. There was only one person who tried to set the record straight.
She was attacked by others using all the buzz words used by the far-right such as woke, leftist, government controlled indoctrination centers, communist, groomer, child abuser and of course calls for the firing of teachers.
Most of those commenting on this post did not ask any questions or make any attempt to even gather any proof before jumping on the bandwagon of bashing schools and teachers. One person at least asked if this was a joke, but was reassured it was not.
Those posting responses failed miserably at critical thinking and certainly did not apply any logical thinking before choosing to believe this nonsense.
This is just a smidgen of what’s out there. When an outrageous claim is not questioned, it will spread through our society like an infection from a putrid fever. If you are allowing this to circulate on your social media pages or if you are sharing this, you are helping spread these lies and are contributing to the problem.
Be responsible and do not help perpetuate these lies. If you see them, delete them, block them, speak out against them. At the very least ask for proof that can be fact checked for truth.
Now let’s apply some logic here. With all the lies, half truths and propaganda being thrown at us on a daily basis, it’s easy to get angry and react out of emotion.
While we can’t control what’s being said, we can control how we react. When you hear something outrageous stop for a moment and THINK. Take the litter box in schools claim for example.
It sounds crazy.
It seems outrageous.
So outrageous it’s hard to believe.
There’s your first clue. So outrageous it’s hard to believe. If it is hard to believe, then it probably isn’t true. Go a little further and ask yourself, were there litter boxes in schools when you were a student? What about when your child(ren) was in school? Have you, yourself, seen any litter boxes in schools? Have you spoken to a family member, a friend, a neighbor or anyone that has seen litter boxes in schools and can provide evidence?
The answers are no. You can stop here and cough this up to a delusional urban myth.
However, if you’re still wondering, here’s a few more things you can do. Since the school system is usually one of the largest employers in the area, the chances that you know a teacher or someone who works for the school system is pretty high.
Reach out to them directly and ask about litter boxes. They will tell you that there are NO litter boxes in schools. Better yet, go down to your local school and ask the principal about it and see for yourself.
Other things to consider are: Who is responsible for cleaning and maintaining these litter boxes? Do you think they would take on this task quietly?
Nope!
Given the unsanitary conditions I’m pretty sure they would be pretty vocal about it. Where are they? Has anyone heard from them?
Nope.
Not a word; because there are no litter boxes to discuss.
We live in a digital world where everything is recorded or photographed and then uploaded to social media. Students would not be able to resist recording and/or photographing litter boxes. Where are the pictures or videos?
What about the health department? Schools are constantly being inspected. Do you really think the health department would allow this?
Teachers can’t have diffusers or cleaning supplies out in the classroom so how on earth would litter boxes be acceptable? Has any health department anywhere produced any evidence of litter boxes in schools?
Nope.
Perhaps because they simply do NOT exist.
And lastly, the adults.
Where are the teachers and parents?
I don’t know any parent or teacher that would be OK with litter boxes in classrooms, hallways or bathrooms.
As a teacher myself, there would be no way I would allow a litter box in my classroom or working environment. I’m a cat lover and have had litter boxes in my home where I control everything, but school is different.
We are tasked with the health and safety of hundreds of children and litter boxes violate that. Teachers and parents would be very vocal about this.
The media would be covering these stories non stop. Teachers and parents would be interviewed. Teachers and parents would be at their local school board meetings speaking out on this.
Social media would be on fire with tweets and posts about this. Since teachers and parents are quiet on this, it’s just one more piece of logic to prove that this simply is not happening.
I do not know how to say this anymore clearer; THERE ARE NO LITTER BOXES IN SCHOOLS!
It is a LIE!
