Re: Boy Punished For Mentioning Gay Mother

"Daniel T." wrote:

> <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
> > http://smh.com.au/articles/2003/12/02/1070127391021.html
> >
> >
> > Boy, 7, 'punished' for speaking of gay mum
> > December 2, 2003 - 10:45AM
> >
> >
> > A seven-year-old boy was scolded and forced to write "I will never use the
> > word 'gay' in school again" after he told a classmate about his lesbian
> > mother, the American Civil Liberties Union alleged today.
>
> One thing none of the other responses seem to have covered... "Gay" is a
> pretty standard derogotory term among the pre-teen set right now, they
> will often call anyone or anything they don't like "gay".
>
> I think it is reasonable, if the teacher didn't hear the whole
> conversion that she assumed that the student was using the word in a
> derogatory way and I can understand why the school wanted to stop that.
> I'm then left wondering why the school records didn't reflect the fact
> that the child's parents really were gay.
>
> IMO though, the primary problem that this highlights is the fact that
> schools routinely punish children without consulting the parents at all.

I think it illustrates the idiocy of the "zero-tolerance" policies that many
schools have adopted. "Gay" is used as a derogatory adjective; therefore all
possible uses of "gay" are derogatory. Does anyone else remember about the jr.
high school girl who was expelled for bringing Midol to school, all because of
the school's strict "no drugs" policy?
--
Gregory Gadow
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.serv.net/~techbear

"If you make yourself a sheep, the wolves will eat you."
-- Benjamin Franklin