Hate is not a family value

By Robin R.

A friend of mine told me this true story. She teaches at an elite private school, and her kids attend it as students. One day she and all the other parents received an unsigned letter in the mail. The letter "outted" two longtime faculty members;their names were not omitted. The anonymous parent wrote that these two teachers should be removed from their posts because they were setting a bad example for the kids. 

Here's how the principal handled the situation. First, she submitted the letter to the FBI Hate Crimes Division. Then, she wrote a letter to all the parents. She made several emphatic points:

1. The two faculty members attacked in the unsigned letter are exceptional educators, among the best in the city. They are exactly the kind of role models our children need and deserve.
2. Discrimination is illegal. Therefore, this letter has been turned over to the FBI.
3. The author of the letter and any family who sympathizes with its contents should remove their children from the school immediately. We do not condone intolerance.
4. Diversity strengthens our community. Love opens us to new people, new ideas, and new experiences.

After all the anti-gay legislation this fall, I feel heartened by this story. I hope that as my daughter Pearl grows older, we will be able to find and/or create such a nurturing community.

Comments

[Sarah]

I grew up thinking that homosexuality was wrong, and it is only since the birth of my son that I have come to the realization that hate and intolerance are what is wrong with this country. I have known many lovely people in my life--some straight, and some gay. To read this story gives me hope for the future--a future without bias of any kind.

[M]

Thank you for this story! SO refreshing to hear that there are principals like this in the world, who stand up for real values of tolerance and respect. I hope my baby someday attends a school where he has a principal of similar guts and values.

[Michelle]

Sounds to me almost like the situation out here in Orange county, CA, where a gay couple's adopted sons were asked to leave the Catholic school they were attending.

Such utter nonsense.

I commend that principal for standing up for the ideals of real compassion, tolerance, and values.

[alice, uptown]

That's great news. I went to a snotty prep school in New York in the mid to late 1970s where the headmaster himself would have had a hard time keeping a, pardon the expression, straight face...since his boyfriend taught history and we all knew every gay and lesbian teacher in the school. It was around the time of the Anita Bryant furor, and while I didn't like prep school, I have to say their antidiscimination policy, at least when it came to sexual preferences, meant to me that without it, we wouldn't have any teachers at all. (Granted all my teachers were male, and straight or gay, none had seen a teenaged adolescent girl since the prior year, when girls were first admitted to the institution, but that is a story for another time.)

[andrea]

Great story. Thanks for sharing!

[Kim]

It is truly wonderful to see the way the principal handled the situation... I wish more people had her strength!!!

[Robin P]

That's perfect!! Thank goodness someone took a stand in a positive way. Who would want their children taught in a school based in descrimination? This is good news for the rest of the world. Maybe things will keep changing in this direction! Bravo!

[BusyMe]

Wow. Just . . . WOW! What a terrific outlook for a principal! I want MY kids to go there!! I'll bet those two teachers are thanking their lucky stars they found that school AND that amazing administrator!

[VJ]

Thank you for this story. I am glad to see that this principal took the action she did.

[Molly]

Amen! We need a world where all children feel welcomed, nurtured, respected.