A truly disturbing incident happened at a Washington state YMCA, and it highlights the injustice inherent in forcing the majority of people to bend to the morally-questionable whims of a minuscule few.
Julie Jaman, 80,was banned from Port Townsend’s Mountain View Pool after complaining about a biological male ogling young girls in the changing room. Jaman had been swimming at the pool for 35 years without incident, yet it was she who was banned and insulted by the employees and management.
KIRO NewsRadio reports (archive link):
After more than 35 years of swimming at Port Townsend’s Mountain View Pool, Julie Jaman, 80, says she is “distressed” after being banned from the facility for calling out a biological man she says was watching semi-naked young girls in the women’s locker room.Jaman told Friday’s Dori Monson show listeners that the incident started July 26 after she “heard a man’s voice” while she was naked and showering in the women’s locker room at the facility, which is operated by the Olympic Peninsula YMCA and the City of Port Townsend.“I saw a man in a woman’s bathing suit watching maybe four or five little girls pulling down their suits in order to use the toilet,” Jaman recalled. “I asked if he had a penis and he said it was none of my business. I told that man to ‘get out right now.’ ”After alerting a pool staff member to the situation, Jaman said she was “stunned” when the staffer told her that she was “being discriminatory,” “was banned from the pool forever,” and that they were calling the police.“She didn’t ask me what the problem was, if I was okay, nothing about me,” Jaman said. “It’s as if she was just waiting to pounce on me. It was just stunning.”After exiting the shower and dressing, Jaman continued, another pool staff member confronted her in the foyer. “She told me that I was being discriminatory and not following the YMCA principles and values. I told her I respect all human beings and I’m not following any ideology.”Before this, Jaman said, she had no other warnings from pool staff and “has a great relationship with swimmers in the pool.”Jaman told Dori that she later spoke with Olympic Peninsula YMCA CEO Wendy Bart.“I told her there were no signs posted to give women warning,” Jaman said. “She said there were Pride posters posted all over and she assumed that was adequate to inform women what to expect.” According to Jaman, Bart also said, “we take pride and everyone is welcome.’“That’s fine with me, except that they do not provide alternatives for women who choose not to be undressing in front of men,” Jaman continued. “Our pool is a very old pool. We just have two shower rooms, dressing rooms, one for men, one for women.”Plans for a gender-neutral or family changing room have not occurred, she added.Since the late July incident, the dispute has spilled over into local blogs and at least one heated city council meeting, Jaman said. She told Dori’s listeners that she is hurt by city leaders calling her a “bigot” and is “very distressed” about being banned from her regular exercise. The issue gathered increased attention after Jaman spent two days picketing and gathering petition signatures, seeking pool facility improvements.Her goal now: to move the YMCA and the city to provide a pool locker room space “for women and children who do not want to mix it up for their own dignity and well-being.”
The Daily Wire has more on Jaman’s statements to the city council:
Jaman told the city council, as can be seen here, “My experience after having my swim was hearing a man’s voice in the women’s dressing area and seeing a man in a woman’s swimsuit watching little girls pull down their bathing suits in order to use the toilets in the dressing room. I reacted by telling him to leave, and the consequence is that I have been banned from the pool.”“There is no signage informing women the shower room is now all-gender and what that means, nor have parents been informed of what they can expect with these new policies,” she declared. “The Y has not provided any dressing shower room options for women who do not want to be exposed to men who identify as women. It is unconscionable that the YMCA would implement these new policies without clearly informing pool patrons and parents.”She concluded, “The YMCA, the city, the police and sheriffs, the parents, the professionals who assist victims of voyeurism, peeping Toms, pedophilia and assault need to come together figure too out how to make the new policies work for all pool patrons, not just one group. How to keep children, who are less able to discriminate, safe. It is ironic that women who discriminate when a situation threatens their safety or their children — a message from our ancestors — are now accused of discrimination as if they have made someone else a victim.”
You can watch Jaman’s statement to the city council here. The room erupts in applause when she finishes speaking, much to the chagrin of the council leader who bangs his gavel and states that the citizens must “keep it orderly.” Apparently, clapping in approval of wrongthink is unacceptable “disorder.”
The Olympic Peninsula YMCA responded to the disturbing treatment of Jaman in both a public post and via an email sent to members. LI received the email from a concerned citizen who has asked not to be identified.
The statements are similar, and the clear message is that the organization is happy to ostracize and insult anyone who does not embrace forcing women and girls to be in situations where they are undressed or undressing to do so in front of biological men.
Olympic Peninsula YMCA cites state law but underscores their own stance by referring to people who don’t want themselves or their children in these situations as the perpetrators of “discrimination, hatred, derogatory or unwelcome comments, intimidation.” Treating people who object to this outrage with “discrimination, hatred, derogatory or unwelcome comments, intimidation,” however, is just fine.
From the Olympic Peninsula YMCA’s official statement (archive link):
The Olympic Peninsula YMCA is an organization that welcomes all people. At the Y, we strive to create communities that are inclusive and socially just so that all people can thrive. We will not tolerate bias, hatred, or discrimination that leads to the oppression of individuals or communities. We will ensure sustained and meaningful progress toward equity and human dignity for all.
On Monday, August 1, a small group of community members expressed their concerns regarding the Mountain View Pool changing rooms specifically related to a transgender person. There was a small gathering of people outside Mountain View Commons discussing this issue.
. . . . The law states, “entities shall allow individuals the use of gender-segregated facilities, such as restrooms, locker rooms, dressing rooms, and homeless or emergency shelters, that are consistent with that individual’s gender expression or gender identity.”The Y will uphold and respect this law in regards to YMCA staff, members, and program participants that use Mountain View Pool. At the Y, our goal is to provide an atmosphere free from discrimination, hatred, derogatory or unwelcome comments, intimidation, or actions based on an individual’s sex, age, race, ethnicity, religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression or any other legally protected status.
The official email obtained by LI:
Dear [______],I’m reaching out today as you may have read news stories around an incident at the Mountain View Pool, which we manage, as part of our YMCA of Jefferson County branch. This has caused many members to ask questions surrounding our policies and our Code of Conduct and I’d like to use this opportunity to clarify these.Our Code of Conduct policy states: “At the Y, we strive to provide an atmosphere free from: discrimination, hatred, derogatory or unwelcome comments, intimidation, conduct or actions of sexual nature, or actions based on an individual’s sex, age, race, ethnicity, religion, disability, sexual orientation, or any other legal protected status.” Anyone violating this Code of Conduct may have their membership revoked.The safety and well-being of children in our care always has been and always will be a top priority. We are committed to providing a safe environment for every person in our programs, most importantly children who are entrusted to our care. We have a series of measures in place to keep kids safe including background checks for staff; training for child abuse prevention, recognition and response; and ensuring that staff are not alone with a child at any point in time.As a community-based nonprofit organization, we are committed to reflecting the diverse communities we serve, and to providing a safe, inclusive environment for all. Since 2016, when WAC 162-32-060 went into effect, we have operated in accordance with the law which gives people the right to access the locker rooms, changing rooms, and bathrooms that align with their gender identity.I want to thank you for your support as these policies keep all Y members safe, and so that we can be an organization that is welcoming and inclusive for all.Please contact me should you have any questions or concerns.
This is typical leftist ‘thinking’: discrimination against the vast majority of people in the name of keeping a tiny minority “safe” from “unwelcome comments” justifies treating normal people as near-criminals for reasonably objecting to sharing spaces in which they are undressed and are subject to feeling shame, discomfort, and/or vulnerable in the presence of members of the opposite sex. And no, waking up one morning and declaring you feel like a woman does not make you one, and forcing our entire society to accept that premise is dangerous and delusional.
The real abuse here was toward Jaman who was falsely accused of being a bigot and a hater, then threatened with calls to law enforcement and banned for life from the pool she had enjoyed for 35 years. This is not justice, this is not rational. It’s the exact opposite of both.
If the Olympic Peninsula YMCA wants to have safe spaces for biological men to use or apparently just to hang out in changing rooms and showers with women and little girls, they are welcome to it. This is not a school or other venue at which women and girls are compelled to attend. No woman or mom with little girls who feels unsafe or otherwise uncomfortable should return there until this egregious affront is corrected and accommodations are made to keep women and little girls safe from situations that are morally objectionable and just plain skeevy.
Note, too, that it is unlikely this is the only such incident; it’s just one that has become public. How many women is this happening to across the country? Their stories need to be heard, as well, so if you know of or have been the victim of this kind of documented ideological and moral tyranny, please reach out to us and let us know. The more light we can shine on this, the better.
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