Mango participates in just about every club he can possibly manage in his schedule and at the high school football game this past Friday he had to work at 3 different booths doing fundraising. I am still not sure how he managed to be at all three booths at the same time, but the social butterfly that he is... He managed.
He managed.Anyways...Mango has been working really hard with a few other students at his school to form a GSA club. They have been meeting and organizing and finally, at the football game, they began fundraising.
Mango was at the GSA booth selling rainbow cupcakes and pride-filled brownies when one of his waterpolo teammates mother walked by. She stopped and said hi to Mango and proceeded to ask him what GSA stood for. Mango, without flinching (because he is out and proud, remember) said that GSA stood for Gay Straight Alliance.
Mango told me she paused for a moment and the old man next to her seemed to freeze.Mango says it felt tense for a moment then his teammates mother asked again "what was that Mango?". Mango pridefully told her again that GSA meant Gay Straight Alliance to which Mango said, she puffed up a bit and replied
"Oh wonderful mango! The GREAT STRAIGHT ALLIANCE!"
OH NO SHE DI'INT!!!!!
Oh yes she did!
She thought (or hoped) that GSA, the new very active club on campus, was the Great Straight Alliance. This wasn't much of a surprise to me (actually I am surprised that she didn't get mad) because despite living on the coast in California in what appears to be a little slice of heaven with a side of hippie surfer...our town is regrettably conservative (and intolerant).
We have a fundamentalist church in town that is trying to take over and the masses are buying the message (which is wrought with intolerance and contradiction).
Anyhow, Mango told me that he and his friends were stumped by the woman's stupidity. She was happy to support the Great Straight Alliance by buying one of their rainbow cupcakes and as she walked away one of the girls whispered "yeah, that's right...bitch better buy a cupcake"
Which I think was the perfect response.
There are people who will never learn tolerance. Not much we can do but stay the course and keep saying "GAY Straight Alliance," until they get it and accept that these lovely people are here to stay! But if you think about intolerance in other areas .... African Americans still have to fight upstream at times, Asians (of all nations) still run into it, Mexicans have fought it forever, and now it is getting worse.
ReplyDeleteThose groups all have physical characteristics that cause them to stand out from the WASPish population, so it is easy to discriminate. I think those who are biased are very confused about it when a group such as gays look, gasp, just like themselves!
Intolerant people are simply intolerant. And my intolerance is for intolerant people. Hurray for Mango and his friends! Go get 'em, kids!
bahahahahah!
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