Comments on Blag Hag: No prom? Blame the gays

If you check out Dan Savage's blog on The Stra...

2010-03-15T13:55:16.235-07:00

If you check out Dan Savage's blog on The Stranger he's got a post on this, with contact information for the school district. They sounded distinctly disgruntled when I called. I guess they're not used to the national attention.

Scott: they're canceling the publicly fund...

2010-03-12T14:47:17.204-08:00
Scott: they're canceling the publicly funded prom, with the unspoken expectation that some generous private backers will pick up the tab for their own little prom, with their own rules.

Not so unspoken. According to the story I saw, the school board explicitly expressed the hope that private citizens would hold a replacement event. Presumably one where the right-thingking can exclude pariahs without legal hassles.

The thing is, hardly anyone had heard of Itawamba county before this. Now, thanks to the internet, the place is becoming famous -- for prejudice. "Itawamba" will become a symbol, like George Wallace in the schoolhouse door.

This is how you do it: http://www.americanhumanis...

2010-03-12T13:55:52.491-08:00
This is how you do it:

http://www.americanhumanist.org/news/details/2010-03-humanists-prepare-to-hold-lgbt-inclusive-prom-in-miss

This actually isn't the same as Catholics shut...

2010-03-12T08:35:19.370-08:00
This actually isn't the same as Catholics shutting down their missions in DC. This isn't the same at all. This is actually a pretty old play out of the right-wing playbook.

Know where else it got use?

During the Civil Rights movement.

The government said, "You have to allow blacks into your school," the counties said, "We're shutting our schools down." The affluent white upper crust said, "Oh, we can't have that, so we'll open up private schools to take over!"

If you look down a list of private schools in Mississippi, you'll notice virtually all of them were founded in the late 60s. This is why.

And it's the same play they're doing here; they aren't canceling prom, they're canceling the publicly funded prom, with the unspoken expectation that some generous private backers will pick up the tab for their own little prom, with their own rules.

And they will.

But fuck Itawamba county. They wouldn't have batted an eye if it was someone trying to bring their pet pig to prom.

Ughhh I'm glad Lake Central was way more open ...

2010-03-12T08:30:36.168-08:00
Ughhh I'm glad Lake Central was way more open about this. We had about 10 couples bring their same sex date and there was no trouble.

I made my own blog entry here: http://circleh.word...

2010-03-12T00:24:04.742-08:00
I made my own blog entry here:
http://circleh.wordpress.com/2010/03/12/they-hate-lesbians-that-much/

I put contact informtion here. Give them a well-considered word or two about keeping their heads in the sand.

This is just stupid. Especially that girl who said...

2010-03-11T17:57:54.404-08:00
This is just stupid. Especially that girl who said "Either way someone was going to get disappointed." That's bullshit. No one would have to be disappointed if they just let her go. She's not hurting anyone.

I'm glad my school district wasn't full of assholes. I took a girl to prom (just a friend) and no one said anything about it.

That's RIDICULOUS, even apart from the discrim...

2010-03-11T17:26:10.355-08:00
That's RIDICULOUS, even apart from the discrimination. Groups of girls go to the prom together all the time as friends. My junior year, we all had dates, so senior year, we decided to make it just us girls (except for those that had actual boyfriends, and yes, I was a total nerd!). I also knew of another student who wore a suit, but not in the context of bringing a fellow female date, so I guess that made it okay.

I miss my old school. There was a gay couple and ...

2010-03-11T16:28:42.630-08:00
I miss my old school. There was a gay couple and lesbian couple who were going to attend prom together, swapping dates so that their parents didn't know.

in my school, when you go as a couple the prom committee gives them invitations with both their names as keepsakes. when the prom committee caught wind these two couples, they decided to not only issue them the invitations with the fake relationship, but the real one as well!! so their parents got to keep the fake invites and they got the real ones :)

Stupidest. School. Ever. Seriously, this is just ...

2010-03-11T16:18:50.485-08:00
Stupidest. School. Ever.

Seriously, this is just not something you can just get away with any more. Between the ACLU and the wrath of the internet... they may get their gay-free prom, but it's going to be way more of a headache than they bargained for.

Dumbasses.

Great, as if the story of "creation paleontol...

2010-03-11T14:46:56.521-08:00
Great, as if the story of "creation paleontology" wasn't enough to ruin my day, this had to make it's way into the news.
The school really sounds like they are trying to incite a mob. By telling the students prom was canceled because of two lesbians, what do you think the students will do to them or treat them? Freaking unbelievable.

It really depressed me to see this story this morn...

2010-03-11T13:45:22.999-08:00
It really depressed me to see this story this morning... but what was even worse was that the version I saw had lots of reader comments below it and most of them were disgusting and homophobic.

We never had this sort of problem in my high school; I went to a very liberal Quaker private school and I'd estimate about 10% of the student body was openly gay. I find it hard even to imagine this sort of thing... bloody hell.

Check out "More than Friends: The Coming Out ...

2010-03-11T13:18:44.417-08:00
Check out "More than Friends: The Coming Out of Heidi Leiter," an HBO feature about the real-life first same-sex couple to go to prom way back in the eighties/nineties.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34bA91w28sQ&feature=related

Yeah, the only question left on that score, Rev. O...

2010-03-11T13:14:48.714-08:00
Yeah, the only question left on that score, Rev. O, is what century we'll be in when they finally reach the 21st.

Very dickish move by the school but I'm not re...

2010-03-11T13:11:26.253-08:00
Very dickish move by the school but I'm not really surprised. I mean, there were schools in the South throwing racially segregated proms less than 10 years ago. We are going to have to drag these bigots into the 21st century, kicking and screaming the whole way.

No tuxes on women, eh? So, do they also ban images...

2010-03-11T12:36:52.680-08:00
No tuxes on women, eh? So, do they also ban images of Marlene Dietrich in tie and tails?

This is the same as the Catholic church closing al...

2010-03-11T11:53:48.685-08:00
This is the same as the Catholic church closing all it's missions and orphanages in Washington rather than contravene equal rights legislation.

Not unlike a child taking his ball home because no one would pick him for their team.

Having lived a good 9 or so years of my life in Mi...

2010-03-11T11:34:13.003-08:00
Having lived a good 9 or so years of my life in Mississippi, just outside of Memphis, TN, I am not surprised. It's going to be a good, long while before there's compassion and equality in the south.

This has been the tactic of late when a rural, con...

2010-03-11T11:16:38.538-08:00
This has been the tactic of late when a rural, conservative and mostly Christian school is confronted with the realities that some of the kids going there are gay. Shut everything down rather than support the students who need support. It helps them avoid lawsuits, and it helps perpetuate homophobia.

Sad, ain't it?