I really have not posted any diaries since the Arkansas primary, but I could not stay quiet on this story. It shows just how deep ignorance and bigotry is still entrenched in this nation.
The story is already going viral. An Arkansas man recently posted on his Facebook page a severely anti-gay rant where he was apparently peeved that people expected him to wear purple to remember the gay and lesbian children that have committed suicide in the past because of bullying. First off, I really doubt anyone had a gun to his head telling him he had to wear purple, yet he comes off as sounding as if he had to.
He followed that up with several more comments where he stated that if he found out his children were gay he would "disown them" but they would never be gay "because they knew better".
The man's name is Clint McCance. What makes this story even more grotesque is that he is a school board member for the Midland School District in a town here in Arkansas called Pleasant Hills.
I would like to say that Mr. McCance does not represent the views of Arkansas for one second.
This man is a disgusting individual but sadly he has the freedom to say what he says. He can not be fired. He is an elected official. Short of him resigning only the people of the community can fire him the next time he is up for re-election.
There are other courses of action, however. In Arkansas, we have an anti-bullying law. As a representative of the school district Mr. McCance does fall under the law. A child does not have to be bullied to their face to feel the effects of a bully. He should be brought up on charges according to the state law.
If you are a member of Facebook and have not yet joined the group Fire Clint McCance I encourage you to do so.
I do not know if it was done before had or after Mr. McCance made his comments but if you go to the Midland School District page, you will see that all information regarding school board members and meeting times have been scrubbed from the site.
Mr. McCance has also either deleted his Facebook page or locked it down as you can no longer find him. I am sure that he is already laying the ground work for a simple defense of "Someone hacked my account". It is possible. One of the my friends Facebook's was hacked and it caused a lot of problems as "she" threatened to kill herself if I did not divorce my wife for her. Problem is I had not seen this person since high school and we were not close friends at that time. I do not believe this is a simple case of hacking. He got caught thinking that no one would see this.
There is an old saying that states: God (whether you believe in God or not, McCance apparently does or claims that he does) has a special place for people like him. Won't he be surprised when gets there and the people that he has condemned to that place are no where to be found?
ADDENDUM: I can not stress this enough. As cowardly as this man actually is, I would hope that all of us on this website and on Facebook that decide to take action and call the school district will show some civility. Letting ourselves go to his level of bigotry and hatred and spewing the same kind of hated that he has is counter-productive. Please be respectful when contacting people. Stooping to his level diminishes our justified anger.
UPDATE:The Arkansas Times blog was the first to pick up this story on the Arkansas side. Then Alan Colmes picked it up on his blog.
Now it is starting to pick up. Here is a short list of the Arkansas and surrounding areas news that has picked up this story:
Arkansas-Democrat Gazette
KATV
KTHV both out out Little Rock
WXVT out of Greenville, MS
KAIT out of Jonesboro
Eyewitness News out of Memphis, TN
FOX 13 out of Memphis, TN
The Arkansas Department of Education has also condemned the comments.
Keep up the pressure guys. This story should and needs to be on the front page of dailykos
UPDATE #2: The Midlands School District has released a statement regarding Clint McCance and his statements:
October 27, 2010
For Immediate Release:
The Midland School District, Board of Directors, administration, faculty, and staff do not support or condone the comments Mr. Clint McCance posted on his personal social networking page. Mr. McCance was not acting as an agent of the school board, but as a private citizen when this comment was posted. This post does not reflect the thoughts of the board or administration of the Midland School District.
The district strives to foster an environment that discourages all forms of bullying and an environment that encourages a safe and productive educational climate of all of our students. The district is very diligent in pursuing and addressing bullying of any variety on our campuses.
Sincerely
Dean Stanley, Superintendent
Midland School District
It is about what I expected. They are not in their power to fire him. They are, however, in their power to reprimand him for his actions. It appears at this point that they have no plans. I believe they are hoping that by releasing this statement it will quell the anger and furor.
There is still a lot of work to be done.