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Thursday, September 27, 2007

Right On Mom

posted by on September 27 at 9:00 AM

Remember the mom in Portland that came out swinging in defense of her high-school age daughter after she was kicked off a bus for kissing another girl? Well, she’s not the only right-on mom out there. From today’s Ithaca Journal:

Heathyre Farnham said Principal Ann Sincock approached her in the lunchroom and asked to see her T-shirt. It read, according to Farnham, “Gay? Fine By Me.” The principal said the shirt was not acceptable and directed her to the dean of students, who concurred. Farnham went to the nurse’s office to call her mother but couldn’t reach her at work. She spoke again with the principal, who told her she would have to change or alter the shirt or go home. She went home. At home, Farnham did reach her mother, Brynda Beeman, who suggested she contact the news media.

Which is just what the teen—the straight-identified teen—did. Good for her.

RSS icon Comments

1

Word.

Posted by Mr. Poe | September 27, 2007 9:18 AM
2

Fuck yes!

What the hell is the matter with these people? What is possibly offensive about it? It's like a white person wearing a tee shirt that says "Black? Fine By Me" in the 1960s or something. 20 years from now, we're going to look back on incidents like this and think: what Neanderthals these people were. I hope.

Posted by SDA in SEA | September 27, 2007 9:28 AM
3

I second Mr. Poe's Word, and raise a "Right On".

Posted by Providence | September 27, 2007 9:29 AM
4

@2 what's the matter with these people is they're probably "good Christians" or some such malarkey.

Posted by Toby | September 27, 2007 9:30 AM
5

Wow, so even "tolerance" of gays is unacceptable to these people?

Posted by Gabriel | September 27, 2007 9:35 AM
6

@5 indeed. And in their minds, Freedom of Expression is something to be used sparingly, if ever. (Similar to lard.)

Posted by Katelyn | September 27, 2007 9:43 AM
7

lemme ax y'all this:

With stories like this, and that pink shirt story a few weeks ago, do you think:
a) there will come a day when American culture will be totally accepting of The Gays? I know there will always be a small number that hate, as there are still dumb-ass racists. But will it someday soon be as uncouth as overt racism is today?
b) Is the progress going faster than you expected 10 years ago? Slower? As fast as you expected?

Posted by Mike in MO | September 27, 2007 9:53 AM
8

So, they're saying that the shirt would be disruptive to the education of the students. Which implies that the shirt has a controversial statement on it (a non-controversial shirt would not be disruptive). Tolerance of gay people is controversial. Debatable.

What the hell is wrong with them?

Posted by Julie | September 27, 2007 9:54 AM
9

A story from the other side: My son (out from the age of 15) accompanied me on a shopping trip to our suburban supermarket. He was wearing a tee shirt that said "I Kiss Boys." He ran into a high school classmate who pulled him aside and said, "My mom saw your tee shirt. He asked me if I knew you and said GOOD FOR HIM!"

I like to focus on the positive because the alternative is just too damn depressing.

Posted by Wendy | September 27, 2007 10:12 AM
10

I am at work - can someone get an email to the school and we shall all send to the point wel worded dissent -

Lee

Posted by lee wong | September 27, 2007 10:12 AM
11

"SHE asked..."

Sorry. Der.

Posted by Wendy | September 27, 2007 10:13 AM
12

mike @ 7:

a) i think there will come a day when overt hostility to gays will be widely socially unnacceptable, like racism now.

b) i'ts happening as quickly as i expected. this backlash is the last stand of the bigots for social domination. they won't win because the next generation is more tolerant, and they will be writing the socila rules in ten years or so.

Posted by ellarosa | September 27, 2007 11:09 AM
13

oops--"social"

Posted by ellarosa | September 27, 2007 11:11 AM
14

Haha, principal "sin cock".

Posted by Raindog | September 27, 2007 11:37 AM
15

Hey everyone,
The shirt is part of a national campaign. More info at www.finebyme.org. And yes, the principal's name is Ms. Sincock. Classic.

Posted by andrew | September 27, 2007 11:42 AM
16

Isn't Ithaca a college town? I'd expect better.

Posted by Gitai | September 27, 2007 11:45 AM
17

Gitai @ 16:

I grew up in Ithaca, and yes it is a college town. It's also been referred to as "Berkeley of the East" and is generally a liberal beacon in the sea of red that is upstate New York.

However, go 20 minutes or so outside of Ithaca and you'll find yourself in any of several smaller towns that contain dairy farms, social conservatives, and not much else. Spencer, where this story took place, is just such a town. This puts the story in the "Regrettable, but not particularly surprising" category.

Posted by Dave | September 27, 2007 1:31 PM
18

I graduated from high school in northern Minnesota in 1999, and in my school it would have been unthinkable for a school administrator to penalize someone like this. The principal and vice-principal were very level-headed people. I think that there must be a lot of hyper-sensitive school administrators who are sensitive to the wrong things.

Posted by Andy | September 27, 2007 3:03 PM
19

Ah, yes. The crushing of tolerance and love by authority. It reminds me of high school. You go, girls!!

Posted by Bisexual MSU Chick | September 27, 2007 7:12 PM
20
Posted by Regina Hackett | September 27, 2007 10:56 PM
21

On the web site for the school in question, note "Our School Constitution" at the bottom of the home page. Ms. Sincock's actions would seem to be unconstitutional.

Posted by Eggs | September 28, 2007 6:00 AM
22

Hi, I am Heathyre's mom. Just wanted to thank everyone for all the support my daughter has been getting. Some of the news articles stated that I told my daughter to contact the media, and I have been getting a lot of angry comments about this. I didn't tell Heathyre to contact the media, I actually just gave my permission. Heathyre is an amazing young lady, and stands up for what she believes to be right. We are now kicking off a fund raising campaign to get tshirts for all students who are willing to wear them. On the same day, we are trying to get speakers, educators and support groups to come and speak to the students. I feel that this is not just an issue about support for alternative lifestyles, but the very basis of what the bill of rights 1st amendments stands for. Many of the students in the school don't even realize that they do, indeed, have some rights. I am hoping to get someone to discuss this topic also. When Heathyre purchased the shirt, neither of us had any inkling that it would be deemed distracting. As a matter of fact, it wasn't, until the principal decided to make it just that. I support my daughter completely in her endeavor to spread the word of tolerance, equality, and the rights of her fellow students. She is my little hero!!

Posted by brynda beeman | September 29, 2007 12:04 AM
23

they don't have an email for the school but google principal ann sincock you can find the website and they have phone numbers,fax numbers,and addresses. so we just have to do it snail mail, but a physical letter takes up their space and if you fax it uses up their ink and paper, and they can't ignore a phone call.

Posted by Trever | September 29, 2007 12:21 AM
24

Spencer-Van Etten Central School District
sveinfo@svecsd.org

Superintendent: Steven D. Schoonmaker
CSE Chairperson: Christina Lampila

To contact staff by email, please send a note to sveinfo@svecsd.org and explain who you are trying to reach. Your email will be forwarded to the appropriate person.

Posted by Dot | October 5, 2007 7:31 AM

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