From: Facebook.com: Protest homophobic actions by Grandfield, Oklahoma High School
Grandfield, OK high school teacher Debra Taylor was suspended and later forced to resign over her using the Laramie Project as part of her curriculum in her ethics class.
Meanwhile, the School’s superintendant Ed Turlington has been quoted in the press as saying that the Laramie Project is “obscene” and made comments to students (in the English class taught by his wife) that homosexuality is immoral and that gays caused AIDS.
And now to make matters worse, the Westboro Baptist Church (led by Fred Phelps, creator of the hate website godhatesfags.com) has announced a protest in support of the school’s homophobic actions.
It’s time for all lovers of equality and academic freedom to show up for a counter-protest.
Please bring signs and banners in support of equality, but we ask that all participants in this counter-protest commit to non-violence.
Our protest will happen from 2:30-4 p.m. in front of the Grandfield High School. You can find a link to a map of this location by clicking here
Here’s an except from Sunday’s Lawton Constitution story on the issue…
In the two weeks since the issue boiled over on campus, the students who continued to complain about the administration’s actions say they’ve been intimidated by other teachers; now students are calling out each other, and some faculty members, by name on an online blog — and groups both supportive of and against gay rights are getting involved. . .
“This is absurd,” said Ed Turlington, the school’s superintendent. “I run the school, and I’m not going to allow obscenity, and that’s what it boils down to.”
Turlington has received the harshest criticism of the dissenting students — two of them went on the record as saying Turlington ranted vocally against homosexuality in front of the English class.
He denied the accusations.
“If I hated gays, I wouldn’t tell kids,” Turlington said.
Here’s part 2 of an except from Sunday’s Lawton constitution story…
The students said other teachers and the principal are remanding and intimidating them for even discussing the topic.
“I think because our school is little, some teachers think they can get away with things,” said Misti Jackson, a 17-year-old senior, during a meeting Friday. “There’s a few people that have power, and they can just do what they want.”
Jackson and three other students — plus a fifth on speaker phone — spent a couple hours at the Squires’ residence in Grandfield on Friday explaining what’s made them so upset.
Taylor said her former students have spent two weeks trying to get a grip on the actions of their superintendent, the alleged oral epithets and condemnation from the students, parents and community members who support Turlington.
Please come support them, I know that some of the students will be protesting against WBC, I will be driving over, but I think no-one else in the community will support the students!
gosh sometimes the enemy of your enemy is not your friend
Just a FYI, the previous commenter, Bruce Kabel writes an insane homophobic hate website of his own ( http://religionofself.blogspot.com/ ) in which he claims that gay people are trying to recruit straight youth and “make them gay.”
Seriously dude, you can no more make someone gay, than you can make someone straight.
May I bring a giant floating phalic symbol to your protest…gayly painted of course.
“Meanwhile, the School’s superintendant Ed Turlington has been quoted in the press as saying that the Laramie Project is “obscene” and made comments to students (in the English class taught by his wife) that homosexuality is immoral and that gays caused AIDS.”
Is this the 21st century or what? What douchebag.