Some middle schoolers have been accused of tearing down Pride decorations after they were asked to wear rainbow colours to school to celebrate Pride Month on June 2. In protest, the students also chanted that their pronouns were ‘USA’. The incident took place at Marshall Simonds Middle School in Burlington, Massachusetts.
The students, dressed in red, white and blue, destroyed the decorations in the hallway. “I was shocked and horrified,” Nila Almstrom, a parent of an LGBT student, said at a town hall meeting, according to Daily Mail. Parents claimed that some students who identified as straight felt like they were forced to participate. They were also “offended” by a Tennessee Williams quote used as part of the decorations, that said the human heart is “curved like a road through the mountains,” and what are straight are lines and roads.
“My daughter just said, “You know, mom, that’s offensive to me, I am straight,”” Christine Steiner told WCVB. “Some of the kids threw the stickers on the ground. But I can only speak for my daughter, she just didn’t want to wear that to school. It’s not that she wanted to hurt anybody’s feelings.”
Burlington Public Schools later said in a letter to parents that the district is “obligated to provide a safe environment for all students to feel safe, seen and respected without retaliation.” “I recognize that discussions and celebrations of individual identity are complex and impacted by individual values, religions, and cultural norms, the result of which may include expressions of racism, anti-religious hate, ableism, and in this case homophobia,” Superintendent Eric Conti wrote.
“The Burlington Public Schools believe in the individual dignity and humanity of each and every person in our community. We embrace everyone for who they are and for what they bring to our schools and larger community,” he continued. “Let us all work on being kinder to each other.”
Parents and allies have claimed that “this type of intolerant rhetoric starts in the home,” and urged schools to ensure more diversity, equity and inclusion. “These displays of intolerance and homophobia are unacceptable and impact the whole community,” Burlington Equity Coalition Co-Chair, Nancy Bonassera, said. “We challenge Burlington town leadership to take an active stand against hate under the guise of “free expression.””
Principal Cari Perchase apologised, saying in a letter that she wanted to “publicly state that I stand in solidarity and support of the members of the LGBTQ community who were impacted by these events.”
Following this incident, anti-Semitic and racist graffiti were discovered inside the bathroom of the school. Cari, however, said she does not think this has any connection with the Pride celebration incident, according to the Boston Globe.
