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The Herald-Times fails miserably on the "Straight Pride Club"

By Scott Tibbs, June 1, 2015

It really would be nice if the so-called "newspaper" here in Bloomington would actually, you know, report on the facts before they spew an editorial denouncing some high school students. The so-called "newspaper" whined that homosexual students "felt threatened and intimidated by a club seemingly formed to oppose a group of students that has a history of being bullied and ostracized."

Then, the so-called "newspaper" basically admitted they knew nothing about the group or why it was to be formed:

Whether the idea for the club was directly to confront growing acceptance of LGBT equality, or to simply be a faith-based student alliance as some have said, the Straight Pride label made it unacceptable.

**SNIP**

The students interested in starting this club should go back to the drawing board and examine why they believe such a group is necessary. If they truly want to gather as a group centered on faith, such as the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, they should find a name and mission statement that explains that clearly.

Notice all of the uses of the word if. For crying out loud, how hard is it to pick up the phone and call the students who wanted to create the group and ask them what the purpose of the group was? How hard is it to pick up the phone and call the faculty member who sponsored the group (and then withdrew his sponsorship) what the purpose of the group was? Are the so-called "journalists" at the Herald-Times unable to work a telephone? This has been nothing but sensationalism with no actual facts or reporting. It is shameful.

Now, I think a "straight pride" group is not needed. There's no reason to be "proud" of your sexuality. It is just something that is. In a society saturated with sex, "straight pride" is everywhere. Even if one believes that there is nothing morally wrong with homosexual behavior or attraction, there is still no reason to be "proud" of it, because it is just (according to the Left) one more expression of human sexuality. It one thing to argue for acceptance or nondiscrimination; it is another thing entirely to be "proud" of homosexual practice or attraction.

The Herald-Times editorial then concludes with a menacing statement that shows true ignorance of and contempt for free speech and the liberty we enjoy as Americans - a mere two days after they supposedly honored the men and women who died defending those very freedoms.

Until they do that, they will be seen as an incendiary group that should not have a voice in a school setting that should be safe for all.

Even the MCCSC administrators admitted that it would be illegal to forbid the group from existing, provided they do not harass anyone or disrupt the educational environment. Given that the Herald-Times can only operate if the freedoms protected by the First Amendment continue to exist, one would think the so-called "newspaper" would be the most sensitive to protecting freedom of speech and association. The Herald-Times displays a shocking ignorance of free speech law as well as brazen hypocrisy of "free speech for me, but not for thee."

Finally, the "safety" argument is complete nonsense perpetuated by crybabies. No one is made "unsafe" by opinions they dislike. It does a severe disservice to these young people - and the society they will eventually inherit - to perpetuate this foolishness. Obviously, no student club should be permitted to harass or bully students, but opinions have never and will never harm anyone. We should not teach our young people to be crybabies who cannot handle disagreement.

If you want to see the end result of what happens when we describe differences of opinion as a "safety" issue, see this blog post about an eleven year old who was arrested by police simply because he dared to have a dissenting opinion on medical marijuana. Obviously, the so-called "teachers" felt "unsafe" due to his opinion.