We all know the Hans Christian Andersen tale about the emperor and his new “clothes.”.The emperor had been tricked into believing he was wearing gorgeous clothing, but was actually walking naked in the street. Loyal subjects felt they had to pretend he was clothed, until one innocent child said out loud what they had all been pretending not to see: “The Emperor has no clothes!”.We are seeing a modern version of this story play out in Ontario today — except the person being watched is not naked. He wears enormous prosthetic breasts and he's not an emperor, he is a shop teacher..The story that's unfolded could not have happened even a few years ago. If a teacher came into a classroom dressed in such an outrageous costume, the first response would have been that the man obviously needed immediate psychiatric help..And the other natural response was this teacher should not be around children. A man who feels the need to dress up in this bizarre fashion is a concern to parents. If a teacher had done this in a different context — at a bar, or other adult setting — it would be alarming enough. But the fact the teacher thought it was appropriate to force himself on children, costumed in this bizarre way, in a classroom, would cause parents to be adamant that their children should not be anywhere near him. And their school board would agree with them..But apparently, not so today. Strange new notions of gender identity and fluidity have come seemingly from nowhere and have school boards, government departments and even churches in a vice-grip. Instead of giving this shop teacher the help that he obviously needs, the talk now is all about giving him (her?, they?) freedom to express his (or whatever) gender identity any way he needs to. The trustees don’t seem at all concerned this person is in close contact with the children they are mandated to protect..Instead of immediately removing the teacher from the classroom, the bewildered Halton District school trustees who're in charge appear to be completely flummoxed by the situation. They simply can’t say the obvious — namely it's completely inappropriate for a teacher to dress and behave in that way. They appear to be paralyzed by an impossible ideology that has them mesmerized..So they hold pointless meetings and let this travesty continue..The obvious solution to the problem was given by Julia Mallot, a sensible trans person: namely, to require teachers to comply with a dress code similar to the dress code that applies to the students. Problem solved. But the trustees simply can’t bring themselves to accept a completely obvious and reasonable solution for fear of offending one of the tenets of their woke religion: namely imposing a reasonable dress code might interfere with this shop teacher’s ability to freely express his gender identity. Apparently they fear going to some woke hell if they adopt a common sense solution. “Common sense” and “woke” can’t exist in the same sentence..Remember, the shop teacher (Kayla, or Kerry Lemieux) was wearing bicycle shorts. I wonder what the trustees would do if he believed he could only freely express his gender identity by wearing no shorts, or maybe if he insisted the students must wear prosthetic breasts too? What if Lemieux felt that his freedom to express his, her, or their gender expression could only be realized if every member of the Halton District School Board dressed exactly as he did? Or what if the teacher felt that his gender identity needs required him to dress in a Nazi theme, and he had swastikas tattooed on his rubber breasts?.These questions might seem ridiculous, but until not that long ago, the idea that a teacher would show up in class dressed like this would have appeared equally ridiculous..It’s worth asking the questions, though. Who knows? It might happen. Our schools have ascended (descended?) to an astonishing new level of wokeness while we have not been paying attention..What is going on here? Probably 95% of the Canadian population knows teachers shouldn’t be strutting around classrooms wearing basketball-sized rubber breasts and ridiculous costumes. How is it that the five percent with the completely nutty notions are in control? Where are these wacky, wokey school trustees coming from?.There are, of course, thousands of books, essays and articles about how this new woke religion has somehow managed to burrow its way into impressionable brains, and take over school boards, government departments and entire universities..My own take on it is it's mainly a case of good intentions gone too far. “Let’s treat transgender people fairly ” — an obviously desirable goal has somehow metastasized into subjecting children to watching giant-breasted male teachers making fools of themselves..Simply put — the pendulum has swung too far..There is a saying, “Don’t be so open-minded that your brains fall out.” That seems to be exactly what has happened to people like these school trustees..Wokeism is a house of cards. In 2019 Douglas Murray presciently predicted, in “The Madness of Crowds” the extreme claims of trans activists would be the first part of that house of cards to fall..And that seems to be happening now, as we observe absurd, or even dangerous situations, like six-foot something male swimmers in lady’s bathing suits smashing all previous women’s records, male pugilists literally smashing female opponents and even men in dresses sexually abusing women in women’s prisons. The shop teacher with the Z-cup breasts is just the latest in this bizarre string..It is beginning to appear these woke excesses might be giving birth to the beginnings of an awakening by normal, sensible Canadians to this descent into madness. Those ordinary people are increasingly unwilling to accept as true what they know to be false. Like that little boy in the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale, they are refusing to stay silent when they know they are being lied to..A surprise ending to the Kayla Lemieux story would be if Kayla is just Kerry Lemieux putting us all on. According to some reports Kerry is normally a man who only seems to feel the need to wear his “Kayla” costume at school, and sometimes in other public places..Normally, he looks and dresses like the rather nice looking man he usually is. He likes fast cars, and seems to be a rather typical young man in many other respects. Lemieux says this is not true, and also insists the gigantic breasts are real, and not prosthetics. Is he telling the truth, or putting us all on?.What if Kayla is actually Kerry playing the joke of the decade on all of us?.And it would be funny — a cosmic joke — and the fact that we took it seriously says something about the current state of our society..Because the shop teacher with the giant breasts is just the funny tip of an iceberg that is not funny at all. That iceberg is wokeism. Wokeism is fundamentally an attack on everything we believe. It has somehow taken control of all of our institutions, including our law societies and medical associations..The statue toppling represents a contempt for our history..The “diversity, equity and inclusivity” — DEI forced affirmative action programs — are a frontal attack on the meritocracy that has made our civilization so strong. The claims of “genocide” and “systemic racism” are a cancerous self-loathing that has infected our society from within. Unless we confront this rot we will decline..But, as noted, there are signs that things are turning. The parents who are turning up at school board meetings, and refusing to be bossed around by woke trustees is one sign..Another is what might happen, probably in June. That's when the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is set to rule on meritocracy vs. affirmative action. Mainly Asian students, who were denied admission to elite universities in spite of their superior qualifications because they were not in the favoured “oppressed” demographic groups, have taken direct aim at the racial affirmative action policies that are the foundation of the 'systemic racism' industry..SCOTUS will probably rule in their favour, and throw affirmative action policies out the window. That decision has the potential to make the public reaction to the overturning of Roe vs. Wade look like small potatoes. The decision would mean that American colleges and universities can no longer use race as a factor when admitting students..However, the broader implications of the case are huge. In fact, the entire 'systemic racism' industry could crumble and fall if SCOTUS rules that race cannot be a factor for admission purposes. But they will not go without a fight. That could include tanks in the street..What happens in the case of the shop teacher, and what this particular school board does or does not do, is not nearly as important in the larger scheme of things as what SCOTUS does. And yet the parents in that school district, and the parents in other school districts are not waiting for SCOTUS to bring change to make their voices heard. They are not intimidated by the fact people in official positions have bought into a belief system the parents know is not in the best interest of their children..If enough sensible voices are heard we can get back to a place where teachers dress normally, and children are not taught nonsense. A sensible place then, where teachers dress like teachers, and teach like teachers..Brian Giesbrecht is a retired Manitoba judge.
