You’ve probably heard the story of Constance McMillen by now — she’s the high school senior who wanted to wear a tuxedo and attend prom with her girlfriend. The school board responded by canceling prom altogether.
Morons.
McMillen is taking this all very well considering the school board is forcing the other students to blame her for their idiotic decision.
Constance McMillen said she didn’t want to go back the day after the Itawamba County school board’s decision, but her father told her she needed to face her classmates, teachers and school officials.
“My daddy told me that I needed to show them that I’m still proud of who I am,” McMillen told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. “The fact that this will help people later on, that’s what’s helping me to go on.”
I’m amazed by that kind of courage, especially knowing this is all taking place in Mississippi, in an area steeped with Christians trying to force their beliefs onto everyone else.
Case in point:
Itawamba County is a rural area of about 23,000 people in north Mississippi near the Alabama state line. It’s near Pontotoc County, Miss., where more than a decade ago school officials were sued in federal court over their practice of student-led intercom prayer and Bible classes.
The school lost the case in 1996 and I have confidence they’ll lose this case, too.
Isn’t it great whenever a student has to be the one to educate the people who are running the school?
…
There is an upside to this case, coming from the American Humanist Association:
AHA members Todd and Diana Steifel made a $20,000 grant available to the AHA for the purpose of holding a prom in Itawamba County. The AHA will be discussing logistics with the pertinent parties today.
It would be wonderful to see students coming to an inclusive prom, supportive of all their classmates, rather than the one created in order to exclude.
(Thanks to mudwasp for the link)