Last night in Chicago, after an advanced screening of Love Is Strange, two men in the audience told me their story. After getting engaged while on vacation in Rome, and announcing it on Facebook, one of them was fired from his job as a Choir Director for a Catholic High School. The other, a Latin teacher at a public high school, received a very different response from his school, where his students -- including many Muslim kids -- decorated his classroom with streamers and balloons in celebration on his return. It is unlikely the music teacher will get his job back, or his pension, or his health insurance, and even his unemployment is in question, so theres no silver lining, but a few days after the firing, the church did hold a Town Meeting that 700 people attended. Of the 45 that spoke, 42 were in favor of re-instating the teacher. The fight for civil rights has always been a series of steps forward, followed by regressive resistance. But theres no going backwards: time and lets hope the conversation continues to move us towards equality.
Posted on: Fri, 15 Aug 2014 15:56:59 +0000