ummm, I'd say shooting an unarmed person is a pretty huge mistake.

So... they shot the apparent victim too, the one who was bleeding from the neck? For good measure?...

DO justify how they shot the bloody victim too.

The thing that gets me is this (ass-covering) statement tries to make it understandable. They thought he was the stabber. They thought he was "lunging" at the victim. Ok fair enough cops, I'm with you so far. But they shot both of them. Let me just repeat that. They shot both men. The one who supposedly looked like…

You're confident & unapologetically assertive. Do you work for the LAPD?

This is awful. I'm so sorry for his family and friends.

There have been something like three police shootings in my area where the victim was mentally disturbed, behaving in an agitated manner, and the family just wanted help getting them to treatment. In none of the cases was the victim armed with anything more serious than a screwdriver. It has given me a better sense of…

Sadly I think this kind of stuff happens more often than we'd like to think.

It's really not fair that you have to feel awkward around them. My uncle was gay and even before he came out I kind of assumed he just liked men. Now I always include his BFs name on Christmas cards and I make a lot of effort to include him in family plans. I want Lil Potter to feel the same way, because they really…

OMG my brain didn't even go there, but you are totally right - it is super awful to just look at somebody and go "hmmmm, you're not a *typical* looking gendered person, therefore you must be some sort of freakshow and I have a right to get involved in your personal life and private choices."

That's what I am curious about...how the parents find out that she was transgender? Did that dad see her and just assume? I feel like that is incredibly rude to basically say, "You don't fit my definition of what a woman should look like, so I am going to ask you about your gender identity (even though all the…

You know, I support gay marriage, so I explained to my kids - who were 3, 4, and 5 at the time - it this way "Sometimes boys marry girls. Sometimes boys marry boys. And sometimes girls marry girls".

Damn right. Sooner the youngsters learn there are lots of different ways to be in the world the better. We don't need anymore judgemental people or those lacking empathy.

The neighborhood I grew up in has always has a large LGBTQ community (not to mention several family friends are LGBTQ) so my parents explained to us what that meant at a very young age. I'm pretty sure my brother and I were like like, "Oh. Ok." It was never a big deal. These people are projecting their bigotry onto…

"It's parents who make things uncomfortable"

My crazy fundy sister pulled this when our other sister was marrying her (now) wife. The fundy didn't feel her children were old enough to understand. They were 8 and 6 at the time. We tried to explain that all you needed to tell them was that their aunt was in love with this other woman. Done. No need to draw them a…

The earlier the better, I think. Talking about it openly, seeing it, etc. normalizes it (in a good way!) and takes away the fear of the unknown. And it's that fear that's often at the root of intolerance and hate. Plus for kids who may be transgender, this kind of exposure is vital. How many times have we read…

"If it does affect my child and his ability to learn or if it causes questions that I don't feel are appropriate..."

"I'm an immature jackass who can't handle people who are different so I'm pushing those insecurities on to my child, who likely doesn't even realize that his teacher is transgender and wouldn't have a negative outlook on the situation if I hadn't taught him to."