This past weekend I took a vacation to Atlanta to visit childhood friends and relax with mindless and entertaining activities. While perusing BuzzFeed in the beautiful 70-degree November weather that makes all Chicagoans excited, my friends and I came across photos, videos and comments on "35 Amazing Science Fair Projects." You can see for yourself why the post had us laughing heartily and talking about our own experiments in grade school.
Then the laughter stopped. I saw the above picture of a young student's project called AIDS: The Gay Plague. While his procedure and hypothesis are unintelligible, his "results" are clear. Homosexuality and bisexuality result in "the gay plague," while heterosexuality and whatever he was implying with "Man on Horse" are safe.
I have multiple thoughts on this one picture, plenty to fill additional posts. For instance, what school system allows this form of research by such a young student and then condones it with a medal as pictured in the above? What were his research materials and what did he test to come to these results? And lastly, what is his project (and his school/school system) communicating to the community and now online audiences with this project?
Many people debate the appropriateness of teaching and discussing gay relationships, marriage and families in schools, as well as singularly focused abstinence-only sex education programs. The above picture is an example of what is being communicated in at least one school, and its message is completely unfounded. Children and young adults need to understand that HIV infections affect all individuals, and risky sexual behavior is a greater attribute to contracting HIV and AIDS than one's sexuality. Also, it is our responsibility as gay, lesbian and ally communicators to address this and similar issues in our own schools, providing accurate facts and information to students and teachers about the LGBT community and HIV/AIDS. The above is a clear indication of what can go terribly wrong if we don't.
As I sat in the Atlanta airport headed home, I struggled with the image and thought of this post. All of sudden I overheard a story from the TV above playing Atlanta-based CNN that gave me hope. In it, straight 10-year-old student Will Phillips from Arkansas explained his decision to not pledge allegiance to the flag in his elementary school classroom until gays and lesbians have equal rights in the United States.
"I've grown up with a lot of people and I'm good friends with a lot of people who are gay and I think they should have the rights all people should, and I'm not going to swear that they do. I really don't feel that there's currently liberty and justice for all," said the young Phillips, who is aspiring to be a lawyer.
Whether Will's decision was fostered from his classroom or his living room is unknown, but his message of standing up for his beliefs and demanding justice and liberty for all stands in stark contrast to the unidentified student's AIDS: The Gay Plague project. Will's respectful declining to pledge allegiance sends a message to those reciting the memorized words, and asks them to consider how true their recitation is.
Out of the mouths of babes…
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This is photoshopped.
So the question is rather: Why can we imagine something like this could actually happen in a school? Do we perceive socienty as that backward oriented? Are we so scared that our freedoms we fought and still fight for are so fagile?