Alabama High School Prom Plus Lesbian Equals No Prom?

Some bigots simply need to be taken out behind the woodshed and soundly beaten about the head with a clue-by-four.

It seems that the principal of Tharptown High School in Russellville, Alabama, Gary Odom, is offended that at least one of his students is a lesbian, and she intends to bring her girlfriend to the prom. He’s so upset, in fact, that he’s threatening to cancel the prom altogether.

From the ACLU’s “Russellville, Alabama School Prom Discrimination”:

Cynthia Stewart, a 17-year-old junior at Tharptown High School in northern Alabama, is a member of her school’s prom planning committee, had personally raised over $200 for the prom, and created the theme her classmates had chosen for the dance. She is also an out lesbian.

Sounds to me like she’s a pretty cool kid. But things get more interesting as the prom itself draws near:

When Cynthia approached her principal to ask if she could bring her girlfriend with her to the prom, he said no. He also made Cynthia remove a sticker she was wearing that said, “I am a lesbian,” telling her, “You don’t have that much freedom of speech at school.” Cynthia’s aunt and guardian, Kathy Baker, then appealed the principal’s decision to the school board. But the board let the decision to bar Cynthia from bringing her girlfriend to the prom stand.

I’m guessing that the Franklin County Schools are about to get a heaping helping of some well-deserved legal whoop-ass delivered to them from the ACLU.

If you’d like to contact the school, or principal Gary Odom himself, you can do so from the Tharptown High School web page. Their address and telephone number are there as well in the event that you’d rather speak to them personally or send a card or letter.

10 comments

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  1. Well isn’t it nice to see blatant bigotry alive and well in 2009 in Alabama…. this poor girl deserves an award for daring to come out down there !..

    I’m writing to the school…..

    • chaosagent on 2009/11/11 at 13:03
    • Reply

    Alabama? Bigots? Not all that surprising, but it’s complete bullshit discrimination just the same. I hope they do get a heaping helping of whoop-ass.

  2. I absolutely and totally agree with you here. You have two religious worldviews in conflict so what should we do.

    I have argued that we should get rid of public schools altogether and have all schooling be privately done.

    Parents should get a grant for the kids which can be spent on the school of their choice or even homeschool if that is what they decide to do.

    Values can separate us and that is why I support elections; however, what do you do when values are in conflict?

    Christian parents as well as every other religion out there has a right to not want their kids exposed to alternative lifestyles and as I parent I agree. We should not force values on the kids. We should allow the parents to choose which school their kids go to.

    In this way, we can still have elections to determine what is normative in society done by adults. In addition, we would empower parents to raise their children as they see fit!

    I mean, I am sure that the lesbian doesn’t want to be forced to listen to a minister explain the gospel to them! The flip is true in that Christian parents don’t want their kids to be forced to listen to the religious secularist preach their values.

    Parents simply don’t want kids being forced to do things so they should have options.

    Brilliant post! I think your argument pretty much ends public education as we know it and moves us forward in the evolutionary superior method of school choice!

      • chaosagent on 2009/11/11 at 15:25
      • Reply

      zdenny said: “I absolutely and totally agree with you here. You have two religious worldviews in conflict so what should we do.”

      Please explain to me where the fuck religion was brought up in that article in regards to the young lady in question being treated unfairly? This is not a religious question. It’s a question of one asshole stepping on another’s freedom of speech. Where does the religion fit in? Oh, I see. Fucking bullshit views that are being pushed on others in a public setting where religion has no place. It’s fine if he wants to think that this young lady is wrong, but that doesn’t give him the right to discriminate against her because of his backwards idiotic middle age belief system. Nothing in the original article brought up religion. Get over yourself.

      zdenny said: “I have argued that we should get rid of public schools altogether and have all schooling be privately done.

      “Parents should get a grant for the kids which can be spent on the school of their choice or even homeschool if that is what they decide to do.”

      Seriously, get the fuck over yourself. If you don’t agree with the public school system, don’t use it. You have other options. Send your kids to private school or homeschool them. You want a grant to indoctrinate your kids? From where? The government? Um, no, I don’t think so. I sure the hell am not going to subsidize little fundie Jesus zombie worshippers. You wouldn’t want to subsidize atheist schools would you? I don’t think so. You have choices. Pick one, but don’t expect me to pay for you to indoctrinate your kids. You want that, do it your damn self.

      zdenny said: “Christian parents as well as every other religion out there has a right to not want their kids exposed to alternative lifestyles and as I parent I agree. We should not force values on the kids. We should allow the parents to choose which school their kids go to.”

      LOLOLOLOLOL! Oh noes! My kids might get the ghey if they’re around such a horrible thing! You know what? You are forcing values on kids by not letting them see that there are other choices for people other than the little cookie cutter fantasy world bullshit of daddy and mommy and kids. What the hell are you going to do if they move out of your precious little sphere of control and realize they maybe like someone of the same sex? Are you going to have them sent to re-educate them because being gay is wrong? Life isn’t as simple as you would like to think. Kids aren’t stupid. You can hide things all you want from them. You’ll see when they get older and they start to disagree with you. Especially when they get outside mommy and daddy’s protective bubble.

      zdenny said: “I mean, I am sure that the lesbian doesn’t want to be forced to listen to a minister explain the gospel to them! The flip is true in that Christian parents don’t want their kids to be forced to listen to the religious secularist preach their values.”

      LOLOLOLOLOL! You don’t know many lesbians do you? Or gay men either? You do know that there are churches out there that don’t think that being gay is a horrible thing right? I have a rather good friend who is a lesbian who enjoys going to church with her son. She wouldn’t have a problem at all listening to a sermon. Not all gay people are averse to x-tian beliefs. And not all churches think you can catch the ghey. Maybe a little research or broadening of your horizons about such things would help you. Unless you’re afraid to step outside that protective little bubble that is.

      • Mossa on 2009/11/14 at 11:19
      • Reply

      zdenny

      What do this have to do with religion? Do you know what religion is?

  3. There’s a difference..school is a place that should be without any bigotry or religion whatsoever and everyone should get the same schooling and same chances…and learn that hatred, bigotry and difference are not wrong (just because some book of bronze age fairy tales written by goat shaggers says it’s so does not make it right and proper).

    Religion should be made to be a private activity and not be allowed to mentioned in schools or in public..and should only be practised by consenting adults. Religion ‘pushed” on children by parents, priests or schools is mental child abuse and should be stopped.

  4. Zdenny, sheltering your children from other people that just happen to live lives that you don’t agree with, is not your prerogative. All that does is fosters bigotry, and once these children enter the real world where they might meet a lesbian, they will not understand that this lesbian is also a human being with human rights and human emotions.

    I do however support homeschooling. If you want to teach your kids that the Bible is right and science is wrong, that’s the best place to do it, rather than trying to put the Bible into schools. Your kids will be disadvantaged in the real world when reality does not conform to what they’ve been taught, but hey, that’s your own look-out.

  5. In other words, you are saying that the state has the right to force it values on my kids. This is both wrong and immoral. I am a strong supporter of parent rights. Parents have a right to oversee their children’s education. Hitler also denied parents right using the education system for indoctrination. I think we should learn from the past because today’s secularists are repeating the mistakes of the past.

    If you really want public education to work, then you will have to affirm freedom of religion and freedom of speech in the classroom for everyone. We don’t have that right now. When you have people going to jail for criticizing the theory of evolution, you don’t have freedom in education, just indoctrination.

    I remember very vividly the daily attacks from the secularists against Christianity in the public school. The Christian teachers were not granted the same rights to attack the opposing position and knew that if they did they would be fired.

    When you have one-sided indoctrination as I had experienced, then you have a system that parents need to protect their children from. I just wish the secularist had not corrupted education because they have become indoctrination centers rather than education center that encourage people to think for themselves.

    1. In other words, you are saying that the state has the right to force it values on my kids. This is both wrong and immoral. I am a strong supporter of parent rights. Parents have a right to oversee their children’s education. Hitler also denied parents right using the education system for indoctrination. I think we should learn from the past because today’s secularists are repeating the mistakes of the past.

      Didn’t take long to make it to Godwin’s law. Zdenny: You just lost the argument.

      Yes! I am saying that it is the duty of the state to bring your children, kicking and screaming if need be, into line with the mores of a just society. It was bigots exactly like you, using exactly the same language, who fought tooth and nail to keep schools segregated in the 1950’s.

      You sound very much like George Wallace, trying his best to keep his campaign promise of “segregation now, segregation tomorrow and segregation forever” as he blocked the entrance to Foster Auditorium to prevent three African-Americans from registering as students at the University of Alabama.

      A federal judge had ordered that they be admitted as students, and forbade Governor Wallace from interfering. Flanked by federal marshals, Deputy Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach told Governor Wallace to step aside. Wallace, however, cut Katzenbach off and refused, giving a speech on States’ rights. Katzenbach then called President John F. Kennedy, who mobilized the Alabama National Guard. Brigadier General Henry Graham then commanded Wallace to step aside, saying, “Sir, it is my sad duty to ask you to step aside under the orders of the President of the United States.” Wallace then spoke further, but eventually moved.

      No matter what your ideas are regarding the equality of human beings in this country, your hatred will show, as it has today, and you will be seen as the homophobic bigot that you are.

    • chaosagent on 2009/11/11 at 17:46
    • Reply

    zdenny said: “In other words, you are saying that the state has the right to force it values on my kids. This is both wrong and immoral. I am a strong supporter of parent rights. Parents have a right to oversee their children’s education. Hitler also denied parents right using the education system for indoctrination. I think we should learn from the past because today’s secularists are repeating the mistakes of the past.”

    Because you can discriminate against a gay child? Forcing values on you? UMMM NO! How about you’re forcing your bullshit values on everyone else. I don’t believe in that sky fairy/zombie jebus nonsense and I really don’t want it pushed on me. You don’t like equality in the schools? You have options. Homeschool or private school. That’s it. Learning from mistakes of the past? YOU’RE DOIN’ IT WRONG! Discriminate against the gay students. School segregation. Enough said.

    zdenny said: “If you really want public education to work, then you will have to affirm freedom of religion and freedom of speech in the classroom for everyone. We don’t have that right now. When you have people going to jail for criticizing the theory of evolution, you don’t have freedom in education, just indoctrination.”

    BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Where exactly are people being imprisioned for ‘criticizing’ evolution and when was evolution brought into the discussion on discrimination against gays? Wow, way to avoid the issue. How quaint. Does everything relate to your little zombie jebus fantasy?

    zdenny said: “I remember very vividly the daily attacks from the secularists against Christianity in the public school. The Christian teachers were not granted the same rights to attack the opposing position and knew that if they did they would be fired.”

    Really? Where was this? I’ve heard tons of cases where it’s the other way around. The students that aren’t x-tain are the ones that are being beat up on because the town supports the fundie teachers that want to spew nonsense in the schools. And it’s not just against atheists. It’s against jews, muslims, hindus. Oh you poor little oppressed x-tians. Get the fuck over your persecution complex bullshit.

    zdenny said: “When you have one-sided indoctrination as I had experienced, then you have a system that parents need to protect their children from. I just wish the secularist had not corrupted education because they have become indoctrination centers rather than education center that encourage people to think for themselves.”

    I agree. Kids should be protected from one sided indoctrination. But you can’t have it both ways. You say you’re for protecting children from things that you don’t agree with and protecting them from one sided indoctrination. HMMMMM…. you’re doing it wrong.

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