Jocks Can’t Deal With Gay Kiss
A group of football players in Connecticut walked out of a high-school musical performance at Hartford Public High School after seeing two guys kiss on stage. The musical, Zanna, Don’t! presented as part of an anti-bullying initiative is about a fictional high school in which smart kids reign and being gay is the norm. But, apparently, seeing two dudes kissing was just too much for some students (oh, the irony!).
As Adam Johnson, one of the school’s principals, told CBS Connecticut, ”There was a public walkout by a bunch of students (when the kiss happened) ”¦ mostly male. It was visually evident (due to the jerseys the team was wearing) that a lot of football players got up and walked out. It was almost a symbolic kind of thing.”
Just to be clear, this wasn’t a hard-core, tongues-flying-everywhere-type of kiss but rather a brief lip lock. Yup, that’s what caused all the commotion a basic kiss that happened to be between two guys. And it shouldn’t have come as a surprise to anyone; as Johnson explained to CBS Connecticut, many students expressed a desire to skip the show because of the subject matter.
”There are always circumstances (in organizing these programs) under which the values of the student or their family come into play,” he said. ”It’s a balancing act of individual values and the expectations of the school ”¦ (and) it was interesting, actually, seeing the apprehension.”
The school reportedly received lots of phone calls from flustered parents. But Johnson says many were supportive, as well, commending the school for opening up a dialogue between students.”I think that we’re at a time in history where there is tremendous focus on bullying and the way students are treating each other, and how they are treated, in school,” Johnson told CBS Connecticut. ”We have to teach students how to respect and honor each other. (The students) need to learn about the diversity of the world and respecting the rights of all people. (I’m) really glad that we did this program.”
Here’s the one question I can’t stop thinking of: if the gay kiss happened to be between two girls, would anyone have cared?
(Photo: amazon.co.uk)
