I know this is a bit late, but the residents of Mississippi just keep getting more idiotic and disgusting. And I know we already have homophobia threads, but this doesn't relate to any of them, so I thought I'd post it as an individual thread...

 

 

McMillen: I Was Sent to Fake Prom

By Neal Broverman

 

 

To avoid Constance McMillen bringing a female date to her prom, the teen was sent to a "fake prom" while the rest of her class partied at a secret location at an event organized by parents.

 

McMillen tells The Advocate that a parent-organized prom happened behind her back — she and her date were sent to a Friday night event at a country club in Fulton, Miss., that attracted only five other students. Her school principal and teachers served as chaperones, but clearly there wasn't much to keep an eye on.

 

"They had two proms and I was only invited to one of them," McMillen says. "The one that I went to had seven people there, and everyone went to the other one I wasn’t invited to."

Last week McMillen asked one of the students organizing the prom for details about the event, and was directed to the country club. "It hurts my feelings," McMillen says.

 

Two students with learning difficulties were among the seven people at the country club event, McMillen recalls. "They had the time of their lives," McMillen says. "That's the one good thing that come out of this, [these kids] didn't have to worry about people making fun of them [at their prom]."

In March, after the Itawamba County School District refused to allow McMillen to bring a female date to the prom, the district canceled the event altogether. McMillen and her lawyers from the American Civil Liberties Union challenged that decision in court, and a judge ruled the district could not bar McMillen and her date.

 

The judge declined to force the school district to hold the prom because a parent-sponsored, private prom was being organized — and the understanding was that McMillen and her date were invited to that event. But Hampton says McMillen was never invited and organizers made it very difficult for her to find information on the time and location. That prom was later mysteriously canceled, with the Friday night event at the country club officially replacing it.

 

http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/20...ting_Fake_Prom/

 

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This is bizarre! I feel so awful for this girl. But I'm glad her mother and father are supporting her through this. It angers me that this still happens. And even her fellow students have set up an anti-Constance facebook page. :mellow:

 

This isn't an isolated event, btw. Around the same time, a Georgian (U.S. state) school refused to let Derrick Martin bring his boyfriend to prom, only to revoke the decision because they knew it was the wrong thing to do. But then his parents kicked him out of their home: http://www.macon.com/2010/03/24/1070478/ga...ach-out-to.html

 

Opinions?

Somedays I feel quite thankful to live in the UK. I just find it so bizarre that homophobia can be so rampant in suppoedly one of the most developed countries in the world.

 

And linking it back to the other homophobia thread we've got going on, I can only put it down to a stronger religious segment in the Deep South. Why is the South so prone to these incidents, where other devloped areas and nations aren't?

It's not just America, Australia has a racist streak. As much as i love it, i can't deny that it's there. Queensland [North East Aus] seems to be the most racist part.

 

I think there is racism aplenty in much of the western world, it's just a bit better hidden.

Somedays I feel quite thankful to live in the UK. I just find it so bizarre that homophobia can be so rampant in suppoedly one of the most developed countries in the world.

 

And linking it back to the other homophobia thread we've got going on, I can only put it down to a stronger religious segment in the Deep South. Why is the South so prone to these incidents, where other devloped areas and nations aren't?

 

Yeah, the Southern states can be quite bible-bashing. But the contrast between the situations experienced by Constance and Derrick differ greatly, and they're only a State apart. Constance's school is full of idiots, but she has supportive parents. While Derrick's school seems to be quite supportive, but he has idiot parents. I think religion is a way of life in the less-populated parts. That's what it's like here, but it's not used as a tool to discriminate. A lot of people here go to mass, but you can be guaranteed they would support gay marriage etc. But because I think the bible-belt is so huge in the State it's hard to get the majority of the people to think like that. There is also a strong sense of white pride down south. The KKK membership may be almost non-existent, but I'd say a lot of people would be anti-black because "the bible told me so" and they use the same attitude towards the homosexual community. I could be looking at this from the wrong angle, but that's the impression I get from reading about the deep south...

 

It's not just America, Australia has a racist streak. As much as i love it, i can't deny that it's there. Queensland [North East Aus] seems to be the most racist part.

 

I think there is racism aplenty in much of the western world, it's just a bit better hidden.

 

That's true. Australia does have it. But is it in the big cities? I always imagined it was out in, like, Alice Springs or those desert towns. It would probably go back to my earlier point in this point about religion being a staple part of life and how it is greatly misused. It's not an excuse, but it's a reason.

 

I don't know what U.S. federal laws are like, but I'd like Obama to introduce a charter of rights like the EU have done where it makes discrimination of any kind illegal. High school is tough enough as it is, we don't want these kids and parents to get away with what they've done.

Somedays I feel quite thankful to live in the UK. I just find it so bizarre that homophobia can be so rampant in suppoedly one of the most developed countries in the world.

 

And linking it back to the other homophobia thread we've got going on, I can only put it down to a stronger religious segment in the Deep South. Why is the South so prone to these incidents, where other devloped areas and nations aren't?

 

It's a cultural/historical thing. It stems from the civil war - many Southern states resent being told what to do, basically. They're just extremely old-fashioned and willfully-ignorant. Although, it's not a case of EVERYONE from those states being like that - it's mainly confined to the suburbs. For example, while Texas has a reputation for having loads of fruit-loops (and it does have alot), Dallas is supposed to be one of the most liberal cities in the world.

 

But yes, stories like this do make me glad I'm in Britain. A few guys brought boyfriends to my prom last year, and there were no problems at all.

Another story...

 

WHITE HOUSE, Tenn. -- Just about anything is printed on a T-shirt, but a certain slogan has sparked a fight over free speech at a local high school.

 

It isn't a four-letter word that's the problem; it's a three-letter word: gay.

 

Cole Goforth's mother said the school is violating her son's freedom of speech and expression rights because kids who wear religious shirts and rebel flag shirts aren't sent home. The school said a shirt he wore is a disruption.

 

"I got it at the Rivergate Mall," Cole said.

 

The 15-year-old doesn't try to hide his sexual orientation. But his actions drew the attention of Greenbrier High School administrators on Monday. When they saw the shirt, a takeoff on performer Lady GaGa's name, they sent him home to change. The shirt said "I Heart Lady Gay Gay."

 

"She said I had to remove the shirt that it was going to cause disruption in the school," said Cole.

 

Cole's mom said he's worn shirts that say "gay" to school in the past with no problems and feels that this is less about the shirt and more about her son's look and orientation.

 

"I think they are singling him out, I really do, and they've made statements that if he wore this in California, he'd fit in just fine," said Julie Gordon.

 

The Robertson County School Board dress code does not specifically ban shirts with the word "gay" on them. But it does say that each principal can interpret the dress code and take action if a student's dress causes a disruption.

 

Administrators said they stepped in Monday because of a fight that happened the week before.

 

"We've had a few disruptions the last few days, and we thought the slogan on that shirt would continue to escalate those incidents that had occurred," said Danny Weeks, assistant director of the school board.

 

Cole sees it differently.

 

"I just think my sexuality isn't widely accepted around here, so of course they are going to single me out," he said.

 

His mother said if other students are allowed to express themselves by wearing religious and rebel flag shirts, her son should be able to wear shirts that reflect his views on sexual orientation.

 

"It cannot be just my child cannot wear that shirt because it states an opinion," said Gordon. "We need to take all the shirts out that state opinions."

 

The school said Cole's mother can appeal the dress code.

 

He isn't in trouble; he just had to change his shirt.

 

http://www.wsmv.com/news/23070849/detail.html

 

The mother has a point. If kids can wear rebel flag shirts, which many see as a symbol of racism, then surely this guy can wear his shirt? And his shirt isn't even offensive to anybody, but confederate flag shirts quite obviously are.

 

That's true. Australia does have it. But is it in the big cities? I always imagined it was out in, like, Alice Springs or those desert towns. It would probably go back to my earlier point in this point about religion being a staple part of life and how it is greatly misused. It's not an excuse, but it's a reason.

 

I don't know what U.S. federal laws are like, but I'd like Obama to introduce a charter of rights like the EU have done where it makes discrimination of any kind illegal. High school is tough enough as it is, we don't want these kids and parents to get away with what they've done.

When i was there Sydney and Melbourne were suffering from a lot of violence against Indian Students. Brisbane was fine, there was a slight bit of pommy p*** taking but that's expected tbh and it's usually nothing more than a joke. I've heard the Queensland and the Northern Territory are the most racist parts of the country. Holden Commodore and Ford Falcon estates are referred to as "Coon Wagons". A flatmate of mine from Central Queensland uses it, an her dads the Deputy Mayor of the Cntrl QLD town she's from.

Somedays I feel quite thankful to live in the UK. I just find it so bizarre that homophobia can be so rampant in suppoedly one of the most developed countries in the world.

 

And linking it back to the other homophobia thread we've got going on, I can only put it down to a stronger religious segment in the Deep South. Why is the South so prone to these incidents, where other devloped areas and nations aren't?

 

Interesting point... I recently read about a book that argues the US Deep South is quite similar to many developing countries. The Human Development Index ranks the development level of Mississippi (the least developed state in the US) as roughly the same as Turkey.

 

Obviously I don't have to ask you to imagine what it would be like to have Turkey as part of Europe because that conversation is ongoing :lol:

 

Source: http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2009...-index-measure/