Yes, I'm declaring the townspeople and school board of Fulton, Mississippi official Worst People of the Month and it's only the 8th. Because not only did they
cancel the official school prom just because one girl--Constance McMillen--wanted the freedom to ask the person of her choice to accompany her (a date that happened to be another girl, and not just any girl--her steady girlfriend!),
but they also scheduled two unofficial proms to happen at the same time. One was for all of the God-fearing, America-loving, hip-grinding, heterosexual kids who ostracized McMillen for their elders' petty administrative decision to shut down the original event, and no doubt a handful of closeted kids who are either praying really hard for college to get here or will now remain closeted for years to come, having seen how Fulton welcomes "their kind."
The other one was for McMillen, her girlfriend, two students with learning disabilities, and three other unspecified students that were also deemed unworthy to attend the "normal" event. The students were deliberately sent to an empty room at a country club, I can only assume so as not to disrupt the purity *cough, cough* of the
rescheduled private real prom.
So what did the town of Fulton, Mississippi learn this spring? Well, it's a message that isn't exactly new to those parts of America that still live by the code of "if you're not a winner, you're a loser." This model--one that ruled my own mid-sized Oklahoma town--provides a space for thin, white, heterosexual, able-bodied persons while seeking to exclude those who fall outside of it.
If these supposed misfits won't stay quiet in the face of your bigotry and exclusion, you simply try the other tactic--send them away together. Send them to the prom across town for maximum hurt and humiliation, the contemporary equivalent of a
medieval Ship of Fools.So congratulations parents of Fulton, Mississippi. You've successfully demonstrated to your children how to swiftly punish deviation from an impossible paradigm, thus ensuring that a cycle of hate and self-loathing is safe for yet another generation of kids that might otherwise have been okay.
Let's just hope they're able to continue ignoring that "Love thy neighbor as thyself" commandment as easily as you seem to have swept it under the rug.
Comments (7)
Well said
Very well said, indeed.
Some people might have a problem with the title. I'm kind of on the fence on that. I guess that if there wasn't a substantial opposition to this atrocity from the townspeople, then they might deserve to be collectively scorned. Sure, there might be *some* folks there that find this as appalling as us. But, either the number is so smal as to be irrelevant, or their silence makes them accomplices.
I smell another lawsuit. And I certainly hope she wins big.
@Unstoppable_Inner_Strength - Yes, I didn't choose the title lightly. Even in my hometown there were people who didn't ascribe to this system. But the silence part is key--unless townspeople who don't agree speak out, the vast majority of parents and students who obviously sought to humiliate these students stands as the rule despite any possible exceptions. It's one thing to sit on the fence regarding the ACLU case but it's entirely another to actually rub it in and hold a separate prom for the "normal" kids. Perhaps I'm a bit harsh for the town, but no accounts of solidarity have emerged from the county. Only those from others across the country, like these cool kids: http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2010/03/25/McMillen_and_Girlfriend_Invited_to_California_Prom/
Wow! Very petty and sad.
Why is it such a big deal whether she attends or not? Those other kids too. I don't understand... is their presence that disruptive?
@sweetsweetsugarjunkie - Oh, you know. It's that same tired song and dance of "I don't hate gay people, I just don't agree with their 'lifestyle'" or "I just don't want it in my face." It could also be the irrational belief that if you don't see something it will cease to exist. It's all about fear and fear never makes sense.