In the last few weeks, something has become increasingly clear to me. There are enemies of equality. There are enemies of humanity. There are enemies of human dignity. There are people who have made their entire life’s work about fighting against equality, humanity, and dignity for people not like them.
When I was attending Antioch College, a higher education institution that is committed to equipping students with the tools to be effective agents for social change, I was taught that we cannot think of individuals or even organizations as enemies of social change. We must focus on systems of oppressions and repression and look for ways to systematically dismantle those systems. I have tried to use that approach in my organizing and activism over the past ten years.
I now believe that at some point following that philosophy makes me complicit in the acts of violence that are being perpetrated against LGBT kids and kids with disabilities in our public schools. I now believe that following that philosophy makes me complicit in school discipline approaches that result in students living in poverty, LGBT students, and students of color being significantly more likely to be suspended and expelled for bullying than their peers.
The dangers of school bullying are evident by simply looking at the body count of youth who have taken their own life as a result of bullying. The dangers of school pushout are evident by looking at suspension rates and youth incarceration rates. There are many dangers in our world that we are powerless to address, but school bullying and school pushout don’t fit into that category.
We know that enumerated bullying policies and restorative justice discipline practices can have tremendous impacts by keeping kids in schools and making schools safer places.
How do I know that enumerated bullying policies and restorative justice disciplinary practices can work?
I know these policies and practices work because people much smarter than I am tell me they do. The amount of peer reviewed social science research that makes this clear is hard to dispute in any sort of coherent manner. The various types of organizations that have joined together to support these policies include LGBT advocacy groups, school mental health professional associations, teachers’ unions, and legal advocacy groups.
Forum for Equality began fighting for enumerated bullying legislation years ago and for the past two years Equality Louisiana has been aggressive in that fight and expanded the focus to include restorative justice discipline practices. We have been joined by a wide range of organizations in the Stop Bullying Louisiana coalition. We haven’t been successful yet.
A groundswell of opposition to our legislation never emerged. Experts didn’t testify that the policies our legislation would put in place wouldn’t work. Instead the policies were referred to as “a page from the gay agenda.” Gene Mills and the Louisiana Family Forum have managed to successfully pressure legislators to oppose legislation that we know will translate into safer schools and keeping kids in school and off the streets.
Gene Mills and the Louisiana Family Forum have demonstrated over and over that they aren’t just interested in beating up on LGBT people. They are also willing to make sure that Louisiana remains the state with the second highest number of law enforcement deaths due to firearms by opposing any sensible anti-gun violence measures. They have proven that they aren’t interested in improving access to affordable and quality healthcare for poor families by actively opposing Medicaid Expansion.
Many progressive organizations in Louisiana tell themselves that they shouldn’t pick a fight with the Louisiana Family Forum because their organizational efforts aren’t focused on LGBT Equality. In spite of a few outlying pieces of legislation that the Louisiana Family Forum supports that are actually good for Louisiana families they have made it clear that they aren’t a family advocacy organization and are simply a mouthpiece for ultraconservative views that are out of step with the values of Louisianans.
So starting today, I plan to call Gene Mills what he is. The man is the leader of a hate group. I plan to call the Louisiana Family Forum what it is. The organization is a hate group.
Gene Mills keeps kicking people living in poverty, people of color, and LGBT people. Isn’t it time for us to work together to make him stop? If you aren’t tired of being beaten up by this man, then you should stand up for Louisiana’s kids who are suffering because of extreme ideologies and hateful rhetoric.
We can beat Gene Mills and break the stranglehold that the Louisiana Family Forum has on Louisiana, but only if we work together.
It isn’t enough to just put forward a positive legislative strategy that affirms the humanity of LGBT people. It isn’t enough to fight legislation that aims to erase that humanity. We have to fight back against the Louisiana Family Forum. I, for one, am tired of being bullied and am ready to fight back.
by Bruce Parker
Coalition Manager
The post Louisiana, Are You Tired of Being Bullied? appeared first on Equality Louisiana.