On
tolerance and bigotry
This is my 3/18/02 response to the article
"Pickets protest board's editing of
tolerance film - Gay segment deleted by Grossmont Union"
in the San Diego (CA)
Union-Tribune, March 14, 2002.
Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 18, 2002
CONTACT:
Gabi Clayton, Olympia, WA, member of PFLAG (Parents, Families
and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) and a co-founder of Families United Against
Hate (FUAH), 
Carolyn Wagner, Vice-President of PFLAG and co-founder of
FUAH
Janine Iamunno, Director of Communications & Special
Projects - Arnold Shapiro Productions
Gabi Clayton's response to article "Pickets protest board's editing of
tolerance film - Gay segment deleted by Grossmont Union" San Diego (CA)
Union-Tribune, March 14, 2002.
http://www.uniontrib.com/news/education/20020314-9999_1m14protest.html
I felt like I had been kicked in the stomach when I read the article about the
Grossmont Union School district insisting that a film be edited to take out a
segment on discrimination based on sexual orientation. I am the mother who was
interviewed in this film, "Teen Files: The Truth About Hate" by
Arnold Shapiro Productions. My son Bill Clayton was the bisexual student who
committed suicide when he was seventeen years old, a month after he was
assaulted in a hate crime based on his sexual orientation.
There was a statement in the article from Brad Dacus of the Pacific Justice
Institute, "that the district's decision to have the film altered was a
responsible way to teach about tolerance while respecting the beliefs of
parents concerned about the controversial issue." The Pacific Justice
Institute claims that it specializes in the defense of religious freedom and
the family. My family is apparently not included, and I believe that there is
nothing responsible about respecting the kind of ignorance that leads to
harassment and hate crimes.
School trustee Priscilla Schreiber "said the portrayal of a gay authority
figure," (a police officer Chuck Limbert of the San Francisco Police
Department, whom I have met) "sends a message that homosexuality is
normal and acceptable, which she said does not belong in the classroom."
It is normal and acceptable. Gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youths,
teachers, staff and parents are in those classrooms, as are their siblings,
children, other family members and friends. What should not be normal and
acceptable in our schools and in our communities is promoting this kind of
intolerance.
I believe that the decision to edit the film was a bad decision. What kind of
lesson does this teach about tolerance? It should have been shown in its
entirety. The film does not promote one sexual orientation over another any
more than it promotes one religion, race or ethnicity over another. The
segments that dealt with those biases were permitted.
Arnold Shapiro Productions responded when they were told about this:
Arnold Shapiro and Allison Grodner, producers of THE TEEN FILES: THE TRUTH ABOUT HATE, commented, "We are deeply disturbed by this turn of events and by the message it sends to the students at Granite Hills High School. As long as this kind of censorship continues, so will the bigotry, intolerance, and violence that are a part of daily life for gay and bisexual teens across the country. The school board's decision is offensive, dangerous, and completely incongruous with the entire point of tolerance programs in schools."
The way this was handled last week sends a message that my son Bill's life
was less precious than others, and I take that very personally. Hate based on
ignorance killed my son. He is dead now and my real concern is for those who
are alive and live with this bigotry every day. What this cut says to me is
that our gay, lesbian, bisexual children and adults are not welcome, not
worthy, and have no right to expect to be safe in their schools.
What has been done in the Grossmont Union School district sends a message to
all of our children who are gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender that they
are not worth fighting for, and that is not true.
Gabi Clayton, Olympia, WA
http://www.gabiclayton.com/
PFLAG (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays)
http://www.pflag.org/
Families United Against Hate
http://www.fuah.org/
"The Teen Files" - show on hate and prejudice - 1999 article written
by Gabi Clayton for the PFLAG-Olympia newsletter just before the show aired.
http://www.youth-guard.org/gabi/gc_teenfiles.html
Teen Files: The Truth About Hate
Arnold Shapiro Productions
http://www.arnoldshapiroproductions.com/
###
San Diego Union Tribune
Editorial: Selective hate - Narrow-minded board cuts tolerance film - March 20, 2002
Letters to the Editor:
Mother of slain student asks, 'Why be selective on hate?' xxx - March 20, 2002Tolerance on the cutting room floor - March 23, 2002
District will not be hijacked by homosexual activists - March 28, 2002
By Gary Cass and Priscilla Schreiber (two of the Grossmont Union School trustees)Two Grossmont trustees - March 29, 2002
Gay & Lesbian Times, San Diego
Students protest school board meeting over tolerance film cuts - March 21, 2002
AP story
Dad: Separate School Bathrooms For Gays - Father Files Compliant Alleging Right Of Privacy Violated - March 28, 2002
Tampa Bay Coalition Eye on GLBT News - by R. Zeke Fread - March 20, 2002
To respond to this:
Send San Diego Union-Tribune letters to the editor: letters@uniontrib.com
Contact the Grossmont Union High School District school board:
Gary Cass, Member of the Governing Board: whcf1@juno.com
Ted Crooks, Member of the Governing Board: ted@crooks.com
Thomas A. Page, President of the Governing Board: tpage@guhsd.net
Priscilla Schreiber, Clerk of the Governing Board: linroeus@aol.com
Daniel McGeorge, Vice President of the Governing Board: dan_mcgeorge@excite.comSan Diego Anti-Defamation League: san-diego@adl.org
The Lesbian and Gay Men's Community Center:
Sherry Wright, Director, Public Policy Department: swright@thecentersd.org
GLSEN-San Diego: glsensd@glsensd.org
"Teen Files: The Truth About Hate" can be ordered from Discovery Education. See this page where it is listed there with other films. It is available in DVD and VHS formats in a long (49 minute) and short (32 minute) version. I've never seen the short version, which is also available in Spanish.