A real, real downer. But it's typical

I work in a high school of about 1800. The community I live in is very affluent (well, home foreclosures are rising) and the whole stinking place is so rabidly right wing and religiously insane with our mega churches, it's not even funny.

Reason why I bring this up is because I truly love the kids I work with. Our minority student population is about 5 percent African American, around 12 percent Hispanic, and about 2 percent "other." Of course the rest are classified Anglo.

In our school, our class student body president is black. Our drum major is black. Our most likely to succeed student is hispanic. And our homecoming queen was black. Just made me proud of how our student body is so accepting. We even almost had a student Gay and Lesbian organization started, and I was asked to be a co-chair. It was mainly straight students who wanted to get it started to show support for our gay and lesbian population. Unfortunately, things didn't get too organized, and the idea sort of fizzled.

Anyway, back to our radically right wing community. A co-worker and I were looking at the new yearbook. I saw that Michelea was elected homecoming queen, and I mentioned how wonderful that was. My co-worker, Bushbot extradionaire, stated "God, that was so gay." Just like something a kid would say. I asked if she had a problem with Michelea winning - she himmed and hawed and mentioned that she was a bit "chunky." But I knew exactly what she was talking about. These are the adults of my community. Please, God, give our kids the strength and courage to repudiate their parents' bigotry and extreme religious insanity.

...and thankfully, they are the future.

(and I'm 55) are bigoted and racist. I'm shocked when people who would be the age of my kids, if I'd had any, are bigoted and racist. My contemporaries and I came so far and fought so hard against this hatred, and I don't understand how my contemporaries could raise children who are so small minded and hateful.