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That鈥檚 what adults in Oklahoma had to say this week about a during her first week at Achille Public Schools. She is 12 years old.

A parent鈥檚 post on Facebook 鈥� 鈥渢he transgender [sic] is already using the girls [sic] bathroom鈥� 鈥斅燼ttracted . In just a few hours, had proliferated.

鈥淟et Parker whip his ass until he quits coming to school,鈥� wrote one man. Sixteen people reacted with 鈥渓ikes鈥� and 鈥渓aughing鈥� emojis.

Tell students to beat up Maddie in the bathroom, wrote another, so 鈥渋t [sic] won鈥檛 want to come back!鈥�

Achille Independent School District shut down for two days, concerned that it . Maddie's mom obtained an after she said the husband of the parent who wrote the original post blocked her in the road and "verbally assaulted" her after they dropped their children off at school.

The husband of the parent who wrote the original post blocked Maddie鈥檚 mother in the road and 鈥渧erbally assaulted her鈥� shortly after they dropped their children off at school; Maddie鈥檚 mom obtained a .

In rural towns and throughout the South, these are the stakes of LGBT bigotry 鈥� stakes that Alabamian knows only too well. Mathis lost his daughter Patti Sue to suicide in 1994 when she was just 23 years old.

鈥淚 regret very much the mean things I said to Patti when I found out she was gay,鈥� Mathis said from the pulpit of in Madison, Alabama, on Father鈥檚 Day. 鈥淚 realize now there was nothing wrong with Patti. Something was wrong with me.鈥�

Pattie Sue鈥檚 death plunged Mathis into a deep depression. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a while there where you don鈥檛 care if you live or die,鈥� he told Tori Truscheit for BuzzFeed News.

Truscheit wrote a in Alabama, inspired, in part, by a video that went viral last year of . As Truscheit writes:

What stood out about Mathis wasn鈥檛 just that he supported LGBT rights like few straight white men of his generation. What鈥檚 rare and compelling about Mathis is that he transformed his grief into tangible solidarity, putting his body on the line for queer and trans people.

For too many LGBT Alabamians, the idea of their own parents doing that is tragically far-fetched.

鈥淚t would mean the world to me,鈥� Lawrence Haliburton . 鈥淒oing anything would just be a big step for either one of them.鈥�

鈥淚f [my mom] was out there with me trying to push for LGBT rights and all that, I鈥檇 be overwhelmed,鈥� Jasmine McIntosh added.

The LGBT community is facing a slew of attacks from groups that want to enshrine bigotry into federal law, and a hate crime epidemic that stretches from coast to coast.

But nowhere is the ground for organizing and deep transformation of bigotry into acceptance more fertile than it is in the South. As Truscheit writes:

In other parts of the country, better laws may protect LGBT rights, but superficial 鈥渢olerance鈥� can mask bigotry right below the surface. The challenges of the Deep South, in contrast to milquetoast acceptance elsewhere, can forge a deep commitment to change.

鈥淭here鈥檚 almost an element of defiance for me in claiming my home,鈥� Dana Sweeney, 23, told me 鈥� present[ing] ... a coffee mug with a quote from activist Grace Lee Boggs on it: 鈥淭he most radical thing I ever did was to stay put.鈥�

That鈥檚 certainly what Maddie plans to do.

鈥淚鈥檓 going to keep my head held up high and stay strong and go to school,鈥� 鈥淎nd won鈥檛 let those bullies drag me down.鈥�

Neither will we.

The Editors.

P.S. Here are some other pieces we think are valuable this week:

• deserve better by Kristi Graunke and Will Tucker for The Marshall Project
• by Franklin Foer for The Atlantic
• by Jamelle Bouie for Slate
• By David S. Glosser for Politico

The is 1-800-273-8255. For LGBT-specific services, the is 1-866-488-7386. Other international suicide helplines can be found at .

澳彩开奖鈥檚 Weekend Readings are a weekly summary of the most important news reporting and commentary from around the country on civil rights, economic and racial inequality, and hate and extremism.聽Sign up to receive Weekend Readings every Saturday morning.

Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Reuters