Two students with learning difficulties were among the seven people at the country club event, McMillen recalls. "They had the time of their lives," McMillen says. "That's the one good thing that come out of this, [these kids] didn't have to worry about people making fun of them [at their prom]."What a shitty place that school must be, but Constance McMillen sounds like a total sweetheart. I hope she finds somewhere awesome to live posthaste.
With Constance and her date, and the two kids with learning difficulties, I'm curious about the remaining three students. What other qualities mark out young people as being unacceptable to the community.I'd like to think that the other three kids chose to go to the decoy prom because they thought the whole thing was fucked up and wanted to support Constance McMillen. But probably they're agnostics or speak French or something.
And for what, really? Because Constance is going to leave Bumfuck Whatever and she's never going to come back. She'll move to New York or San Francisco or even just some state that doesn't think that gays are second-class citizens, like fucking, I dunno, Iowa or somethingWhat the fuck? You realize that gay marriage is legal in Iowa, and Illegal in California and New York state right?
"People were talking about him all day, trying to get a look at him," said McMillen. "It was insane, it was ridiculous, it made me so mad. They said he was causing a distraction with what he was wearing but it was a half day of school and people didn’t have time to get used to him."
The other students wouldn't be given a chance to get used to him: the next time Baize came to school, according Kristy Bennett, legal director of the ACLU of Mississippi, Baize was given a suspension notice and sent home. When Juin returned to school after his first suspension, he was suspended again.
**Open Minded Readers Only**She later retracted this with a statement that backtracked like mad, but let's just deal with this block of text for a moment.
I am a senior at IAHS, and I’ve known Constance for the last 6 years. Please hear our side of the story before you decide on our fate.
The party we had in Evergreen (the county neighborhood I live in) is 30 mins away from the school. we rented out the community center, hired vendors, decorated, and our parents ran the security/chaperone staff- but it wasn’t prom. Prom was at the country club where constance and 7 other students were. The reason the senior class boycotted the actual prom was not because we hate gays. We wanted a drama-free gathering to celebrate 3 great years and 1 lousy one together, and we wanted to lay low. We also wanted to do it without the main cause of the lousy. What people are failing to realize is that much of the fault of this whole stink lies with Constance, not her mistreatment by the school district, but her crazy-reckless need for attention. It sounds mean and horrible and like we planned it all specifically to embarrass Constance, but we didn’t. We let her have her prom with her girlfriend and her tuxedo and we went to party it up in the “boondocks” not because we wanted her rights violated, but so we could salvage what has turned into a total fiasco. As a whole we didn’t support her decision to throw the district under the bus, or her insinuations that we’re all just a bunch ‘a hicks driving around in beater pick up trucks spitting tobacco and burning crosses. IAHS is one of the top schools in the state and I’m proud of that, and I’m proud that we took a stand and just said you know what? forget it, we have just as much right as you do to have a party for ourselves. So we did, and now we’re getting flack because poor Connie’s ego got a bit of bruising. She’s playing the lesbian card to prove she ALWAYS gets what she wants. This time, we didn’t just let her.
Take it as you will, because I’m sure it sounds like we faked her out, but understand this- the decision NOT to attend prom had nothing to do with the school or with Constance’s sexual preferences; it had everything to do with proving we weren’t going to let her and the ACLU steamroll us into doing what Constance wanted. We flexed the muscle of the majority and we’ll suffer the consequences.
But you are kind of saying that the 'confederates' have been doing a 'shurely THIS..'" since the civil war?
"UPDATE: Folks are emailing me to ask if there's any way to help Juin out—and there is. Make a donation to help get Juin settled in Pensacola and help his mom and sisters move to Florida. I've checked into Juin's situation and I'm confident that—although his life has been chaotic—any monies donated will be spent appropriately.
"In '08 Sloggers helped raised more than $5,000 to pay for the funeral of Duanna Johnson, a transwoman and a victim of police brutality who was murdered in Memphis, Tennessee. According to Johnson's family, half of the money raised for Johnson's funeral came from donors in Seattle after a call for donations appeared on Slog. Let's see what we can raise for a trans kid who's still alive, shall we? (Oh, and folks who want me to apologize for this: Okay, I will—after we raise at least 2K for Juin and his family. Otherwise, meh, I'll just keep hating on trans people like the raging anti-trans beegoat that I am.) "
“If I had the money, I would move the kids somewhere else, somewhere they would be safe,” Bertsinger told me. “I wish we could move somewhere for my son, somewhere a transgender teenager would be safe. I worry about him constantly. Everywhere he goes he goes with me.”Can you imagine? Can you even begin to fathom what it's like to be so utterly terrified for your child's safety, so worried that he's going to be the next Matthew Shepard that you have to be with him at all times? It's just appalling.
Constance McMillen’s appearance on CBS Early Show [video | 03:38].Ellen to Constance: "I think you're so brave. You are amazing!"
Her appearance on Ellen (In Which She also Receives $30K Scholarship) [video | 07:22].
"We can all learn a lot from Constance McMillan and how she has handled herself -- when we see something that doesn't seem right, it probably isn't. And it is the responsibility of every one of us to take some kind of action on behalf of fairness. Whether you bring up bullying at the next PTA meeting, write a letter to the Itawamba County School District, or call out your friends or co-workers when they say 'faggot' or 'that's so gay,' you are improving the climate for queer youth -- and adults. Do something."posted by ericb at 8:02 AM on April 7, 2010
Mississippi Goernor: I'm A 'Fat Redneck' With 'An Accent'.posted by ericb at 10:32 AM on April 7, 2010
It reminds me of my commitment + love for u, and the deep unconditional devotion I feel to write music that will liberate you from prejudiceI think she should play at everyone's prom forever.
Thank u for wearing your tee-shirt proud at school, you make me so proud, at the monsterball, you are an inspiration to us all. I love you.X
Thanks to everyone who has responded to my post from earlier this evening. First I want to apologize for the misrepresentation of the motives behind our decision. Secondly, I want to apologize for any discomfort I must have caused all you revolutionaries who are working so hard to bring change to such a small minded place as Itawamba- but do me one favor. Please, do not assume that every graduate from IAHS is stupid, incompetent as I seem to all of you. I ask that you forgive my very emotional attempt at defending my home. I personally believe that the whole thing has turned into a tempest in a teacup, so to speak, and I wish now that things could have been changed. Again, I ask you though please do not sterotype my school, county, state, or region based on what I have said. Thanks again.That's not an apology or a retraction. Far from it.
Lindsey
Alabama Teen Erica DeRamus Suspended Over Too-Revealing Prom Dress - AOL News Of the 352 Oxford High students who attended the prom, officials said 18 violated the dress code. All but DeRamus chose paddling as punishment, with DeRamus opting for a three-day suspension.posted by psyche7 at 5:08 PM on April 7, 2010 [2 favorites]
"I'm a little too old to get paddled...This is high school, we're seniors," DeRamus told WBRC. "If we're going to act up, give us another option besides being paddled because this isn't the 1940s. We don't take corporal punishment now."
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posted by Captain Cardanthian! at 4:21 PM on April 6, 2010 [30 favorites]