Batons get booted for Katy Perry song selection
A while back, I wrote an article concerning Katy Perry’s “I Kissed A Girl” and radio censorship. Today, the Lone Star State killed the radio star and her fans - in a matter of speaking.
Baton twirlers at Van High School in Texas were suspended for two games for deliberately using the above song for a pep rally routine, after their coach suggested picking a more “appropriate song.”
Being kids, they figured the worst coming was a lap around the gym, or slap on the wrist would be deemed appropriate punishment. Only it wasn’t. Suspension was the decision, an unexpected outcome for the students in question, one being 17-year-old Jordan Downey:
Jordan admits that her twirl coach asked the girls not to use the song with their routine but said that she never thought they’d get in a lot of trouble.
“I just thought we’d have to run laps,” said Jordan, referring to a punishment that is commonly used by the school.
According to a spokeswoman for the school board, “The matter is closed.” While the school would have you believe the higher issue is disobedience (and it should be the only issue here), when questioned about determining factors of what is considered in good or bad taste as it were, they’ve declined to respond to any major news group.
This sounds like a publicity stunt, but the question is on what level?
Is the school discriminatory? Are they biased? Are they working for the best interests of students and parents? Not surprisingly, no parents seem angered by the punishment. Personally, if it were my daughter I’d demand proper punishment equal to the offense and not worry about who looks good at the rally or on the news.
Now, one could be closed-minded on either side - we could sling southern stereotypes of homosexual discrimination, we could say the school did this or the students did that. The only reason this is getting any press is due to the content of Katy Perry’s song. If they had played “Lollipop (Clean),” there wouldn’t be an issue - even though without profanity the imagery is pretty suggestive.
So, if I think this whole situation has been blown up why cover it? To show you how easily the American public is duped by media. Pay attention to what matters and quit hassling Jordan and the girls - they used a song they were told not to use, and the punishment does not fit the crime.
Why? Because a bunch of parents think it’s homoerotic and corrupting kids. We’ll see this argument a hundred times over in the future, so let it go! Hopefully, the parents of Jordan Downey will read Van High the riot act, and the school will stop dragging the board into a simple case of disobedience that harmed no one.
You have to wonder why adults act like children.
Nov 11th, 2008 at 9:55 am
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