Oh us scary gays. If we aren't bullying hate groups like National Association for Marriage, Family Research Counsel, and their ilk, we're trying to recruit innocent kids. The right wingers have gotten wise to our wiley ways. After all, if we can't be discussed, we can't do any harm. First the state of Tennessee decided to ban discussions of homosexuality in elementary and middle school sex ed curricula. Because if you can't talk about something, it doesn't exist. And those kids who might be having "those feelings" will think they're uniquely flawed and not try to accept themselves.
The latest adventure involves a Michigan school's brief attempt to change the words of the long-popular (as in vintage 16th Century) Christmas carol after discovering a nefarious plot to poison the minds of unsuspecting kids through holiday music.
Read on if you dare.
The music instructor at Traverse City, Michigan's Cherry Knolls Elementary School decided to reword "Deck the Halls" so as it goes "...don we now our bright apparel..." because the original wording might give kids the idea that it's okay to have a non-standard sexual orientation by singing Christmas songs.
No doubt the teacher, whose attempt apparently was eventually quashed by the school principal, would blame us mean, mean homos for ruining a perfectly nice word...just like we're trying to ruin the word "marriage" by claiming it for our relationships.
So here we have it: the intersection of the "War on Christmas" and the "gay" "homosexual" "bright" "never you mind" agenda.
For what it's worth, I never realized the song was quite so old. You do learn something new every day.
I find it sad, really, that there are those who are so terrified of those who are different that they'd try something like this. I realize that the story might not mean so much, given that the attempt to censor a song that had been sung without problems (and parodied for a good thirty years) without issue had ultimately failed. Perhaps that's really the point: it's really about grasping at straws because when you think about it, there really isn't much left in the homophobic arsenal.
Note: I composed this diary yesterday while at work. At work I have Internet Explorer 7; for some reason, while I can write a diary while logged in using IE 7, I can't edit it once I've saved it (I've reported the problem). If you see anything needing correction, let me know and I'll address it in the comments.