Itawamba County's Shame
So what are the real issues here?
Does the school have the right to cancel the prom? Yes. All schools have the right to cancel school functions with or without cause. However, the fact that the school cancelled the prom in this case is not nearly as pertinent as the results of the cancellation.
In cancelling the prom in response to McMillen's request, the school board has created a potentially dangerous situation for McMillen. First of all, she's "the girl who had the prom cancelled." This automatically makes her a target of her classmates' anger seeing as how the prom is an important social event in any high school, but especially in a school of less than 800 students in grades 9-12. Couple this with the fact that she is a lesbian in a small, Bible-Belt town where most of her classmates have gone to church their whole lives hearing about how homosexuality is an "abomination"...thereby making homosexuals "abominable." In short, she was already a social outcast. Now to the community she's "The 'Abominable Godless Lesbian' who got the prom cancelled." This can serve to only amplify her classmates' anger, and the anger of people in the community. This has clearly created a dangerous situation for Constance and her girlfriend.
Furthermore, the school board expressed hope that private individuals would host a prom for the students. Although the school would not admit it, this creates a situation where the prom's hosts are free to admit or refuse to admit whoever they please. Several parents have organized a prom "open to the public," but you are kidding yourself if you think that all of "the public" will find themselves welcome at this affair, least of all Constance McMillen and her date. The school has now put a de facto seal of approval on the clearly un-American activity of discrimination.
So what do we conclude from this? The school may have stayed within the letter of the law when it canceled the prom, but what lessons did it impart to the young people who they are supposed to be preparing for life in the 21st century?
Lesson 1: Creating a potentially dangerous situation for people is acceptable if you're aiming that danger at social outcasts, outspoken non-conformists and other "sinners."
Lesson 2: Discrimination is O.K.
These, unfortunately, are the lessons that many young people will get from the Itawamba County school board's actions. Legally, they are entitled to do what they did. However, as an American, as an educator, and as a father, I find it to be completely reprehensible, and totally incompatible with the actions of individuals in a civilized society.
Published by Anthony Odom
"You just gotta keep livin', man...L-I-V-I-N." -Wooderson View profile
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8 Comments
Post a Comment3. No, I don't believe the the entire class kept the private prom a secret, but I do believe that it was made _abundantly_ clear to her that she was not invited.
4. As far as the ACLU picking on small Southern towns, etc., had Fulton's leadership not responded to this situation like the town council in "Footloose," there would have been no story. Once again, if the board had not made it an issue, it wouldn't have been. The only difference is that Constance didn't shut up and take it like a lot of other people in her situation would have....and do on a daily basis.
1. The ACLU responded to a complaint filed by an aggreived party. That's what they do. I don't blame them for anything.
2. The school board, first erred by prohibiting her from coming then compounded it by canceling the prom when they realized they didn't have a legitimate legal reason to prohibit her from coming. Constance calling the ACLU and the brouhaha that followed could have all been avoided if the board had simply acquiesced in the first place. The ACLU didn't cancel the prom, the Board did, and in doing so violated Constance's constitutional rights. Not just my opinion, but the opinion of the Federal Court.
(2) The only difference is that other towns didn't have someone move in (two years prior), call it her hometown, and start throwing her weight around. And do you believe that the entire class would keep the private prom secret from her? That story smells too.
Going stag to the prom was always an option for Constance, but she chose instead to stir things up and contacted the ACLU.
It was the ACLU's phone call to the school that cancelled the prom. To speculate on THAT conversation would be null and void because we don't have the facts. If people don't have the facts, then how can they condem the "entire" community (which I have heard countlessly) unless they hadn't already done a little advanced "profiling" of their own? Was it the school board's actions that "endangered" Constance, or the ACLU's handling of the whole affair?
Amazing how the ACLU jumps on the bandwagon without even validating all of the facts. I guess they were just looking for a small town bashing, and that's easy to do with a one-sided story like this.
And who are you going to believe when it comes to Constance's legitimacy if it isn't her classmates? I.A.H.S is no different from thousands of schools in the U.S.(oh, except for the southern thing). The only
Why cant there be a stag prom and the students just mix and mingle? Too much emphais is on having dates an relaltionships at such young ages. School is about education If hetero couple both wanted to wear tuxes and got the prom canceled you wouldnt even hear of it.
Changing the subject is not a valid argument. I don't care if Constance got on the stand and claimed to have invented the internet. Her actions are not the subject of what I wrote. My article addresses the actions of the school board, which are not in dispute, and which you have once again avoided or ignored. Their actions had the potential to endanger Constance, her girlfriend, their families, and anyone else in the community who is or is suspected of being gay....unless you are prepared to tell me that the city of Fulton and Itawamba County is some sort of haven of gay tolerance. Furthermore, they have put a de facto seal of approval on discrimination.
I'm sure she's not the only 18 year-old at IAHS dating a minor. So i'm hardly scandalized by that tid-bit. As far as whether or not she lied under oath, that's hearsay unless you can show me that high school grapevines and small town gossip-mills are reliable sources of unbiased and accurate information about town pariahs. But be that as it may, you have skillfully avoided (or ignored) the focus of the article, which was the actions of the school board, choosing to deflect criticism back to Constance. It's called a valid argument. Get one.
You are aware that her "girlfriend" is a minor and that she was NEVER attending the prom??? Also, poor Constance?? Constance never wanted to wear a tux......she wanted her girlfriend to wear one, Constance already had her DRESS picked out. Constance lied on the stand in Federal Court on Monday when she stated that the day after prom was cancelled, she left school early and didn't return the following day due to her classmates giving her "hostile" looks. When in fact Constance, herself, told several of her friends that she was leaving school early because the ACLU was flying her to New York to be on CBS the next morning. What is it called when you lie under oath during a hearing???