Gay Days Hits Sour Note With Band Members' Parents

[Lee]

(Kearney, Nebraska) It was to have been the trip they would remember for the rest of their lives. The Kearney High School Band was to play at Disney World in Orlando, Florida.

Students have been holding fundraisers to get the money to pay for the June trip, and excitement at the school is already high.

But, when some parents discovered that the day the band was to march through the famous theme park coincided with Gay Days they pulled their children from the trip.

Shelly Rodehorst cancelled the trip for her son and daughter. Her teenaged son is a percussionist and her daughter, a junior clarinet player

Rodehorst says she will not expose her children to" homosexual behavior".

Officials at Kearney High say only a few students have pulled out of the Florida trip because of Gay Days, but gay civil rights advocates in the town say the parents are acting irrationally.

Gay activist Andy Melichar says the parents, "because of their own fears, have decided not to let their kids go. And who's really suffering is the kids."

http://www.365gay.com/newscon04/04/042104bandGay.htm

Although i hate the fact that these parents have pulled their kids out of the event i can honstly say if i were in their position i would have most likely done the same thing.

Not because it was a gay event but because the school failed to inform them of all the details surrounding the excursion.

If these parents had been told from the start that their kids would be performing on Gay Days then i honestly dont think there would have been as much of an issue as there has now been with it.

Regards,

Lee

[Ounique]

I understand where you're coming from Lee, but I have to disagree. If the school were marching on a day when the Young Republicans of America were holding a convention, or a different high school were having a school picnic, or any other club were doing something, would the parents have to be notified? No. So why point out the fact that the park is having Gay Day? It's not like people were havnig sex on Dumbo or rimming each other in Space Mountain (although, that would be something to see!!!), the absolute worst thing that happens on Gay Day is that maybe the guys give each other a little kiss on the lips as a greeting. And you know what, I do that everywhere when I run into a close friend, male or female, without even thinking about it. I guess I'm really sensitive about this because I had such a hard time coming out because all the exposure I had regarding homosexuality when I was younger was all shamefull and bad. So rather than letting your kids have a great time at Disney and maybe seeing a few guys holding hands, these parents are spreading hate and fear about people who are different. And not to mention the damage they might be doing if one of those band members who were being pulled from the trip were actually gay.

Anyway, that's my two cents. Good topic Lee.

[Lee]

Originally posted by Ounique
If the school were marching on a day when the Young Republicans of America were holding a convention, or a different high school were having a school picnic, or any other club were doing something, would the parents have to be notified? No.

The parents would have to be notified

Dont they have to sign some sort of 'release form' to allow their kids to leave school for the day?

Regards,

Lee

[Ounique]

Originally posted by Lee
The parents would have to be notified

Dont they have to sign some sort of 'release form' to allow their kids to leave school for the day?

Regards,

Lee

Ahhh, well of course the parents would have to be notified that they were leaving school and that they were going to Disney World, but they wouldn't have to be notified about every other event that was going on that day in the park. My point is that if they were not being notified of another club or anohter school having an event that day, why notify them that the park is having Gay Day?

[Lee]

Originally posted by Ounique
My point is that if they were not being notified of another club or anohter school having an event that day, why notify them that the park is having Gay Day?

Because it has a bearing on their children?

I dont know perhaps im reading to much into it but i would think had the school handled this with a little more thought there wouldnt be any issues arising from it.

Ah well

Regards,

Lee

[Jasun]

But Gay Day at Disney isn't something that is planned by Disney, so there wasn't really any way of them knowing.. and it's not like they're gonna be playing for the fags...they're just in the daily parade.

And really, the mother's reason isn't that she didn't know they were playing the same day that a few extra gay guys were gonna show up, but that she doesn't want her children "Exposed to Homosexual Behaviour"... as if guys are gonna be screwing everywhere along side of the parade route.

Some people have apparently forgotten their weekly allotment of dietary fiber.

[Jason]

Sorry Lee but I have to agree with Don on this one. It is ignorance and fear that causes these parents to want to "shelter" their children from the EVILS of homosexuality. It is that shelter which propegates hatred for diversity and destroys any tollerance for difference of opinion, lifestyle, beliefs and values.

What those select few parents have done is teach their children an irreversible lesson in shutting out the world around them and condemning those who are different from you. That, to me, is shameful and sad. Children are not born hateful...yet there remains an awful lot of hate in this world. I feel lucky to live in a very ethnically and socially diverse part of the world...true, it creates a lot of problems...but in the long run, there are more solutions found. We need to find a way to live together successfully. Running from anyone who's different is not successful living.

[Ounique]

Originally posted by Lee
Because it has a bearing on their children?

I dont know perhaps im reading to much into it but i would think had the school handled this with a little more thought there wouldnt be any issues arising from it.

Ah well

Regards,

Lee

Actually, I fear that if the school made a special announcement that it was Gay Day at Disneyland, more parents would have pulled thier kids. By not saying anything, the true colors of a few parents was exposed, however, if the school had pointed it out, I think the parents who had not really thought about it would suddenly feel pressure to do something because of the fact that the school abviously felt strong enough about this to point it out to people. Or that they would suddenly become aware there was a "problem" because the school felt the need to point it out.