Posted on 12/23/2004 12:27:36 PM PST by Dan from Michigan
Flag stirs flap at Howell High
Controversy centered over meaning of Diversity Club message
Thursday, December 23, 2004
BY STEPHENIE KOEHN
News Staff Reporter
What is the meaning of a rainbow?
For many who see one during or after a rainstorm, it's a harbinger of good luck or at least a warm and fuzzy feeling. In the form of a flag hanging at Howell High School, however, it has created a controversy between those who see it as an expression of diversity and those who see it as supporting homosexuality.
Confusion over the meaning of the flag, said Howell High School Principal Margaret Hamill, is at the root of the controversy.
The flag, made and hung by the school's 20-member Diversity Club, has some students at the school fuming because it is so closely associated with the gay pride movement.
"Some kids in the school don't accept homosexuality and the flag is an affront to their religious beliefs," said senior Laura Steinberger, the school's student liaison to the Board of Education. Steinberger brought the controversy to the board's attention at a recent meeting.
"It's not a gay pride flag, like most people think, said junior Krista Tarrant, 16, a member of the club.
"It represents diversity as a whole," said junior R.J. Cuthbertson, also 16 and a member of the club. "We put it up to show that everyone is safe here and this is an accepting community."
"It was a decision of the group to hang the flag," said Cathryn Capy, the club's faculty adviser.
The club was formed several years ago to encourage diversity in all its forms, but had no returning members for the 2004-2005 school year, so Cuthbertson said "we basically restarted the club last fall."
"Some students and some members of the community have been a little bit confused by the flag and what it means," Hamill said. As a result of the confusion, she said, club members plan to attach an applique to the flag to clarify the its intention as a statement by the club in support of diversity.
Hamill said she has received several phone calls from parents expressing concern about the flag. She said they seemed less concerned after she explained what it means in the eyes of the students in the club.
Despite efforts to defuse the situation, Steinberger said the controversy still rages at the school. "Everyone has an opinion," she said. "From what I'm hearing, it's running 5-1 against the flag. I've heard rumors about people wanting to bring in paint balls and fire them at the flag, but they're too aware of the security cameras to chance being caught."
"We have to be very careful when we have a symbol that we don't identify just one meaning for it," Hamill said. In the case of the rainbow flag, she said, there is ample historical background. "(The Rev.) Jesse Jackson adopted it for the Rainbow Coalition (that he hoped to forge). I think that squares with our vision for the school. We want our students to be tolerant of others, no matter how they dress, look, learn or worship."
BTW - Go Bulldogs(Howell's rival). :)
When a movement has its own flag, it is a seperatist movement.
What I find most disgusting is that they (the homosexual community) have taken the rainbow (a symbol from God) and used it for a flag that represents the glorification of a disgusting lifestyle. Parents really need to wake up and tell their children that we should love all people, BUT we should call sin what it is.
Back in the "innocent" 1990s, a co-worker went to buy a flag for his backyard. He purchased a confederate flag while his wife selected a pretty rainbow colored flag. The clerk at the checkout was baffled.
...and the Swastika represents love and charity. I guess we can a thing to be anything we want today.
"It represents diversity as a whole
These people are lying. Period.
hahaha...
I don't know about where these folks are, but here the "unity" flag is one of the under the radar symbols gays use to identify one another.
Regardless it is political activism on campus at a high school.
This is the first news of this sort I've heard in Howell. I thought my kids were safe out here. Looks like I need to look into St. Joe's school.
Where is this "flag" flying. Hopefully not anywhere near Old Glory!
I remembered seeing it (and genuine rainbows, including some double rainbows) down there and knew that it wasn't a gay rights sign or marker for Lake Tuttifrutti.
"It represents diversity as a whole," said junior R.J. Cuthbertson, also 16 and a member of the club. "We put it up to show that everyone is safe here and this is an accepting community."
As a Christian who has every right to think homosexual activity morally wrong, I certainly would not feel "safe" or "accepted" in any school that promoted the gay activist agenda through flying one of their flags.
I'm not sure this flag can be redefined as just a flag of diversity. Those who fly it in the real world see it as a their banner, not everyone's banner. That's not diverse. It's exclusive.
Hang the flag of the Holy See and let's see how accepting they are...
--disgusting enough that two perfectly good words: "gay" and "queen" have been lost to normal usage-now the rainbow too?
Was it the Red Queen who said that her words meant whatever she wanted them to mean? Someone needs to tell these kids that their rainbow flag is representative of a movement hateful to God and that "diversity" is a code word for the same thing.
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