Colin Perucco Mentioned Marsha P. Johnson In Class and Some Parents Want Him Fired

Colin Perucco is a Minnetonka Middle School East language arts teacher who teaches a “Person of the Day” segment in his online pandemic class. One day, Perucco highlighted Marsha P. Johnson—an early gay rights activist and drag queen, who was one of the prominent figures in the Stonewall uprising of 1969—and, well, you know what happened.

A parent recorded the lesson and sent it to the Daily Caller—a right-wing news and opinion website co-founded by Fox News asshat Tucker Carlson—telling them that “there is no excuse to bring any of this into the classroom” and that she “finds the political atmosphere of classrooms inexcusable.”

Other parents shot back that the parent’s disregard for the safety of school staff and students was a violation of school policy; recording the online classes is against policy to protect all the students and their families. And those parents, and their children, stood up with, and for, Colin Perucco as the manufactured outrage over the two minutes dedicated to Johnson’s life grew. It even caused the Principal, Pete Dymit, to send an email:

“I want to let all MME families know that I feel Mr. Perucco is an excellent teacher who is highly committed to supporting the academic, social and emotional development of our students. He is loved by his students, respected by his peers, and I look forward to having him as a part of our staff for many years.”

Sadly, while Dymit, students and many parents,  voiced support for Perucco, the school board remained silent, and parents and activists both wonder what message that sends to students and teachers.

One parent wrote:

“It is imperative for our district board to issue a statement stating that they stand with our BIPOC and LGBTQ+ community members and that attempts to intimidate and silence teachers who stand for equity and who teach inclusive content will not be tolerated. The board’s silence on this issue to date is unacceptable.”

The only statement given by the board sidestepped Colin Perucco entirely and insinuated that the profile on a legendary Black drag queen and early champion of the LGBTQ+ rights wasn’t “appropriate.”

Luckily, most at the school feel the two minutes was appropriate and plan to march in support of Perucco and to demand the school board do better, noting that Colin Perucco closed that Marsha P. Johnson video lesson by saying this:

“We’re all going through this life together. We are all human beings experiencing the world in very different but also very similar ways. [Let’s] give a little extra grace to the people around us.”

Oh my gosh, what a horrible lesson to teach our children! I guess some parents, and members of the school board need to realize that while we are all not the same, we are very much alike, and rather than tear one another down we should build one another up.

LGBTQ Nation

Cast A Goddamned Vote!

Signs Of Hope ....

So, like many Americans, I am still flabbergasted by the election last week of _____. I guess there were a lot more bigots and haters and homophobes and Islamophobes and rightwingnuts than I realized who crawled out of the primordial ooze to vote.

But it is what it is—god how I hate that phrase—and so we need not bury our heads any longer and moan and kvetch; we need to mobilize and change the Democratic Party so that this kind of lunacy never happens again. We need to take a stand against this almost instant rise in hate speech and hate crimes around the country spawned by the election.

I mean, schoolchildren chanting to a Latino student that they’re going to build a wall; graffiti sprayed on buildings that says “Black Lives Don’t Matter” and “_____ Nation;” swastikas.

We need to stop shaking our heads at this kind of hate and do something, say something, stand for something. Stop living in fear of what might happen now that the lunatic is in charge ...

Take the example set by a Massachusetts school teacher who is spreading hope one classroom at a time. The teacher posted just six signs in the classroom after the election but they speak volumes, addressing different minorities who may be in the classroom and urging them to stay strong and fight the hate and stay positive.

This is what we need to do; this is our protest. Sure, bitching about President-elect _____ might make you feel better, for a moment, until you realize this is what’s happened to America, but standing up for those who are the targets of the Alt-right movement, the nationalists, the white supremacists, might be the better way to go.

Say something against the hate; stand up to the bullies. Stay positive, stay strong, stay vigilant, and demand that this not be the direction in which we choose to go.

Six signs of hope ... they should be on display everywhere.

Attitude

The Funny Papers ... Ferguson

A Step Forward ... A Two-Step Forward

While you were out and about yesterday, living your life, doing your thing, did you feel it?

History being made.

Yup, the US Senate made history when it voted to confirm Darrin Gayles to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Gayles, who was confirmed 98-0, is the country’s first openly gay African-American man to be confirmed to the federal bench.

And his confirmation came right after the Senate confirmed Staci Yandle to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois, by a vote of 52-44. Yandle is the first African-American lesbian federal judge in over twenty years, just the second one in the history of this country—the first, Judge Deborah Batts, was sworn in during June 1994.

"Never before in the course of the history of our state has there been an Article III federal judge who is openly a member of the LGBT community. In short, Staci Yandle's confirmation marks another important milestone in America's journey toward equality of opportunity."—Senator Dick Durbin

Equality for both the black community and the gay community. All at once, in the same day; twice.

Sidenote: President Obama has already nominated more African-American judges and openly gay and lesbian judges than any of his predecessors.

Of course, that’s not really a surprise, since he is the country’s first African-American president and the first president to fully embrace, and stand up for, the LGBT community.

sources:

The Huffington Post

Lambda Legal