Cell phone video taken at a Florida high school has gone viral and sparked national outrage. In it, a group of students harass members of the Bartram Trail High School Gay-Straight Alliance, deface the pride flag, and are seen waving makeshift Confederate flags.
The St. Augustine Record reports that fellow students filmed the video last week. It spread across social media and prompted police to open an investigation into the incident.
The footage shows a group of students outside the high school harassing classmates with anti-queer statements such as “There’s only two genders … ” and, “Y’all have a mental illness.” Other footage of the incident shows the same group of bullying students kicking and stomping on the pride flag while waving homemade Confederate flags.
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“I think it’s really upsetting,” parent Nancy Tray told The Record. “I think anyone who sees something like this going on at their child’s school is going to be concerned. Everyone wants their child to be part of a school community that has acceptance and respect, and I don’t think that this video demonstrates that.”
School administrators, for their part, condemned the incident.
“This behavior is not acceptable and is not indicative of the culture and students at BTHS,” Christina Langston, a district spokesperson, said in a statement. “It is very disappointing that these students handled themselves in this way.”
“The students involved will receive consequences in accordance with our student code of conduct,” Langston added.
Pursuant to the investigation by police and school officials, the students seen in the video could face disciplinary action ranging from suspension to placement in alternative education classes. The perpetrators could also face mental health referrals and criminal prosecution.
ZzBomb
This sort of behavior is taught in the home. Those kid’s parents are the real issue.
dhmonarch89
Some of it is DEFINITELY home, but school environment is part of it, too- being in a group and following along. Plus some schools- teachers/staff teach homophobia- by over looking it, kids see what they can get away with.
Ken A.
Over reaction. Sure attacking a gay pride flag and teasing students that are gay is juvenile–acceptance is not guaranteed–but it got carried away and became obnoxious. But mental health referral seriously, alternative classes, ridiculous a simple conversation, find out why the attitude towards gay people and come to terms.
jayceecook
You’ve clearly never worked with kids in a school setting. You’ve also clearly never read psychological studies that show these types of behaviors progress into adulthood. Sometimes they become more sadistic in nature. Sure some people do progress past such behaviors but more often than not they don’t. I guarantee you a lot of these kids’ parents are just like this. Even if it’s only on display in the privacy of their own house.
GRMonLI
Ken A. this is your mental health referral from a mental health practitioner. Do you know that these are the kids that grow up to be the people who murder our trans brothers and sisters the people who gay bash the people who run wild in the streets doing whatever it is they think that they want to do when they want to do it. You need to figure out why you allow them such latitude.
Hank31
@GRMonLI Transgenders are not our “brothers and sisters” anymore than any other humans on Earth. As for these kids, it’s grossly unfair to link them to violence and murder when their protest, although homophobic and obnoxious, was non-violent.
cjd
Those punks are the remnants of a partial birth abortion!
Hank31
Leaving aside this ridiculous “protest,” I wonder how much these GSAs actually help gay students in 2021. One thing I have noticed is that the more formal or institutionalized a resource is, the more likely it is to ignore the needs of LGBs and instead focus on transgenderism and gender deviance or so-called gender non-conformity. In other words, if you are a regular gay or bi girl or guy and you show up at one of these groups hoping to meet other regular kids, what you get instead are lectures about chest binding, estradiol pills, and transvestism. These groups have so little to do with LGB kids that they have been re-named in many schools as ‘”Gender Sexuality Alliances” or some other comparably ridiculous phrase.
mikeTigg
Expell and ostracize each of those juvenile f***ers.