Parents get Attleboro High School to cancel offensive homosexual-themed play!
Big victory for parents everywhere
POSTED: May 28, 2010
Even just one set of parents can stop things if they are determined enough.
It's been a source of tremendous frustration and anger to parents that public school officials have been selecting increasingly vulgar and offensive plays -- many with blatant homosexual themes -- for students to act in and for the student body to watch. It's a shock that any adults would do this with impressionable kids. Unfortunately, this is a reflection of the types of people who are becoming teachers and administrators and pushing their agenda with impunity.
At Attleboro High School, the drama group was scheduled to perform the one-act play, "The Wedding Story" by Julianne Homokay, last weekend. But when the parents of a 15-year-old girl who was a performer in the play saw what it was, they couldn't believe it.
Here's a sample of the bizarre script from "The Wedding Story":
STORYTELLER: Oh, for God's sake, what's the big deal in telling the children a nice little story?
BRIDE: No one's life turns out like that. How many of those kids will live up to your version of the story? None! They can't, it's too much pressure. It's like why Catholic women are all messed up, you can't be a virgin AND be a mother. And Brad, I probably shouldn't have married you to begin with.
GROOM: Shayna, how can you say that?
BRIDE: You're probably gay.
. . . . .
STORYTELLER: --and a young, slightly effeminate man who took it up the ass once from a fellow Eagle Scout, but since it only happened once when he was 17 and drunk on Kahlua, he still considered himself straight.
GROOM: Hey hey hey.
STORYTELLER: The woman and the man met in a bar one night where they got drunk and slept together afterwards at her place. Since the woman felt guilty about the one-night stand, she felt she needed to make a legitimate relationship out of the encounter to justify the sex, even though she really prefers black men. To stay deep in the dark closet, the man proposed to the woman, and since she's 35 and, let's face it, not getting any younger, she accepted his pathetic offer because it was a real ego boost to have snagged a hot stud eleven years younger than she, even if he does have the occasional problem getting a stiffy with her because he's really gay. Although the man offered to plan the entire wedding with his best friend Steve, the woman insisted they hire a horse-drawn carriage to drop them off at the Airport of Vermont, from which they took six connecting flights to Las Vegas to get married by an Elvis impersonator. To celebrate, they showed up at the Star Dust Lounge, at which they bought all the bar patrons cheeseballs and Budweiser. When they arrived back home in Weehawken, New Jersey, the Groom, unable to suppress his inner self for a moment longer, took up with a drag queen from SoHo, and the Bride, realizing she'd never be a mother, consoled herself with vodka and Xanax and died of a somewhat accidental overdose three years later. The Groom, now 27, took up wearing cowboy hats and chaps, and made the unfortunate mistake of traveling to Wyoming on business where he was dragged to his death behind a 4x4 by a bunch of homophobic rednecks. The drag queen wrote a show about the three of them in which he played all the parts, won a Genius Grant, and landed his own talk show on New York City cable access.
What kind of adults are in charge? That's a question that comes up all too frequently.
According to reports in the local newspaper, the parents pulled their daughter out of the play, and insisted that the play be stopped.
The school at first gave them the usual runaround. They claimed the students" had chosen the play, so the adults weren't responsible. They said that although there may be "inappropriate" parts, there was a "disclaimer" in the program that the play should be considered "satirical" and that they had "revised" the script. The parents went up the chain of school officials to the school committee and would not give up. (Of course, the teachers union got involved, defending the play and claiming "censorship" by the parents.)
But the parents wouldn't be brushed aside. In the end the play, which was supposed to be presented last weekend, was cancelled.
The parents sent a letter to the local paper reinforcing their position:
"Any claim of censorship around this situation is absurd and attaching a disclaimer does not negate the administration's initial obligation to act in the best interest of their students and the community. It is unacceptable that our 15-year-old daughter was exposed to this material within a high school environment.
"We first met with the school administration and were informed that the play would go forward. After multiple requests to meet with Superintendent Pia Durkin to express our dissatisfaction with their decision, on May 11 we were offered a meeting on May 27 (five days after the play's scheduled performance). It was at this point that we reached out to the school committee.
"We feel strongly that the decision to cancel the play was the right one but are troubled that the decision was left to students. We remain concerned that the administration failed to recognize the inappropriateness of the content of the play for high school students and feel the community should expect a higher standard and better judgment going forward."
Read entire letter HEREThis is the kind of activism we need everywhere. It's terrible that parents have to deal with this at all. But it's happening. And unless people stand up, it will continue.
