Christian Right Gone Wild
My suggestion for the students is to put the play on outside of the school in their underwear. I'm certain it would be a sellout and it would teach the school administration a lesson since they would be powerless to discipline students for legal activities off-campus.
Here's the story:
ABC7 Chicago,
10 Feb 2006,
High school students punished for underwear rehearsalSome parents and students are upset that officials at a west suburban high school have cancelled a student play. The production at Glenbard West High School was called off after the students conducted a rehearsal in their underwear. [...]
"None of us are mad at getting suspended, detentions, anything else. We just feel it was very wrong to cancel our show we've been working very hard on," said Cherice Cosentino, high school play actress. [...]
Controversy erupted when nine theater students rehearsing for Raised in Captivity, an edgy play about homosexuality, decided to rehearse in their underwear claiming it would help them with stage fright. When the school became aware of this, they canceled the play and disciplined the students, including some suspensions.
"You wouldn't cancel an entire football season. All four performances were canceled; two months of hard work are down the drain," said Barb Barajas, parent.
Parents do believe the punishment is extreme. School officials disagree and refuse to comment on the situation, saying they moved on to other matters.
Although the story does not mention it - it is just a guess - but I suspect the school administration has an infection of "Christian Righteousness"
It can only be cured by intervention and a heavy dose of remedial human decency and perhaps a more thorough high school education. In some case, a complete retraining from childhood is needed.
Those afflicted with this malady normally exhibit uncivilized behavior. For example:
Given a choice between a yet-to-be-living organism or a 40 year old medical doctor, they would rather shoot the doctor, on the grounds that they respect life, just not the kind that is already viable.
Given the choice between allowing a terminally ill person to die at his request or to force that person excruciating, unbearable, inhumane pain, they opt for Chinese Torture, on the ground that unmitigated pain and suffering is representative of the "sanctity of life". Didn't Jesus suffer for us all? What of his pain? Isn't all life precious? We treat dogs and horses more humanely than this.
Given that we are a "Christian" nation, why are we the only civilized country that still has the death penalty? We are in the same camp as Iran, North Korea, China, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, and other barbaric, backward, brutal and uncivilized nations. Let me answer: because American Christian fundamentalists are no different than the Taliban. Convince me otherwise.
