True, but I have felt from the beginning that she was not at fault for the prom being canceled; overzealous school administrators were. They made the choice to cancel the prom; not her. They decided they would rather ruin it for everyone and blame her than to just suck it up and have the prom if they can't have it their way. Therefore, in my opinion, the other students' anger should have been directed at the school administrators. Unfortunately, it sounds like their plan worked pretty well and they were able to exclude her and turn the other students against her.

4/6/2010 3:32:32 PM

^ That was clearly the plan all along and, since it's high school kids we're talking about (A lot of whom are likely prejudiced on top of being at that age), it worked exactly as they wanted it to.

4/6/2010 3:52:55 PM

there are supposedly two students from the school posting in the comments section here:
http://lafiga.firedoglake.com/2010/04/05/the-meanest-town-in-america-fake-prom-for-lesbian-student/

the second is clearly very defensive about the whole thing. and says that the lesbian girl was just vying for attention, etc. but my question is: what is the worst that would have happened if she had been allowed to come to the prom? people would have gawked? the whole thing really is sad.

4/6/2010 7:42:32 PM

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=XSAfAAAAIBAJ&sjid=qacEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6862,5131613

A black girl went through eerily similar circumstances 45 years ago in Alabama when she went to an all-white high school.

4/6/2010 8:25:00 PM

^^I was actually going to say that it wasn't that sad. I mean, she's out, has a partner, some friends, presumably supportive parents, and the backing of the ACLU...that's pretty damn good.

But then a friend of mine looking over my shoulder asked me what the article was about and my voice cracked as I was explaining the article to him.

I mean, holy Hell. And not just her but all seven kids who were at the official private prom just sittin there, chillin with the teacher chaperones...

And this business about her personality being annoying and her always wanting attention...that pretty much describes every single girl I went to high school with, including myself. I suspect her being gay is the real problem.

^!!!!

Forgiveness is awesome.

4/6/2010 10:01:38 PM

Quote :

"Two students with learning difficulties were among the seven people at the country club event, McMillen recalls. "They had the time of their lives," McMillen says. "That's the one good thing that come out of this, [these kids] didn't have to worry about people making fun of them [at their prom].""

This whole thing just makes me sad. The whole excitement of getting ready for prom, I just can't imagine the feeling of being tricked and having that all taken away. I mean, I know it's not ultimately that important, but as a high school student it's a right of passage, a chance to be seen in a different light. That the mentally disabled kids were cast out as well...It's just wrong. But that Courtney could make the best of the situation for all of them speaks leaps and bounds about her character.

4/6/2010 10:59:28 PM

http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Constance-quit-yer-cryin/367776042862?ref=ts

4/6/2010 11:08:10 PM

^^I've always thought of proms as lame rites of passage.

I never considered their value as an opportunity for students to be seen in a different light maybe even for the first time ever. That is so true!

This is so sad.

4/6/2010 11:30:08 PM

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100720/ap_on_re_us/us_lesbian_prom_date

Quote :

"JACKSON, Miss. – A rural school district that canceled its prom rather than allow a lesbian student to attend with her girlfriend has agreed to pay $35,000 to settle a discrimination lawsuit the ACLU filed on her behalf. The district also agreed to follow a non-discrimination policy as part of the settlement, though it argues such a policy was already in place. Constance McMillen, 18, said the victory came at the price of her being shunned in her small hometown of Fulton. "I knew it was a good cause, but sometimes it really got to me. I knew it would change things for others in the future and I kept going and I kept pushing," McMillen said in an interview Tuesday. "

7/20/2010 10:31:00 PM

Funny, I always thought that suing your local municipality was the best way to meet your neighbors.

7/20/2010 10:41:12 PM

Funny, I always thought discriminating against your neighbors was the best way to get your local municipality sued

7/20/2010 10:48:24 PM