Commentary

But Who’ll School the Fool Buell?

But Who’ll School the Fool Buell?

Yesterday I posted a piece about Jerry Buell, the high school teacher in Lake County, Florida, who likens himself to “Jesus Christ himself,” and is proud to have written on his Facebook page that same-sex marriage is a “cesspool” that makes him want to puke.

This afternoon I heard from Equality Florida, who wanted me to see this letter, just out from Florida Rep. Scott Randolph. It’s directed to Debbie Stivender, Chair of the Lake County School Board.

My singular hope in posting what I did yesterday was that it would help bring about this precise result: pressure upon the Lake County School Board to implement some sort of anti-bullying protection, policy, or training for all its students and teachers.

And here we have it! (I’m hoping Lake County Schools will also implement a district-wide anti-bullying and sensitivity training program, but explicitly extending anti-bullying protections to include LGBTQ kids is certainly a crucial and much welcomed first step.)

Every time you share a story like yesterday’s on Buell; every time you write and post such a story yourself; every time you leave a comment on such a post, so that observers can see how alive is the topic; every time you contribute to a pertinent online forum, you—you!—help to bring about real, actual change.

Singularly, none of us can make much more than a peep. But together we roar.

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