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Burlington Middle School in Massachusetts protested against a Pride event held at the school in early June. The students were invited to wear rainbow-colored clothes on June 2 to celebrate Pride Month at Burlington’s Marshall Simonds Middle School. At a Select Board meeting held on Monday, June 12, it was said that the celebration was instead met with homophobia and intolerance by several students.
Co-chair of the Burlington Equity Coalition, Nancy Bonassera, said that there was a counter-demonstration in response to the Pride celebrations, and students wore blue, red, and white clothing while chanting that their pronouns are USA. They also tore down the rainbow flag and other decorations at Burlington Middle School.
The Equity coalition has asked for consequences to be faced by the Burlington Middle School students who took part in the counter-protest. Nancy Bonassera has also urged the district to fill a DEI program i.e., Diversity, Equity & Inclusion role, which has remained vacant for about a year.
"We also believe that without any direct and concrete action, these incidents will occur again and increase in severity,” she said.
However, the protest has amassed significant praise and support from the conservatives, as they took to Twitter to write that there is still hope. One user, @Barbara49962035, commented on a tweet by another person who shared the story and called the students "little patriots."
Netizens Praise Burlington Middle School Students for Pride Protest
Several outlets, including The Boston Globe and Boston.com, covered the incident at Burlington Middle School and shared it on Twitter. A vast majority of netizens have sided with the incident. They praised the students who protested against the Pride celebrations.
Conservatives have already been propagating anti-LGBTQIA+ rhetoric for the past few months. Plenty of parents nationwide in the U.S. have been arguing that corporations and companies are pushing LGBTQIA+ ideologies on young children, who are too young to know about gender identities and s*xuality.
They blamed healthcare officials and schools for indoctrinating young people’s minds into starting gender-affirming care and hormone blockers to start transitioning.
Board members and the Principal condemned the anti-Pride protest at the Burlington Middle School
Cari Perchase, the principal of Marshall Simonds Middle School, sent a letter to parents informing them that the school approved the spirit day celebration of Pride Month, which was set to be held on Friday, June 2.
Spectrum Club, a student group for queer students and allies, requested and sponsored Spirit Day. As part of the event, the club decorated the school with educational posters, messages, and handmade signs reading:
“Happy Pride Month”
Pride flag banners, rainbow streamers, and stickers were also put up by the club members.
However, throughout the day on June 2, some students showed their non-compliance and disdain for the event in multiple ways. Principal Cari Perchase noted in the letter that those students tore down the banners and signs and were also being inappropriate with the rainbow stickers.
The letter stated that some other students at Burlington Middle School tried to intimidate students and faculty members who showed their support for the Pride celebrations by glaring at them. They also wore face paint in protest. The principal expressed that she was deeply disheartened by these students’ anti-Pride actions.
“I fully respect that our diverse community has diverse opinions and beliefs. I also respect individuals’ right to express their opinions through clothing choices and freedom of speech,” she wrote. “When one individual or group of individuals’ beliefs and actions result in the demeaning of another individual or group, it is completely unacceptable,” she said.
Eric Conti, the Burlington Public Schools Superintendent, also denounced the students’ protest in a letter to the parents. He wrote that the increase in violence against the LGBTQIA+ community in the United States had no place in their schools. He said that participation in the event was optional, but respectful behavior among the students was non-negotiable.
At a Select Board meeting for the Burlington School District on Monday, many members of the queer community raised concerns about the incident. Andrea Bono-Bunker, a librarian and former high school teacher, urged the select board to speak out against the counter-protest and foster dialogue about hate in the community directed by minorities.
Mike Espejo, a member of the Select Board, said that he had long been disappointed at Burlington Middle School’s failure to fill the Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion direction position.
