IDENTITY

So, a U.S. high school in Mississippi has decided to cancel it’s prom after a lesbian student asked to bring her girlfriend. I feel that this is wrong on so many levels, and that it promotes the ideas that it’s okay to have these awful prejudices present in our daily lives. She was also told that she would be thrown out for wearing a suit. Many people say that the teen who is being persecuted, an 18 year old girl named Constance McMillen, is just trying to make a bigger deal out of the issue than it needs to be. I disagree, but even if that was the case, then i say great. Some spotlight needs to be brought to the fact that these injustices are being committed, somehow. As someone who understands what it feels like to be discriminated against, i have empathy for this girl, and i understand her frustration. Luckily, she has an extremely large group of supporters, including a Facebook group, the support of Ellen DeGeneres, the support of American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and offers from various establishments offering to host the prom and provide free transportation. To me, this is a positive example of how people can help others when they feel something is wrong.  But despite being backed by thousands of people, Constance says some of her schoolmates have not been sympathetic and the atmosphere was ‘tense’. She had not even wanted to return to school but her father persuaded her to go back. In a statement, the school board said: ‘Due to the distractions to the educational process caused by recent events, the Itawamba County School District has decided to not host a prom at Itawamba Agricultural High School this year.’ It’s time to realize that discrimination is more than race or gender. It’s about so many other things, including sexual orientation, and it’s time to stand up for equality, and end this pointless prejudice. It’s based on fear, religion, and meaningless tradition, things that you should not have to adhere to if you don’t believe in. So let’s stand up against this mindless ignorance, and do whatever we feel to be true and right :)

Joe