Why I was listening to Gary & Beth on 92.9 Lite FM this morning, I can't tell you. But Mona was in the backseat so I was just too occupied to change the station. They were taking calls about “must have” back to school crap. I heard all about shoes, backpacks, binders, etc. Then this guy named Larry (I really think that was his name) calls in to say his son wanted skateboarding shoes and other stuff. *yawn*
Larry then says that his son likes “dissing” tee shirts. Apparently, there are shirts that mock people and they are popular. Beth groaned and said she doesn't like those. Larry defends his parenting by saying he only buys funny shirts. Such as:
“If you aren't gay, why is your girlfriend calling me?”
Nice, huh? Gary and Beth's response? They just get him off the air and move on to the next caller. No comment about how NOT FUNNY that shirt is. No statement that mocking gay teenagers (or gay preteens) is a hurtful, obnoxious, awful behavior.
What's worse is that this isn't live radio. They could have dumped that call. They could have cut him off. Or they could have responded. Nope, they decided to get the little slam in without Gary or Beth sullying their reputations directly.
I sure hope the children of both Gary and Beth know better. I hope they know what to do when Larry's kid is shoving the “gay boy” into the lockers and kicking him with his skateboard sneakers. I hope their children have friends in the Gay-Straight Alliance. I hope their friends have gay parents/siblings/relatives. I hope they experience firsthand what value diversity and tolerance can bring into their young lives.
I hope they are more brave and upstanding when it comes to defending people than their parents.
This from the company that brings you the City Paper each week. Maybe Gary and Beth should pick up a copy once in awhile.
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What I want to know is who at the kids school is going to stop him from wearing that shirt at school.
I've been corresponding with the program director. He's has sent conflicting signals, claiming both that the comments were made and that if they were, I took it out of context. I asked for him to pick one of those and determine how to proceed. I may have another blog post on this topic.
My hope is that they acknowledge that they shouldn't have aired that call and that they invite GLSEN on the air to talk about their efforts to create safe learning environments for gay and straight kids.
As for the school, that's a really good question. I guess it depends where he goes to school. I would think *all* dissing shirt should be banned from schools.