A tense verbal exchange between a parent and student has thrust a gay teenager into the national spotlight.
Mackenzie Atwood, a senior at Franklin High School in Franklin, Massachusetts spoke at a school committee meeting earlier this week. CBS News reports that Atwood delivered remarks on a new class aimed at ending teen bullying in the classroom.
āI am gay,ā Atwood explained to the board. āCall me what you want about that, Iām being personally attacked in school about that.ā
No sooner had she uttered the words, when an adult in the audience stood up and started screaming at Atwood.
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āThis has to stop. This is the indoctrination,ā the adult yells in the video.
Related:Ā 14-year-old brutally attacked at school for wearing pride flag
An emotional Atwood would not stand for the abuse, and would not back down.
āThis is extremely disgusting that you can look me in the eyes and say that Iām not being oppressed at the school,ā Atwood yelled back in tears.
The chairman of the committee eventually had the unruly adult removed from the room. Later, Franklin schools superintendent Dr. Sara Ahern sent a letter to parents calling the incident āunacceptable.ā
āItās so invalidating because people love to believe that being gay is a choice. It was very emotional,ā Atwood later recalled to CBS. āI think it just lies in parents and just people being more educated about respecting peopleās identities.ā
āItās sad that we have adults acting that way,ā Laura Atwood, Mackenzieās mom, also added.
The incident at the Franklin High committee meeting is just the latest in a wave of aggression against LGBTQ students in American high schools. Earlier this month, a school in Illinois came under fire after students and a parent formed an āAnti-Queer Associationā and petitioned to have all LGBTQ students banned from using the bathroom with straight students. In Florida, video captured students harassing members of a schoolās gay-straight alliance and defacing the pride flag. In April, Utah students also defaced the pride flag in a video that later went viral.
GayEGO
It is outrageous that some individuals compare us to deviates when we are just like everyone else, we use the bathroom to relieve ourselves, not to have sex.
Andre08
Itās crazy how some people see us
James
I wish they would print the name of the evil sick hag who claimed the school was being indocrinated. SHE SHOULD BE NAMED.
Fname Optional Lname
They don’t need to put it in print, we all know her name is Karen
JB
Nah. If sheās named, then all the wackadoo right wingnuts, trumplicans, and evansmellicans will venerate her as some sort of saint. The witch needs no additional attention. Letās focus on the student who needs our support.
Jim
I agree. Why isn’t she given the credit for being a hateful person. Is she ashamed of what she said and who she is?
Name names. Don’t blur faces.
Al
If she’s named, she’ll start a GoFundMe page and raise thousands of dollars….just like the homophobic bakery. They raised more money than they’ve earned in the previous five years!
BigJohnSF
I’m sure the “Anti-Queer Association” is using that word in a loving, empowering way. Didn’t we “reclaim” it?
TomG
And will would be $1 million that woman claims to be a Christian when the exact opposite is the truth.
Fname Optional Lname
I cannot imagine hearing a teenager explain who they are bullied or abused and the first reaction is to bully and abuse that teenager? How much FOX news are these people watching?
wikidBSTN
But she should have her mask over both her mouth AND her nose. Can’t stand that. š
missvamp
how have we gone back 40 years? why are we fighting for lgbt rights all over again? why are we fighting for abortion rights & voting rights again? wtf happened to everyone? it’s utterly insane.
cliche guevara
We never stopped fighting for these things. You may have personally checked out but the fight never ended.
Mack
And we’re going to have to keep fighting for these things as long as a Republican gets elected. We now have a Supreme Court that will give them what they want. And yes, same sex marriages are on the line thanks to the BernieBots who refused to vote for Hillary.
BrownFriedRice
That woman needs to be neutered before she breeds more homophobes into the world.
rawbeartop
YES WE’VE BEEN FIGHTING FOR YEARS FOR OUR RIGHTS TO VOTE AND TO BE WHO WE REALLLY ARE!!
GreekKeys
Mackenzie might get further with her cause if she didn’t employ trans language. “Itās so invalidating.” No one is here to validate you. No one owes you validation. Demands for validation is a trans thing. The right knows these code phrases and what they really mean. “…respecting peopleās identities.ā See. Here’s the thing. Being gay isn’t an identity. Claiming an identity and demanding “respect” for this identity is a trans thing. And they aren’t asking for anyone to “respect people’s identiies”. They’re asking people to participate in someone’s fantasy life, their cabaret act. Every time we drag (intended) trans issues into gay rights, they will win. We will lose. Just don’t pretend to be surprised when it happens.