The woman who loves to hate us dykes and faggots is at it again. Diane Gramley, the high priestess of Pennsylvania family values, has snagged herself a story in the Beaver County Times outlining her "concerns" about recent outreach from the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) to the Ambridge Area School District.
The Ambridge School District caught our attention late last year when School Board member William Scherfel referred to the high school's GSA as a "sex club" and its members as "fags." Scherfel later "apologized" by claiming he didn't remember making the comments while acknowleding that he may have used the word fag since he grew up in that era.
In the meantime, GLSEN has stepped up and offered to work with the school district to raise awareness of LGBTQ issues, a move that could actually improve the learning environment for gay students and possibly assist the school district in avoiding lawsuits.
"We just want to help schools understand, so they can deal appropriately and develop some sensitivity to that particular minority," [Network co-chair Tom]Wyse said.
Ambridge Area High School Principal Alan Fritz has said he'd be receptive to having a professional development workshop for teachers, but it was something he would have to discuss with the superintendent."
Aghast at the thought of tolerance in Darryl Metcalfe country, the AFA of PA is riding to the rescue.
But Gramley said such sensitivity workshops overstep the boundaries of proper public education because she said it pushes acceptance of homosexuality and threatens the First Amendment rights of those who believe homosexuality is a sin.
"Unfortunately, a school board member made a disparaging remark. That was not called for at all, but if the principal accepts an invitation from GLSEN, that's going in the wrong direction," Gramley said.
What direction would that be? Why straight to hell, of course, with a pit stop in San Francisco to pick up some kicky thigh highs and a pink feather boa.
Note Gramley's subtle reference to Christian persecution with the First Amendment argument. That insidious tact seems to work very well if the minds of my colleagues are reflective of general sentiments. They do feel like they are under attack for being Christian, rather than for trying to shove their brand of Christianity down our throats <insert obvious gay joke here>.
It is heartening that Principal Fritz is willing to consider training for the faculty and staff. And Ambridge still has a Gay-Straight Alliance club with the goal of fostering understanding and creating bridges between gay and straight students. However, as recently as mid-December, the GSA founder described an environment of increasing intolerance among the student body especially since Scherbel's comments.
Well, duh. When an elected official sets the bar low, can you be surprised that weak minded adults as well as their spawn scurry underneath it? The ignorance of the common heterosexual is sometimes truly astounding. These desperate little people truly seem to believe that their way of life, their identity will be destoyed if their children even associate with a known homosexual much less have a conversation or <gasp> actual dialogue.
Ambridge - breeding homophobes, one salvation at a time.
