This is really two diaries in one; neither is really enough for a full diary on its' own, but both are timely, so here you go...
First up: Yesterday, Adam B had a front-page diary about the brouhaha at Easton, PA Area Middle School over a couple of female students wearing "I ♥ Boobies" bracelets in order to bring attention/awareness to Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
In a nutshell, the school's administration basically freaked out because of the word "boobies", regardless of the fact that that all the bracelets mean is that yes, human beings do indeed possess breasts, and yes, occasionally those breasts are inflicted with cancer, and that we should all be aware of this and support efforts to fight said cancer. Suspensions, lawsuits and ACLU involvement inevitably followed.
Anyway, reading this story, I immediately thought of how strikingly different the response to Breast Cancer Awareness Month was at a different school--namely, Mercy High School here in Farmington Hills, Michigan.
Below the fold, you'll see something very, very cool--especially when you read the backstory.
First, the video:
Then, the backstory:
It's not every day an all-girls Catholic high school makes a pop music video. It's even rarer when the video goes viral.
But combine a worthy cause, music by Lady Gaga and Beyonce, and a creative and tenacious Mercy High School student named Erin Pienta, and you just might end up with a hit on your hands.
...
The result is four minutes and 46 seconds of heartwarming, funny, share-the-love, brighten-your-day fun that is gaining wide appeal. Since it was first posted on YouTube Friday, "Mercy Pink Glove Dance," which aims to raise awareness for breast cancer, got close to 9,000 hits in its first 72 hours. [note: it's up to over 26,000 views now]
Pienta filmed almost a dozen scenes of uniformed girls and staff, all of whom choreographed their own 30-second pieces. Everybody participated, including pastoral ministers and custodians, secretarial staff, cafeteria cooks and, yes, even the bus drivers, who by some estimations have the best groove of all.
When I first watched the video, I thought it was very nicely done--the pacing & editing is pretty damned good for amateur work. However, I also assumed that it had been arranged for by the administration or faculty. I was doubly impressed to find out that the whole thing was thought up by, produced, shot, directed and edited by a single student. Getting permission for, and arranging the logistics of the gymnasium scene at the end, in particular, must've been a headache for a high school student to deal with.
As for the "Boobies = Teh Eeeeevilll!!!" part of Adam B's diary, it's worth reiterating that Mercy High happens to be an all-girls Catholic high school. If any school would get the vapors over the most innocuous reference to something related to sexual terminology, you'd think a girls' Catholic high school would be among them--however, they aren't just comfortable with the subject, they went out of their way to actively help promote the cause. Kudos!
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On a totally separate subject, I thought you'd also get a kick out of these reactions to yesterday's DADT repeal by various right-wing organizations; RightWingWatch is keeping a roundup, and some of them are downright hilarious:
judging by the early statements from the likes of Bryan Fischer of the American Family Association, this vote is literally going to mean the end of America:
We are now stuck with sexual deviants serving openly in the U.S. military because of turncoat Republican senators ... Had the cloture vote failed, we would still have sane moral and sexual standards governing military personnel policy. But sadly those days are gone, perhaps forever.
...
The armies of other nations have allowed gays to serve openly in the military. The reason they could afford to do this is simple: they could allow homosexuals to serve in their military because we didn’t allow them to serve in ours.
Family Research Council President Tony Perkins issued the following statement following the vote:
"Today is a tragic day for our armed forces. The American military exists for only one purpose - to fight and win wars. Yet it has now been hijacked and turned into a tool for imposing on the country a radical social agenda. This may advance the cause of reshaping social attitudes regarding human sexuality, but it will only do harm to the military's ability to fulfill its mission.
(and so on...visit the link to see the full quotes and more)