http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/02/11/television-station-in-indiana-edits-report-to-make-bigoted-special-ed-teacher-diana-gays-have-no-purpose-medley-seem-less-hateful Comments On: Television Station in Indiana Edits Report In an Apparent Attempt to Make Bigoted Special Ed Teacher Diana "Gays Have No Purpose" Medley Seem Less Hateful by Dan Savage en-us Copyright 2013 The Stranger. All rights reserved. This RSS file is offered to individuals, The Stranger readers, and non-commercial organizations only. Any commercial websites wishing to use this RSS file, please contact The Stranger. webmaster@thestranger.com (The Stranger Webmaster) Sat, 25 May 2013 00:00:01 -0700 Sat, 25 May 2013 03:15:00 -0700 Foundation http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Posted by 1969AKP]]> Fri, 22 Feb 2013 11:24:49 -0800 The Stranger All I will say is that if there is any chance, it will take considerable patience and a desire on both sides of these issues to get to a livable state of being.
Posted by just this once, a little truth]]> Mon, 18 Feb 2013 08:55:35 -0800 The Stranger (Email sent to Diana Medley)

Hi Diana -

I'm gonna go out on a limb and assume you've been getting a lot of feedback regarding your on camera appearance where you discussed your religious and personal views regarding LGBT individuals. I'm not going to give you any negative comments or ask you to edit your belief system. I am going to ask you to consider though, just for a moment, that everything you know is wrong. I'm not saying you're wrong. I'm saying, stop for one moment and listen to someone tell you something you can't believe. Listen to someone tell you the sky isn't blue. Because, let's face it, the sky isn't always blue. And sometimes, we're wrong.

- Purpose Server

Posted by The fag]]> Wed, 13 Feb 2013 06:59:10 -0800 The Stranger
Also, @47 - The First Amendment does not mean what you think it means.
Posted by Midwest Survivor]]> Wed, 13 Feb 2013 00:41:39 -0800 The Stranger Posted by OutInBumF]]> Tue, 12 Feb 2013 23:00:41 -0800 The Stranger Posted by dwightmoodyforgetsthings]]> Tue, 12 Feb 2013 17:57:07 -0800 The Stranger One of the defining facets of my 20s and early 30s was the dissolution of my relationship with my parents. After I came stumbling out of the closet, it took almost a decade to rebuild that relationship. We went years without speaking. It was very hard - for all of us. To be frank, though, it was never about my sexuality, per se. It was about the shame and embarrassment my folks were afraid I'd bring on the family. I remember many, many "what if people find out? What will they say?" conversations. It never felt personal - it was cultural.

Hearing "personal opinions" like Diana Medved's voiced publicly sends chills down my spine. For a person in a position of authority to imply (much less state outright!) that gay is not okay in IN sets a foundation of intolerance with a ripple effect that will reach thousands of families. Her words are embarrassing, unnecessary, cruel, and, yes, hateful. They enable a culture of bullying, shame, suicides, and self-hatred for millions of kids. They enable the EXACT CULTURE that drove my family apart almost 30 years ago. So please, no matter your own personal politics, please keep the years of pain my entire family endured in mind. Remove Diana Medved from her teaching position.
Posted by NYerinMpls]]> Tue, 12 Feb 2013 14:38:51 -0800 The Stranger Posted by lolorhone]]> Tue, 12 Feb 2013 13:23:42 -0800 The Stranger Posted by TomTallis]]> Tue, 12 Feb 2013 13:11:42 -0800 The Stranger Posted by very bad homo]]> Tue, 12 Feb 2013 12:51:28 -0800 The Stranger Posted by SuperZero]]> Tue, 12 Feb 2013 11:59:07 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Fistique]]> Tue, 12 Feb 2013 11:25:40 -0800 The Stranger It has always been my understanding that when people say something to the effect of "all children were created equal" or "god created everyone equal", they are saying that everyone has *equal value* NOT *identical characteristics*.

Believing that everyone has equal worth, and should be treated with equal respect, is not the same as saying that everyone *is* the same or should be treated the same.

Now, I don't think that Medley believes that everyone has equal worth ("gays have no purpose in life"), I just think that hanging your dispute with Medley on an inaccurate definition of "equal" makes your otherwise legitimate frustration with Medley's attitude easy to dismiss.

I loved the first four paragraphs of your impassioned letter @26, and got excited about having something to copy-paste-send to the school administrators. I'd love to see a rewrite of the second half that doesn't depend on the equal=same straw-man so I can shamelessly steal it and send it to the administration. Will you oblige?
Posted by Oh Suzanna]]> Tue, 12 Feb 2013 11:01:44 -0800 The Stranger Posted by laksjdlaksjd]]> Tue, 12 Feb 2013 10:10:38 -0800 The Stranger
Firing her, just lets a bigot lose her job, she'll continue to be a bigot somewhere else. If you fire her, she'll do the same thing at another school.
Posted by Kinison]]> Tue, 12 Feb 2013 09:13:06 -0800 The Stranger
As far as your rudimentary and incorrect understanding of freedom of speech goes, please review post #40.
Posted by Alanmt]]> Tue, 12 Feb 2013 09:02:25 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Chris C.]]> Tue, 12 Feb 2013 08:39:21 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Chris C.]]> Tue, 12 Feb 2013 08:35:00 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Tallboy]]> Tue, 12 Feb 2013 08:33:24 -0800 The Stranger
"This is a free country" does not permit bigots in schools. Or do you think it's OF for some Klan member to don a hood and robe and start teaching our kids too? Can we have Al Qaeda teachers in our schools encouraging suicide bombings? I'm guessing you just support freedom of teachers to be bigots in this case because you happen to condone her particular flavor of bigotry.


Posted by smajor82]]> Tue, 12 Feb 2013 08:03:55 -0800 The Stranger
Actually that's not true.

Freedom of speech protects us from the government punishing us for our speech as regular citizens.

However your job may require a restriction of your freedom of speech, and if you take certain jobs you are implicitly agreeing to restrict your speech in certain ways.

I can't bash my employer in the media. If I do I will be fired. A solider can't criticize the President publicly. That will get them reprimanded. A sales clerk can't call their black customers the 'N' word no matter what justification they try to use.

The idea that you can say what ever you want and you can't be fired for it is an uniformed, and childishly simplistic view of the first amendment right to freedom of speech. That's not how it works.

No country is completely free. Part of living in a society is a shared agreement that we give up certain freedoms in order to get the benefits that a cooperative society grants. No, you can't say what ever you want and expect to be free from all repercussions. If a teacher says something publicly that interferes with their job or violates their employment agreement they can and should be fired.

A teacher who creates a hostile educational environment for their students not only can be fired, but should be fired.
Posted by Fortunate]]> Tue, 12 Feb 2013 08:03:13 -0800 The Stranger Posted by smajor82]]> Tue, 12 Feb 2013 07:57:56 -0800 The Stranger Posted by John S NYC]]> Tue, 12 Feb 2013 06:59:25 -0800 The Stranger Posted by ljohnson14156]]> Tue, 12 Feb 2013 06:25:11 -0800 The Stranger Posted by JRI]]> Tue, 12 Feb 2013 06:16:13 -0800 The Stranger