School Board Member Says He Loves When LGBT Kids "Get AIDs and Die"

by Sara Bernard · 2010-10-28 07:30:00 UTC
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It's bad enough that students are bullying other students, but an adult who is responsible for making educational decisions for those students? Shockingly, it's true: Clint McCance, a school board member at Midland School District in Arkansas, posted some very ugly hate speech on Facebook, slandering LGBT students during Spirit Day (a day of remembrance for LGBT youth who'd been victims of bullying or committed suicide; people around the country wore purple to support them).

McCance's words are hard to read, even. Among the worst: "Seriously they want me to wear purple because five queers committed suicide. The only way I'm wearin' it for them is if they all commit suicide," and "It pisses me off though that we make a special purple fag day for them. I like that fags cant procreate. I also enjoy the fact that they often give each other aids and die."

This morning, the head of the school district sternly condemned his remarks, saying that "the district strives to foster an environment that discourages all forms of bullying and an environment that encourages a safe and productive educational climate of all of our students." The Arizona Department of Education also criticized the board member's remarks -- but since he's an elected official, they have no power over what he says or does.

Schools should be creating tolerant communities that teach students and staff how to respect one another. When a school board member feels free to denigrate students in this way -- students who he is empowered to make decisions about and decide what's best for -- this presents an awful example to the community he serves.  This is not acceptable behavior for anyone, but someone in his position should never preach this kind of hate and be allowed to keep his job.

Join the backlash: Tell the Midland School District to demand McCance's resignation and apologize to the students, teachers, and community members he offended.

Photo credit: David Michael Morris

Sara Bernard is a former staff writer and multimedia producer for Edutopia magazine.
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