Why The Flag Must Be Removed

Why The Flag Must Be Removed

The flag represents the school endorsement of a political agenda.

Consider the facts. Homosexual advocates commonly use a rainbow to represent homosexuality. The school permitted the flag to be hung the day after Proposal Two (which defined marriage in Michigan as one man and one woman) passed. The same day the same group of students who hung up the flag spray-painted a rainbow flag and a “no on 2” on “The Rock” in front of the school. The members of the Diversity Club are quoted in several newspapers saying that the flag was hung in protest of Proposal Two. Furthermore, if the flag was not meant to represent homosexuality then it would have been replaced with a flag whose meaning is certain. It is clear that the flag was not hung to support “diversity.” It is meant to support a political agenda. It is irresponsible for any publicly funded school to endorse a specific political or sexual philosophy at a time when many students are forming opinions that will guide the rest of their lives.

The flag undermines diversity of thought.

Hanging such a flag undermines true diversity. I welcome diversity of thought, race, culture, and politics and have no desire to impose any of my inclinations on others. The Diversity Club also claims to support its namesake, but they wish to impose their views on the rest to the student body. What is diversity without diversity of thought?

The flag discriminates against and marginalizes students who hold views contrary to that which the flag represents.

Many students believe that homosexuality is beneficial neither for society nor the individuals that practice it. Many others believe it to be morally wrong. A flag pushing a homosexual lifestyle hung in the most visible place in the school certainly does not make those students feel “accepted.” It tells them that the school thinks what they believe is wrong, that it is obsolete, that they don’t matter. Marginalization is not acceptance.

The flag degrades the integrity and undermines the purpose of the school.

In what is meant to be an institution of learning a sexual inclination is being promoted at the expense of students. What place does sexuality have in school?

The flag distracts from other aspects of diversity.

There is much to learn from a Diversity Club. There is a wealth of culture, race, language, nationality, and beliefs in the world, yet by hanging this flag the Diversity Club focuses only on sexuality.

The flag is unequivocally redundant.

We already have a flag that's supposed to represent everyone: the American flag. It has stood for diversity and tolerance since its inception, and to hang this flag dishonors all the brave men and women who have died fighting for it.

The flag encourages intolerance by recognizing a false definition of diversity.

Abuse of language is a dangerous thing. The misuse of the term diversity is a good example. For every person that gives in to the Diversity Club to avoid being considered intolerant or against diversity, there is another whose strong disapproval of homosexuality makes that person willing to be considered intolerant. The latter may even begin to see intolerance as a virtue, since it appears necessary to be intolerant to stop what that person feels is the legitimization of sexual perversion. This fosters a climate in which intolerance against minorities can be more easily justified. As the Diversity Club has proved, many people just don’t think clearly enough to understand why diversity of race and diversity of behavior are different. This confusion serves the racists as easily as it serves the homosexuals.

Finally, the flag is irrefutably divisive and detrimental to school unity.