It gets better after high school? How could it not?
Karlton Johnson, principal of Blanche Ely High School in Pompano Beach, FL, spotted a female student engaged in the shocking act of holding hands with another female student. So he got in their faces, lectured them about their “inappropriate” conduct, and then called their parents to inform them their daughters were guilty of lesbianism.
If your boss disapproved of your dating choices, and lectured you about it, and then contacted your parents, or your children, or other family members, to tell them what a disgrace you are, you would probably sue the shit out of him for such harassment. We would all agree such behavior is way out of line. Yet for some reason, many seem to tolerate this -- even support this -- when the people harassed are teenagers.
Johnson is facing no punishment whatsoever for bullying these girls. These victims found the strength to complain to Broward County School District Superintendent Sharon Airaghi, and Airaghi congratulated the principal for having done the right thing. And that’s it.
Perhaps it’s unfair to compare this to a boss violating his employees’ privacy. After all, workers at least have some choice about where they work. Students are trapped. The government forces them to attend such schools. This is why it’s even more important that their rights be respected and their dignity protected. School is supposed to exist to serve the students, not to harass and humiliate them, not to follow them home and urge their families to turn against them.
It gets better? The students deserve better right now.
More details about this case
Contact the Broward County School Board and let them know what you think: http://www.browardschools.com/...
Updated by foxfire burns at Fri May 20, 2011 at 12:20 PM PDT
Oh, hey! It looks like Chrislove beat me to the punch: http://www.dailykos.com/...