Tomorrow's leaders starting today
I'm sure by now you've heard about the Mississippi school district that canceled prom rather than let a girl wear a tuxedo and take her girlfriend. The actions of the school board offend me. The bravery of that lesbian teen in a small southern town astounds me.
Some background.
I was exposed to the concept of lesbian/gay issues at a very young age. Close family members and friends were homosexual, and it was explained to me that "Aunt X and Aunt Y love each other like mommies and daddies do," and I accepted it. As I got older, it really bothered that when Aunt X died, Aunt Y wouldn't receive her estate unless they'd made a Will stating so. It bothered me some family members ostracized them. It bothered me that a stranger on the street felt entitled to call them names just because of their sexual orientation (which, for the record, I feel is genetically based).
My first reaction to hearing the about the canceled prom was "Really? That's the message they want to send about homosexuality?" On the heels of that was, "Do they want to make this girl more of a target than she already is?" And then I really thought about the girl. So brave. Back in the day, I thought wearing my hair differently than everyone else was courageous. But this southern girl said, "Hey, I want to take my girlfriend to prom," and then went to school when the prom got canceled as a result. I'm proud of her.
Stand up for what you believe in. Be true to yourself.
Some background.
I was exposed to the concept of lesbian/gay issues at a very young age. Close family members and friends were homosexual, and it was explained to me that "Aunt X and Aunt Y love each other like mommies and daddies do," and I accepted it. As I got older, it really bothered that when Aunt X died, Aunt Y wouldn't receive her estate unless they'd made a Will stating so. It bothered me some family members ostracized them. It bothered me that a stranger on the street felt entitled to call them names just because of their sexual orientation (which, for the record, I feel is genetically based).
My first reaction to hearing the about the canceled prom was "Really? That's the message they want to send about homosexuality?" On the heels of that was, "Do they want to make this girl more of a target than she already is?" And then I really thought about the girl. So brave. Back in the day, I thought wearing my hair differently than everyone else was courageous. But this southern girl said, "Hey, I want to take my girlfriend to prom," and then went to school when the prom got canceled as a result. I'm proud of her.
Stand up for what you believe in. Be true to yourself.