Anti-Gay hatred rampant in Florida High School

By Sweet Pea and Rachel

This one is a little weird, but not unexpected, but you might want to brace yourself anyhow. The Ponce de Leon High School in the Florida panhandle has decided that it would be a really cool idea to ban symbols and speech which might prove supportive of GLBT rights. No, I am not kidding. After lesbian student was harassed the demented school board not only refused to help the abused student; the board went so far as to side with the attackers by banning Gay symbols and speech which might be deemed as supportive of the GLBT community. The end result is an atmosphere of fear and censorship in which homophobic students will be encouraged to act out against gay students or against those who are supportive of equal rights for the GLBT community. Moreover the board has created an atmosphere within an institution of learning in which the free exchange of ideas has been successfully stifled. Not exactly something one thinks about when he or she hears the term education.

And what was the board’s excuse? Initially it stated that it felt that the use of symbols such as rainbow flags or even shoes or T shirts emblazoned with expressions of support for the gay community might prove “disrupptive.” But then the board and its attorney went so far as to suggest that such symbols might promote “illegal organizations.” A ridicules suggestion if ever there were one. Why it’s enough to make one ask the obvious question: since when did harassment on the behalf of homophobic students become legal while supporting that student can be construed as promoting “an illegal organization.” It seems to me that the real crimes here are being comitted by the board and its attorney who are in effect aiding the free low of hate speech while putting a damper on free speech and freedom of expression.

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An important post from Written Rebellion..

Melissa is a wonderful woman and a fantastic blogger. She is strong, she is an activist and damn does she get busy when she gets pissed about inequality and hate crimes. This is quite long and happened over a period of days..but I love this post and had to reprint it here..hoping more people will see how hate crimes are swept under the friggin rug by our police departments around these here United States of America. I heart you M! - Dusty

Thursday, November 08, 2007
So Proud I Could Burst

This is Jess. She’s one of the most amazingly strong and courageous women I know. I first met her more than eight years ago when she was moved to southern California to become a union organizer. At that time, we were assigned to the same campaign and she quickly became my closest friend and ally in the movement for economic justice.

When we first met, she had not yet come out to her immediate family. I had the privilege of loving her and supporting her through that process, and she was an inspiration of hope to me when I divorced. In a sense, we were both working on our identities, learning and growing together.

Our kindred friendship has endured a vast geographical separation, and over these years I have grown to love and respect her even more. We have both faced significant challenges over the years, and we have managed to become stronger, better women as a consequence.

The events of last Saturday night inspired my poem. I was just so angry. Angry at the women who attacked her, angry at the society that condones this behavior, angry that I live more than 1,200 miles away and could not be with her to support and comfort her.

Then, when she sent me a link to the local news article that described her assault, I became even angrier:

Two random assault attacks that occurred over the weekend have police looking for answers in Missoula.

Authorities say that four college-aged males attacked another male student while he was walking on the UM Footbridge at 2:30 a.m. Saturday. Police say the victim was accosted, hit in the face, and kicked repeatedly.

Then less than 24 hours later, at 9:30 p.m. Saturday, a woman was accosted on Main Street in front of the Missoula Public Library. She says she recognized her attackers from an earlier incident at the Press Box. The victim claims four women followed her in their car and then attacked her, punching and kicking her until she couldn’t move anymore. Police say the suspects then stole her wallet and that alcohol was a factor in this assault.

Authorities are warning people who are out walking at night to be mindful of the areas where they choose to walk and if possible always walk with a group of people.

If you have any information about either of these assaults contact the Missoula Police Department.

I was furious that the local media had failed to mention that she had been attacked because she is a lesbian. How could they have left out such an important part of the story? I clicked on the appropriate link and I wrote this letter, which I also sent to Missoula’s local newspaper:

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