OK - Nex Benedict, 16 year old student died after being beaten in school restroom, Owasso, Feb 8 2024

[IzzyBlanche]

@iusedtofloat

Would you please provide a link to the 911 call? Thanks!

 

[imstilla.grandma]

“There’s not multiple genders. There’s two. That’s how God created us,” Mr. Walters said, saying he did not believe that nonbinary or transgender people exist. He said that Oklahoma schools would not allow students to use preferred names or pronouns that differ from their birth sex.

“You always treat individuals with dignity or respect, because they’re made in God’s image,” Mr. Walters said. “But that doesn’t change truth.”

And at an Oklahoma board of education meeting this week, Sean Cummings, the vice mayor of a town adjacent to Oklahoma City known as The Village, blamed the board’s anti-gay and anti-transgender policies for the bullying of Nex. “You brought it on,” he said, addressing Mr. Walters directly.

“We’ve been told death wasn’t directly related to the fight at school,” he said, cautioning that the investigation was ongoing.

“There’s a lot of feelings of helplessness,” said Hali, 18, a transgender girl and high school senior in the town of Claremore, who asked that her last name not be used out of concern that she may be targeted by anti-transgender activists. “You always have that little bit of fear that you could be attacked, that you could be one of the victims.”

“I really see there’s a civil war going on, where the left is really fighting for the soul of our country,” he said. “They are undermining the very principles that made this country great, our Judeo-Christian values and our traditions in this country.”

After Nonbinary Student’s Death, Schools Chief Defends Restrictive Gender Policies

The Oklahoma school superintendent, Ryan Walters, said “radical leftists” had created a narrative about the death of 16-year-old Nex Benedict that “hasn’t been true.”

www.nytimes.com

 

[imstilla.grandma]

 

[imstilla.grandma]

State Superintendent Ryan Walters urged the public to wait for more details from law enforcement “before we pass judgment.”

“Losing a student is extremely difficult,” Walters said during the meeting. “We should be keeping the Owasso families, communities in our prayers. It’s a heartbreaking tragedy and it’s difficult to so many folks over there. We want to be there to comfort them as best we can.”

“These children who attacked Nex had to be taught to hate,” said Mike Howe, a former Tulsa school principal who speaks at state board meetings regularly.

Nex was bullied at school, and it worsened this year after anti-transgender laws took effect in Oklahoma, the student’s mother told the British online newspaper The Independent.

Nonbinary student’s death prompts anger at Oklahoma state board meeting - Alabama Reflector

The Oklahoma schools superintendent has been a vocal opponent of trans-affirming policies, including changing gender markers in school records.

alabamareflector.com

 

[ConcernedVA]

Ah…okay. Hearing the description of events from the teen’s own mouth was illuminating. I’m sure I don’t have a popular opinion here, but I see this situation as mutual combat. The non binary kid turned a verbal altercation physical with the water and then continued to try to fight this group of girls when they responded physically. But I don’t know how it works in OK.

I think this poor child was trying to be an underdog hero standing up to bullies, but it didn’t work like on TV. We don’t do kids a service by always telling them to make a stand. Sometimes you need to suck it up and walk away if someone makes you mad. It doesn’t matter what the other person thinks.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Since Nex's death, a barrage of threats have been made against the Owasso school district and at least one credible threat is being investigated in conjunction with the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security, said Lt. Nick Boatman, a spokesman for Owasso Police.

Meanwhile, Margaret Coates, the superintendent of Owasso schools, announced in an email that all district schools will have increased security.

A news story that went viral about Nex's death included allegations that teachers failed to summon medical care for the teenager after the altercation, and that Nex was so badly injured in the fight that they could not walk on their own. Police and school officials said the claims were false.

In a statement on Facebook, the Owasso Police Department said each student involved in the fight "walked under their own power to the assistant principal’s office and nurse’s office" after it was broken up. A registered nurse at the school then assessed the health of each student involved in the fight, according to police. Though she determined that "ambulance service was not required," the nurse recommended that Nex "visit a medical facility for further examination," the statement said. Nex was taken to the hospital that afternoon.

Death of Nex Benedict did not result from trauma, police say; many questions remain

The teen's death has prompted nationwide calls for schools to better protect students who may be bullied because of gender and sexual identities.

www.usatoday.com

 

[Curiousobserver]

As a physician, I'd like to shout from the rooftops BS! Just a load of bull.

MOO

Definitely need to wait to see the autopsy and toxicology and especially to see if those were complete and thorough.

Their mother's description of Nex's presentation the next day sounds a lot more like a stroke than it does a drug overdose.

Looking at the hospital video of Nex from the perspective of a juror or defense attorney: Nex admitted they never met the girls before (no history of bullying), the initial fight was about how they were laughing at something (perhaps not related to her being transgender), Nex started the fight by throwing water, and Nex threw one of the girls into the paper towel dispenser.

While I really want to see those girls punished, I think this is going to be difficult to charge based on that video.

 

[BeginnerSleuther]

Definitely need to wait to see the autopsy and toxicology and especially to see if those were complete and thorough.

Their mother's description of Nex's presentation the next day sounds a lot more like a stroke than it does a drug overdose.

Looking at the hospital video of Nex from the perspective of a juror or defense attorney: Nex admitted they never met the girls before (no history of bullying), the initial fight was about how they were laughing at something (perhaps not related to her being transgender), Nex started the fight by throwing water, and Nex threw one of the girls into the paper towel dispenser.

While I really want to see those girls punished, I think this is going to be difficult to charge based on that video.

It really could have been anything. My first thought was seizure, maybe from a brain bleed. Who knows? But regardless, to declaratively state the fight had nothing to do with it sounds like a load of BS at this time. JMO.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

 

[imstilla.grandma]

We have heard varying reports of how Nex communicated gender, and have avoided using pronouns for Nex here, as we don’t have 100% clarity on Nex’s correct pronouns, and will not engage in the harm of guessing or misgendering Nex or using incorrect pronouns. Using someone’s correct pronouns has a measurable impact on that person’s wellbeing, and we ask that others respect Nex in death until, if at all, we’re able to learn Nex’s correct pronouns. For more information about pronoun usage, here is GLSEN’s guide to pronouns.

Rest in Pride, nex benedict — Freedom Oklahoma

Nex should still be alive. Nex deserved not only a safe and nurturing environment to learn, but an environment that actively disrupted anti-2STGNC+ rhetoric and worked to ensure that vulnerable students were safe. Owasso schools failed to create that environment for Nex. And we know that is the stor

www.freedomoklahoma.org

 

[Vern]

Whatever happened to fair fights? One on one.

 

[Mack the Knife]

We have heard varying reports of how Nex communicated gender, and have avoided using pronouns for Nex here, as we don’t have 100% clarity on Nex’s correct pronouns, and will not engage in the harm of guessing or misgendering Nex or using incorrect pronouns. Using someone’s correct pronouns has a measurable impact on that person’s wellbeing, and we ask that others respect Nex in death until, if at all, we’re able to learn Nex’s correct pronouns. For more information about pronoun usage, here is GLSEN’s guide to pronouns.

Rest in Pride, nex benedict — Freedom Oklahoma

Nex should still be alive. Nex deserved not only a safe and nurturing environment to learn, but an environment that actively disrupted anti-2STGNC+ rhetoric and worked to ensure that vulnerable students were safe. Owasso schools failed to create that environment for Nex. And we know that is the stor

www.freedomoklahoma.org

Is it possible for us to know Nex’s correct pronouns? I’m not sure who can be the arbiter of truth for the deceased, and it is especially complicated for a young person still figuring out their identity. (This is not me doubting anything about Nex’s gender identity; gender is complicated and it wouldn’t be unusual for a person to change what they are comfortable with as their understanding of their identity develops.)

I tend to think they/them is gender neutral and fair, but I know some people feel that it is disrespectful if the person, especially a trans person, hasn’t said they use they/them pronouns.

 

[Knitty]

Is it possible for us to know Nex’s correct pronouns? I’m not sure who can be the arbiter of truth for the deceased, and it is especially complicated for a young person still figuring out their identity. (This is not me doubting anything about Nex’s gender identity; gender is complicated and it wouldn’t be unusual for a person to change what they are comfortable with as their understanding of their identity develops.)

I tend to think they/them is gender neutral and fair, but I know some people feel that it is disrespectful if the person, especially a trans person, hasn’t said they use they/them pronouns.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/21/us/oklahoma-teen-death-school-fight/index.html

Sue Benedict, Nex’s guardian and biological grandmother, told The Independent Nex was badly beaten during the fight with three older girls in a bathroom at the school and hit their head on the floor. Benedict said Nex had experienced bullying at the school, but added, “I didn’t know how bad it had gotten.”

<snip>
Nex was a 10th grader and used they/them pronouns, according to their family. “Nex did not see themselves as male or female,” Benedict told The Independent. CNN has reached out to the family for comment.

 

[Mack the Knife]

https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/21/us/oklahoma-teen-death-school-fight/index.html

I’ve seen that, but even with the information out there, Freedom Oklahoma says there isn’t “100% clarity” on the correct pronouns, and I’m questioning if there ever can be that level of certainty. And, in the absence of certainty, what is the fair way to refer to a person?

 

[Bounceycat]

I’ve seen that, but even with the information out there, Freedom Oklahoma says there isn’t “100% clarity” on the correct pronouns, and I’m questioning if there ever can be that level of certainty. And, in the absence of certainty, what is the fair way to refer to a person?

Journalistic guidelines say that in the absence of pronoun clarity, write around the pronouns. Here are some good examples: Gender Neutral Language

 

[Knitty]

Freedom Oklahoma didn't know Nex, but Nex's family did, and Nex's family says that they used they/them pronouns. If Nex's family members were not advocating for them but against them the situation would be different, but in this case, Websleuths will abide by what the family states.

 

[housewife]

As a physician, I'd like to shout from the rooftops BS! Just a load of bull.

MOO

I thought they did an MRI at the er. Did a neurologist actually view it before they were released?

If it happened that fast I feel like there would be swelling or bleeding in the image?

Would it have been better with contrast? I only rudimentally understand MRI stuff.

 

[housewife]

Sometimes you need to suck it up and walk away if someone makes you mad. It doesn’t matter what the other person thinks.

RSBM
I agree, the three girls sprinkled with water should have sucked it up and walked away.
Now someone is dead. It's not a tragedy, it was not inevitable, and the three people responsible have to take responsibility for it.

 

[LouTennant]

Definitely need to wait to see the autopsy and toxicology and especially to see if those were complete and thorough.

Their mother's description of Nex's presentation the next day sounds a lot more like a stroke than it does a drug overdose.

Looking at the hospital video of Nex from the perspective of a juror or defense attorney: Nex admitted they never met the girls before (no history of bullying), the initial fight was about how they were laughing at something (perhaps not related to her being transgender), Nex started the fight by throwing water, and Nex threw one of the girls into the paper towel dispenser.

While I really want to see those girls punished, I think this is going to be difficult to charge based on that video.

I was going to say the same but did want some clarification on should Nex have been in the girls rest room at all due to the new rules that were bought in? I'm of the understanding that schools will let pupils use neutral bathrooms where there is are issues regarding gender.

 

[housewife]

The non binary kid turned a verbal altercation physical with the water and then continued to try to fight this group of girls when they responded physically.

So victims should not try to defend themselves if ambushed by three attackers?

Did the attackers "respond physically" with hugs? They are responsible for their own reactions.