ANOTHER reason to not move to Florida

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 8/21/08 at 11:27am

Again, from Nerve.com:

In a Florida town near the Alabama border, a town is in an uproar not over the fact that a principal humiliated and outed a lesbian student, not over the fact that he retaliated unprofessionally against her supporters, but over the presence of the ACLU in the area...

According to Northwest Florida's Daily News:

When a high school senior told her principal that students were taunting her for being a lesbian, he told her homosexuality is wrong, outed her to her parents and ordered her to stay away from children.

He suspended some of her friends who expressed their outrage by wearing gay pride T-shirts and buttons at Ponce de Leon High School, according to court records. And he asked dozens of students whether they were gay or associated with gay students.

Of course, the American Civil Liberties Union, as called in by victimized supporter Heather Gillman, easily won their lawsuit against the principal, costing the town $325,000. But the town blamed the parents for losing their tax dollars, never once expressing concern regarding the principal's actions or the well being of the children:

A Wal-Mart worker yelled at [Gillman's mother], accusing her of trying to "bankrupt" the school district... One of her friends has refused to talk to her because the lawsuit conflicted with the woman's religious beliefs.

"[Principal] David Davis is a fine man and good principal, and we are a gentle, peaceful, Christian, family-oriented community... We aren't out to tar and feather anyone." [Um, but Davis kind of did, dude. - Ed.]

The lawsuit could reflect a division between the high school students who have grown up in an era of gay tolerance and the community's elders, said Gary Scott, a school board member. "But I think that's less of an issue here than in Miami or Minnesota," he said.

The judge's scathing rebuke left Scott questioning how his community's beliefs could be so different from the judge's opinion. "I guess I didn't realize we were this bad," Scott said.
More of this sad tale if you're up to it.

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 8/21/08 at 11:29am

May the good Lord preserve me from "gentle, peaceful, Christian, family-oriented" folk.

Updated On: 8/21/08 at 11:29 AM

[Elphaba]

Posted: 8/21/08 at 11:54am

actually it's the bugs that would keep me from moving there

[tazber]

Posted: 8/21/08 at 11:57am

we are a gentle, peaceful, Christian, family-oriented community.

I never realized how chilling those words could sound.

[softershade]

Posted: 8/21/08 at 12:07pm

"In a Florida town near the Alabama border"....the last part of that statement alone should give you a hint why that whole situation happened.
The panhandle isn't part of Florida, it is The South.
Updated On: 8/21/08 at 12:07 PM

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 8/21/08 at 12:07pm

Seriously.

It's like the tag line for "The Florida Chainsaw Massacre."

[Calvin]

Posted: 8/21/08 at 12:10pm

Look on the bright side, at how many of her classmates were willing to stand up for this girl despite the community attitude they were raised around.

[Roscoe]

Posted: 8/21/08 at 12:11pm

"May the good Lord preserve me from "gentle, peaceful, Christian, family-oriented" folk."

Say what you will about them, at least they vote. If more of the rest of us voted our beliefs as they do, the world would be a much safer place for us.

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 8/21/08 at 12:11pm

Calvin, that's a very, very good point. And should be what we take away from this story.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 8/21/08 at 12:24pm

Their town has "Ponce" in the name. This is just one ENORMOUS act of overcompensation.

[Lavieboheme2]

Posted: 8/21/08 at 12:44pm

this is so ridiculously sucky