"It's Okay to be Gay" high school yearbook article sparks furor...

[cynatnite]

An article in the Lenoir City High School yearbook describing the life of a gay student has ignited a storm of controversy that has spilled over onto local blogs and is threatening to disrupt upcoming graduation ceremonies.

The article — "It's OK to be Gay" — was written by the yearbook's student staff to profile the experiences of gay student Zac Mitchell.

<--->

According to students, petitions were being circulated urging others to tear the page from their yearbook as a sign of protest during graduation or to deny Mitchell the right to attend the ceremony.

The 17-year-old student who wrote the article said she was afraid to have her name published. "There have been threats made starting with, 'If I found out who wrote the story,' " she said.

On his blog, Loudon County school board member Van Shaver called for a criminal investigation into the faculty advisers. Shaver said he believes in being tolerant of an others' life choices but said he is concerned that the students are being unduly influenced.

http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2012/may/02/high-school-yearbook-article-sparks-furor-in/

Here is the blog that was referred to in the article...

http://www.vanshaver.com/its_not_ok.htm

[Journeyman]

1. Yes, ha-hhumph hmph, I believe in being tolerant until, of course, I'm called on to be so. . .

Mark Twain certainly had it correct, School Boards and Congress -- total idiots.

[redqueen]

10. I was struck by the same comment...

how is this a problem for any tolerant person? He should be taking issue with the knuckledraggers who are freaking out because someone dares to say it's ok to be gay.

[riderinthestorm]

2. This same school/admin refused to publish an article about atheists

There's some really fucked up attitudes there. I'm glad they're getting some national exposure for their bigotry.

K and R for more exposure. The school certainly has a brave and interesting journalism program that deserves some good feedback instead of the grotesque bullshit they're enduring.

[riderinthestorm]

3. Can you possibly cross post this in the LGBT forum? It's too important to disappear

Or even the religion forum (the atheist article being banned is another angle to this story)....

I'm pretty surprised this is dropping in GD. But with the possibility that Mitchell may not be able to attend his graduation needs more of a spotlight. Not sure what we can do but maybe all this school board member??

Anyway, a kick once more..

[UnrepentantLiberal]

4. Lenoir City, Tennessee...

[LadyHawkAZ]

5. Is there a Stupid virus in the water in Tennessee?

It just gets worse and worse.

[Fawke Em]

11. Speaking as just one of the many Tennesseans who frequent this board...

I would venture that a "stupid virus" exists in every state.

Luckily, a good 43 percent of us Tennesseans haven't been infected. Now, if we could just get some more progressive media and some more progressive transplants from other states/countries to move into the state, we could easily tip that percentage of the 51 percent mark.

Frankly, if the state limited voting to Memphis, Nashville, Knoxville and Chattanooga - our four largest cities - then the state legislature and governorship would be Democratic.

Tennessee is like so many other states: the metropolitan areas lean more Democratic, whilst the outlying rural areas lean more Republican.

[BlueIris]

6. The sicko homophobes condemning the article need to GET LIVES.

And mental health care.

[riderinthestorm]

7. am kick nt

[TBF]

8. Kick for exposure - nt

[4th law of robotics]

9. One day people will realize that it really doesn't matter what others people do in the bedroom

and they'll all scratch their heads over old stories like this.

It's like when people who were left handed were seen as perverse and schools tried to fix them. Now we think "what idiocy".

[uppityperson]

12. This quote makes my head hurt because it is exactly what he is doing. Isn't it?

"What I am intolerant of is an adult, a teacher no less, inflicting their personal beliefs and sexual orientation decisions on impressionable students," Shaver said.

[SomethingFishy]

13. Criminal Investigation? Into what exactly?

Unbelievable.

[Initech]

14. $10 says "Christian" parents started this outrage.

I'm so sick and tired of the bullshit coming from these people - they claim to "love everybody" but then they spew violent, extremely hateful vitriol directed at gay people over stupid stereotypes from 100 years ago that don't mean anything anymore. This kid doesn't deserve that bullshit and I hope he leaves and never looks back.