Three St. Charles North High School students caused tension in the school after they wore shirts bearing inflammatory language toward gays Monday to protest against a week designed to promote tolerance of different lifestyles, officials said.Just as with racist "white power" advocates, I am filled with disgust that it's the bigots who claim to represent some class of persons to which I, through accident of genetics, belong.
St. Charles North this week is celebrating Ally Week, which is a national event against the harassment of students who are gay, transgendered or bisexual.
District 303 spokesman Jim Blaney said three students showed up Monday at the school wearing shirts that said "Straight Pride" on the front and quoting a Biblical verse from Leviticus on the back of the shirt referencing death as the punishment for homosexual behavior.
The students were initially called into their deans' offices after the shirts created tension among the other students, Blaney said. There was then a second discussion with the students.
"The students said their intent was not to intimidate any one or cause physical harm," Blaney said. "Their intention was to show their pride in being straight."
That the school administration couldn't even muster the gumption, during a week dedicated to enlightening students on the far-too-high-price gay kids pay for bullying, to at the very least demand they cover the shirts with a sweatshirt or hoodie makes no sense. Obviously, they were exercising their First Amendment rights. So, I shall exercise mine and call them out as small-minded, ignorant dorks. Further, I shall exercise my First Amendment rights and call out the school Administration for being a bunch of weak-kneed hypocrites who can't even muster the strength to have these kids cover up, let alone, I don't know, maybe suspending them?
