Prom cancelled because of student's homosexuality

Love Ellen. I completely don't understand the discrimination. I live in South Carolina, and NO STUDENT had a problem with girls bringing girls to prom. I don't even think they would have cared if a boy brought a boy to prom (can't remember if there were any gay guys that went to prom.) Pretty much people were only concerned with themselves. The school districts of America need to realize by high school level, unless personal safety is of issue, they dont need to be concerned about what the students MIGHT think. They'll let you know if they don't like something.
 
Wow, I'm a bit nervous writing this but here goes. If we believe in free speech, free thought & free expression (as I assume most, if not all of the people on these boards would) then we don't get to decide what speech, thoughts & expressions get to be free. What I mean by that is that as much as Miss McMillan has the right to be gay, the way she was born. Then the school board/townsfolk/other students also get the right to be ignorant bigots. The right "to attend prom" is not protected in the bill of rights, the right to free speech is. The overriding reaction to this from previous posters is one of justified disgust & outrage that this kind of thing still happens, that this kind of predjudice still exists. No-one however has noticed that if we just scream at these idiots "HEY YOU'RE IDIOTS, YOU SHOULD BELIEVE THE SAME THING WE DO!" Then really we're no better than them enforcing ridiculous rules about who a person can date or what a person can wear. We can't just say that only the opinions we agree with are right(even if, as in this case, they are). As Kinslayer says:

The Kinslayer said:
Things take time to change. That's just how it is. But if it's a change we want, we want it to happen over night. And with a big issue as homosexuality is it'll take generetions before it's accepted by everyone.
Click to expand...

And our duty, if we truly believe our cause to be just & our viewpoint to be correct, is not to deride or mock these people but to engage with them. To try with all our hearts to change what lies in theirs. I'll leave you with a quote from a film, The American President by one of my fav writers, Aaron Sorkin:

President Shepherd - America is advanced citizenship. You gotta want it bad, 'cause it's gonna put up a fight. It's gonna say "You want free speech? Let's see you acknowledge a man whose words make your blood boil, who's standing center stage and advocating at the top of his lungs that which you would spend a lifetime opposing at the top of yours. You want to claim this land as the land of the free? Then the symbol of your country can't just be a flag; the symbol also has to be one of its citizens exercising his right to burn that flag in protest. Show me that, defend that, celebrate that in your classrooms. Then, you can stand up and sing about the "land of the free".

I've always loved the speech that quote comes from & the message, is that freedom goes both ways. The view you agree with & the one you don't. If you want to have freedom, then it's got to be for everybody, even the Jack-asses.
 
Wishing Oceans
Wishing Oceans
Oh, pieceofgosa, I love you already :D
Washburne
Washburne
Don't be nervous. Important points. And extra points for mentioning Aaron Sorkin.
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alliern21
Beautifully said! I agree 100%!
I have to agree with pieceofgosa on this one. 🙂

I do believe that what the school is doing is wrong and unfair, but us saying that they're horrible people because they have different views isn't any different from them saying that we're horrible people for having different views.

Yes, I do think that we're completely in the right here, but still. :biggrin3: Hopefully you guys get what we mean. :embarrassed:
 
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pieceofgosa
Just sendin' the love back your way :)
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alliern21
[No message]
WHAT?!

I read on FB that her Prom had a low attendance as everyone decided to stay at home, but I had NO IDEA that this happened. This is disgusting, it's worse than the initial issue. I'd rather have them cancel the whole Prom than do something mean and cold-hearted like this.

My faith in humanity just sunk a little lower.
 
Wishing Oceans
Wishing Oceans
[No message]
I've just found out about Pheobe Prince, a 15 year old Irish girl who moved from a small village in Clare (very close to me actually) to MA with her family last September and was so relentlessly bullied by her peers that she hung herself this past January.

I wonder how much longer we can dismiss these acts of pure cruelty as "just kids being kids" and actually do something about it.

---------- Post added at 08:19 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:36 PM ----------

Wishing Oceans agrees: WTF? She HUNG herself?... Something is seriously wrong with people. 🙁

Yeah, from what I've read there were 6 kids in particular who targeted her, although 9 have actually been arrested. Apparently she dated a senior football player rather briefly and the school's "Mean Girls" made her their little project. They threw cans at her head, called her an "Irish slut" in the halls, intimidated her in classes (which some teachers were apparently aware of but said nothing) and then they took their torment to Facebook. Even after she died they left abusive comments on her memorial page.

RTà‰ News: Nine charged over teenager's death in US

More students disciplined following girl's suicide - CNN.com
 
Wishing Oceans
Wishing Oceans
WTF? She HUNG herself?... Something is seriously wrong with people. :(
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Tasha
That is so sad, they girls f*cking disgust me.
Kean said:
I've just found out about Pheobe Prince, a 15 year old Irish girl who moved from a small village in Clare (very close to me actually) to MA with her family last September and was so relentlessly bullied by her peers that she hung herself this past January.

I wonder how much longer we can dismiss these acts of pure cruelty as "just kids being kids" and actually do something about it.

---------- Post added at 08:19 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:36 PM ----------

Wishing Oceans agrees: WTF? She HUNG herself?... Something is seriously wrong with people. 🙁

Yeah, from what I've read there were 6 kids in particular who targeted her, although 9 have actually been arrested. Apparently she dated a senior football player rather briefly and the school's "Mean Girls" made her their little project. They threw cans at her head, called her an "Irish slut" in the halls, intimidated her in classes (which some teachers were apparently aware of but said nothing) and then they took their torment to Facebook. Even after she died they left abusive comments on her memorial page.

RTà‰ News: Nine charged over teenager's death in US

More students disciplined following girl's suicide - CNN.com
Click to expand...

... Those kids who tormented that poor girl enough to make her hang herself are seriously sick. I hope that they spend a long, long life behind bars in prison.

I have also just lost a bit of faith in humanity. And also in my generation. 🙁
 
RE: The tragic suicide of Phoebe Prince

I was bullied viciously & relentlessly for three years when I was at school. My reaction was to turn to drugs & alcohol, it nearly ruined my life. I left school a year early & was lucky to meet my current group of friends, they saved my life, no exaggeration. The initial reaction to blame the bullies is entirely understandable but the people who bullied me at school changed when they grew up. I'm actually on quite good terms with all of them these days & I can see the guilt in their eyes everytime I meet any of them about what they put me through. The real blame lies firmly at the feet of the school, how many kids have to die before teachers start taking this sh** seriously? A couple years after school I was friends with two girls who had friends that committed suicide, one for similar reasons to Phoebe, the other following a breakdown and I have seen what this does to the family & friends. My heart goes out to those who knew Phoebe, there really is nothing you can say. I remember when the poor girl that my ex-girlfriend knew killed herself, I couldn't get one thought out of my head for days. That thought was that I really wished I could have talked to her, let her know that I knew what she was going through, let her know that she wasn't alone. It haunted me, it still does. This may be presumptious but I don't care, I never want to feel like that again. I know we have a lot of younger members on BB & if anybody is going through a situation like this & feels like they don't have anybody to talk to, talk to us, talk to me, talk to somebody. I'll say this here, if anybody needs to talk to someone who has come out the other side of a nasty bullying situation & now has a bit of a mature perspective, do not hesitate to PM or e-mail me, I would be only too glad to be there for you in whatever way you need. You're not alone & I mean that.
 
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TheGrandmaster
[No message]
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Tasha
[No message]
Wishing Oceans
Wishing Oceans
[No message]
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ckg927
To the kids: Karma's a YKW.
This is unbelievable, but the kids aren't the only ones at fault here. Yes, they are in no way innocent, and something must be done, but as I said on FB, this is the second time the school's Administrative staff have been involved in discriminatory actions against an LGBT student. If this had been a racism issue, it would have been dealt with by now.
 
Wishing Oceans
Wishing Oceans
[No message]
Black Eye Guy said:
The kids at this school are worse then anything a hellmouth can throw out, they made a facebook page called 'Constance quit yer cryin' so they can post messages back at her, and put of pictures of the prom she wasn't invited to!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Constance-quit-yer-cryin/367776042862?v=info&ref=sgm
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Actually, if you take a closer look at that group, it's been hijacked by the people who support her. Some of the pictures of the prom that are being posted are...less than flattering!

This one was my favourite though.

25703_414788736258_600736258_5629278_2562119_n.jpg
 
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