It didn’t happen in a theater, but it did happen where there were children and it did involve a conservative, evangelical member of the GOP.

When I put up a simple list of famous GLBT people who throughout history, while being denied for who they were, still added to make Western Civilization what it has become, in my classroom for Gay History Month in my high school classroom for October in 1999, all hell broke loose with the usual religious horror that this acknowledged the “other”, the latest scapegoat for driving people to religion through fear not doctrine in a positive way. It went against the Republican Party and the Southern Baptist Church so any reality in that regard had to be erased. 

One major characteristic of the vapors was the Born Agains’ trying too hard to appear more saved than the next, stumbling on the tattered hems of their rented garments and falling into the ashes with which they had just showered themselves. Part of that was to appear to be the most anti-Gay person in the school’s administration and a simple list of names gave the opportunity for some to go overboard and actually lose control of their own game whose goal was an administrative promotion nd a higher paycheck..

An assistant principal went out of his way in his efforts including having me attend parent conferences where he and the parent would read bible verses at me to show that not only was I going to hell unless I repented, but I was also intent on bringing as many students as possible with me. I may not be very religious at present, but there had been a time I was, and, after trying of the Battle of the Bible Verses forms of meetings, I began to begin each one at which there was a Bible sitting in front of the assistant principal and the female parent, as that was the usual set up, by quoting 1 Timothy 2:12, “I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent,” and objecting when the parent began speaking, especially if they threw out a Bible quote.  

There were some awkward meetings.

This same assistant principal made homophobic jokes with kids, especially the jocks, in that middle school manner of whispering as I approached so I would know he was telling one without knowing the content with the jocks laughing along with him in the feigned muffled laughter that says they know it was wrong, but, hey, you’re Gay, and on a number of occasions referred to me in pejorative terms and the butt of jokes with the usual vacuous apology to cover himself.

He spoke against my advocacy for GLBT students, and, although he could find no fault with my teaching, as my evaluator, he would always bring up the advocacy and the division it caused as the reason I could not be given a better than “satisfactory” on the evaluation form.

Besides quoting the bible irrelevantly where he thought it relevant, he had the “Meet You at The Pole” annual prayer event broadcast over the school’s PA, apparently not satisfied that anyone entering the school that day already had to walk pass the flagpole around which they prayed, until I objected that this was forcing his religious beliefs on all those on campus and violated the separation of church and state and would require other religions, regardless of any objections, be allowed to pray over the PA.

The following year as I had to pass by the “Pole” to enter the building, this assistant principal loudly suggested that those gathered pray for my salvation and hopeful conversion to the right way of thinking.

I saw something beyond just his surface activities and, not new to bigotry and having seen it happen before, detected the usual cover up of one’s own activities by putting a spotlight on those of others. He was a little too chummy with the school’s athletes, but not on a sexual level but an identity one like someone who may have in his past never gotten the comradery with the jocks in his school days and was projecting an image of ultimate jockness to get it now. I pointed out to some teachers one day that there was something going on because his actions against me seemed a little exaggerated.

I had spent many years asca Special Education teacher and, being a male and assumed to be hugely macho for that reason only, was often given students who fell under the umbrella term “emotionally Disturbed”. With them, it was not what they did that we all had to deal with, but why they did it so, perhaps, they would do better next time. Special Education teachers have to see beyond the obvious and see the core.

In the effort to dismiss me from the district, what had been used by administrators to have me dismissed was shown in court to have been fabricated to cover up the real motivation of killing the message of GLBT student equality by killing the messenger because I had the evidence and documentation to prove it.

Eventually this assistant principal had to plead no contest when a student produced an audio recording she had made after having been called to this assistant principal’s office for some unknown reason one too many times  where he came on to her. This recording was added to other student complaints of his having  propositioned female students. Other complaints went nowhere until the student made the recording which in a one party state regarding audio and video recording led to his plea of no contest, removal of his teaching and administrative certifications, loss of job, having to register as a sex-offender, and had his Law license revoked when he had just received it having recently passed the Bar.

I continued teaching and, in spite of the odd ending, retired and allowed my certification lapse years later on its own and at my choice Years after what I had been advocating for was realized. 

While very ostentatiously pointing me out as a the gravest threat to the students because of the false claim that Gay people are inherently evil and sexual predators who cannot control themselves, he was quietly doing what he was spreading I would most likely do so he was able to continue his activities because people were looking where he was pointing and not at the one doing the pointing

Hard to believe that even though I never met her, I dealt with Boebert twenty years ago..

.

.

.

.

.

.

.