Things That Make Me Angry

I was going to make a point to try and not make this a controversial blog, and I promise that this isn't going to be a regular thing, but this situation really just burned my biscuits.

Today, my boyfriend brought to my attention a letter to the editor that had been published on the Tuscaloosa News website. You can read it here.

I am posting my response on here, because I don't think mine will get published (mine exceeds the <250 word limit), but before I do I want to make a few things clear.

1. As someone who plans on teaching some day, I believe strongly in the right of all children to an education in a safe and hate-free environment, regardless of their race, gender, sexual orientation, or creed. My letter is primarily motivated by this belief.

2. I believe that religion can be a wonderful thing for individual people, and that individual people alone have a right to decide what their beliefs are and at what level they believe in them. I believe that anyone can believe whatever they want to believe, provided it does not endanger the life of anyone else. I also believe that while believing strongly in something can be a great and powerful thing, it is not your job to make me or anyone else believe in the same thing you believe in. 

3. I believe that everyone has a right to their opinion, and while your opinion may not agree with my opinion, I'm willing to listen to yours. I'm also willing to agree to disagree, and share that opinion with you as well.


4. I believe that controversial issues should not ultimately affect the education of children, and that it is your right to teach your children to believe however you would like them to believe. By the same token, I do not believe that it is your right to teach other people's children what you would like them to believe. That right belongs to an objective, impartial body of people, who will make decisions on these matters with the academic education of the child held in highest regard.


5. I would like to point out also that I love the South, have chosen to spend four years of my life in the deep South, and am painfully aware of the stereotype that comes with the Southern United States. It needs to change, and I feel like people like Ms. Hamner are holding us back, not pushing us forward.


Gosh, I've never used the word believe so much in my life. Without further ado, here is my letter to the editor.

Dear Editor: As a resident college student of the University of Alabama, I was appalled to read in your paper that a Tuscaloosa woman was condemning same sex students being allowed to attend the prom together. This is just one more reason why the southern portion of America gets such a bad rap in this country. No wonder so many people think that the south is a close-minded, unaccepting place.  Thank goodness at least the school systems have enough morals and backbone to stand up to organizations that would deny students fundamental rights, like the right to take whoever you would like to prom.

I am coming to you as a well-educated former resident of the Northern Virginia/Washington D.C. area (a place that does not have any such reputation) that does not accept things just because they (are) (in someone’s opinion) “religiously incorrect.” It amazes me that in this 21^st century, people are still debating issues as simple as a prom date. Instead, maybe we should focus on things that are actually affecting the world today; things like war, poverty, and hunger. Parents of students that are not gay did not get a say in this decision because this decision belongs in the hands of a moral institution that can objectively think for itself. In today’s society, sex is rampant in our media, and homosexuality has become widely accepted. Instead of educating the youth of Tuscaloosa about religiously bigoted and ignorant people like Ms. Jennifer Hamner, the school system has decided to offer its students an open-minded view of the world, one much more compatible with, say, real life. I am disappointed and disgusted that one woman (though her views are shared by others, I’m sure) would stoop to attack something as out of her control as who another child is taking to prom. Because yes, Ms. Hamner, the school system would get sued, as refusing two girls or two boys who want to go to prom together admission to the dance is discrimination on the basis of sexuality (which is very illegal), and at least the school system has managed to figure that out.

This decision by the Tuscaloosa County School System gives me more hope than ever that the South is going to be able to overcome its traditionally single-minded roots and promote an environment of No Hate. How wonderful.

*******

Basically, to me, out of all the things that need to be fixed in this world (genocide? Joseph Kony? AIDS? Hunger? Poverty? Global warming? How about literacy rates in Alabama?) this is not one that deserves attention. Period.