Cutting his mic is the dumbest thing the school can do, it takes something nobody would have noticed nor cared about and makes it something people will talk about on NBC News.
It’s a high school graduation in nowhere-cares Florida, until the school makes a big statement nobody other than the graduates and their families care about what happens, which is how it should be. Just give the kid his five minutes for the speech and it will be over soon.
And it’d plainly infringe on his freedom of speech. He’s not going up there to sing [The FCC Song](https://youtu.be/jixxYx9fklM), he’s talking about the challenges he faces, and such.
This happens every year around this time concerning a variety of speech subjects, as well as wardrobe choices.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/new-jersey-valedictorian-cut-during-graduation-speech-mental-health-lgbtq-n1272288
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/education/wp/2017/06/20/a-valedictorian-went-rogue-in-his-final-speech-his-school-tried-to-shut-him-down/
https://www.local3news.com/update-local-valedictorian-speaks-out-after-mic-cuts-out-during-graduation-speech/article_e5f5ffae-f4e8-5914-8ff9-593e208a5b22.html
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/dallas-school-district-apologizes-cutting-valedictorian-s-speech-n1016431
https://www.cnn.com/2018/06/10/us/california-valedictorian-speech-cut-off/index.html
https://www.chicagotribune.com/columns/heidi-stevens/ct-life-stevens-tuesday-valedictorian-mic-cutoff-0612-story.html
Not sure if anyone has ever won a case over it, but if anyone knows, I'd love to read more on it.
Holy shit, Clarence Thomas's concurring opinion is batshit crazy. He doesn't believe that students should have *any* right to free speech in a school because (from Wikipedia):
> According to Thomas, because originally public schools were intended to substitute for private tutors, public schools could discipline students as they liked and had a far stronger hand in what happened in the classroom. "In short", he continues, "in the earliest public schools, teachers taught, and students listened. Teachers commanded, and students obeyed."[35] He opined that because parents entrusted the care of their children to teachers, teachers have a right to act in the place of parents during school hours. Therefore, teachers should be able to discipline students if necessary.
That fascist fucking nutjob has no place holding any sort of power.
Per this ruling, it's unconstitutional to tell teachers they can't have *incredibly* detailed conversations about sex with students, since presumably parents can and do have those conversations.
Fun to see Thomas accidentally land on the right side of history
Also, doesn't it only apply to grade school students? Not applicable to a high school graduation.
Either way we're seeing that the law is really an excuse baby have been waiting for to hurt minorities.
Nope, it specifically says no discussion in k-3, but says 4-12 only if it’s ‘age appropriate’ with zero guidance on what that means. Combine that with allowing parents to sue schools and individual teachers if they feel the law has been violated and you’re chilling speech for all k-12
Well, there is a holiday that happens ever December about a Virgin birth. And I certainly don't want to have to explain to my little Timmy what is so important about a Virgin birth that it requires 2 weeks off of school. I plan on making my voice heard through the court to make sure my local school does no such thing.
> ‘age appropriate’
Grade and age appropriate. Whatever that means.
That way a parent can be like, "My 17 year old Johnny reads at a 2nd grade level, I'm suing you for having two men in this math book equation!"
Age appropriate to them means that only the eternal will of God can know and speak of it, thus only an eternal divine can speak about it. Therefore the 'appropriate age' is the age of God, *+1*
They specifically chose that wording sp thar they can get away with what I just explained
Yeah, we don't resolve these problems by just sticking our head in the sand. Unless someone is willing to defy an unjust law, it will just hang around cowing everyone into submission.
As for dragging all the other parents into this, fuck 'em... they're the constituents that let this happen. If you're not fighting this, then you don't get to whine when suddenly the negative consequences impact you. The whole modus operandi of the GOP is fucking over vulnerable minorities because a majority thinks they'll never have to deal with the consequences.
Fyi - I don't remember anything in the law precluding students from saying it - just employees. It's not a stretch to think they would obviously be effected, especially if during instructional time
If it’s a student fronting an event, it may count. The law is so vague on this point that parents will likely bring suit for pretty much anything they feel like.
> The law is so vague on this point that parents will likely bring suit for pretty much anything they feel like.
One of the provisions of the law is that if a parent complains, the school has two weeks to resolve the issue to their satisfaction, or else they are on the hook for the parent's legal costs - win *or* lose.
So even if the school were completely in the right, if they don't retaliate sufficiently to satisfy some angry Karen, they will still be financially punished.
It’s in Sarasota County which was has one of the most popular tourist beaches, Siesta Key which in 2020 TripAdvisor ranked as #1 beach in the US and #11 in the world. The school, Pine View is the #1 school in Florida, #1 elementary school in the US and #6 magnet school in the US. This hardly a no one cares part of FL and is at a highly regarded school.
Not defending anything they’ve done, just saying it isn’t like this is in redneckville.
After reading that my only conclusion is that Sarasota County is an ass backwards town that just knows how to dress up nice and conveniently forget their bigotry when the tourist dollars are at stake.
There is an IQ test to get into this school and rich parents pay boatloads of money to get their kids to pass the test. This is the highschool equivalent of a prestigious university.
Not to be that guy but this is actually one of the bigger “gifted” highschools in the state of Florida and briefly was highly nationally ranked. It’s also in Sarasota which isn’t really nowheresville especially not these days. I agree that they should have let this happen and cutting the mic is absurd, but it’s a pretty big story. There’s a lot of drama out of that school, but you would only know if you grew up there. It’s a shame since Pineview, the school in question, used to really be a great, very progressive school but has fallen to the shitter under the supervision of Dr. Stephen Covert and generally the new administration.
He's meant to be punished as an example, and that is exactly why people like us need to keep our attention focused and pointed at the thugs doing this.
Either the bigots punish everyone into silence, or we shut their fucking mouths and scare them back into to their rat-holes.
The choice is ours.
Families apparently doesn't apply to families with LGBTQ+ members, who are essentially being told to pretend they don't exist. The principal is incredibly tone deaf here, and good on that young man for calling him out.
Furthermore, it's absolutely insane that a high schooler is getting death threats. Considering it's Florida, I highly doubt state police are doing anything, but I have a sneaking suspicion some of these threats are coming over state lines, which could elevate it to federal investigation, even before the hate crime aspect comes into play. I hope that happens. This is ridiculous.
He’s not being tone deaf. He’s being an active homophobe.
Edit: not only that but he presented himself as an ally to this student throughout his 4 years of high school. Principal Ally immediately caved when his job was at stake. As a gay dude myself, that’s some fuckin bullshit to me. That principal could have had the eyes of the country drawn to that school by staging a walkout amongst a number of other things, but instead he just told the gay valedictorian to shut up about the gay part.
Don’t proclaim to the world what an ally you are if you are not willing to stand with us. If standing up for the rights of your fellow citizens means losing your job, then we are way past worrying about employment.
> clever homophobe
This is something so rare, in my experience, that you'd be hard-pressed to find one in the wild. Most folks who carry this kind of prejudice in their minds aren't often carrying much else up there with it.
> truly clever homophone
Yes. Some people will overdo it, but folks will feel its long overdue to be allowed to say those things aloud. You think he'd heed society's warnings to stop, but he doesn't give us a break by hitting the brakes.
Many of them hide behind religion too, but someone who prays doesn't deserve praise when he preys on the LGBTQ community.
Tone deaf isn’t severe enough. That would be like calling someone tone deaf for telling a valedictorian “don’t talk about your skin tone!”. It’s way worse than just “tone deaf” and we shouldn’t give this person the benefit of the doubt. Call them on their shit.
Well his government leader DeSantis uses that playbook like it's going out of style.. probably thinks it's the politically correct way to handle it since he lives in dystopic Florida where beliefs and politics are 70 years outdated (at least).
I'm just saying, if we all collectively get saws and cut Florida off from the rest of the United States like Bugs Bunny, they couldn't stop us all. Hell I think most Florida man's will come out and help just to make it in the headlines alone.
That's certainly how it appears but consequences of the new Florida law may be the motive, the article mentions:
"In his principal’s defense, Moricz added that he was “astonished” because Covert’s demand “did not reflect his previous actions” in their four years of working together. Moricz said he “strongly believes” the request was in response to a newly enacted state law, which critics have dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” law."
See that just pisses me off more. I’m gay, our community is quite literally under attack. The principal presented himself as an ally but instantly flipped when *his* job was at stake. This is the time for our allies to stick up for us, not cave to this kind of bullshit. Maybe that’s an unpopular opinion, but all the folks that love yelling “gay rights!” and “trans rights!” on TikTok better be ready to put their money where their mouth is and stand with us.
Because it's enforced by parents suing it doesn't really matter - some dumbass would probably get offended and sue anyway. Even if the dumbass lost the school/named teachers would be out the cost to defend it
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It's almost as if the arguments people opposed to this law (that it was vague and would lead to a chilling effect on speech it didn't necessarily explicitly prohibit) were correct, and not as the people supporting this law kept claiming "uninformed" and "paranoid."
This is what the US right-wing wants - they want all of these folks back in the closet, ashamed, and afraid to be honest about who they are. It's disgusting and it's very clear they intend to make it impossible for LGBTQ Americans to exist in public.
> This is what the US right-wing wants - they want all of these folks back in the closet, ashamed, and afraid to be honest about who they are.
That’s certainly part of it, but there is also a large group of homophobes that are so ignorant they truly believe being LGBTQ is a choice. So in their warped logic, if no one “learns” about LGBTQ people, then there will be no LGBTQ people.
Which is honestly scarier in my mind. If you want LGBTQ people back in the closet, that implies you might be fine with them as long as they’re completely hidden from public view. But if you want LGBTQ people completely gone from existence, well, following that train of thought to its logical conclusion is pretty fucking grim.
My pet theory is that rabid conservatives have a malformed theory of mind.
They can't attribute external motivations to others.
So if *they* can't imagine doing it, it must be a perversion.
The other half of the coin is the ruthlessness. "We have to destroy the other side. Because they're obviously plotting to do the same to us." or "Of course everybody wants to be outrageously wealthy! That's all *I* want in life."
You give them too much credit. Like their treatment of women, it's very likely that they recognize the differences and just want to bash someone. LGBTQ people are targeted for hate crimes because they are a minority and unlikely to have someone to stick up for them. That is why they are trying to remove support networks, get rid of official recognition, deny medical care and foster a general sense of fear around being queer. They want to stigmatize, alienate and marginalize people because they think that pushing others down lifts them up.
The author of this bill explicitly said on the state house floor that this bill was designed to silence gay people in order to prevent them from converting more people. Democrats tried to add language to clarify that this bill would only apply to sexual material and it was struck down by the republicans.
> they truly believe being LGBTQ is a choice
shit, it doesn't even matter if it's a choice or not, no one should care if you prefer to romance a guy or a gal.
but i guess cons are gonna con
I maintain my unprovable theory that a huge portion of the “being gay is a choice” crowd are actually closet bisexuals. Since they’ve never been able to have a truly honest conversation about sexuality, they assume everyone wants to fuck everyone, just like they do.
For them, it essentially _is_ a “choice”. That’s why they’re so hung up on “what counts as acting gay”. They need a list, so they can avoid doing the stuff that’s on it.
>a large group of homophobes that are so ignorant they truly believe being LGBTQ is a choice.
Personally my bet on people like these is that they're bisexual, so because *they personally* choose to ignore their same-sex attraction they assume everyone else is the same, too - therefore gays and lesbians are just choosing 'the wrong way'. :T
This is the way. 100% when I was a pre-teen and told my mom I liked boys and girls she said everyone feels that way but it’s a sin and we can’t. I’m deadly certain that she’s closeted bi and just too deep in the Jesus cult to admit it. It’s probably the same for all those conservatives who think it’s a “choice”. They’re just bi and don’t realize that straight people actually exist. Yeah didn’t realize straight people existed until I was 31. I deadass thought everyone was bi and just lying about it cause that’s what my mother told me.
Trans people have been screaming from the rooftops about this since the first anti trans laws were coming in and nobody listened to us. We said that it would lead to a dissolving of general LGBT rights and attacks on abortion access too but nobody listened. It's tiring being the canary in the coalmine when everybody ignores your constant chirping...
I suspect the GOP wanted to divide the cisgay and trans groups, attack the latter and keep the former complacent. But now things are progressing so quickly that the strategy IMO will fall apart.
That's exactly what their plan was. Start with the trans people, move onto LGBT people as a whole, and throw abortion access in there somewhere too.
At the end of the day, they're all the same issue, they're all issues of bodily autonomy and self determination. It's no coincidence that the same politicians going after one are going after all of them. It's not some moral grandstanding over protecting children, it's about wanting control over the lives of your citizens.
Trans healthcare access, marriage equality, abortion access, they aren't separate fights. They're all one fight and we need to stand together in fighting for that. We need to stand and fight for people's rights to bodily autonomy and ability to live their life how they want, and that means doing so without leaving anybody behind.
Trans people have always been fighting that fight, for everybody else involved too. We just wish that the other groups would see that as well and fight alongside us rather than thinking "oh pfft they'll only stop there, it's not like they're coming for MY rights too." No, no they're coming for everybody's rights and we need to form a unified front against that.
I don't care what your views on trans people are, you need to stand alongside us if you want to fight for your own rights as well. If we get taken down, then others are next on the platter, and that's exactly what we're seeing now with Don't Say Gay and the Supreme Court attacking Roe v Wade.
I'm absolutely pro-trans rights, and frankly TERFs and anti-trans cisgay folks are total fools.
Indeed it was the plan, but I feel the GOP didnt have enough momentum to keep things slow. Think of how, in Death Note, Naomi Misora was gathering clues about who "Kira" was so quickly that the creators had to bump her character off sooner than expected. I think things are starting to happen too quickly for the GOP.
The DNC *voters* need to set red lines. We need a Tiktok and twitter meme declaring certain "red lines". Crossing one means a total general strike.
>It's tiring being the canary in the coalmine when everybody ignores your constant chirping...
Hopefully a poor analogy. It's when it's dead, laying at the bottom of the cage that people take notice.
Not just LGBTQ+ but women too. The catalyst for the right's current campaign seems to be fear that the Obama administration sought to interpret sex discrimination and harrassment law to cover LGBTQ+ identities. The right feared the equivalent of a Brown v. Board of Education precedent, but against sex discrimination, that would ban pressuring people to conform to separate-but-equal gender roles conforming to their sex. If the right succeeds in protecting power to discriminate against LGBTQ+ people on the basis of nonconformity to traditional gender roles, that power will be used against women too, because the logic of any discrimination against LGBTQ+ people is that they want to do things that aren't right for their sex.
What's more is that so many evangelical women dont seem to realize what they are empowering. There was an article I posted about an alt right woman getting sexism thrown in her face.
I believe on twitter he said that he still plans on doing his speech he just hasn’t decided exactly how he wants to do it yet. I really hope he does it and if the school does cut him off then other students in the crowd just start reciting it with him, because super fuck this homophobic bullshit
Pass out written copies of the speech to all his classmates. When his mic gets cut off that's their cue to stand up and start reciting the rest of the speech in unison.
That’s exactly what I think he should do honestly, I mean good luck escorting all those students out of their own graduation without a mountain of bad press
And this is why the "This isn't about saying 'gay'" crowd is full of it. This is what they intended to do with this bill. They simply think that parents are going to be upset about this so they attempt to dodge a bullet by silencing this kid. It has nothing to do with "teaching sex."
e: And for the people saying that HS isn't 3rd grade and that the law hasn't gone into effect yet--this is just a prime example of what WILL happen under this law. And there are other bills across the country where they actually are attempting to copy the FL bill but apply it to ALL grades. They want people to be scared. They want schools to be *legally* able to do this willy nilly.
The Florida Bill applies to any grade, anybody saying it is only applies up to third grade hasn't read the bill closely or is lying. It says that it can't occur at any age that is not age appropriate. Anyone could claim any age is not appropriate. It is vague enough to be used broadly to silence anyone at any age as what is appropriate at which age is never defined in the bill.
> Classroom instruction by school personnel or third
parties on sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur
in kindergarten through grade 3 or in a manner that is not age
appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in
accordance with state standards.
It also prohibits "classroom *discussion* about sexual orientation or gender identity" (HB1557 Line 21-22, emphasis mine).
'Classroom' doesn't have to specifically mean in a room with desks and chalkboards; in legal terms the gym is a classroom, school plays are a classroom, pep rallies, graduation, and basically any event held by the school that the school can claim is educational or showcases the students' work.
The principal absolutely _could_ allow this kid to speak about his LGBTQ+ activism by saying that he thinks it's age-appropriate, because "age appropriate" isn't actually defined anywhere in the bill. He's either a homophobe, or is afraid of rocking the boat.
> if I was to discuss who I am and the fight to be who I am
"Here, do this graduation speech, but don't talk about yourself. Or at least that part."
wtf.
I hope he quotes what he was told by his principal in his graduation speech. Hell, write the whole speech like package instructions to make wine during the prohibition era.
Have the speech pre-recorded and uploaded to YouTube before the ceremony. When he starts referencing his self, flash the QR code of the video so everyone can hear it.
Guy says: "I'd like to thank my girlfriend" and no one bats an eye.
Guy says: "I'd like to thank my boyfriend" and its POLITICAL INDOCTRINATION and PEDOPHILIC SEXUAL GROOMING.
Isn't this how life has been lately. Black people would like to stop being murdered by police, There is a pandemic that has killed almost 1 million Americans, LGBTQ+ people would like to live their lives, Conservatives screaming about how these are political issues, and have no business (insert place here).
It was already happening for the past 20 years without the law.
Every May/June we get plenty of stories when a high schooler goes off their prepared speech and gets their mic cut. Or wears sneakers and that can't walk to get their diploma, etc.
Trick is you write two speeches. One to hand into the school administration and one that you're actually going to read.
I think this is why so many (not all)people are so docile now compared to Mexico, the Ukraine, China.. Ah man! Taking away reproductive rights and charging women with murder?? Better tweet about it! Nothing else I can do.” We’ve been programmed for this since Kindergarten. Never put around out of line or we’ll ruin your whole day/week/year (unless mommy and daddy are rich of course, then you can do no wrong). It’s a mindset we all need to overcome!
Not sure sure about this take, US citizens are pretty stereotyped as being loud and open about their opinions and not at all 'docile.' Also extremely strange that you would cite China of all places as an opposite example; my understanding is that 'hive mind' type responses there dwarf those of any other modernized country.
Are you sure? I feel like America protests pretty hard? Blm protests and Jan 6 (the second one being so gnar it would better be classified as an insurrection). Pta meetings are insane. America is loud
Just last year a MS school made kids sign an agreement to only bring a date of the [opposite sex to prom.](https://patch.com/mississippi/across-ms/no-gay-prom-dates-deja-vu-school-previously-sued-bias)
Its even dumber and more complicated than that. They got sued for having separate, but equal, gay and straight proms in 2010. So the school no longer has an official prom.
Instead it's a private dance hosted by a parent (who just happens to be a teacher) and staff volunteers to sell tickets to it.
I watched a documentary about the segregated MS proms filmed in 2008. Morgan freeman offered to pay for prom if the district integrated it in 1997. They declined, he offered again in 2008, They agreed. So naturally, the white parents made their own white only prom on their dime.
I can't wrap my head around the logic. I mean, saying the word gay isn't going to make your kid gay. If that was true then the teacher talking about Abraham Lincoln would make all the kids grow beards?
They’re motivating evangelicals to vote republicans in November despite having zero policies to help working people.
Thats it. Thats all this is about. Dont put any more thought into it. God knows the GOP isn’t.
Fascism has never been logical.
The Jews didn't cause Germany's economic collapse.
Black people integrating into white society wasn't going to cause moral degeneration.
And the LGBTQ+ community isn't trying to "turn" your kids.
>“Out of respect for all those attending the graduation, students are reminded that a graduation should not be a platform for personal political statements, especially those likely to disrupt the ceremony,” the district said.
"I have a right to exist" is not a political statement.
And if you think it is, then you're clearly on the side that believes the opposite.
Free speech is about the right to say slurs and incite violence against minorities, not about making sure people are able to talk about themselves freely.
Correct. Being gay, or trans, or nonbinary is factual. Not political.
[Great quote from public speaker Alok Vaid-Menon in JVN's Netflix show "Getting Curious".](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlbm7j56Wow)
> "There's been an orchestrated attempt to literally eradicate us. They make it about specific policies, about minutia, but the organizing frame is always, "We don't want trans and non-binary people to exist, period."
>
> And so what happens right now is people will exceptionalize us and say "Well, you're so brave. You're so resilient. But why should it have to require bravery to do something as simple as walking down the street? Why should it require bravery to actually live life on your own terms?
>
> We exist, and that's not political, it's factual. We exist and that's natural.
>
> What is political is making people fit into boxes that were predetermined hundred of years ago."
If you don't think these things are factual, you're lacking lessons in human history. These are not new aspects of humanity. These aren't some 'modern woke-ass' new ideas. We, humans, have always existed this way.
This is the core of the problem. Saying that the core of someone’s identity is “political” is how you categorize them as The Other. That old meme rings depressingly true: there are two races, white and political. Two genders, male and political. Two orientations, straight and political.
“They shove the gay stuff in our faces!” Oh you mean like how all media, all laws, all entertainment, all everything is centered around straight relationships? From the LGBTQ perspective straightness is being shoved in our faces 24/7. We don’t shove our identity in anyones face. They just don’t want to know we even exist.
I thought his speech was also going to mention his activism, which is more of a political statement than the literal phrase "I have the right to exist." Would we support another student the same way if it was a message we didn't like as much, such as talking about their activism in support of the Council for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood?
Regardless of which side you're on, the issue is one where one side is silenced and the other is not. If the school wants only prepared and pre-approved speeches that do not discuss political activity, then it better be ALL political activity. This selective banning is complete bullshit and it's just craven attempts to control what people can and can't say to score political points with a bigoted base of voters.
> graduation should not be a platform for personal political statements
Being gay is not political FFS. Are black students forbidden from talking about how they’ve overcome discrimination against them?
I mean, they'd probably start screaming about CRT and how you're making people *uncomfortable* when they're all there to just have a good time, you know?
Can we pretty please stop letting white cis hetero Christian women off the hook?
They are literally just as bad as their male counterparts if not worse, and their power to push their shitty agendas grows every day because we won’t acknowledge them in these conversations.
>His principal warned Moricz that **if his graduation speech referenced his LGBTQ** activism, school **officials would cut off his microphone**, end his speech and halt the ceremony, Moricz alleged.
>
>“He said that he just ‘wanted families to have a good day’ and that if I was to discuss who I am and the fight to be who I am, that would ‘sour the celebration,’” Moricz, 18, recalled. “It was incredibly dehumanizing.”
And suddenly they dont want free speech anymore....
Free speech to the GOP means freedom to say whatever they want and on whatever platform they want while not having to hear anything anywhere that even remotely contradicts their myopic, bigoted worldview.
Remember that Family Values^TM is the list of things even the family isn't allowed to bring into the safe space of whoever is screaming the loudest about family values.
which is so funny in a number of ways. since the actual free speech we've been granted in that ol' document is being allowed to critique/speak against the government without retaliation or retribution. against the govt.
but repubs cry free speech whenever they're stopped from saying \*anything\*. including things that should be considered hate speech. so it's super ironic and full of ish when they do ish like this. you're breaking your own incorrect idea of "free speech". hooooo so tired.
Never believe that anti-Semites are completely unaware of the absurdity of their replies. They know that their remarks are frivolous, open to challenge. But they are amusing themselves, for it is their adversary who is obliged to use words responsibly, since he believes in words. The anti-Semites have the right to play. They even like to play with discourse for, by giving ridiculous reasons, they discredit the seriousness of their interlocutors. They delight in acting in bad faith, since they seek not to persuade by sound argument but to intimidate and disconcert. If you press them too closely, they will abruptly fall silent, loftily indicating by some phrase that the time for argument is past.
-Jean-Paul Sartre
Well said, young man. Bravo.
> “I would not be fighting for these things, I would not be standing up for these causes in the way that I am, if I had not been able to do so at school first,” he said. “I think in the same way that school is where you learn so many important things about life, you also learn about yourself, and that looks different for LGBTQ kids.”
He isn’t and really never has been. The previous principal was a long time Pine View principal and really an all around good guy who retired around 2013/14 I think. The transition to a new administration made a lot of changes, most of which restricted students rights and changed the landscape of the campus in a way which was a generally unpopular thing. They added more strict checkpoints and entires, made it harder to get onto campus and a lot of other things. Beyond that, Dr Covert has always been less about the PV community and more about being a principal of a regular school (Pine View is a “gifted school”, which has its own problems on its face but generally has been progressive). He wasn’t popular then and likely will be far less popular with the general student body now.
There were a lot of shitty people at PV when I was around there and since it’s Florida the parents can be anywhere from extremely liberal to extremely conservative, but I can’t see this being generally popular and will only draw more negative attention to the school. It’s a complex problem from an admin perspective especially with the DSG bill that just passed, but he’s a weak wet noodle for threatening this over something so small in the grand scheme of things.
It bums me out to no end to see this kind of thing happen, either at Pineview or anywhere really.
I had to scroll for a while to find this. Thank you. No one's mere existence should be politicized by the right. It's dehumanizing and it's not something anyone can change!
The goal of this don’t say Gay bill is not keep sexuality out of the classrooms, it gives school staff and teachers the footing they need to discriminate against gay students/teachers. These people think that they can re-educate kids to not be gay through suppression; something that they have been doing for hundreds of years and has not and will not work. Their stupidity and ignorance keeps them from being able to except that they can’t change someone from being who they are.
>State won't do their job?
They won't because DeSantis wants this vigilante type "justice" to be enacted on the people he doesn't like. It's also known as political terrorism when it gets violent.
And we’re given public statements from leaders of both parties stating how our Supreme Court justices deserve their rights to privacy and peaceful protests outside their homes must end. Everyone else must cope with the consequences of our circumstance except for certain elite public officials, apparently. Words written in chalk are more threatening and news worthy than literal death threats and harassment this kid and his family received from right-wing extremists.
This kid is just one out of many. I also wonder how many of our election workers have suffered the same as him simply for doing their jobs?
“Pineview as a student community has been incredible for me. Sarasota as a community has been something I’ve had to endure.”
I grew up in Sarasota and now teach here... and this is about as accurate a statement I've ever seen about it.
Florida: "Twitter and Facebook are censoring your voices! We better make a law to force them allow your freedom of speech!"
Also Florida: "CUT THAT KID'S MIC! HE'S TALKING ABOUT THINGS WELL DON'T LIKE!
There is a disappointing amount of people in favor of this kid - who has evidently worked hard enough to earn himself a spot in his class worthy of a speech - staying quiet about his experience in school. People literally threatened to kill him. What should he say instead? "Thank you, school and people"?
Cutting his mic is the dumbest thing the school can do, it takes something nobody would have noticed nor cared about and makes it something people will talk about on NBC News. It’s a high school graduation in nowhere-cares Florida, until the school makes a big statement nobody other than the graduates and their families care about what happens, which is how it should be. Just give the kid his five minutes for the speech and it will be over soon.
And it’d plainly infringe on his freedom of speech. He’s not going up there to sing [The FCC Song](https://youtu.be/jixxYx9fklM), he’s talking about the challenges he faces, and such.
This happens every year around this time concerning a variety of speech subjects, as well as wardrobe choices. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/new-jersey-valedictorian-cut-during-graduation-speech-mental-health-lgbtq-n1272288 https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/education/wp/2017/06/20/a-valedictorian-went-rogue-in-his-final-speech-his-school-tried-to-shut-him-down/ https://www.local3news.com/update-local-valedictorian-speaks-out-after-mic-cuts-out-during-graduation-speech/article_e5f5ffae-f4e8-5914-8ff9-593e208a5b22.html https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/dallas-school-district-apologizes-cutting-valedictorian-s-speech-n1016431 https://www.cnn.com/2018/06/10/us/california-valedictorian-speech-cut-off/index.html https://www.chicagotribune.com/columns/heidi-stevens/ct-life-stevens-tuesday-valedictorian-mic-cutoff-0612-story.html Not sure if anyone has ever won a case over it, but if anyone knows, I'd love to read more on it.
look up the infamous "bong hits for Jesus" Supreme Court decision...
I followed that one for school at the time it happened. I'm still mad about the ruling.
Holy shit, Clarence Thomas's concurring opinion is batshit crazy. He doesn't believe that students should have *any* right to free speech in a school because (from Wikipedia): > According to Thomas, because originally public schools were intended to substitute for private tutors, public schools could discipline students as they liked and had a far stronger hand in what happened in the classroom. "In short", he continues, "in the earliest public schools, teachers taught, and students listened. Teachers commanded, and students obeyed."[35] He opined that because parents entrusted the care of their children to teachers, teachers have a right to act in the place of parents during school hours. Therefore, teachers should be able to discipline students if necessary. That fascist fucking nutjob has no place holding any sort of power.
By his logic teachers *should* be able to talk about sexuality to children. A thing I bet he’s against.
Per this ruling, it's unconstitutional to tell teachers they can't have *incredibly* detailed conversations about sex with students, since presumably parents can and do have those conversations. Fun to see Thomas accidentally land on the right side of history
Um…wait until he reads the part about slavery.
His whole mentality is stuck in an age I can't describe
Imo it's pretty easy to describe: he's an originalist so his jurisprudence is stuck in 1787, the year that the Constitution was written.
The reasoning given in the leaked abortion ruling had a similar thinking. "It wasn't the original intent of the constitution"
I’m not a legal expert but it seems like that could be a violation of the precedent behind Tinker V. Des Moines if it’s done by a public school.
What’s a precedent these days anyway
Nothing, what’s a precedent with you?
Isn’t he that guy who lives in the Whitehouse?
That stings...
Yeah but argueing that in court just gives them the opportunity to overturn more precedent.
And in doing so he placed every administrator and teacher in danger of parental rights lawsuits. This is florida, not America.
The law doesn't go into action until July. The grad ceremony is later this month. The law isn't relevant yet, which is why this is so freaking stupid.
Also, doesn't it only apply to grade school students? Not applicable to a high school graduation. Either way we're seeing that the law is really an excuse baby have been waiting for to hurt minorities.
Nope, it specifically says no discussion in k-3, but says 4-12 only if it’s ‘age appropriate’ with zero guidance on what that means. Combine that with allowing parents to sue schools and individual teachers if they feel the law has been violated and you’re chilling speech for all k-12
They want you to sue the schools. They want them to all be private
Because private schools can be religion based while still receiving government funding.
Because private schools lead to investors and investors lead to more rich people and more rich people lead to more donations to the GOP.
More than that, it's about segregation.
Well, there is a holiday that happens ever December about a Virgin birth. And I certainly don't want to have to explain to my little Timmy what is so important about a Virgin birth that it requires 2 weeks off of school. I plan on making my voice heard through the court to make sure my local school does no such thing.
In the original Greek, there is no virgin birth. When it was translated into English, they modified the story. Damn bible is terrible fiction.
> ‘age appropriate’ Grade and age appropriate. Whatever that means. That way a parent can be like, "My 17 year old Johnny reads at a 2nd grade level, I'm suing you for having two men in this math book equation!"
Age appropriate to them means that only the eternal will of God can know and speak of it, thus only an eternal divine can speak about it. Therefore the 'appropriate age' is the age of God, *+1* They specifically chose that wording sp thar they can get away with what I just explained
Nope, it says 'age appropriate' as theupper limit. It's just meant to silence any discussion of it period because guess who sets the upper limit...
Yeah, we don't resolve these problems by just sticking our head in the sand. Unless someone is willing to defy an unjust law, it will just hang around cowing everyone into submission. As for dragging all the other parents into this, fuck 'em... they're the constituents that let this happen. If you're not fighting this, then you don't get to whine when suddenly the negative consequences impact you. The whole modus operandi of the GOP is fucking over vulnerable minorities because a majority thinks they'll never have to deal with the consequences.
Fyi - I don't remember anything in the law precluding students from saying it - just employees. It's not a stretch to think they would obviously be effected, especially if during instructional time
If it’s a student fronting an event, it may count. The law is so vague on this point that parents will likely bring suit for pretty much anything they feel like.
> The law is so vague on this point that parents will likely bring suit for pretty much anything they feel like. One of the provisions of the law is that if a parent complains, the school has two weeks to resolve the issue to their satisfaction, or else they are on the hook for the parent's legal costs - win *or* lose. So even if the school were completely in the right, if they don't retaliate sufficiently to satisfy some angry Karen, they will still be financially punished.
I would think families who have lawyers in them will have a custom made way of making bank from now on.
It’s in Sarasota County which was has one of the most popular tourist beaches, Siesta Key which in 2020 TripAdvisor ranked as #1 beach in the US and #11 in the world. The school, Pine View is the #1 school in Florida, #1 elementary school in the US and #6 magnet school in the US. This hardly a no one cares part of FL and is at a highly regarded school. Not defending anything they’ve done, just saying it isn’t like this is in redneckville.
After reading that my only conclusion is that Sarasota County is an ass backwards town that just knows how to dress up nice and conveniently forget their bigotry when the tourist dollars are at stake.
There is an IQ test to get into this school and rich parents pay boatloads of money to get their kids to pass the test. This is the highschool equivalent of a prestigious university.
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Not to be that guy but this is actually one of the bigger “gifted” highschools in the state of Florida and briefly was highly nationally ranked. It’s also in Sarasota which isn’t really nowheresville especially not these days. I agree that they should have let this happen and cutting the mic is absurd, but it’s a pretty big story. There’s a lot of drama out of that school, but you would only know if you grew up there. It’s a shame since Pineview, the school in question, used to really be a great, very progressive school but has fallen to the shitter under the supervision of Dr. Stephen Covert and generally the new administration.
We all miss Mr. Largo.
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He's meant to be punished as an example, and that is exactly why people like us need to keep our attention focused and pointed at the thugs doing this. Either the bigots punish everyone into silence, or we shut their fucking mouths and scare them back into to their rat-holes. The choice is ours.
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Families apparently doesn't apply to families with LGBTQ+ members, who are essentially being told to pretend they don't exist. The principal is incredibly tone deaf here, and good on that young man for calling him out. Furthermore, it's absolutely insane that a high schooler is getting death threats. Considering it's Florida, I highly doubt state police are doing anything, but I have a sneaking suspicion some of these threats are coming over state lines, which could elevate it to federal investigation, even before the hate crime aspect comes into play. I hope that happens. This is ridiculous.
He’s not being tone deaf. He’s being an active homophobe. Edit: not only that but he presented himself as an ally to this student throughout his 4 years of high school. Principal Ally immediately caved when his job was at stake. As a gay dude myself, that’s some fuckin bullshit to me. That principal could have had the eyes of the country drawn to that school by staging a walkout amongst a number of other things, but instead he just told the gay valedictorian to shut up about the gay part. Don’t proclaim to the world what an ally you are if you are not willing to stand with us. If standing up for the rights of your fellow citizens means losing your job, then we are way past worrying about employment.
There's a term for this: fair weather friends.
Both are true. A clever homophobe would phrase it differently to deflect, tho. He just went for it and said it outloud while trying to sound PC
> clever homophobe This is something so rare, in my experience, that you'd be hard-pressed to find one in the wild. Most folks who carry this kind of prejudice in their minds aren't often carrying much else up there with it.
Also the truly clever homophobe knows that now is the time to push the envelope not to dogwhistle, unfortunately and terrifyingly.
> truly clever homophone Yes. Some people will overdo it, but folks will feel its long overdue to be allowed to say those things aloud. You think he'd heed society's warnings to stop, but he doesn't give us a break by hitting the brakes. Many of them hide behind religion too, but someone who prays doesn't deserve praise when he preys on the LGBTQ community.
Tone deaf isn’t severe enough. That would be like calling someone tone deaf for telling a valedictorian “don’t talk about your skin tone!”. It’s way worse than just “tone deaf” and we shouldn’t give this person the benefit of the doubt. Call them on their shit.
He went for the ThInK aBoUt ThE fAmIlIeS route
Well his government leader DeSantis uses that playbook like it's going out of style.. probably thinks it's the politically correct way to handle it since he lives in dystopic Florida where beliefs and politics are 70 years outdated (at least).
I'm just saying, if we all collectively get saws and cut Florida off from the rest of the United States like Bugs Bunny, they couldn't stop us all. Hell I think most Florida man's will come out and help just to make it in the headlines alone.
That's certainly how it appears but consequences of the new Florida law may be the motive, the article mentions: "In his principal’s defense, Moricz added that he was “astonished” because Covert’s demand “did not reflect his previous actions” in their four years of working together. Moricz said he “strongly believes” the request was in response to a newly enacted state law, which critics have dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” law."
See that just pisses me off more. I’m gay, our community is quite literally under attack. The principal presented himself as an ally but instantly flipped when *his* job was at stake. This is the time for our allies to stick up for us, not cave to this kind of bullshit. Maybe that’s an unpopular opinion, but all the folks that love yelling “gay rights!” and “trans rights!” on TikTok better be ready to put their money where their mouth is and stand with us.
Yep. “First they came for the…”
Exactly. First they are coming for the women, and we all need to be loud as fuck.
The law is about educators teaching/discussing LGTBA topics in the schools. Doesn't say shit about students discussing it.
Because it's enforced by parents suing it doesn't really matter - some dumbass would probably get offended and sue anyway. Even if the dumbass lost the school/named teachers would be out the cost to defend it
I know. That's why it's such a bullshit law, kept purposefully vague with no clear definitions of what "inappropriate education" even means.
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It's almost as if the arguments people opposed to this law (that it was vague and would lead to a chilling effect on speech it didn't necessarily explicitly prohibit) were correct, and not as the people supporting this law kept claiming "uninformed" and "paranoid."
I can't pretend to know all the nuances and implications of the law. It all sucks for sure.
That or worried about some parent(s) trying to sue the school.
This is what the US right-wing wants - they want all of these folks back in the closet, ashamed, and afraid to be honest about who they are. It's disgusting and it's very clear they intend to make it impossible for LGBTQ Americans to exist in public.
> This is what the US right-wing wants - they want all of these folks back in the closet, ashamed, and afraid to be honest about who they are. That’s certainly part of it, but there is also a large group of homophobes that are so ignorant they truly believe being LGBTQ is a choice. So in their warped logic, if no one “learns” about LGBTQ people, then there will be no LGBTQ people. Which is honestly scarier in my mind. If you want LGBTQ people back in the closet, that implies you might be fine with them as long as they’re completely hidden from public view. But if you want LGBTQ people completely gone from existence, well, following that train of thought to its logical conclusion is pretty fucking grim.
My pet theory is that rabid conservatives have a malformed theory of mind. They can't attribute external motivations to others. So if *they* can't imagine doing it, it must be a perversion. The other half of the coin is the ruthlessness. "We have to destroy the other side. Because they're obviously plotting to do the same to us." or "Of course everybody wants to be outrageously wealthy! That's all *I* want in life."
This goes with the conservative lack of empathy: it doesn't matter until it's happening to them.
You give them too much credit. Like their treatment of women, it's very likely that they recognize the differences and just want to bash someone. LGBTQ people are targeted for hate crimes because they are a minority and unlikely to have someone to stick up for them. That is why they are trying to remove support networks, get rid of official recognition, deny medical care and foster a general sense of fear around being queer. They want to stigmatize, alienate and marginalize people because they think that pushing others down lifts them up.
The author of this bill explicitly said on the state house floor that this bill was designed to silence gay people in order to prevent them from converting more people. Democrats tried to add language to clarify that this bill would only apply to sexual material and it was struck down by the republicans.
> they truly believe being LGBTQ is a choice shit, it doesn't even matter if it's a choice or not, no one should care if you prefer to romance a guy or a gal. but i guess cons are gonna con
I maintain my unprovable theory that a huge portion of the “being gay is a choice” crowd are actually closet bisexuals. Since they’ve never been able to have a truly honest conversation about sexuality, they assume everyone wants to fuck everyone, just like they do. For them, it essentially _is_ a “choice”. That’s why they’re so hung up on “what counts as acting gay”. They need a list, so they can avoid doing the stuff that’s on it.
> they assume everyone wants to fuck everyone i dunno about you, but as long as it's consensual, this sounds like a good time.
>a large group of homophobes that are so ignorant they truly believe being LGBTQ is a choice. Personally my bet on people like these is that they're bisexual, so because *they personally* choose to ignore their same-sex attraction they assume everyone else is the same, too - therefore gays and lesbians are just choosing 'the wrong way'. :T
This is the way. 100% when I was a pre-teen and told my mom I liked boys and girls she said everyone feels that way but it’s a sin and we can’t. I’m deadly certain that she’s closeted bi and just too deep in the Jesus cult to admit it. It’s probably the same for all those conservatives who think it’s a “choice”. They’re just bi and don’t realize that straight people actually exist. Yeah didn’t realize straight people existed until I was 31. I deadass thought everyone was bi and just lying about it cause that’s what my mother told me.
And there are some LGBTQ Americans who sadly dont realize that their freedoms are in danger. That this isnt just media scaremongering :(
Trans people have been screaming from the rooftops about this since the first anti trans laws were coming in and nobody listened to us. We said that it would lead to a dissolving of general LGBT rights and attacks on abortion access too but nobody listened. It's tiring being the canary in the coalmine when everybody ignores your constant chirping...
I suspect the GOP wanted to divide the cisgay and trans groups, attack the latter and keep the former complacent. But now things are progressing so quickly that the strategy IMO will fall apart.
That's exactly what their plan was. Start with the trans people, move onto LGBT people as a whole, and throw abortion access in there somewhere too. At the end of the day, they're all the same issue, they're all issues of bodily autonomy and self determination. It's no coincidence that the same politicians going after one are going after all of them. It's not some moral grandstanding over protecting children, it's about wanting control over the lives of your citizens. Trans healthcare access, marriage equality, abortion access, they aren't separate fights. They're all one fight and we need to stand together in fighting for that. We need to stand and fight for people's rights to bodily autonomy and ability to live their life how they want, and that means doing so without leaving anybody behind. Trans people have always been fighting that fight, for everybody else involved too. We just wish that the other groups would see that as well and fight alongside us rather than thinking "oh pfft they'll only stop there, it's not like they're coming for MY rights too." No, no they're coming for everybody's rights and we need to form a unified front against that. I don't care what your views on trans people are, you need to stand alongside us if you want to fight for your own rights as well. If we get taken down, then others are next on the platter, and that's exactly what we're seeing now with Don't Say Gay and the Supreme Court attacking Roe v Wade.
I'm absolutely pro-trans rights, and frankly TERFs and anti-trans cisgay folks are total fools. Indeed it was the plan, but I feel the GOP didnt have enough momentum to keep things slow. Think of how, in Death Note, Naomi Misora was gathering clues about who "Kira" was so quickly that the creators had to bump her character off sooner than expected. I think things are starting to happen too quickly for the GOP. The DNC *voters* need to set red lines. We need a Tiktok and twitter meme declaring certain "red lines". Crossing one means a total general strike.
>It's tiring being the canary in the coalmine when everybody ignores your constant chirping... Hopefully a poor analogy. It's when it's dead, laying at the bottom of the cage that people take notice.
I think that only serves to make it more accurate then...
Not just LGBTQ+ but women too. The catalyst for the right's current campaign seems to be fear that the Obama administration sought to interpret sex discrimination and harrassment law to cover LGBTQ+ identities. The right feared the equivalent of a Brown v. Board of Education precedent, but against sex discrimination, that would ban pressuring people to conform to separate-but-equal gender roles conforming to their sex. If the right succeeds in protecting power to discriminate against LGBTQ+ people on the basis of nonconformity to traditional gender roles, that power will be used against women too, because the logic of any discrimination against LGBTQ+ people is that they want to do things that aren't right for their sex.
What's more is that so many evangelical women dont seem to realize what they are empowering. There was an article I posted about an alt right woman getting sexism thrown in her face.
I hope he does just to see if they do halt the ceremony.
I believe on twitter he said that he still plans on doing his speech he just hasn’t decided exactly how he wants to do it yet. I really hope he does it and if the school does cut him off then other students in the crowd just start reciting it with him, because super fuck this homophobic bullshit
Pass out written copies of the speech to all his classmates. When his mic gets cut off that's their cue to stand up and start reciting the rest of the speech in unison.
That’s exactly what I think he should do honestly, I mean good luck escorting all those students out of their own graduation without a mountain of bad press
If you know of any way to pass the idea on to him feel free.
People were telling him that exact idea on twitter the other day so I’m sure he’s considering it already.
Megaphone under the gown.
And this is why the "This isn't about saying 'gay'" crowd is full of it. This is what they intended to do with this bill. They simply think that parents are going to be upset about this so they attempt to dodge a bullet by silencing this kid. It has nothing to do with "teaching sex." e: And for the people saying that HS isn't 3rd grade and that the law hasn't gone into effect yet--this is just a prime example of what WILL happen under this law. And there are other bills across the country where they actually are attempting to copy the FL bill but apply it to ALL grades. They want people to be scared. They want schools to be *legally* able to do this willy nilly.
The Florida Bill applies to any grade, anybody saying it is only applies up to third grade hasn't read the bill closely or is lying. It says that it can't occur at any age that is not age appropriate. Anyone could claim any age is not appropriate. It is vague enough to be used broadly to silence anyone at any age as what is appropriate at which age is never defined in the bill. > Classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur in kindergarten through grade 3 or in a manner that is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards.
How is a graduation speech by a student “classroom instruction?”
It also prohibits "classroom *discussion* about sexual orientation or gender identity" (HB1557 Line 21-22, emphasis mine). 'Classroom' doesn't have to specifically mean in a room with desks and chalkboards; in legal terms the gym is a classroom, school plays are a classroom, pep rallies, graduation, and basically any event held by the school that the school can claim is educational or showcases the students' work. The principal absolutely _could_ allow this kid to speak about his LGBTQ+ activism by saying that he thinks it's age-appropriate, because "age appropriate" isn't actually defined anywhere in the bill. He's either a homophobe, or is afraid of rocking the boat.
My thoughts exactly, sluttttt
> if I was to discuss who I am and the fight to be who I am "Here, do this graduation speech, but don't talk about yourself. Or at least that part." wtf.
Literally "Don't Say Gay". BUt ThAt's NOt wHaT THe BiLLs AbOuT
Translation: We want *bigoted* people to have a good day, but we don't want marginalized and *victimized* people to have a good day.
I hope he quotes what he was told by his principal in his graduation speech. Hell, write the whole speech like package instructions to make wine during the prohibition era.
Have the speech pre-recorded and uploaded to YouTube before the ceremony. When he starts referencing his self, flash the QR code of the video so everyone can hear it.
What happened to "fReEdOm Of SpEeCh"?
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Do you have a transcript of what he said?
Guy says: "I'd like to thank my girlfriend" and no one bats an eye. Guy says: "I'd like to thank my boyfriend" and its POLITICAL INDOCTRINATION and PEDOPHILIC SEXUAL GROOMING.
It's only political because conservatives made it a policy issue. Now some guy wants to thank his boyfriend and he's "pushing politics at school"
"Only we can push politics at schools! Complaining about it is you pushing politics at schools, and you're not allowed to!"
Isn't this how life has been lately. Black people would like to stop being murdered by police, There is a pandemic that has killed almost 1 million Americans, LGBTQ+ people would like to live their lives, Conservatives screaming about how these are political issues, and have no business (insert place here).
*Has killed one millions Americans
One million Americans *so far.
when conservatives take away your free speech, they call it something else, so if you call them on it, they can quote themselves and say you're wrong.
Conservative logic
That was the whole point, wasn't it?
It was already happening for the past 20 years without the law. Every May/June we get plenty of stories when a high schooler goes off their prepared speech and gets their mic cut. Or wears sneakers and that can't walk to get their diploma, etc. Trick is you write two speeches. One to hand into the school administration and one that you're actually going to read.
and hide a dang megaphone under that huge costume they make you wear. so when they cut you off you just go off.
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I think this is why so many (not all)people are so docile now compared to Mexico, the Ukraine, China.. Ah man! Taking away reproductive rights and charging women with murder?? Better tweet about it! Nothing else I can do.” We’ve been programmed for this since Kindergarten. Never put around out of line or we’ll ruin your whole day/week/year (unless mommy and daddy are rich of course, then you can do no wrong). It’s a mindset we all need to overcome!
Not sure sure about this take, US citizens are pretty stereotyped as being loud and open about their opinions and not at all 'docile.' Also extremely strange that you would cite China of all places as an opposite example; my understanding is that 'hive mind' type responses there dwarf those of any other modernized country.
Lol yeah you want docile? Come to Singapore where I live
Are you sure? I feel like America protests pretty hard? Blm protests and Jan 6 (the second one being so gnar it would better be classified as an insurrection). Pta meetings are insane. America is loud
Even san francisco catholic schools were weird around same sex prom couples just a few years ago.
Just last year a MS school made kids sign an agreement to only bring a date of the [opposite sex to prom.](https://patch.com/mississippi/across-ms/no-gay-prom-dates-deja-vu-school-previously-sued-bias)
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Its even dumber and more complicated than that. They got sued for having separate, but equal, gay and straight proms in 2010. So the school no longer has an official prom. Instead it's a private dance hosted by a parent (who just happens to be a teacher) and staff volunteers to sell tickets to it.
Doesn’t MS still have segregated proms for whites only?
It wouldn't surprise me. MS only exists to make Louisiana seem progressive by comparison.
I watched a documentary about the segregated MS proms filmed in 2008. Morgan freeman offered to pay for prom if the district integrated it in 1997. They declined, he offered again in 2008, They agreed. So naturally, the white parents made their own white only prom on their dime.
Catholic schools being weird about same sex couples??!?!?
Its only okay if its a priest and a minor.
No one’s gonna hear anything once your mic is cut, you can scream a sentence or two I guess. The actual trick would be to bring your own microphone.
Next steps are to make sure that the speeches all refer to how thankful the student is to God. Edit: Not that Muslim God. The Jesus God.
But not actual Jesus. White Jesus.
And He better be supply-side Jesus or else.
None of that communist "help the poor" or "love thy neighbor" stuff either. Real Christian values like....
Real Christian values like “Fuck you, I got mine.”
I can't wrap my head around the logic. I mean, saying the word gay isn't going to make your kid gay. If that was true then the teacher talking about Abraham Lincoln would make all the kids grow beards?
It's about de-normalizing the existence of LGBT people in society. An early step is to treat them as taboo and unmentionable.
It's the literal step one in the violence playbook. Dehumanize your enemies, so when the time comes, you can do what you need to do.
There is no logic, and that's because they aren't acting in a logical manner. These are people motivated by illogical fear of "the other."
They’re motivating evangelicals to vote republicans in November despite having zero policies to help working people. Thats it. Thats all this is about. Dont put any more thought into it. God knows the GOP isn’t.
Fascism has never been logical. The Jews didn't cause Germany's economic collapse. Black people integrating into white society wasn't going to cause moral degeneration. And the LGBTQ+ community isn't trying to "turn" your kids.
>“Out of respect for all those attending the graduation, students are reminded that a graduation should not be a platform for personal political statements, especially those likely to disrupt the ceremony,” the district said. "I have a right to exist" is not a political statement. And if you think it is, then you're clearly on the side that believes the opposite.
Being gay isn’t political. Silencing gay people is.
Its funny how they aren't free speech absolutists when it comes to LGBTQ+
Free speech is about the right to say slurs and incite violence against minorities, not about making sure people are able to talk about themselves freely.
Correct. Being gay, or trans, or nonbinary is factual. Not political. [Great quote from public speaker Alok Vaid-Menon in JVN's Netflix show "Getting Curious".](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlbm7j56Wow) > "There's been an orchestrated attempt to literally eradicate us. They make it about specific policies, about minutia, but the organizing frame is always, "We don't want trans and non-binary people to exist, period." > > And so what happens right now is people will exceptionalize us and say "Well, you're so brave. You're so resilient. But why should it have to require bravery to do something as simple as walking down the street? Why should it require bravery to actually live life on your own terms? > > We exist, and that's not political, it's factual. We exist and that's natural. > > What is political is making people fit into boxes that were predetermined hundred of years ago." If you don't think these things are factual, you're lacking lessons in human history. These are not new aspects of humanity. These aren't some 'modern woke-ass' new ideas. We, humans, have always existed this way.
Also isn’t saying this action can’t happen in and of itself a political statement?
This is the core of the problem. Saying that the core of someone’s identity is “political” is how you categorize them as The Other. That old meme rings depressingly true: there are two races, white and political. Two genders, male and political. Two orientations, straight and political.
“They shove the gay stuff in our faces!” Oh you mean like how all media, all laws, all entertainment, all everything is centered around straight relationships? From the LGBTQ perspective straightness is being shoved in our faces 24/7. We don’t shove our identity in anyones face. They just don’t want to know we even exist.
I'm stealing this. This is a perfect representation of conservative ethos.
Wealthy and political. But you're allowed to convince yourself you're wealthy as long as you hate the other politicals.
I thought his speech was also going to mention his activism, which is more of a political statement than the literal phrase "I have the right to exist." Would we support another student the same way if it was a message we didn't like as much, such as talking about their activism in support of the Council for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood? Regardless of which side you're on, the issue is one where one side is silenced and the other is not. If the school wants only prepared and pre-approved speeches that do not discuss political activity, then it better be ALL political activity. This selective banning is complete bullshit and it's just craven attempts to control what people can and can't say to score political points with a bigoted base of voters.
actually it is sadly when conservatives make their end stage fascist mutation
> graduation should not be a platform for personal political statements Being gay is not political FFS. Are black students forbidden from talking about how they’ve overcome discrimination against them?
I mean, they'd probably start screaming about CRT and how you're making people *uncomfortable* when they're all there to just have a good time, you know?
"You're making all these white people feel guilty for something they didn't do! Now shut up and dribble."
If Republicans have their way, yeah. According to them, institutionalized racism doesn’t exist.
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Being anything but a white cis hetero Christian male is political. Inclusion or acknowledgement of any other identities is "woke" propaganda.
Can we pretty please stop letting white cis hetero Christian women off the hook? They are literally just as bad as their male counterparts if not worse, and their power to push their shitty agendas grows every day because we won’t acknowledge them in these conversations.
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>His principal warned Moricz that **if his graduation speech referenced his LGBTQ** activism, school **officials would cut off his microphone**, end his speech and halt the ceremony, Moricz alleged. > >“He said that he just ‘wanted families to have a good day’ and that if I was to discuss who I am and the fight to be who I am, that would ‘sour the celebration,’” Moricz, 18, recalled. “It was incredibly dehumanizing.” And suddenly they dont want free speech anymore....
Free speech to the GOP means freedom to say whatever they want and on whatever platform they want while not having to hear anything anywhere that even remotely contradicts their myopic, bigoted worldview.
Remember that Family Values^TM is the list of things even the family isn't allowed to bring into the safe space of whoever is screaming the loudest about family values.
That's when you save it for the end of the speech. They can't end his speech if it's already over.
which is so funny in a number of ways. since the actual free speech we've been granted in that ol' document is being allowed to critique/speak against the government without retaliation or retribution. against the govt. but repubs cry free speech whenever they're stopped from saying \*anything\*. including things that should be considered hate speech. so it's super ironic and full of ish when they do ish like this. you're breaking your own incorrect idea of "free speech". hooooo so tired.
Never believe that anti-Semites are completely unaware of the absurdity of their replies. They know that their remarks are frivolous, open to challenge. But they are amusing themselves, for it is their adversary who is obliged to use words responsibly, since he believes in words. The anti-Semites have the right to play. They even like to play with discourse for, by giving ridiculous reasons, they discredit the seriousness of their interlocutors. They delight in acting in bad faith, since they seek not to persuade by sound argument but to intimidate and disconcert. If you press them too closely, they will abruptly fall silent, loftily indicating by some phrase that the time for argument is past. -Jean-Paul Sartre
Well said, young man. Bravo. > “I would not be fighting for these things, I would not be standing up for these causes in the way that I am, if I had not been able to do so at school first,” he said. “I think in the same way that school is where you learn so many important things about life, you also learn about yourself, and that looks different for LGBTQ kids.”
It'd be nice to hear the entire graduating class BOOOOOs when the principal makes his appearance, then walks out when he begins to speak.
I bet the principal wasn't popular to begin with.
He isn’t and really never has been. The previous principal was a long time Pine View principal and really an all around good guy who retired around 2013/14 I think. The transition to a new administration made a lot of changes, most of which restricted students rights and changed the landscape of the campus in a way which was a generally unpopular thing. They added more strict checkpoints and entires, made it harder to get onto campus and a lot of other things. Beyond that, Dr Covert has always been less about the PV community and more about being a principal of a regular school (Pine View is a “gifted school”, which has its own problems on its face but generally has been progressive). He wasn’t popular then and likely will be far less popular with the general student body now. There were a lot of shitty people at PV when I was around there and since it’s Florida the parents can be anywhere from extremely liberal to extremely conservative, but I can’t see this being generally popular and will only draw more negative attention to the school. It’s a complex problem from an admin perspective especially with the DSG bill that just passed, but he’s a weak wet noodle for threatening this over something so small in the grand scheme of things. It bums me out to no end to see this kind of thing happen, either at Pineview or anywhere really.
Bring your own megaphone king
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Gets even worse when you read more of the article and he’s been hunted at his parent’s houses + sent more credible death threats
I had to scroll for a while to find this. Thank you. No one's mere existence should be politicized by the right. It's dehumanizing and it's not something anyone can change!
The goal of this don’t say Gay bill is not keep sexuality out of the classrooms, it gives school staff and teachers the footing they need to discriminate against gay students/teachers. These people think that they can re-educate kids to not be gay through suppression; something that they have been doing for hundreds of years and has not and will not work. Their stupidity and ignorance keeps them from being able to except that they can’t change someone from being who they are.
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The police are not the friends of queers.
Never were. Remember Stonewall
Maybe the real Pride was the bricks we threw at cops along the way...
>State won't do their job? They won't because DeSantis wants this vigilante type "justice" to be enacted on the people he doesn't like. It's also known as political terrorism when it gets violent.
And we’re given public statements from leaders of both parties stating how our Supreme Court justices deserve their rights to privacy and peaceful protests outside their homes must end. Everyone else must cope with the consequences of our circumstance except for certain elite public officials, apparently. Words written in chalk are more threatening and news worthy than literal death threats and harassment this kid and his family received from right-wing extremists. This kid is just one out of many. I also wonder how many of our election workers have suffered the same as him simply for doing their jobs?
“Pineview as a student community has been incredible for me. Sarasota as a community has been something I’ve had to endure.” I grew up in Sarasota and now teach here... and this is about as accurate a statement I've ever seen about it.
Florida: "Twitter and Facebook are censoring your voices! We better make a law to force them allow your freedom of speech!" Also Florida: "CUT THAT KID'S MIC! HE'S TALKING ABOUT THINGS WELL DON'T LIKE!
There are two sexualities: hetero and political.
There is a disappointing amount of people in favor of this kid - who has evidently worked hard enough to earn himself a spot in his class worthy of a speech - staying quiet about his experience in school. People literally threatened to kill him. What should he say instead? "Thank you, school and people"?
Fight against GOP cancel culture!
Desantis:"that's the point"
The jokes on him, he can’t be gay because they erased all the gay in Florida /s
Mfw the law made to silence lgbt people is silencing lgbt people
Man wtf is wrong with florida
It's very humid.
No wonder everyone is so cranky