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Gay men's chorus heading to Cuba to spread message of

Posted: Jul 9, 2015

The Gay Men's Chorus of Washington is traveling to Cuba Saturday to spread their message through song. The 23 singers are among the first U.S. citizens who will be able to travel to Cuba since diplomatic relations with the U.S. improved. The group aims to raise awareness of LGBTQ rights through music. "It brings people together over something without addressing the issue head on. So, I often find that music can be actually more powerful than giving a speech at podium," Executive Director Chase Maggiano said. The chorus is scheduled to perform several concerts around Havana next week in addition to participating in forum-style discussions. They were invited by Mariela Castro, daughter of Cuban President Raul Castro. The chorus learned some songs in Spanish and is set to perform with the Cuban gay chorus. They will kick off their Cuban tour with a concert July 10 in Miami. NBC Washington ;

Maybe they should go to Iran and sing for the - nuclear negotiations. NM

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NM

Good one. - nm

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nm

Ditto. - nm

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nm

Yeah, good one. If you like narrowminded remarks. - nm

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I do if they're funny, and it is. - NM

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NM

Pretty poor taste in comedy, then. - nm

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They have a Cuban gay chorus? - ididnotknowthat

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Learn something new every day.

If not now, they will soon. - NM

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X

Don't bet on it. - LM

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nm

I just read an article from NC about a gay teacher - promoting homosexuality to

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third graders.

"A North Carolina elementary school teacher has resigned after his decision to read a gay-themed children’s book to his third-grade class led to controversy in the small town of Efland.

Omar Currie said he read his students the book “King and King,” a fairy tale about two princes having a “love” encounter, after he perceived negative gay stereotyping in his class.

Currie said that he was inspired to teach the little kids about two men “hooking up” because a boy in his class acted a little feminine.

“When I read the story, the reaction of parents didn’t come into my mind,”Currie, 25, said Tuesday.

This last sentence says it all.

Get them at an innocent, impressionable age and indoctrinate. - NM

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NM

Don't forget indifferent parents - Or those simply shut out by gov't schools....

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nm

Some people have no clue as to the fact that - gay people are not "indoctrinated".

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It's no different than the fact that some of us have blue eyes, and some have brown eyes. There are a lot of STUPID things to be afraid of, or against, in this world, but I find homophobia to be one of the most ridiculous. Grow up, people.

As a parent, I think this is appalling. This teacher should be - fired!!! nomsg

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nomsg

Just wait, one of these days teaching Christian values - will be considered hate speech. nm

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nm

Teaching Christian values should be kindness - charity and acceptance

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If you think teaching Christian values means demonizing homosexuals, that is where we differ.

That teacher was NOT "promoting homosexuality" he was reading a story where some of the characters may be homosexual.

Can you imagine what that would mean to a young person who was wondering about his/her sexual orientation or a young person with two dads or two moms? It would mean it would not be shameful to feel that way or to have that situation anymore, it is okay.

And it should not be shameful anymore, it never should have been shameful. That's my Christian values.

Thank goodness for the Supreme Court ruling the way it did is all I can say.

From what I've read lately, I would venture a - guess Christian values are hate-oriented.

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Oh, I so AGREE--He read a book of - acceptance--

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and the bigoted, narrow-minded community couldn't take it. He was just ahead of the curve and, as usual, the conservatives bit him.

It is no wonder education is as lackluster, backwards and slow as it is--any creativity or actual pacing with society is slapped down and Fired.

If you all had any idea of what the kids are talking about and doing you would be shocked. Teachers can at least be a pivot point for explaining and defining things that parents really don't get, accept or realize is going on.

I, for one, have very open communication with my children, therefore, I am still privy to a lot of this information. But, I would bet some of those more judgmental types don't hear a thing, nope, everything is just the way the parents want it to be in fairy tale land.

That is not his choice, it's the parents. - nm

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nm

Home school and hide in the cave - sm

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reminds me of where MT has gone. Don't think, don't use any judgment, even if you know it is the right thing to do, don't do it unless it is written in front of you.

I can't access the link - is it an innocent story of acceptance? - LML

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I taught my kids at a young age to accept others. When they were growing up, being gay was just beginning to be accepted and I'm glad to say that neither of them care if a person is straight or gay. I'm also happy to say that I live in a community that does push acceptance, but in a decent manner. A few years ago, the students chose a lesbian couple as queens for homecoming - so nice to see such support from peers. :)

some more on the King and KIng - sm

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This is the article that comes up.

The book is called "King and King" and this is not its first opposition.

I don't know if I trust the quotes listed from the teacher in this source. Quotes attributed to teacher, Currie, are much different here. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/18/omar-currie-gay-fable_n_7306388.html

This is article in link above from OP:

Gay Teacher Promotes Homosexuality to Little 3rd Graders, Says He Didn’t Care What Parents Thought

News
16 hours ago
gay-teacher

A North Carolina elementary school teacher has resigned after his decision to read a gay-themed children’s book to his third-grade class led to controversy in the small town of Efland.

Omar Currie said he read his students the book “King and King,” a fairy tale about two princes having a “love” encounter, after he perceived negative gay stereotyping in his class.

Currie said that he was inspired to teach the little kids about two men “hooking up” because a boy in his class acted a little feminine.

“
“When I read the story, the reaction of parents didn’t come into my mind,” Currie, 25, said Tuesday.

“In that moment, it just seemed natural to me to read the book and have a conversation about treating people with respect. My focus then was on the child, and helping the child.”

The thought that the child just acted feminine could have just stayed as it is. A thought. Some kids act different than others. But this teacher overstepped his bounds and pushed an idea into the under-aged child’s mind. Some could call it “turning out” the child and other impressionable children in the class.

Currie claimed his reasons for reading the book was because he knew what it is like to be bullied.

“
Growing up gay and black in a small town in the eastern part of the state, his memories of middle school are of being a frequent target for teasing and slurs.

Within hours after reading the book to his students, Currie said he got a call from the school’s principal requesting a meeting in her office for the following morning.

The parents of three children soon filed written complaints to a school review committee, which twice upheld the use of the book after heated public meetings.

But the school’s principal also issued a new directive that teachers must submit an advance list of all books they intend to read with students to their parents.

Currie has resigned from Efland-Cheeks Elementary School “because he felt administrators did not support his decision to influence little impressionable children” with homosexual propaganda.

Parents felt their children should be learning more important things like math, reading, and writing.

The school’s assistant principal, Meg Goodhand, who lent Currie the copy of the book he read to his class, has also submitted a letter of resignation.

Currie also said he was “intimidated” by some school administrators because they didn’t agree with his decision, and was asked not to speak to the press about the furor over the book.

“
Currie said, “I felt they were trying to silence the conversation.”

“King & King” tells the story of a crown prince who has “never cared much for princesses,” and ends up marrying another prince. The book, first published in the Netherlands, was released in the United States in 2002 by Tricycle Press in Berkeley.

The American Library Assn. notes that it was one of the most challenged books in the country in 2003 and 2004.

He should have just read a book on bullying, nothing - about sex. They are only in

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the third grade.

do you mean gender--not sex? - nm

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xx

Acceptance and "hooking up" are two different things. - LML

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If it was an innocent fairytale of two kings in love, that's not offensive. If it's about "hooking up," that is offensive. As a parent, it's the teacher's cavalier attitude towards hooking up that bothers me - not the fact that it's two men. I'd feel the same if he took that attitude towards a fairytale involving a man and a woman.

Forgot to add that I also think homophobia is stupid - - LML

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and I agree that acceptance of others should be taught at a young age, but so should decency. I don't see the problem in encouraging kids to accept the life choices of others as long as those choices do not hurt others or are not indecent, neither of which categories being gay falls into.

How does being gay hurt other people? - By not doing as Christians demand they do?

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That was my point - being gay doesn't hurt others. - LML

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nm

Sorry, I misunderstood your post. The wording - made it seem like the opposite.

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nm

I have googled this story and "hooking up" - do not appear to be the teacher's words

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As they do not appear in any other article about this, just this one which is a conservative website.

Perhaps they have put quote marks around "hooking up" because it is a phrase, but I cannot see that the teacher said that in any direct quote in any other article.

In this particular article they do not directly quote him with quote marks, but they say "Currie said that he was inspired to teach the little kids about two men “hooking up” because a boy in his class acted a little feminine."

I find it hard to imagine any fairy tale would detail "hooking up" which I believe is a euphemism for intercourse, but falling in love does play a part in most of them.

I have to wonder if the "hooking up" phrase was added to the article to get people worked up about it, but unless they retract it I can't imagine we will ever know, unless the teacher decides to clarify matters and/or force them to retract.

It does seem odd that this article is the only one that uses that term (before you produce links to other outraged conservative copycat websites I mean mainstream media sites and local news - none of which used this phrase) so I have to wonder if that is the way he phrased it or the way they interpreted it for their own purposes.

"Hooking up" is just more right-wing homophobic - spin & propaganda.

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It's so sad they feel they have to make the world this way.

They probably think that is the lingo so they - included it for SHOCK factor

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xx

Ah, ok. Then, such an innocent story is not, in my opinion offensive. - LML

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The teacher in this case has gotten a pretty good dose of unfair backlash. To say teaching acceptance is bad is a bit ridiculous.

The teacher, himself, is gay, and I wonder - how that plays into this

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Perhaps the parents were sort "uncomfortable" to begin with and found an issue to run with. Frequently school boards don't know the staff until someone makes an issue.

and, as I understand it the teacher resigned, as did the teacher who recommended the book.

It's not about - hooking up

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That's how the right-wing anti-gay media is trying to spin it, to make it sound worse than it is. That's their m.o. after all - rile up the conservative troops.

But it isn't a story about sex. It's a story about gender, and accepting people for who they are.

I read on a Canadian law school forum that they are - losing their accreditation

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because they won't approve of homosexuality. This is what we can expect to see here in the very near future.

That's good! The last thing children need is a - school that preaches hate, like their parents do.

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I have a - question

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Had the teacher read them a story about a king and a queen, would you accuse him of promoting heterosexuality?

The incidenct of homosexuality in our culture is similar to the incidence of red hair. Would you complain if he read them a story about two redheads? After all, in the 1700s some Christian societies considered red hair to be a sign of witchcraft.

That the reaction of the parents didn't occur to him probably just suggests that he thought the parents would be mature, reasonable adults, who would not want their children bullying others over gender perception.

Somewhere Over The Rainbow? - nm

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nm

Another good one. - nm

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nm

Funny video from the PC Dukes of Hazard. - nm

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHO1PprfmkY

Wow, that's from 2009! Ahead of it's time! - xxx

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xxx

Something from a broadway musical? - NM

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NM

Stereotyping. How cute. - nm

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Brilliant! - nm

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nm

I suppose that could be considered brilliant if - you set the bar really, really low.

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I've heard them sing - they are awesome! - :)

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nm

I wonder if they know Communists used to send - homosexuals to the lunatic

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asylums.

"used to" - being the operative phrase

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here.

I'm surprised the Q stands for queer. - I thought that word was banned.

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I guess it's en vogue now because they say it's okay.

It doesn't stand for "Queer" - sm

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It stands for "Questioning."

It stands for "queer" OR "questioning." - Education is a good thing.

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Google is your friend.

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