Posted on 06/25/2021 11:52:02 AM PDT by Oldeconomybuyer
A valedictorian from New Jersey says his high school tried to censor his graduation speech, first making him remove parts about sexuality and mental health, then cutting him off as he spoke at graduation.
Eighteen-year-old Bryce Dershem, who graduated from Eastern Regional High School in Voorhees, told CBS News he originally wrote a speech about being queer and dealing with mental health issues, but Principal Robert Tull told him to change it.
Dershem said he spent months in treatment for anorexia and didn't even know if he'd be able to graduate, let alone become valedictorian. "As soon as I heard that [I was valedictorian], I knew I really wanted to talk about my story and ending the silence on mental health struggles. And really giving queer people a voice too and letting people know no matter who you are, you're not alone," he said.
(Excerpt) Read more at cbsnews.com ...
So what? The speech opportunity is not about the Valedictorian.
If it is, it is selfish imposition of one’s own personal and/or political beliefs on a captive audience. Shameful personal aggrandizement. The exact opposite of Christianity.
“This person presumably earned the honor. He should be allowed to speak his mind on how he got there.”
I don’t like censorship, but a valedictory speech is different. When you are chosen to perform certain roles, such as valedictorian, you are there to represent others, not to pursue your own personal agenda.
It is the same with serving as master of ceremonies, giving a eulogy, or being a political representative. It is not about you.
For example, if you are given the honor of giving a Memorial Day or Independence Day speech, that is not the time to air your anti-American political grievances.
Of course, there are exceptions. If telling your personal story happens to be an effective way of representing the people you have been chosen to represent, then a personal story can certainly work.
But I highly doubt that was the case here.
Assuming there were several hundred kids in that graduating class, who only get to graduate once, and that most likely, 95% of them were mentally healthy and heterosexual - why should they have to be represented by a confused gay kid with mental health problems?
And then there’s the issue of bait-and-switch.
I was not picked as class valedictorian, but I remember we all competed for the privilege in our English class. We all wrote a speech (or anyone who wanted to try out) and presented it to the class - as I recall, the class even got to vote on who’s speech was the best.
There may have been other considerations - such as how well you spoke, how well written it was, how humorous, how inspiring, etc., but clearly the main criterion was how well it represented the graduating class.
And I’m absolutely sure that it would NOT have been permitted to alter it significantly after the fact and deliver a completely different speech than the one that won the competition!
Doing so would be a betrayal - and I suspect the principal was not acting alone when he interrupted the speech. Very likely, he acted in response to audible groans from the audience and the speaker’s classmates. Maybe even boos and jeers.
I know I would have booed.
you be well...
I would have just left.
> Did he get to make his speech after all? <
Nope. I should have added that as a postscript. The valedictorian was whisked off to the clown closet. But the salutatorian was wearing normal shoes. So he was permitted to give his speech.
And as I recall, it was just a typical, boring speech - not nearly as entertaining as the “big clown shoes” event that preceded it.
If he wanted his speech to be remembered, he will likely be successful. We all face challenges, some more than others. A healthy percentage of those present likely could care less about his sexual orientation, however, when getting into all those wonderful details. It is classified as stuff they really do not need to know.
Which gets us to this, most people are pretty tolerant of what other people do in their own privacy, moving to forced governmental acceptance and promotion is something entirely different. Whatever is tolerated one gets more of, so we will continue to hear more and more of this going forward.
look at meeeeeee. I want to be noticed
I was trying to think of that and couldn’t come up with it. Thanks. It is really true. Nauseatingly true.
That’s not the time nor place to play the victim card and complain to a captive audience about your personal problems.
Of course in the past it was used as an insult, although I don't think Robert Frost's horse thought that he was a homosexual because he stopped to watch snow falling in the woods.
It wouldn't be so bad if homos were like the ancient Greeks. One would think homos would be the most macho and muscular men around since they worship the male body. The Greeks could leave the bed of their favorite boy, don their armor and defeat the Persians at Marathon. Todays homos are sissy Richard Simmons effeminate types such as the valedictorian in the article.
Valedictorian speeches are not about personal true confessions............
Nothing worse than a narcissist with gender dysphoria..........
Yeah. Smart for him to tell the world he’s an immoral freak in front of his classmates’ younger siblings. That’s real smart.
Why do the alphabet people feel compelled to tell us about their peculiar tastes? Why do they insist on our knowing?
Someone who lives a couple of miles from me on a county road has covered his/her/its house with rainbow flags, banners and signs. Why do they think we care? They insist their private lives are none of our business, yet they tell us all about their ‘business’.
If every time he mentioned being queer, being attracted to the same sex, or a physical interaction with someone of the same sex - turn it around.
Would we be willing to hear a speech from a Valedictorian who talks about how happy he was to discover his attraction to his girlfriend? How happy he was to boink her? How relieved he was when he shared with his family and friends how he was sexually aroused by his girlfriend?
It is all an attention craving mental illness.
At my niece’s graduation in 2018, the valedictorian decided to come out as a lesbian, in front of an audience for a large suburban high school. The salutorian gave a speech on public service by citing by citing the example of two famous billionaires, Tony Stark and Bruce Wayne.
“The salutorian gave a speech on public service by citing by citing the example of two famous billionaires, Tony Stark and Bruce Wayne.”
Anytime I gave a speech or a presentation, I gave it to a trusted colleague to review. I have been repeatedly astonished by liberals and politicians quoting fiction as if it was real. One of Obama’s appointees kept making references to Winnie the Poo. Another said, “I’m not trapped in here with you. You’re trapped in here with me.” A movie line. Totally inappropriate. Another Obamanite also used threatening movie lines. It’s as if they never read a book or had to debate someone where they needed a valid argument.
That kid doesn’t listen to anyone else. No wonder he has mental problems. Total dipsh*t. I’m also amazed they let that stupid student (teachers must’ve raised his grade because he is an “approved” minority) continue, after he showed he would not follow the rules.
Like Jazz Jenning’s teachers didn’t ever raise his grade (on individual projects), because he was an “approved” minority.
More malignant narcissism on display, fed by a sick and degenerate enabling culture.
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