14-year-old gay student defends teacher for ejecting intolerant classmates
”I’ve been in rooms, in classrooms where children have said the worst kinds of things. The kinds of things that helped drive me to a suicide attempt when I was only 9 years old…. He did an amazing thing. he did something that’s inspired a lot of people. And whenever, ever I have a teacher stand up for me like that, they change my eyes. I support Jay McDowell and I hope you do too.”
Graeme Taylor a student at Howell High School in Detroit. He was defending his teacher Jay McDowell at a public school board meeting. McDowell was suspended for a day without pay for putting two students out of his classroom. One girl had been wearing a belt buckle made to look like a Confederate flag which he reportedly asked her to remove. A second student objected to his teacher’s demand asking why it was any different than wearing a gay pride flag. The second student, according to AP, then said ”I don’t accept gays. It’s against my religion.” McDowell says he explained the difference between the flags’ meanings, but ended up sending the student out for a one-day suspension because he was moving the conversation in a direction he did not want it to go. A third student allegedly asked to join his anti-gay classmate for similar reasons. (MSNBC / AP)
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