Box Turtle Bulletin
News and commentary about the anti-gay lobby“Now you must raise your children up in a world where that union of man and box turtle is on the same legal footing as man and wife…”
News and commentary about the anti-gay lobbyOctober 14th, 2011
A 17-year-old Senior was caught kissing another male student in the high school’s band hall, and for that he was kicked off the cheerleading squad and suspended. That’s outrageous enough, but what adds to the problem is that he wasn’t caught by a teacher of another student, but by surveillance camera. Which leads him to believe he was being targeted by school official because of his sexual orientation.
“They never check cameras for anything unless something is stolen,” the young man said, asking not be identified. “We would be the ones getting caught because I’m sure we were the only ones, sexual orientation wise, being caught like that.”
As is true with high schools everywhere, kissing is common at Alice High School — among heterosexual couples. If he had been kissing a female, he says he would not have been suspended. “In this school [kissing] is everywhere, if that were the case, suspending everyone for that, half the school would be suspended,” he said.
The student’s parents met with the school administrator Thursday, who said that the principal’s decision would be under review. If there is any change in the decision, they will notify the parents next week. The parents say they will pursue further action if the student is not placed back on the cheerleading squad.
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Gaga Flashmob response unit
October 14th, 2011
Sounds like an episode of Glee. There should be a musical response.
Timothy (TRiG)
October 14th, 2011
That is absurdly blatant discrimination.
TRiG.
GDad
October 14th, 2011
We’re probably not seeing an increase in the number of cases of discrimination; we’re probably just seeing an increase in the coverage of these issues. This doesn’t make each instance less heinous at all. My hope is that by shining light in these dark corners, we will eventually reduce or eliminate the problem. (This is just a hypothesis; I don’t have data to back it up.)
I hope the best for the young man and his family.
Regan DuCasse
October 14th, 2011
Unbelievable.
Here in CA, we just had another on campus murder, but in Los Angeles. And 18 year old boy stabbed his 17 year old girlfriend to death during their lunch period.
He’d been a problem before, verbally abusing and threatening her.
Yet, he wasn’t even suspended, let alone expelled and criminally charged with threatening her.
But a boy KISSES another, and his school career is jeopardized?!
Violence= just fine.
Open affection between the same gender= punishment, suspension, possible expulsion, threats of being outed to parents, detention, public humiliation, harassment and bullying from peers, teachers or administrators.
I mean WTF?!
What kind of perverse world are we living in when casual affection is punished worse than violence towards another person?
God didn’t make it, truly screwed up MEN did.
iDavid
October 14th, 2011
If this cheerleader is the kisser, what’s the dope on the kissee?
TampaZeke
October 14th, 2011
@Regan, that is really sad and infuriating. Hopefully the young lady who was killed by her boyfriend won’t be pilloried and made out to be the villain (by defendants and the MEDIA) without being able to defend herself the way Lawrence King was.
Regan DuCasse
October 14th, 2011
No TampaZeke, thankfully, there is no ‘girlfriend panic defense’.
This boy was one of millions of males who think they are entitled to control whatever female is of interest to them.
I’ve mentioned here before that I directly have gone to the usual family org. leadership on the issue of their priorities.
No law enforcement credential moves them at all on the urgency and frequency in which a female, especially, is violated.
But there is ALL the TIME in the world to bitch, whine and attack gay people, no matter how innocuous the behavior by gay people.
They are the threat, but straight males willing to massacre their entire family or everyone in their ex wife’s place of employment, apparently aren’t anything worth even mentioning.
If I hadn’t DIRECTLY talked with the likes of Brian Brown and so on, about the issue, I wouldn’t have believed how idiotic these people’s pursuit was.
My appeals fell on deaf ears.
It does make me so sad, that a boy especially, is in more danger if he expressed the kind of love and concern for a friend in trying to hold his hand, than if he’d brought a gun to school.
Or at least, that’s the moral equivalent to the knuckleheads we have to deal with.
Well, I don’t know if you saw a “What Would You Do” episode where people called the police on affectionate same sex couples. And we know some couples have gotten arrested as if committing an act of indecent exposure.
But I bet if they’d been carrying a gun in a holster, nobody would have thought a thing of it.
Seriously, the police DO have better things to do.
Wish the homophobes would figure that out.
Me
October 15th, 2011
They should be kicked out of school and be forced to seek help. It goes against nature, and it is downright GROSS!
StraightGuy
October 15th, 2011
Homosexuality is caused by one of two things: 1) the person has a hormonal imbalance 2) the person has major emotional issues. Homosexuality is a sickness and should be treated as such.
Marauder
October 15th, 2011
“Texas Student Suspended For Kissing Another Boy” would be a better headline; people are gay, actions are not. I’m a bisexual female, and if I kiss my boyfriend, that’s not a “straight kiss” because I’m not straight. That’s me kissing my boyfriend.
Erin
October 15th, 2011
Me and straight guy (you wish): This is a forum for intelligent people. Perhaps your willful ignorance will fit in better over at the Fox News site.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEuDDvqYbVw
http://www.apa.org/topics/sexuality/orientation.aspx
Erin
October 15th, 2011
Either evolve with the rest of educated and civilized humanity, or get the hwll outta the way.
Ben in Oakland
October 15th, 2011
But..so called straight guy…
What are stupidity, ignorance, and bigotry caused by?
Oh,yes.
The are caused by stupidity, ignorance, and bigotry.
Must be a religio-genetic condition. I’m sure help s available to you.
enough already
October 15th, 2011
When we’re in Europe and I mention such things to my friends and acquaintances, they look them up because they simply can’t believe that it is legal to discriminate against gays, even in the US.
I used to think there would come a day when such an outrage would lead to a Supreme Court decision which granted us protection.
After the mistrial of Larry King’s killer, I have abandoned such notions.
Let the Republicans win in 2012 and it’s going to be a very dark time for the queer community these next years.
jOHN
October 16th, 2011
Usually it is people complaining that they do not want to have “gay” forced upon them. Now it appears that they do not want to have to go looking for a private moment on video tape!
Joel
October 17th, 2011
God I hope that by the time I die, this sort of news is ridiculized by EVERYONE. Hopefully we wil get there… we just need more kissing.
Timothy Kincaid
October 19th, 2011
jOHN,
No. You misquote.
They almost always use the phrase “having homosexuality shoved down my throat”. I don’t know why they use that phrase (paging Dr. Frued) but they do.
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