The Worst News Story of the Week
The students in a fifth-grade class at Deerfield Elementary School in Cedar Hills, Utah were asked to tell what they were thankful for this Thanksgiving. Most of the responses were typical of 11-year olds:
Some of the kids . . . said turkey and mashed potatoes. One girl mentioned her dog. Another student joked about not having to go to school over the holiday.*
One student, however, had a very different answer:
“I’m thankful that I’m finally going to be adopted by my two dads.”
This student, identified only by his initials, D. M., indeed had reason to be thankful, for after two failed adoptions, it seemed that he was finally going to have a family to call his own.
What D. M., and his classmates, did not anticipate was the reaction of the class’ substitute teacher:
“Why on earth would you be happy about that?”
For the next 10 minutes she lectured the 30 kids in the class about her own views, how “homosexuality is wrong” and “two men living together is a sin.” She looked at the boy, too, and told him: “That’s nothing to be thankful for.”
The news reports did not provide any further quotes from the 10-minute rant, but one can imagine that the teacher perhaps asserted that sinners would be cast down to hell to suffer eternal torments for their transgressions.
How interesting it is that those who claim to follow a loving God are so delighted to anticipate the sufferings of their fellow creatures.
*
The Best News Story of the Week
The teacher was kicked out of the school.
As she was ranting against homosexuality, students asked her to stop. When she refused, three girls left the classroom and went to report the incident to the school principal. As we know from the national scene, being a whistleblower can cause one to face a backlash. Imagine, though, these girls leaving the classroom without permission. Surely there was the possibility of punishment. But the girls did what they knew they had to do. As the mother of one of the girls later said,
“I am so glad that I raised my daughter in a way where she would stand up for what’s right.”
*
So just maybe in this country, where hatred, bigotry, and discrimination have been given a green light by the adults in charge,** the children will save us.
***
** "In a reversal from the Obama administration, the Trump administration has repeatedly taken the position that laws and regulations that prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex do not cover a person discriminated against for being gay or transgender. The administration has also pushed for religious exemptions to civil rights laws, which experts say will make it easier to discriminate against LGBTQ individuals. The administration has taken particular aim at transgender people, barring them from joining the military."
