That's soooooo gay!

California (surprise!) student Rebekah Rice got a "note to her file" (I have to say, I didn't think "files" really existed, I thought they were some kind of educational boogieman) for saying, in response to something that insulted her religion, "That's so gay." Here's how it went down,

When a few classmates razzed Rebekah Rice about her Mormon upbringing with questions such as, "Do you have 10 moms?" she shot back: "That's so gay."

And bammo, a trip to the man, a note to her permanent record, and a lawsuit. But here's what the article missed. Notice that the other kids were teasing her about her religious beliefs, and yet, according to the article, nothing, not one thing, happened to them. So rather than discuss the negatives of "that's so gay," which Jordan Lorence sums up nicely.

"That's so gay" carries a negative meaning and said he would not want his children to say it. But he said formal discipline is not the answer. Reasonable people should say, `Let's put a stop to this kind of search-and-destroy mission by school officials for everything that is politically incorrect.

Can't argue with that. The article also quotes Eliza Byard of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network

As odd or funny as the phrase sounds, imagine what it feels like to be in a setting where you consistently hear it used to describe something undesirable or stupid, and it also refers to you.

Agreed. But imagine sitting in a class where people say to you things like "Do you have 10 mommies?" I don't think that made Rebekah feel great and mighty. Look, I'm not saying that two wrongs make a right, but the article plays up the harm that "gay" causes and never mentions the harm caused by religious insults while only briefly noting that the parents figured out the double standard (I know Stalin, its MSNBC, but still) yet never develops why that's OK or not OK.

Schools have a tough job. Bullying is a real problem, but driving out free speech isn't going to help. Kids will find other words and ways to get their message across. It seems like a teacher saying, "enough you two" would have gone a lot farther than the heavy-handed approach used. Also, why not take the extra step of pulling the kids aside, letting them know that teasing someone about their religion is unacceptable, and that "that's so gay" is hurtful. In any case, this rush to punishment, which is ironically fostered and pushed by the conservatives, isn't the right approach.