Hypocritically speaking

I covered, very shortly, Buddy Collins in the first Anti-Gay Politicians Watch. Collins, a member of the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Board of Education, is probably the most biased and bigoted member of the Board when it comes to LGBT youth and students and LGBT issues. He is also running for re-election this November, along with his bigot-buddy Jeannie Metcalf.

It is kind of funny, though, because being bigoted and biased usually comes hand-n-hand with hypocrisy…. well, Mr. Collins has that, too.

The Winston-Salem Journal published an article today concerning the School System and the upcoming bond referrendum. In the article Collins was quoted giving what he probably thought was a good “mini-campaign speech” (i.e. sound-bite):

School-board members like to hear from the public about the needs at the various schools, said school-board member Buddy Collins. It made a difference in 2001, when school-board members were figuring out how to divvy up bond money, and it will matter this time too as the board prepares for a bond referendum in the fall, he said.

“I think it makes a difference when parents come and make a case that is reasonable and do it in a reasonable and professional way,” he said. “This board always wants to listen to parents.”

The board always wants to listen to parents? I’m calling bull on this one.

Back in 2002 (I believe… I was a sophomore in high school I think), GLSEN Winston-Salem ALONG WITH a host of students, parents, teachers, ministers, community leaders, so on and so on, came to the Board of Education to request that the anti-discrimination and anti-harassment policies be changed to include sexual orientation and gender-identity.

We came with statistics and research and resources and personal testimony from students currently in the Winston-Salem schools. We came very respectfully and, I believe we were “reasonable and professional”. You know who wasn’t professional though? The Board of Education and especially Buddy Collins.

Buddy Collins is a hypocrite. He can say all that he wants about how the school baord listens to community members but when it comes down to it, the board only listens to certain types of community members, parents and students: those being STRAIGHT community members, parents and students.

Maybe I should move back to Winston-Salem and run for the Board of Education. That way I would at least know for sure that LGBT and straight allied parents, students and community members are being listened to, instead of being called sinners and compared to murderers and rapists.