6th Grader Can't Give Harvey Milk Report: Ignorance is the Malady
Photo by docjenIn America, while there are a great number of people who believe that all citizens should have the right to marry, unfortunately, the majority still opposes legalizing same-sex marriages. In a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll released earlier this month, 54% of people questioned said that marriages between gay or lesbian couples should not be recognized as valid.
I believe that a lack of education and understanding is one of the contributors to this mind set. Now, when I say "lack of education," I don't necessarily mean in terms of schooling, but rather in the sense that many basic ideas and associations that opponents of same-sex marriage have about gay people are incorrect.
Whether people are simply blindly following the words of their pastor, regurgitating anti-gay propaganda, or have just never really taken the time to think about it at all, I am not sure, but it seems that there is a lot of ignorance as to the realities of what "being gay" entails. Of course, this doesn't apply in all cases. Some people are well-informed and simply choose intolerance and inequality, but I think that others are just ill-informed with the wrong picture painted in their heads.
One such example that I constantly find frustrating is the persistent connotation that GAY means "SEX." Please HEAR THIS! The word "gay" does NOT mean "sex." Sexual orientation and who you are attracted to is different than sex-sex. If you hear the word "straight," does your mind automatically wander to intimate activities? WHY do so many people associate any mention of the word "GAY" to sex? Case in point...
Last week in California (the week before the California Supreme Court decided to uphold Proposition 8), Natalie Jones, a sixth grader at Mt. Woodsen Elementary School in Ramona, CA, was called into the principal's office to talk about her Power Point presentation. Natalie had prepared a report about an historical politician for an assignment and had chosen a man whose birthday has been recognized as "a day of significance" in her state. That person was Harvey Milk, the first gay man elected to political office, in 1977, when he won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.
Principal, Theresa Grace, wanted to notify Natalie that permission slips would need to be sent home and signed by parents before she could give her presentation, because the children were being taught about sex.
Sex? Where did Natalie ever say anything about sex?? She wanted to talk about an important part of California history. ACLU's San Diego legal director said, "It's not about sex, it's not about sex education. It's a presentation about an historical figure who happened to be gay." The ACLU wants the district to apologize to Natalie and let her share the report to all students in the class, because she was only able to present it to eight students during a school lunch period.
Natalie's mom, Bonnie said, "Harvey Milk was an elected official in this state and an important person in history...to say my daughter's presentation is sex education because Harvey Milk happened to be gay is completely wrong."
It saddens me that this huge leap would be taken to assume that this sixth-grade girl's report content would automatically contain information about sex, simply because the subject of her project was gay. As Amos Bronson Alcott once said, "To be ignorant of one's ignorance is the malady of the ignorant." Let's educate the ignorant. It's long overdue.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009 at 9:22AM
Reader Comments (8)
This is very strange. But you know, when I think of someone being straight, I do think of it as a sexual thing. Because, that is their sexual orientation.
Anyway, I would think the girl's teacher &/or principal would've read or watched the girl's report to see if it was fit to be showcased in class, before wanting to send out permission slips. Sounds like laziness on their parts.
Unbelievable...it shocks me how short a distance we've traveled in this country in regards to recognizing the rights of those who don't fit the 'norm'. The thing that frightens and angers me the most is that a great number of proponents of Prop 8 were members of the hispanic and black communities. You would think that someone who's had to deal with intolerance and bigotry for so long would be more sympathetic if not totally understanding towards the gay community. Shame, shame, shame on them...
I am an educator and when I educate about the community, I always say that 'gay means a man who is romantically, physically, and emotionally attracted to other men', etc. It always seems to bring about an air of confusion in the room.
I think an important discussion would be about the Old Testament and the time frame in which it was written. It was during a time when the earth needed to be populated with people. Incest, rape, and polygamy were accepted practices then. God asked for man not to spill his seed on the earth because it needed to be used to impregnate women. Clearly, men having sex with men would defeat the populating purpose. Now that we are populated (and in some country's cases-over-populated) we have recognized that incest, rape and polygamy are no longer needed and should no longer be accepted. If we are to condemn homosexuality based on the biblical beliefs than why are we picking and choosing other beliefs? Adultery, coveting, taking the Lord's name is vain, etc all rampant in our society but it is not okay for someone to be gay. Not being gay wasn't in the ten commandments but the latter was.
Also as a matter of logic, if you can "choose" to be gay, you are thereby also choosing to be straight. So that means that you could be gay but at some point you choose to be straight. Just based on logic...
Good article. I am sorry for that child. She was probably excited about presenting her powerpoint and what grade she would get on it....
Sad, as with the upholding of prop 8. It seems too many that being gay is some sort of werid debachuary which is at best, some sort of unfortunate deluision that only deeply troubled people have. Truth be told, I think if a gay person growing up in 20th America would have any sort of mental issues, they would stem from them being uncomfertable with who they are or thinking it's somehow wrong due to the people aroud them. Especially conservative family memebers. I have a friend who's family pretty much disowned him when he came out.
@ Meg...first of all, polygamy, rape and incest were NEVER accepted practices in the Bible, yes they were rampant, but they were also condemned. Those people were stoned/ put to death in OT times.
Now, my other point is: the ACLU wants the district to apologize to her and let her present her report. However, and I am not just saying this, it has happened to people so all you who are "sick of hearing about how Christians are persecuted when they really aren't" can just go jump in a lake. Anyway, if I wanted to do a report on a highly regarded religious figure who is a part of history, would I be allowed to? The answer is NO. Because it would be a violation of "separation of church and state" according to ACLU. So how come it's so horrible that this girl couldnt' do her report on a controversial issue? If that girl is allowed to give her report on this person, then my future children will be allowed to report on any religious person they want, right? That's the only way it would be fair.
@ Meg again....to your statement that I copy and pasted below....
Also as a matter of logic, if you can "choose" to be gay, you are thereby also choosing to be straight. So that means that you could be gay but at some point you choose to be straight. Just based on logic...
yes, you can choose to be straight. I have heard so many people/ testimonies of formerly gay persons who have been "saved", as we say in the Christian church, and turned from their homosexuality and married the opposite sex and lived a life they knew was fulfilling to God. These peoples' testimonies have also included the statement about how they one time were under the belief that it was not a choice to be gay and they were destined to be that way but with God had learned they were wrong and living in sin and turned away from it. Many have also said that they can see the error of their former ways now that they are walking the path of righteousness. So if a homosexual can come from that point and turn their life around then you know it IS a choice. So many people are deceived into thinking that just because it feels right and seems impossible to change that it is right. So many people are deceived into thinking that it's okay to get divorced just because they don't get along, that God wouldn't want them to be unhappy. So many people are deceived into thinking that it's okay to live together and sleep together rather than getting married because they don't need a "piece of paper" determining if they are married or not. So many people think it's okay to kill unborn babies because they are not a real person yet and it wasn't supposed to happen. I am not saying I am perfect, far from it, but there is an awful lot of deception out there and someday all these deceived people, along with the ministers who are part of the their deceptions, will realize they are wrong but it will be too late.
Also, the true Christian churches DO condemn homosexuality, but they also condemn divorce/ remarriage, living together outside of wedlock, cussing, coveting, etc. The reason this country is going to the bad place in a handbasket is because so many churches and other people have slowly let the sin and deception creep in.
@ Lisa
What???
If your belief system condems it then DON'T DO IT, but stay out of other people's business! It's that simple. If you cannot accept the idea of same gender sexual activities or cohabitation of non-married couples or divorce, then put your blinders on or change the channel or home school your children, and your children will learn about it all anyway. Discrimination in government policy, including the public school system, is an infraction against the fundamental rights of every person, regardless of your stance.