Have We Learned Nothing?

Before you read my post today, you might want to check out this article from the Wyoming Tribune Eagle:

Schools Prohibit Anti-Hate Banner

To sum it up, the school board in Wheatland, Wyoming voted to remove anti-hate banners from  school walls because the anti-bullying and tolerance campaign is sponsored in part by a gay and lesbian organization.  According to Mr. Dunham of the board, Wheatland is an "ultraconservative community" and the community is not yet ready to accept "that group".

That group.  

Generally I am proud of my home state of Wyoming. I love the open spaces and they way most people offer a friendly wave when I drive by.  I love the wildlife, the bright blue sky and the sense that I'm living in a little piece of heaven.  But when I see judgmental people like those on the Wheatland school board and in every small community across the state, I wish I lived in a more open-minded place where tolerance is not only promoted but expected.

Has it really been so long, Wyoming, that we've already forgotten a young man named Matthew Shephard?  Did his life stand for nothing?  Because I thought his life stood for the importance of teaching and promoting tolerance.  Did we learn nothing from the devastating impact his death had on our glorious state?  Because, as I recall, every Wyomingite that was interviewed by the national media at that time emphatically proclaimed that Matt's killers were not representative of the people or of the sentiment in Wyoming.  Yet, here we are.  Promoting intolerance.  What an absolute disgrace to our great state.  What an absolute shame!  Shame on you, Wheatland school board, and shame on your supporters.  

Short lesson:  Tolerance is not equivalent to acceptance, nor does tolerance promote that which is tolerated.  It means to agree in allowing the right of something that one does not approve.

Today I am not proud of being a Wyomingite.  Not that the attitudes expressed in Wyoming this week haven't been expressed in every state and every town across the nation, but because we had such an opportunity to learn and grow when Matthew was killed in 1998.  And clearly, we've still got a long way to go.