Mississippi High school cancels prom after student wanted to bring same sex date. [Archive]

pssorens

03-11-2010, 06:33 PM

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_lesbian_prom_date

It's one of those things that drives me nuts. Didn't the school boards of the deep south learn this lesson once already. discrimination based on sex orientation is still discrimination.

I've got more to say on this topic, but I'm still a little wound up over the topic. I'll post more latter.

ThePhoneGoddess

03-11-2010, 06:44 PM

http://http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-03-10-noprom_N.htm

18 year old lesbian Constance wanted to wear a tux and bring her girlfriend to prom. Her high school, in the heart of the bible belt, has explicit rules against same sex dates to school events. The ACLU got involved and told the school board they could not legally make such a rule.

The school's response? It canceled prom for everyone!

And not only that, but it publicly encouraged the community to come together and put on their own prom for the students---presumably, one which could legally exclude lesbian couples.

Sheesh, let's just put a target on the girl's back, why don't you?

smileyeagle1021

03-11-2010, 07:25 PM

What do you expect from the deep south... when it comes to bigotry (especially religiously based) they never learn down there.

pssorens

03-11-2010, 07:48 PM

I'm also worried that from the reaction that the student got from her classmates, the school has created an atmosphere for a hate crime to occur.

smileyeagle1021

03-11-2010, 07:52 PM

pssorens, sadly to say, it's so deep in the bible belt, the atmosphere for a hate crime was already there... the school just introduced a match to the fuel.

McDreidel09

03-11-2010, 08:04 PM

The principal at my old high school tried to do this. He banned same sex pairings at Prom. When there was a backlash, he banned having couples rates at all. You could still bring someone that did not attend the school (after filling out all of the paper work).

The policy is bull crap. Nobody is really looking at who is there. The kids are just dancing.

elsporko

03-11-2010, 08:21 PM

Greenday

03-11-2010, 08:27 PM

Seems like the problem could have been avoided had she agreed to not refer to her guest as a date. It wouldn't have been fair but everybody could have still had a prom. I think there are those who saw this as an opportunity to push an agenda and ran with it.

Morally, at least these girls were in the right. Instead of not being douchebags, the school refused to admit that they ARE douchebags and punished the whole school as a result. It was bound to happen sometime and that time is now.

Religion, continuing to cause more problems in the world than anything else...

telecom_goddess

03-11-2010, 09:03 PM

Seems like the problem could have been avoided had she agreed to not refer to her guest as a date. It wouldn't have been fair but everybody could have still had a prom. I think there are those who saw this as an opportunity to push an agenda and ran with it.

I agree that would have made lives a lot easier...but discrimination doesn't go away when people play it safe. If Rosa Parks hadn't stood her ground on the bus, where would black/african american people be today? People have to take a chance and make a stand for things to change in society.

I just hope that those girls don't pay for it in the end with their lives.

Boozy

03-11-2010, 10:16 PM

FYI - I've merged several threads on the same subject.

Edited to add: Please use the report button if you find any duplicates. Leaving a note in the thread isn't helpful unless a mod happens to stumble across it. Thanks. :)

Greenday

03-11-2010, 11:45 PM

My bad. I keep thinking the report button as a report inappropriate material button and forget that it has other functions.

Fryk

03-12-2010, 04:13 AM

I love the bullshit reasoning the school used in its "decision". "Oh, it'll be an educational distraction." Really? So prom is educational now?

smileyeagle1021

03-12-2010, 04:45 AM

Seems like the problem could have been avoided had she agreed to not refer to her guest as a date. It wouldn't have been fair but everybody could have still had a prom. I think there are those who saw this as an opportunity to push an agenda and ran with it.

And as someone else has mentioned, Rosa Parks could have avoided arrest had she simply given up her seat on the bus.
The only way to defeat Christian bigotry (be it against blacks or gays) is to stand up to them.

elsporko

03-12-2010, 05:31 AM

The Catholic church opposed racism against blacks, but I understand you have trouble realizing that a huge group doesn't have one opinion. Its just like how all lesbians wear flannel and all gay men prance around while drinking cosmos.

pssorens

03-12-2010, 06:10 AM

This school district is like a bad parody of a southern high school. It's been in trouble for school sponsored prayer. What's next, letting Fred Phelps become the sex- ed teacher?

@ Elsporko
I would be careful of using a Religious faction that burned anyone that disagreed with them at the stake for several centuries as a n example of tolerence.

elsporko

03-12-2010, 06:17 AM

Good point. We should after all judge a not by what they do at a certain relevant time but by what they did hundreds of years earlier.

Boozy

03-12-2010, 02:08 PM

How the did this get onto a discussion of the Catholic Church?

Back on topic, please.

smileyeagle1021

03-12-2010, 05:04 PM

Good point. We should after all judge a not by what they do at a certain relevant time but by what they did hundreds of years earlier.

Ditto, so let's keep it on topic of the present... in which case the Catholic church is definitely not who you want to fall back on when talking about gay rights and equality. That said, this isn't about the Catholic church (for once), it's about Fundamentalists... fundamentalists so hell bent on hating homosexuals that they would sacrifice their own children's proms just to deny a homosexual of a prom.

pssorens

03-12-2010, 06:42 PM

telecom_goddess

03-12-2010, 06:58 PM

Not so sure about that one. I think it has more to do with the fact that the private events they hope people will hold can freely exclude anyone with out getting the school district in any more hot water.

They shouldn't exclude anyone.....why can't the kids go with who they want for a date? It doesn't disrupt any "education"..the whole reasoning is the same ol' bs they have always used.

I think the kids should have their own prom....kinda like Footloose :) They pay for prom tickets anyway so this way the money can go towards their own dance.

Greenday

03-12-2010, 07:42 PM

They pay for prom tickets anyway so this way the money can go towards their own dance.

It'd probably be cheaper too.

telecom_goddess

03-12-2010, 07:44 PM

It'd probably be cheaper too.

Yeah it would...I always thought school proms were too expensive anyway. :p

AdminAssistant

03-12-2010, 09:08 PM

The AHA is offering to hold a prom for ALL of the students - http://www.americanhumanist.org/news/details/2010-03-humanists-prepare-to-hold-lgbt-inclusive-prom-in-miss

BlaqueKatt

03-13-2010, 05:40 PM

I think there are those who saw this as an opportunity to push an agenda and ran with it.

yup because darn those lesbians-they should hide who they are to "not make waves"

"There's two kinds of people in this world, when you boil it all down. You got your Talkers and your Doers. Most people are just Talkers, all they got is talk. But when its all said and done... it's the Doers who change this world, and when they do that, they change us. And that's why we never forget them. So which one are you? Do you just talk about it? Or do you stand up and do something about it? Because believe you me, all the rest of it is just coffee house bullshit. "

-Rocco-All saint's day

Fryk

03-13-2010, 08:17 PM

About the article... ahem....

AAAA HA HA HA HA HA HAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!
The mouth breathing primates tried to encourage a private group to host the prom, and they got it... too bad it's not a group that'll exclude the "wrong people". That's just.... delicious.

Wingates_Hellsing

03-14-2010, 05:09 AM

*ahem*

School: EPIC FAAAIIIIL!

AHA: EPIC WIN FOR THE WIN!

Also: Rocco = WIN as well.

elsporko

03-14-2010, 05:19 AM

yup because darn those lesbians-they should hide who they are to "not make waves"

"There's two kinds of people in this world, when you boil it all down. You got your Talkers and your Doers. Most people are just Talkers, all they got is talk. But when its all said and done... it's the Doers who change this world, and when they do that, they change us. And that's why we never forget them. So which one are you? Do you just talk about it? Or do you stand up and do something about it? Because believe you me, all the rest of it is just coffee house bullshit. "

-Rocco-All saint's day

I like your statement. On the other hand we have a teenage girl who is already probably not well liked in her town being put in a position to have been the one responsible for taking away prom. Its a good thing the group is holding one for them. It would be alot worse if instead the end of the story had the headline "Teenager Killed in Hate Crime" I think there could have been battles chosen that would be safer for those involved.

smileyeagle1021

03-14-2010, 08:42 AM

I think there could have been battles chosen that would be safer for those involved.

No battle is safe... simply being out is risking your life every single day of the year (well, technically everything you do is risking your life to some extent)... might as well be out in a way that might lead to change.

elsporko

03-15-2010, 02:13 AM

In your topic about hating America you mention some horrible crimes against gays. Those would be good times to make a stand. Making a teenage girl a pariah is not a good time to make a stand.

crashhelmet

03-15-2010, 07:29 AM

In your topic about hating America you mention some horrible crimes against gays. Those would be good times to make a stand. Making a teenage girl a pariah is not a good time to make a stand.

If I'm not mistaken, it's usually the pariahs that do make the stand. You'll find many people that will stand beside them, but rarely will you find someone standing up for something that no one else is when they're not affected by it.

Stands are taken a lot of times these crimes occur. Hates crimes of all sorts often bring new legislation as a result. While I wouldn't want to make a martyr of anyone, especially a teenager, often times there's no other way.

Most things don't get fixed unless we know they're broke. Up until this point, there was only the presumption of homophobia in that community. Regardless of whether or not she is martyred, she could have very well created the ripple that waves through the rest of the country. She could end up being one of the people in the movement for civil rights for the GLBT community that Rosa Parks, Joseph McNeil, or David Richmond were for the African American community.

CH

HYHYBT

03-16-2010, 01:24 AM

Also, you're assuming she knew, or ought to have known, that insisting on bringing her date to the prom would get the event cancelled.

insertNameHere

03-18-2010, 06:13 AM

I love the bullshit reasoning the school used in its "decision". "Oh, it'll be an educational distraction." Really? So prom is educational now?

Yes it is educational because the students will take all of the knowledge learned in sex-ed and apply it to their dates during and after prom. Except one thing, now all the guys are going to be watching these two girls go at it, ruins the whole sexcapades because other girls will start messing around with each other for attention. Then the guys will eventually start messing around with each other because ALL the girls are doing it. Proving that homosexuality is contagious and should be stopped. It is only right to keep the children safe! [end sarcasm]

Something tells me the 20K that the AHA offering will provide a much better prom the the school intended.

elsporko

03-18-2010, 02:18 PM

The sad thing is thats probably what the school thinks will happen, which is straight up stupid. Guys aren't going to start going at it if there are girls they can watch do it. They're more likely to start hooting and maybe find a kiddie pool that happens to be filled with pudding.

Fryk

03-19-2010, 01:08 AM

Damn, Sporko, I need to move to Mississippi to wherever all these pools of pudding are lying around. Anyone care to join?

C'mon, who's going to turn down sex AND pudding?!

telecom_goddess

03-19-2010, 02:54 PM

Damn, Sporko, I need to move to Mississippi to wherever all these pools of pudding are lying around. Anyone care to join?

C'mon, who's going to turn down sex AND pudding?!

Snicker......:p

BookstoreEscapee

03-20-2010, 02:22 AM

I was reading some of the posts on the ABC News story on this; there was one person arguing along the lines of "what about the other kids' right to not be made uncomfortable by the lesbian couple and the fact that a girl is wearing a tuxedo?!?!" Can someone tell me which Constitutional amendment guarantees you the right to not be made uncomfortable? I admit I'm no Constitutional scholar and I haven't read the entire thing, so maybe I missed it.... (Maybe it's the same one that guarantees that your freedom of speech means that no one can disagree or argue with you.)

The only way to defeat Christian bigotry (be it against blacks or gays) is to stand up to them.

Plenty of people supported the Civil Rights movement because they were Christians, whites and blacks both.
Granted, the majority of the anti-gay arguments I've heard boil down to religious reasons...

What's next, letting Fred Phelps become the sex- ed teacher?

He'd scare me into abstinence...! ;)

Nyoibo

03-20-2010, 03:29 AM

"what about the other kids' right to not be made uncomfortable by the lesbian couple and the fact that a girl is wearing a tuxedo?!?!"

Girls in properly cut tuxedos are hot.

BookstoreEscapee

03-20-2010, 04:04 AM

Girls in properly cut tuxedos are hot.

Hehe. There was girl in my class who wore pants to the prom. Not a tux, but a dressy velvet pantsuit-type thing.

I do not believe she was a lesbian.

elsporko

03-20-2010, 02:10 PM

KnitShoni

03-21-2010, 02:13 AM

Schools don't need to be in accordance to the constitution.

At all? Why not?

Arcade Man D

03-21-2010, 02:14 AM

Schools don't need to be in accordance to the constitution.

Decades of case law and Supreme Court precedents say the exact opposite. Public schools are government organizations and are thus constrained by the same rules as the rest of the government.

Slytovhand

03-21-2010, 02:55 AM

Query for all you lawyer-types: if the school cancels the prom, and then encourages the students to do their own without the girl, isn't that drawing a very (too) fine a distinction from holding it itself? After all, it could easily be seen as promoting the event themselves - moreso if they get actively involved in either hosting the event, or with 'regulating' it.

(yes, I did read the whole thread, so the point is moot, but for future events of this kind).

BookstoreEscapee

03-21-2010, 03:45 AM

Schools don't need to be in accordance to the constitution.

Uh, I think the courts would disagree. Yes, schools can curtail certain rights in the interest of actually educating students (freedom of speech doesn't mean you can disrupt the classroom and prevent them from actually teaching, for instance). But there are numerous court decisions that go against school policies and actions that are blatantly unconstitutional.

Though the post you responded to was not referring specifically to schools. It's just an argument I see a lot on the internet, and I want to know where people get the idea that they have some sort of constitutional right to never have the real world intrude on their little bubble, or that freedom of speech means that no one can disagree with you. Maybe they're all internet trolls, but I see it a lot.

smileyeagle1021

03-23-2010, 03:07 PM

OK, so no update yet on Constance, but the community has had a serious victory... a school in Georgia changed their mind about denying a gay couple access to the prom after all the uproar from those upset over the decision in Mississippi.
http://www.macon.com/2010/03/23/1069261/bleckley-school-officials-allowing.html

Keep up the pressure on these Christian Homophobe bastards, the tide will turn!

Fryk

03-23-2010, 06:17 PM

That means not letting them let Constance's story die in the media until it's resolved! Keep the spotlight on it.

gremcint

03-29-2010, 11:27 PM

Stop asking for permission, just show up at the prom itself with your date and walk in like it's completely normal, say you are just there as friends and go in. Then dance together and kiss in front of everyone.

BookstoreEscapee

03-30-2010, 12:19 AM

That means not letting them let Constance's story die in the media until it's resolved! Keep the spotlight on it.

Dan Savage mentioned this in his Savage Love column the week before last (the title was simply the phone number for the school board), and also talked about it in his podcast from that week as well, (and all the calls he used for that podcast were from or about gay teens, as well).

Greenday

03-30-2010, 03:35 PM

Then dance together and kiss in front of everyone.

That wouldn't be a good idea. Then they are playing right into the school's hands. They would purposely be causing a disruption which is their main argument.

BookstoreEscapee

03-30-2010, 10:24 PM

That wouldn't be a good idea. Then they are playing right into the school's hands. They would purposely be causing a disruption which is their main argument.

Yeah, part of their original "deal" was that they could go separately (and in a dress!), but if they made anyone "uncomfortable" they'd have to leave. :mad: Stupid.

gremcint

03-31-2010, 12:10 AM

No they wouldn't be causing a disruption, just act like it's completely normal, and then when the administration stops them you can actually say that the only disruption was from the school.

Greenday

03-31-2010, 03:56 AM

No they wouldn't be causing a disruption, just act like it's completely normal, and then when the administration stops them you can actually say that the only disruption was from the school.

Two girls, making out in the middle of a crowded room, at a prom, wouldn't be the disruption? You can bet your ass everyone would stop what they are doing and stare. Disruption caused wayyyyyyyyyy before teachers intervene.

smileyeagle1021

03-31-2010, 04:03 AM

On a side note, the courts have decided that indeed the school did violate her Constitutional rights (when have those mattered in this country anyway... we follow the bible, not some arbitrary set of rules :rolleyes: )
And an unrelated note, having read the comments on Yahoo News this afternoon... my bigotry is well placed.

Boozy

03-31-2010, 11:51 AM

And an unrelated note, having read the comments on Yahoo News this afternoon... my bigotry is well placed.

Oh, come on smiley. That's like me reading the comments on YouTube and reaching the conclusion that all Americans are morons.

Internet crazies are not a representational sample.