So, taunting someone about religion is perfectly OK, but taunting someone about sexuality is hate speech?
When a few classmates razzed Rebekah Rice about her Mormon upbringing with questions such as, "Do you have 10 moms?" she shot back: "That's so gay."
Those three words landed the high school freshman in the principal's office and resulted in a lawsuit that raises this question: When do playground insults used every day all over America cross the line into hate speech that must be stamped out?
After Rice got a warning and a notation in her file, her parents sued, claiming officials at Santa Rosa's Maria Carillo High violated their daughter's First Amendment rights when they disciplined her for uttering a phrase "which enjoys widespread currency in youth culture," according to court documents.
It's ridiculous to punish a razzer who was merely razzing back after having been razzed, especially when it was a fairly clever retort. I mean, having more than one mom is so gay, is it not? I would accuse all these hate-speech-seeking, quick-to-take-offense people of havinhg completely lost their perspective, but such judgmentalism would be so Mormon of me.
Comments
AL Gore might just be onto something...all these greenhouse gases (and the increased UV rays)are making our skin SO much THINNER....
If you get my drift.
;)
B.G.