School districts in blue states aren't safe from hysteria—just look at what's happening in Maryland
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As we get progressively closer to midterm elections, we’ve seen Republicans at all levels of government use LGBTQ+ people as a scapegoat for just about everything bad happening in this country. Yes, we’re still living in a global pandemic. Yes, young children still aren’t eligible for the vaccine. Yes, unhoused folks continue to live in inhumane conditions. Yes, police continue to display disproportionate violence and abuse against people of color. But Republicans only want to fan a certain kind of fire, and that’s why they’re so happy to target LGBTQ+ people, including kids.
Real issues don’t matter to conservatives, and especially not when it’s election season. They like to keep their fanbase fired up enough to get them to the polls, and as evident by the slew of anti-trans legislation about sports and health care, it’s clear they’ve found their hysteria of the year. Too, a handful of Republican governors have gotten on board with the backward Don’t Say Gay legislation, and the flames are already causing problems across the country. One example comes to us out of Maryland, where The Washington Post reports that the Carroll County Public School District banned Pride flags. Why? It’s “political” and a “gateway” for other flags, apparently.
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According to the Los Angeles Blade, a chapter of Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) donated a “collection” of “small” Pride flags to the district. The parent of a student in the district brought the flags to school. Teachers were reportedly encouraged to display the flags to show support for the queer community. Makes sense.
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Superintendent Steven Lockard said the flags were available for any staff members who wanted them, and any remaining flags were kept in the main office.
“Staff are not required to take donations if they choose not to,” Lockard added. “It’s also important to reiterate that Carroll County Public Schools, as we talk about in all of our meetings, strives to meet all the needs of students in our system.”
Sadly, the school board president, Kenneth Kiler, described the circumstances as the lags being “shoved down” teachers’ throats. He claimed that’s not inclusive and “not the way it out to be.”
If you’re not comfortable as an ally to LGBTQ+ youth, you shouldn’t be a teacher, but I digress.
Tara Battaglia, who serves as a member of the school board, described the flags as a “gateway” for other flags that “people will not like.” She went on to compare the school’s decision to ban the Confederate flag and said the “premise” behind the Pride flag was “social advocacy,” which is “political.”
Donna Sivigny, who also serves as a member on the board, argued that students need protection from the political agenda behind Pride flags. She went on to argue that the flags create a hostile environment and suggested the flags create an environment that is not politically neutral.
Sivigny alleged that “many” teachers have told her they’ve felt pressured into putting the flags up in their classroom. Lockard says they’ve received no complaints from teachers about the flags.
There is nothing innately political about LGBTQ+ rights and inclusion. Just like there’s nothing innately political about Black Lives Matter T-shirts or posters. Human rights do not belong to any political party and are not tied to any particular political candidate or elected official. Students (and teachers and other staff members) have every right to be seen and supported as their full authentic selves without conservatives pushing their identities into a political talking point, but here we are.
Sivigny advocated for a new flag policy, which would ban all flags except for the American flag, Maryland state flag, and Carroll County flag for classrooms in the district. The school board will hear public comments before voting on the subject.
Mind you, students are not allowed a vote, even if they speak at or are otherwise participants in school board issues. Imagine if we let the already marginalized young people impacted by these policies have a practical voice? But conservatives would rather parrot the talking points of elected Republicans who couldn’t care less about the people they’re serving than listen to the needs and feelings of the actual students whose lives hang in the balance.