Lesbians and Gays: Why Are They So Scary?

A Mississippi high school senior wants to take her girlfriend to the prom. The school board decrees that the two young women can attend alone or with male dates but not as a couple. They also deny her right to wear a tuxedo. Would she been allowed to wear it if her date were male?

The school reacts by canceling the prom. It reminded me of the civil rights movement when schools in the South canceled their proms rather than allow “them” to attend.

Today our parents, our children, our siblings, our nieces, our nephews, our grandchildren, our friends, our neighbors, our colleagues are “them”. So what makes “them” so scary?

What can “they” possibly do to us? Are “they” a threat to heterosexual marriages? Hardly, that threat comes from other heterosexuals. Are “they” going to give us diseases? No more than heterosexuals. Are “they” going to take our jobs? Only if “they” are more talented. Are “they” going to harm our children? Only if “they” are pedophiles.

“They” want what heterosexuals have: their rights. Surprisingly and fortunately, a Reagan-appointed judge ruled that the school board had violated the students’ First Amendment right of self-expression. Parents are sponsoring a prom that the two can attend. However, the two young women are not sure they want to in a town where one resident suggested that “they” all be put on an island. Did she have in mind somewhere off the coast of Africa?