Homophobia in a Small Town
West Linn, Oregon. A bright, safe community of 25,000, located south of metropolitan Portland. It is populated with smart, mostly wealthy families of doctors, lawyers, businessmen and businesswomen and teachers. A quaint little bedroom community.
West Linn and it's sister city, Lake Oswego, are also known for being the "Beverly Hills" of the Portland metropolitan area. Gigantic homes with no yards, Mercedes and BMWs every other car, but did WL suffer a budget cut during the 2003 funding crisis the knocked off an entire month of school as it did with the Portland School District? Of course not. Mummy and Daddy wouldn't let it.
West Linn is an adorably safe town with a wonderful education system and overzealous and terminally bored police department, but it's not without it's skeletons.
I haven't said much about my hometown, mostly for the sake of privacy for my family and friends. But the lastest news out of the old Linntry is this:
17-year-old WLHS senior, Brandon Flyte, was requested (some say "ordered") to transfer to a local community college after he showed a film entitled Brokeback High to his marine biology class. As the story goes, Brandon wrote a film based off the controversial and critically acclaimed Brokeback Mountain featuring a love story between two male students. The film included a "snuggling scene" where the two boys are shown whispering affection in bed, shirtless. The administration asked for the scene to be removed, and Brandon complied. But when his marine biology class asked to see it, he showed the unedited version. Then he was asked to come to the office, where the three vice-principals told Brandon that "because of his poor attendence record" he was going to have to transfer to Clackamas Community College.
Right.
Of course, a controversy has ensued, and Brandon is recording it all on his website, BrandonFlyte.com. He explains his side of the story, features an article to the Oregonian (which, as a journalist, is the most amazingly horrible piece of writing I've ever encountered in a professional publication) and he has a guestbook where people from all over the world have posted. In just three days. Of course, with 10,000 e-mails, the administration has relented and allowed Brandon to return to WLHS, but not without calling Brandon's shenanigans a "hoax" and that he was expelled for "a series of misbehaviors," which are not even listed. It has prompted crude, hateful messages from the entire spectrum of religious and political beliefs.
I'm posting this after seeing a link to the story from my friend Sarah's blog. It is disturbing to me on two fronts: 1) I'm from West Linn, and I'm just appalled that this is what our administration has turned into. They have always been a bit overzealous with their "rules" (I could write an entire post about the dumb policies they created- including posting faculty at the doors leading from the cafeteria to avoid student bringing "exposed food or drink" into the main building) and 2) I'm a journalist, and the Oregonian has done a shoddy piece of work with their report. It's ridiculous.
Some people are calling this a "cry for attention" or a "shameless plug for publicity of his film," which is not what Brandon claims, but still, he damn right deserves some publicity for what he's going through. The administration should be hung out to dry for the fact they even made him cut that stupid scene (which, by the way, you can view at his website).
It's not even a sex scene. They don't even kiss in the scene. They are not wearing shirts (you can't see anything else) and they're lying in bed. Big deal.
We are having an educational crisis with budgets cuts across the board causing teachers to cut back on opportunities to bring in guest speakers and go on field trips. They lack updated textbooks and technology (not WLHS, of course, our bathrooms are made from Italian tile...). And now they are trying to stifle intelligent discussion on something pertinent to our society today?
Are they freaking out of their minds?
I didn't think I would get so angry about it. But this smacks of not only homophobia, but of sheer cluelessness as to the value of strong, open discussion about current events. Isn't that what we go to school for? To learn about our world?
Disappointing. Amazingly disappointing.
West Linn and it's sister city, Lake Oswego, are also known for being the "Beverly Hills" of the Portland metropolitan area. Gigantic homes with no yards, Mercedes and BMWs every other car, but did WL suffer a budget cut during the 2003 funding crisis the knocked off an entire month of school as it did with the Portland School District? Of course not. Mummy and Daddy wouldn't let it.
West Linn is an adorably safe town with a wonderful education system and overzealous and terminally bored police department, but it's not without it's skeletons.
I haven't said much about my hometown, mostly for the sake of privacy for my family and friends. But the lastest news out of the old Linntry is this:
17-year-old WLHS senior, Brandon Flyte, was requested (some say "ordered") to transfer to a local community college after he showed a film entitled Brokeback High to his marine biology class. As the story goes, Brandon wrote a film based off the controversial and critically acclaimed Brokeback Mountain featuring a love story between two male students. The film included a "snuggling scene" where the two boys are shown whispering affection in bed, shirtless. The administration asked for the scene to be removed, and Brandon complied. But when his marine biology class asked to see it, he showed the unedited version. Then he was asked to come to the office, where the three vice-principals told Brandon that "because of his poor attendence record" he was going to have to transfer to Clackamas Community College.
Right.
Of course, a controversy has ensued, and Brandon is recording it all on his website, BrandonFlyte.com. He explains his side of the story, features an article to the Oregonian (which, as a journalist, is the most amazingly horrible piece of writing I've ever encountered in a professional publication) and he has a guestbook where people from all over the world have posted. In just three days. Of course, with 10,000 e-mails, the administration has relented and allowed Brandon to return to WLHS, but not without calling Brandon's shenanigans a "hoax" and that he was expelled for "a series of misbehaviors," which are not even listed. It has prompted crude, hateful messages from the entire spectrum of religious and political beliefs.
I'm posting this after seeing a link to the story from my friend Sarah's blog. It is disturbing to me on two fronts: 1) I'm from West Linn, and I'm just appalled that this is what our administration has turned into. They have always been a bit overzealous with their "rules" (I could write an entire post about the dumb policies they created- including posting faculty at the doors leading from the cafeteria to avoid student bringing "exposed food or drink" into the main building) and 2) I'm a journalist, and the Oregonian has done a shoddy piece of work with their report. It's ridiculous.
Some people are calling this a "cry for attention" or a "shameless plug for publicity of his film," which is not what Brandon claims, but still, he damn right deserves some publicity for what he's going through. The administration should be hung out to dry for the fact they even made him cut that stupid scene (which, by the way, you can view at his website).
It's not even a sex scene. They don't even kiss in the scene. They are not wearing shirts (you can't see anything else) and they're lying in bed. Big deal.
We are having an educational crisis with budgets cuts across the board causing teachers to cut back on opportunities to bring in guest speakers and go on field trips. They lack updated textbooks and technology (not WLHS, of course, our bathrooms are made from Italian tile...). And now they are trying to stifle intelligent discussion on something pertinent to our society today?
Are they freaking out of their minds?
I didn't think I would get so angry about it. But this smacks of not only homophobia, but of sheer cluelessness as to the value of strong, open discussion about current events. Isn't that what we go to school for? To learn about our world?
Disappointing. Amazingly disappointing.
posted by Allison at 9:53 PM
2 Comments:
I don't understand homophobia. Who CARES who someone else loves? Isn't it enough that they DO love? Shouldn't we be happy that two people found each other and love each other? Why do people care if they're both the same sex? Why do people care what other people do in their bedrooms? Honestly, it completely baffles me.
Julia, it baffles me too.
But Allison, I just want to say thank you. I have to say that a lot of the people I see in the media who consider themselves devoted Christians are also devoted homophobes. You've reminded me that my prejudices and stereotypes are just that: prejudices and stereotypes.
Post a Comment
<< Home