CNN: Gay High School Student Kept Out Of Yearbook By Homophobic Principal

[Hissyspit]

Run time: 04:48 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXP4i_5GwkY   Posted on YouTube: June 15, 2010 By YouTube Member: MoxNewsDotCom Views on YouTube: 3   Posted on DU: June 15, 2010 By DU Member: Hissyspit Views on DU: 3820

 
CNN: June 14, 2010.

[Ken Burch]

1. No surprise

Mississippi, where they're STILL fighting against the 20th Century while the rest of the planet is living in the 21st.

[SemiCharmedQuark]

7. It's not confined to the south. The president doesn't support equal rights

As long as gay individuals are kept in a separate category, they will forever be "them" and people will continue to segregate.

[bluestateguy]

2. The dumbest people I have ever met are public school administrators

Stupid, bureaucratic, bungling boobs.

[RKP5637]

10. Administrations like this are IMO sociopathic bigots that abuse power, love being

control freaks and provoking hatred. The gay struggle gives them an opportunity to exercise their hatred on an easy target IMO. Just the brief picture of the guy in the clip, you can pretty much tell a lot about him. All the problems of the world, all the problems of the educational system and people like this thrive/love provoking hatred and divisiveness from a position of power.

Until we have a national policy, get DADT settled, gay marriage settled, etc. this crap will go on. Even after equal rights are settled by law it will still go on, but at least civil rights for gays will be law, hopefully.

I look at racism rising its ugly head again in this country... I had thought that was on its way to being settled in the 60's and was improving, but no... I'm beginning to think a fair number of Americans like targets for hatred. If the R's get their way and get religion into government, for example, then we will see the same with religious bigots condemning others. They might even get a chance to get their jollies by bringing back the inquisitions to persecute those they deem not patriotic enough, not religious enough, not the "real" Americans.

[bookman]

47. Ditto

n/t

[Jamastiene]

3. School officials who actively look for ways to whip up more anti-gay sentiment

need to have their asses kicked.

I know the types of people they are. They don't give a shit when another gay kid commits suicide or attempts it and is maimed for life. They don't care one iota the psychological harm they are causing those teens. They KNOW they are causing irreparable psychological harm to those teens. And they don't care.

For that, they need to have their asses kicked for making gay teens have to go through a bunch of unnecessary bullshit.

[RKP5637]

11. Yep, please see my post #10. I think this type of behavior by officials like

this runs deeper than just anti-gay. We've all seen them in school. They abuse power.

[WestSeattle2]

25. Well said! Nobody should be treated that poorly, but especially

kids. The adults involved should not be allowed anywhere near kids.

[awoke_in_2003]

28. yep, it is inexcusable...

they made her an un-person in her high school, and, if they had the power, would continue to do the same for the rest of her life. Heartless bastards.

[Loudmxr]

4. This is the hard lesson of a public figure.

When you make a public stand. You will be called names and you will be hurt.

I find it liberating to not be able to sue. But occasionally... it still hurts. :hug:

[Toasterlad]

13. What Exactly Are You Trying To Say?

Because it sounds like you're expressing sympathy for the bigoted administrator.

[GentryDixon]

15. Please explain your post.

My read is sympathy for the school administrator. Did you intend that to be the case?

[Loudmxr]

41. Sorry I have been away. No sympathy for a bigoted administrator.

But solidarity with a new public figure. I hope she fights on!!

I could not put into words a less harsh way of saying "you asked for this." I felt uncomfortable writing that so I was a bit vague. My apologies.

What I said was not at all in the pejorative sense. When you make a stand. When you decide that this looks right on you. When "these words" feel good coming out of your mouth.

You actually "ask" for criticism and must develop the strength to withstand it.

To say she was not seeking a public audience is not so. The picture would be "published" therefore available to the public.

I am a public figure covered under NYT vs Sullivan. I can't sue no matter what people say about me. (unless it meets a small defined and expensive criteria)

I find it liberating. "You're a Pinko communist murdering low down smakerwacker!" Dude.... you gotta do better than THAT!

But sometimes.. it still hurts.

But I ASKED for this!

I really did. That moment came many years ago when we had a discrimination issue with the schools and someone handed me a phone and said "It's the press and they want to talk to YOU."

Until then most of my seeking public audience was only for praise, since then it has been a different story. I am overjoyed at the choice I made to take that phone call and the life I have led since.

[dencol]

43. So being true to oneself is "asking" for this?

Fighting for the right to be in a damned yearbook isn't asking for the treatment she is getting. That doesn't make any sense.

[tomm2thumbs]

5. Administrators wasting all that time, effort & heartache to hate?

sound like unhappy people to me - wonder what is eating inside them

nothing good

[defendandprotect]

23. Agree . . . but they're also trying to preserve and teach hatred . . . .

can't be out there alone!

[awoke_in_2003]

29. as with most right-wingers...

they live in fear that somewhere, someone, is enjoying themselves.

[Shining Jack]

6. K&R

It's totally heartbreaking.That's how I feel right now after being shocked then furious.:(

[Fearless]

16. +1

[awoke_in_2003]

30. I was not the most popular

person in high school, but I could not imagine the pain that comes with realizing your own high school does not even acknowledge your presence.

[democrat0986]

8. This is sad man

It's just not right. I hate this crap. Who the fuck is she hurting? I don't see where these people get off man.

[keroro gunsou]

14. they get off

every time they get to use what little power they have. today it's a gay kid's yearbook photo... tomorrow, it could be whatever sub-group the decide is "unworthy." i took a lot of that crap in grade school and high school, not for being gay (which i am not), but for being that annoying little shit that dared to ask questions. needless to say, i think the principal of my grade school enjoyed lecturing me about how i was nothing but trouble and i should just sit down and shut up. and this was catholic school, not public, but ignorant, power-mad admins are universal.

[awoke_in_2003]

31. they get off on being bigots...

it is no longer fashionable to hate African Americans, so we have to hate gay people. These people LIVE for hate- the hate makes them feel like they are better than what they really are.

[xchrom]

9. Recommend

[Sky Masterson]

12. That is beyond f"d up.

:(

[anthroguy101]

17. Okay, first they banned a lesbian from the dance, and now this?

That is why the third-world state of Mississippi is the laughing stock of the rest of the country and developed world. If I had a progressive company, they would be public enemy number 2 (next to Arizona).

[onpatrol98]

45. And you live...where?

[anthroguy101]

18. The girl and the students should protest. nt.

[mrbarber]

19. You know, as much as this shit infuriates me..

It's nice to see the vast majority of the youtube replies are in support of the student and not the Jabba lookalike principal. I'm old enough to remember when that wasn't the case.

[awoke_in_2003]

yeah, that was odd...

Run time: 04:48 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXP4i_5GwkY   Posted on YouTube: June 15, 2010 By YouTube Member: MoxNewsDotCom Views on YouTube: 3   Posted on DU: June 16, 2010 By DU Member: awoke_in_2003 Views on DU: 3820

 
youtube seems to be full of homophobes. Maybe I am being too hopeful about human nature, but when things are presented in such a personal way, a lot of people seem to rally around the underdog.

[awoke_in_2003]

33. wow, that is odd...

I didn't paste the link to the video in my post, but there it is.

[Gormy Cuss]

20. What the hell is the problem with her wearing a tuxedo?

It's not like she's wearing a garish shirt and beer glasses. I know that some schools have these uniform codes for yearbook photos (a stupid idea IMHO unless the students wear uniforms to school) but she was wearing one of two acceptable attires. Requiring female students to wear moderately slutty black "drapes" is just weird.

[awoke_in_2003]

34. the problem is...

she fell outside the "norm"- America doesn't like that.

[Gormy Cuss]

37. Any high school that restricts clothing used in yearbook shots to that degree is a repressive place

and it boggles the mind that the parents and students don't protest it en masse. Hell, I was in junior high when we broke the dress code by wearing jeans in a coordinated event. WTF is wrong with these high school students, going along with it as if it matters?

[awoke_in_2003]

39. red states are different...

if I could afford it, I would move back to Cleveland. The south is just much to weird.

[defendandprotect]

21. Petty and cruel behavior by the Principal/administration --

And, ONE -- only ONE -- gay student in the entire High School--!!!

Yeah, that's likely!!


Patriarchal religion has intimidated even PARENTS sufficiently to abandon their own

children!!

[alp227]

22. Blame it on the American Family Association, which is based in MS.

That paired with the two persecuted lesbian students is making MS yet another American outcast besides AZ (anti-illegal immigrant) and TX (revisionist US history).

Meanwhile, who's replacing Campbell Brown? Although this is Brown's show John Roberts is anchoring.

[indy legend]

24. More of that "open minded""compassionate ,conservative,christian" love

Maybe if the POS administrator and other of these right-wing f*%ktards would spend a little time actually concentrating on education, Mississippi wouldn't be #50 in the nation in graduation rate. These conservative bastards just can't resist the urge to stick their bigoted noses in other peoples business and force their views on others. This young lady put in 12 years of school and her lasting memory of that accomplishment (a yearbook)is that she will be absent from the one memento of that accomplishment, like she never existed. Conservatives love this land of the free as long as they get to decide who gets to be free and just how free you get to be. I hate these damn people more everyday and that's quite an accomplishment because I have despised these f*#kers for the last 30+ years.

[billionbucks]

26. Fighting against students?

Why do these adults get their kicks out of bullying students? She is a tough and BRAVE young person, much more evolved than the "teachers" at her school. As a fellow teacher, those "people" give the profession a bad name.

[awoke_in_2003]

27. these fucking fuckers...

made her a non-person in her own high school. What a bunch of scared little people these are. K&R

[Dirigo]

36. School Administrators Leave One Student Behind For Ridicule & Scorn

The shame of it all is that this girl is a beautiful little girl. She is someones daughter that is loved and valued. She appears to have met all the criteria for graduating with her classmates, a right she earned yet we see neo-conservative Republicon bigotry rearing its ugly head in 2010 mind you. This isn't 1960, it is 2010. What is so criminal about being born gay and for a student to handle that fact maturely and openly. Who is in danger from this revelation? I am saddened for her parents disappointment and broken heart at how their loving daughter is being treated by being declared a non-person and erased from her graduation yearbook. I would like to see the state board of education step in on this matter and censure the incompetent principal. The education system owes this beautiful child a public apology and she should be enrolled in a college of her choice and the bill sent to the school that abused and humiliated her holding her up to ridicule and scorn. We're not talking about a social derelict here, nor a student who has a criminal rap sheet, a truant, a discipline problem, or a drug abuser. We're talking about a well adjusted fully functioning student who just happens to be gay, who probably has brown hair and probably has brown eyes. Does any of this matter, really. Isn't it hard enough being young today than to throw up roadblocks by hatefilled bigots in positions they are evidently incapable of managing? As a parent I would be outraged at such treatment. She is not a second class or a second rate student undeserving of recognition for her achievements. Shame on the fools and stooges responsible in bringing dishonor on the profession of teaching and school administration.

[awoke_in_2003]

38. welcome to DU...

in this country there are still two "acceptable" bigotries- homosexuality and atheism. As an atheist, I think the biggest problem is homophobia, as an atheist man and an atheist woman can still get married by the Justice of the Peace. I hope that, before i die, I get to witness an enlightened america- but I am not holding my breath.

[marshall]

32. Isn't this more about gender expression than sexual preference?

Related but not identical issues. She chooses to adopt the traditional masculine hairstyle and clothing, AND she is also a lesbian. The yearbook photo says nothing about her sexual preference, it's about her gender expression.

[Fearless]

40. The two are often very tightly linked.

[awoke_in_2003]

35. I can only rec this once...

but I will keep kicking it

[Divine Discontent]

42. what I heard with a smile was the most awesome thing in the video ---

I don't give up!



You go, girl!

This is clearly about gender expression, and, of course, anti-Gay bigotry. This young woman is awesome, and brave, and needs to be commended by someone with national significance, for being so put down by a bigoted adult administrator. Maybe Ellen will do something for her.

I am very impressed with her, and she's a cute young lady, and hope she has only joyful events from here on - they cannot keep us down!

[eyeofdelphi]

44. god that breaks my heart

where she's crying and asking "who would it hurt as much as it's hurting me if my picture was there," while she's pointing at the place in the yearbook where her picture should be.
it wouldn't hurt anyone like they're hurting you honey.
this makes me so sad and angry and sick. how is the behavior of this school even legal in this day and age? why in the hell do we still have don't ask don't tell? what will it take to knock some commom sense into this country?

[bigpenguin]

46. I love the tone

In Soledad's voice when she says "in America" at the end - as though she's trying to process how this shit could happen here - a great subtle commentary. Well done.