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Being Tolerant of Intolerance in The Suburbs
Posted under GLBTQ issues by Recovering Straight GirlAmazing isn’t it? That Portland, Oregon is one of the most diverse and affirming cities in the United States but if you leave the city limits and drive just a mere 17 miles out of town; you are in a different world all together.
A local middle school administrator in Sherwood, a suburb of the Portland Metro area has halted a production of a play that promotes tolerance and has an anti-bullying message. She has deemed the play “too mature” for middle school students. Too mature? The students themselves stated in interviews yesterday that the content of the play is “tame” compared to what they deal with in real life. And in a world where 15 year old middle-school students are murdered because of their sexual orientation and gender identity, I think that it’s vital that middle school students receive the most diversity training that they can.
Unfortunately this issue is not about promoting diversity or tolerance. It’s about tolerating intolerance.
By promoting tolerance and acceptance, this school district is afraid that they will look as though they promote some kind of “alternate lifestyle.”
Please.
This is a public school filled with students who have to deal with this crap every single solitary day. By statistical data, 10% of them are GLBTQ themselves, and some of them even have GLBTQ parents and family members.
This is outrageous and embarrassing that this kind of bigotry has a voice and it’s voice is so prominent.
Tolerance has to begin NOW for ALL people.
Those of you in the Portland Metro area, I hope that you will look at this example of your community and take a stand against injustice. This is not a small matter, this is where hate and intolerance begins and it should be stopped before it grows bigger.
Coverage of the issue was seen on the following:
Maybe that ‘burb thinks that they are the Iran of Oregon- “We don’t have gay people here.”
Too very sad how frightened so many of our public schools are of any type of honesty. Gay kid gets bullied out of school and nothing is done other than usually to note “boys will be boys” (adding sexism to the mix). But a play that might prevent such bullying–oh no! Bad image!
Sheesh.
Thanks for getting the word out.
Apparently, the Queen of ignorance has made her post. (Loyal Mom and friend to Sherwood Schools)
Maybe I am overly sensitive, BUT we’ve been called out. We are not good parents because we want to teach tollerance, love, kindness etc.. Hoping I didn’t read it correctly, but in her world, we let our children engage in sex acts in the home under our care. (don’t let your kids watch the worms multiply……they might be scarred for life!” HA
I wish I was as good with words as you are, because I am disgusted with what her post says and would love to add my 2 cents.
Im going to go and run off my intollerant thoughts of her.
Mature, yeah right. When sex comes earlier and earlier to teens. When the “F word” is everywhere. When Heterosexual good mommys and daddys divorce in the face of these kids. Don’t even begin to tell me that addressing hatred and violence in middle school is too mature or too early. Fear promotes exactly that. Fear.
That middle school principal has her head up her ass.
In an ironic twist, we actually had to take our kiddo OUT Of middle school and put him in private school because of the incredible bullying he was experiencing on a daily basis. Middle school is the perfect place to start dealing with the stupidity that ignorant parents pass on to their kids.
Absolutely ridiculous! It sounds like a great play. I thought the Oregonian did a good job covering the story and maybe it’ll create outrage and they will re-instate it.
As a teacher (and my partner is an administrator) in what is usually conservative Clark County, we have had nothing but good things happen since we came out and I’m part of a diversity group in the district to make sure things like this don’t happen in our district.
Ugh!
I don’t know which is more disgusting. This story or the fact that a Google search of Lawrence King only returns TWO FUCKING STORIES. A KID DIED! Where is the outrage. I just have to cry.
Ha you should (not) be in my shoes and live in a backwards southern state that is so red… well anyway…. I do my best to teach my daughter about diversity and acceptance every chance I can because no way in hell any school or organization around here will come even close to doing it.
Fight the good fight RSG! You are absolutely right about this.
RSG, I still read your blog daily and am ssssooooo proud of you and HG for your prosistence in your marriage. I have to tell you that you have educated me in so many way’s I can’t begin to tell you.
I have often asked myself what would it be like had my loving brother still be alive today. (dying from AIDS in 89′) What would his rights be here in Indiana?
Would his partner-BG of 5 years who, bathed him, feed him, loved him and actually at times went to his (BG’s) doctor to proclaim he was sick to get meds for my brother because they (the system) would not allow him (my brother) to be on BG insurance, would have these days.
I have been doing alot of asking and searching our legistration to see what people with what our politicians proclaim to be a part of our society really have here just in my state of Indiana and I am shocked and disappointed in what I have learned.
I think you have awaken us to it is not only just you and HG or me and my husband, but all of us……Rights are rights and that should not be seperated by gender or who we love or don’t for that matter. once they feel that they can taken one away they will take them all and I thank you for that…….truly thank you.
That Portland, Oregon is one of the most diverse and affirming cities in the United States
I would agree with you to a point. However, banking on that too much makes us complacent and is why we are accused of living in a bubble. Diverse and affirming doesn’t keep clubs from being vandelised on a regular basis. It doesn’t keep kids in our schools from being bullied and targeted more often that we want to admit. And it doesn’t keep our colleges from being breeding grounds for bigotry. Don’t get me wrong. I love Portland, but it has a long way to go. As for Oregon, itself, you are right. Leave the Portland city limits and you are in a completely different place. I met a gentleman from Pendleton awhile back who spoke about the regular and open employment and medical discrimination that still happens against the GLBTQ community, aided and accepted by the authorities there, not to mention the physical attacks and violence.
Hate crimes and bias incidents were up in Oregon and in Portland itself last year. Not by much, but they were up. You are also correct in calling on Portland to wake up to things like this, because we will only lose ground if we don’t. Enjoying the freedom and acceptance that we do have in Portland, however imperfect it may be, can only continue if we actively demand it.
I want to thank RSG for linking my opinions to her site and make a few comments of my own, from the perspective of a hetero male.
Tolerance is something you can not teach in schools. It has to start in the home. Regardless of how much we would like things to be different, this is not, nor is it ever likely to be, the case.
Everyone, regardless of orientation or background is entitled to an opinion. If they choose to not be tolerant, that is a choice they are free to make in a democratic society. The question then becomes what do we do about it?
When we are denied rights, we must fight for them.
When we are assaulted verbally, we must ignore it or else fall prey to feeding the ignorance that it is based on.
When we are assaulted physically, we must defend ourselves.
I wont get into the argument of choice VS predetermination.
I think it is sufficient to say that all we can do, regardless of orientation, religion, sex or color is to live our lives to the fullest, do as little harm to others as we can possibly manage, and do our best to teach the next generation to be better then we are.
This is the only way we are going to build a better world for all of us.
…and if all else fails, just have a good hearty laugh, it won’t change anything, but you will feel better.
Absolutely hun. I see you’ve linked KEEP SCHOOL PEACE in your post. I really believe this is an issue which demands attention. How can people respect others as adults when they don’t learn how to as children. The play was a perfect way to facilitate this learning. They cancelled it based on outlandish claims of it being too ‘immature.’ I balk at that. If kids are old enough to treat others so negatively and so disgustingly, then they are mature enough to be an audience to see how it looks and to see the consquence of it. Ignorance is not bliss. I posted more on this at my blog as well.
I think I will add you to my links on the blog.
What a shame. Middle school is the right audience for that, the kids deal with far worse on a day to day basis. I’d hate to see what the climate is really like in that school. I’m guessing there was a need for a play like this to address some issues that may not be being addressed in the proper manner.
Sadly, the scary suburbs aren’t the only place where administrators hide from addressing issues surrounding bullying. Fear of parental backlash and lawsuits are universal to every district. Many teachers and administrators are looking for innovation in community building and anti-bias training, which is how charter schools and some private schools are born.
As a middle school teacher, I can offer my classroom as a shelter from the storm of bullying. Bigoted, bullying, and demeaning comments are not allowed. Period. And the administrators that I work for have come down hard and quickly on students who hurt other kids–emotionally or physically.
But there is no on-going character ed/anti-bullying program at the schools I’ve worked at.
It takes a strong administrative team to stand up to parents who express displeasure. I read the play. I don’t think it is inappropriate at all. I do think that it would be a great springboard for community and class discussions about bigotry and bullying.
I don’t think the scary suburbs school response was scary suburb specific. I think most administrators lack the political and emotional (yes emotional–because imagine coming to work every day ready for a fight–it’s not fun) will and financial resources (yes, it takes money to implement anti-bullying and character ed programs).
Keep fighting the good fight. Scary suburbs needs your voice.
Very sad huh! I was going to email you a link to the middle school shooting, I was wondering if you guys had heard about the school shooting in Oregon…that school is 2 blocks from my house…my DD should be going there (but we pulled her out of district and she goes to school the next town over.)
Even sadder, my DHs BF is(was) friends with the dad of the killer…gotta wonder wth he was doing with a gun.
One can only hope that children learn more tolerance. That is nuts that they canceled that! Sad, sad world we live in!
[…] The performance of “Higher Ground” will take place this Sunday at 2:00 at the Portland Center for the Performing Arts. Donations will be accepted at the door to defray costs and the students will also be collecting food donations to donate to the Loaves & Fishes at the Sherwood Senior Center where they have been rehearsing since the district pulled the plug on their production. Oregonian article here. My other blog post about it here. […]
[…] First, the whole Sherwood Middle School play issue. […]
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