Hate, If Not Taught, Is At Least Tolerated At Kickapoo High School

Last week some of the students at Kickapoo High School in Springfield, Missouri, celebrated the national Day of Silence—to raise awareness about the bullying and intimidation of LGBTQ students—by driving through the parking lot waving flags.

The Confederate flag.

This display of ignorance, racism, homophobia, asshattery and stupidity may have been a “counter” protest to the students who wished to draw attention to the ongoing plight of LGBTQ students being bullied, sometimes, literally, to death.

At least twice during that week, posters created by the school's Gay Straight Trans Alliance, or GSTA, to mark activities and raise awareness leading up to the Day of Silence, were ripped off the walls.

The destruction of the posters—called incidents of bullying by Kickapoo Principal Bill Powers—happened April 5 and again April 10 and ignited a social media storm that has not completely gone away.

In the first incident, caught on video, a student ripped an anti-bullying poster off the wall and tossed it into a crowd of nearly 600 students. Dozens clapped and laughed.

The second time, days later, no cheering was reported, perhaps because Powers had addressed the entire school after the first incident:

"Disrespect of any student in our school will not be tolerated. Here at Kickapoo … we are committed to a learning environment that makes all of our students feel safe, secure and respected for who they are."

But what about that anonymous person—anonymous because people who hate, racists and asshats, tend to hide in the shadows—who created a "KHS Straight Pride" profile on Instagram that said:

"We don't support LGBT ideology being pushed on students. Not affiliated with KHS faculty or staff. Facts don't care about your feelings."

America, in the age of _____.

Following the first incident, the GSTA and other students recreated the posters that were torn down, but there doesn’t appear to have been anything done to the students who vandalized to posters, of those who drove the parking lot with their ignorance flags flying.

Stephen Hall, chief communications officer for Springfield Public Schools, confirmed the flag incident Friday afternoon, but, when asked if the students involved in the flag incident were disciplined, Hall said they were not. He said the students voluntarily removed the flags, parked their vehicles and none were tardy to class.

Ph, so they took down their flags and got to class on time and that’s that?

Yeah, that’s a lesson learned, except the lesson is, drive around school with your Confederate flag flying, rip down LGBTQ posters, and all is forgiven if you get to first period on time.

Hate is a learned behavior, and these students have learned that there is no consequence.

Springfield News Leader