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AFY_EmilyB
AFY_EmilyBThursday, March 1, 2012 at 9:26:00 AM EST
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Updated: Dorothy Bond resigned yesterday after widespread outcry about her remarks.
A public high school principal in Tennessee is taking a stand on whether or not LGBT and/or pregnant students should be verbally harassed. Her verdict: They certainly should!
Is Dorothy Bond's the kind of message about being LGBT that Tennesseeans wants their LGBT students to receive? LGB (no info on trans) teens are five times as likely to have been injured in a physical fight, three times as likely to have been threatened at school, four times as likely to have missed school, and four times as likely to have attempted suicide, as straight youth. Tennessee and the entire nation bear the responsibility for their safety and happiness. Throwing away entire populations of youth is contrary to the entire mission of education. Telling groups of students that they are inferior surely isn't what they teach in Principal School.“At first she was talking about PDA and she turned around and she directly pointed to the gay people and said if you're gay you're going to hell and if you're pregnant, you're [sic] life is over,” Amber Whittiemore said.
...The next day, [parent] Snipes was told Dorothy Bond said, “‘I'm sorry if I offended you but my view is still the same you're not welcome here,’" he told abc24.com. "That was totally inappropriate,” Snipes said.
But for some, including State Representative Joey Hensley, even bullying directly from the Principal isn't getting the job done. Some Tennessee legislators want to ban all information about being LGBT from reaching students in school, in the hopes that they, according to Hensley, will "not be exposed to alternative lifestyles." This is offensive to the dignity and autonomy of all LGBT people, including youth; but also, in the era of Glee and countless other shows with positive and negative representations of LGBT individuals, this is a little like slamming the barn door after the horse has escaped. The kids know about gay stuff, guys. Some of them are gay already.
Oh, and last but hardly least, your life certainly isn't over if you're pregnant in high school. It's just more challenging - in large part because of jerks like this principal.
Principal Dorothy Bond should be reprimanded and made to apologize. The school system should adopt a non-discrimination policy that is inclusive of sexual orientation and gender identity. Haywood County Schools: DON'T give your LGBT students the message that they don't matter. Don't let this hate speech go unremarked on.
Here's what I found for the superintendent's info:
Marlon King, Superintendent
Haywood County Schools
900 E. Main Street
Brownsville, TN 38012
731-772-9613
benardd@k12tn.net [Address is for an executive assistant]
And here is the Principal's info: Dorothy Bond, bondd1@k12tn.net
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