Sworn to secrecy, i might go after school...

Last night, my local school board, a school board located in the small town of 9,000 that I live in, a town located in one of THE reddest, most Republican, most conservative parts of the state, if not the country, approved a Gay Straight Student Alliance at the high school.


I saw the headline in the paper first thing today, and I was all smiles for a good portion of the day.

The momentousness of this can NOT be overstated. The vote was 6-3. I know one of the ladies on the school board, and I'm certain she voted for it out of the goodness of her heart, because she's caring and compassionate, and knew it was the right thing to do. The other 5 yes votes I don't know, I'd like to think they did it cause they knew it was right, but I'm inclined to be believe several of them were probably swayed by legal counsel who said the board could get sued for denying it. Which is as it should be legally. But regardless, no matter WHY they voted yes, at least 6 of them did.

It passed despite the Mideval thinking of at least one of the wingnut board members, the backwards, narrow minded thinking of a large part of my community, the petition with 435 signatures (just about 5% of the community) against it, and the horridly ignorant comments from some in the audience ("the schools have no business promoting deviancy", "this group is just gonna put the idea of homosexuality in the kids' minds", "they're trying to convert our youth", "this will bring God's wrath down on the town like in the Bible", etc, etc, etc).

Yes Waynesboro, your local area high school, since last night, has a Gay Straight Student Alliance in it. And yet, fire and brimstone haven't rained from the sky, same sex orgies have not taken place in the middle of the cafeteria, and the football team hasn't shown up to school in drag. And I doubt any of that WILL happen. And that's the final revenge...when nothing happens despite all the rending of clothes and wringing of hands...when everything continues on just as it always has.

Except maybe, just maybe, now that the group exists, some boy or girl might decide to attend a meeting instead of try to kill themselves.

POLT Listening to "It Coulda Been Me" by Social Distortion

Older people seem younger today, thanks to diet, exercise, Botox and often inappropriate clothing. - Anna Quindlen