Constance McMillen Photo: AP
Posted on 04/07/2010 7:56:09 AM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
Disappointment as US high school students snub 'lesbian-friendly prom'
Senior prom fell far short of the rite of passage Constance McMillen was hoping for when she began a legal battle to challenge a ban on same-sex dates.
Published: 7:00AM BST 07 Apr 2010
Constance McMillen Photo: AP
The 18-year-old lesbian student said that she was one of only seven students to show up at a private party chaperoned by school officials. She said the rest of her peers went to another private event where she wasn't invited.
"It was not the prom I imagined," she said. "It really hurts my feelings. These are still people who I've gone through school with, even teachers who loved me before this all started. I've never been a bad student and I don't feel like I deserve to be put through this."
Her case drew a national spotlight after she and the American Civil Liberties Union challenged an Itawamba County School District rule that banned same-sex prom dates and a requirement that only male students wear tuxedos. Proms are parties held for students, generally in their senior year in high school.
The ACLU sent a demand letter to Superintendent Teresa McNeece in February, saying the rules against same-sex prom dates and girls wearing tuxedos violated Miss McMillen's constitutional rights. The district responded by withdrawing its sponsorship and cancelling the April 2 event.
In an apparent compromise, school district officials said parents would organise a private event with school chaperones that Miss McMillen could attend.
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
The other kids went John Gault, good for them
I'm going to go with despising the sinner and the cold cruelty of demanding her sick little fetish be rammed down everyone else's throats.
Being christian and forgiving hasn't bought me anything but grief, lately. I think I'm going to go with pagan and vengeful. It's much more satisfying, and I can always have a last-minute conversion... I'll leave the forgiveness to those who believe themselves qualified.
Let’s not get personal here. SnakeDoc has normally been very level-headed, I thought. He may have his reasons for departing the reservation here. Although I virulently disagree with him, there’s no reason for casting aspersions.
Look at what you have today instead. You have angry people on both sides.
I agree with you. Had my child been in this girl’s class and been cruel to her in any way, I would feel as if I had failed in raising her with a good, kind character. The proper way to handle this is with love and a modeling of a good Christian character, not with bitterness and anger.
That being said, I would have encouraged her to attend the prom that her friends attended, but without hate directed at Constance.
As you said, hate the sin, love the sinner
OK — we know why they didn’t invite this particular girl. What about the other six?
The problem is ... high school kids can be jerks. Many are. So, they pick the seven least popular kids (including this lesbian who is unpopular mostly because she’s a pain-in-the-ass) send them to one location to shut them up, but don’t tell them about the real party.
As a parent, I’d be less concerned about the feelings of this individual girl, and more concerned about the behavior of my kid in intentionally casting out seven people because they were disliked (including six that did not cause the cancellation of the prom).
I’d also want to know EXACTLY why the other six were chosen to be ostracised. We intentionally teach my daughter that Christ would want us to befriend those that are outcast by others. One good Christian friend may have made a world of difference to this girl.
This is not to say that she didn’t bring some of this on herself with her selfishness, or that the ACLU didn’t contribute heavily to the problem ... she did, and they did.
Do unto others ...
SnakeDoc
What about the other six kids? They weren’t Constance.
SnakeDoc
You do not know if the other six were uninvited. Their attendance is most likely controlled by their keepers. Who would that be?
DUMBER and beyond.
America’s youth are more informed that you might think, They are paying attention to what’s going on around them and they don’t like what they see.
>> Snakey prolly is like one of the parents of the 7.
My oldest child is 5. But, it begs the question ... what IF your child had been one of the other six that were ostracized? They’re not Constance. They didn’t cause the cancellation of the prom. They may very well just be six unpopular kids. Would you still find that acceptable?
SnakeDoc
Much obliged.
SnakeDoc
just wait the aclu and homosexuals of the WH and DC staffers will push to make it mandatory.
So they chose to go to a non-party? Come on.
SnakeDoc
did the DBM report this part of the story or did they just report the capitulation?
The girlfriend’s parents threatened to sue if she was outed and photographed. She’s only a sophomore and still a minor.
That’s a good question there. Did the others just choose to go to this prom or were they left off the invitee list too?
On the other hand, a private party is a private party and it’s not elementary school any more where “every member of the class has to be invited.” I’m sure there were many parties over the last 4 years that were private without invitations for all.
As you said, Christ taught us to love the outcast, (however, not to COPY the outcast) and to treat others as he would have treated them.
But....good catch on the others. Were they invited and chose their ‘prom?’ Were they left out for a reason? Or is it all a tempest in teapot because the larger party was private?
You assume these others were “ostracized”’ but you have no evidence to that effect. How do you know they didn’t go to the other event as well, or wanted too. The one Constance went too was the “official” event. The other students voted with their lack of attendance.
Don’t make this about the other students who attended with Constance - certainly Constance doesn’t want to share the lime-light! Constance got what she asked for, but it wasn’t what others agreed too. So now she is left with the results of her actions. Seems like just results to me.
After all - the other thing I assume you’re teaching your kids are that actions have consequences!
Good post! You nailed it.
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