Have you noticed how so many anti-gay bigots and homophobes want to denigrate LGBT citizens and deprive us of civil legal rights yet at the same time want to remain safely anonymous? These folks range from those who sign anti-gay initiative petitions to place anti-gay legislation on the ballot and then shriek and howl when their names might be made public. Or there are NOM's anonymous donors who want to viciously the rights of gay citizens while hiding from public view themselves. Or their are people like the parents of students who seek to ruin the lives/careers of LGBT teachers but don't want their own names made known. A case in point is what happened to student teacher Seth Stambaugh (more on his case in a moment). All of these individuals want a license to denigrate and demonize LGBT Americans but lack the courage to have their hate and bigotry exposed to the light of day. The fact that these jerks are embarrassed to have their actions made public ought to tell them they were wrong in the first place and need to rethink their bigotry.*
Now back to Seth Stambaugh's situation. Aaron Krikava is the parent who set things in motion to have Stambaugh fired because he took offense at Stambaugh's comment about gay marriage in answering a student's question about his relationship status. Of course, Krikava doesn't bear sole responsibility for Stambaugh's firing. The school district all too typically showed no backbone and fired Stambaugh rather than buck parental bigotry. Ultimately, however, Stambaugh had a public letter of support from 27 Sexton Mountain teachers, 22 Sexton Mountain parents, and nearly 5,000 people who signed an online petition to reinstate him. District officials — worn down by community outrage, legal threats, and embarrassing national headlines — reinstated Stambaugh. They even promised to reform their approach toward LGBT issues. As for Kirkava, he "felt threatened" and has taken his child out of Stambaugh's class, thereby disproving to me at least that he's "not a homophobe." Here are highlights from the Portland Mercury:
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[T]he parent who originally complained about the gay marriage comment Stambaugh made in class sent out a mass email saying he was pulling his son out of Stambaugh's class at Sexton Mountain Elementary.
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"We have been called every name under the sun. We are not bigots, homophobes, or religious fanatics," wrote the parent, Aaron Krikava, in the email that was forwarded to me by one of the numerous parents who received it. "What began as a simple event of a responsible parent expressing a valid concern quickly turned into an opportunity to push a political agenda." Krikava goes on to say that the family felt "threatened" . . . Krikava writes that Perriguey [Stambaugh's attorney] told the mother that if the family did not ask the district to reinstate Stambaugh, "he may not be able to continue to keep our names, and our phone numbers, including our sons, out of the press."
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Krikava describes the classroom as a "compromised situation" and concludes that it would be "irresponsible" to leave his son there. We're printing Krikava's name now because he has given up the expectation of privacy granted any private citizen in this situation by sending out a mass email about the case signed with his full name.
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The message to Krikava and those like him is this: we are NOT going away and we are NOT going to slink away quietly. If you want to be a bigot and hate merchant, then expect your name to be public.
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