When California made major changes to its sex education curriculum earlier this year, people flipped out. Some — left-leaners, hippies and those with little rainbows next to their handles on the Twitter — did happy cartwheels and handsprings and generally bounced around like a bunch of wannabe Katelyn Ohashis. Others — far-righters, conservatives and those who answer direct questions with Bible quotes — did angry summersaults, banging their heads on the floor as they ranted and raged.
With school back in session now, I’m wondering how long it will be until I start seeing posts by angry parents, frustrated and disgusted by what their precious spawn are being taught in school and threatening to move out of The Golden State in response. The issue? One of the primary ones is “the suggested use of gender-neutral and LGBTQ-inclusive language.” The curriculum covers grades K through 12 and many parents think kids in the lower grades are too young to start learning such stuff. The argument I saw most often on Facebook? “Just let kids be kids.” Continue reading →

What is it about a bandwagon? People just can’t wait to jump on it. They may let one or two go by, pretend they don’t care about a bandwagon. But give it time. Eventually, you’ll see them going by, sitting there, pretty as you please, on some bandwagon or another.
I find it very difficult to understand the level of anger and hatred some people have toward the gay community. I understand that there are folks who find the thought of two men or two women kissing icky or unpleasant (mostly two men, though … the public seems to have a strong fascination with most girl-on-girl activity). But I don’t see how that discomfort turns to rage and loathing. Some people find sushi distasteful, but they don’t hate sushi fans or want to beat them up or deny them rights because of the cuisine they enjoy.