I think we all know why the school punished her harshly.
She was gay. Worse, she wasn't ashamed of being gay. Even worse, she called out people like them on their bigotry. And even worse, she didn't "respect mah author-itay" of the male administrators like a good submissive wife candidate is supposed to.
All of which to say, she rocks.
As for her former friends, well, I get it. Indoctrination is a hard thing to shake and I'm sure there was much gossip in the form of "praying for her to get out of 'sin'" happening. I hope at least half of those kids shake off the programming and become better.
I do get the social pressure and indoctrination. Yet ... when it really mattered, the teens yielded their individuality.
I was in a similar situation where people warned me against a person. So, I just wouldn't like him (I didn't hate him, I just kept all interactions minimal). Then, when I was forced to interact with him, he was just a friendly guy who was helpful. He took the time to teach me something when he didn't have to. I deserved to feel as small as that made me feel.
After that, I noted "warnings" about people and put those warnings in the opinion pile; they had a bad experience, but I don't know anything other than I'm probably being recruited with one-sided information. One such person I was warned against is now my supervisor. When my wife developed breast cancer and I had to take six weeks off of work, he made sure we were taken care of. Years later, even his boss, our program manager, still asks how my wife is doing.
When I started at the main library, I was told not to trust one of the supervisors because she was a backstabber. I told them I couldn't do that because she hadn't done anything to me. She and I got along well, and over time the others gave her another chance.
Then a few years ago, I found out that she was in prison for embezzling from a different city department. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
It can often be retaliatory. One guy at work, after just starting, was asked about his supervisor, "So, what do you think of him? He's a little Hitler, right?" He thought is supervisor was stern, but fair. He found out later the guy who asked him that question was the ex of his supervisor's girlfriend. I knew everyone involved, "little Hitler" was way off the mark. The girlfriend was wicked smart, her only mistake was her ex.
C'mon. They only "pray" like that at revivals! Then people can be "healed" of whatever. Come to think of it, have they ever prayed for the LGBTQ+ community?*
School: "She's talking about us! She can't do that!"
Morgan: "I wasn't talking about you, and I definitely never mentioned the school."
School: "Agree to disagree! But we will give you money and promise to not follow through with our threats."
Why am I not surprised that the tacit admission of bigotry by the school is followed up by them doubling down? I am not sure how much I would trust their promise, only time will tell. And any college that would deny Morgan entry because she called out some bigots is beneath her anyway.
It's not about consistency or saving their life. It's about the story in the moment to relieve cognitive dissonance. Thinking take work, faith doesn't.
If I was on a university admissions board, and I received some shit like that from a school, I would block any applicant that came from there that wasn't accompanied by hateful correspondence.
Of course. But then, what are the odds that you'd knowingly and voluntarily serve on an admissions board for the likes of Liberty "University", Hogwarts, etc.?
Matthew and Luke couldn't even agree whether or not Joseph took his family and fled to Egypt until Herod died or simply went to the temple with Mary to present Jesus before returning home with no flight to Egypt even hinted at.
Considering the ridiculous amount of plagiarism found in the synoptic gospels, plus the wide divergence where the gospels disagree, their credibility should have been shredded ages ago.
I googled “LGBTQ affirming church in my location,” and expected search engine optimization meant the highest listed one was most likely to be affirming. They had a dedicated single women’s program, encouraged involvement in various community service programs…. They didn’t, surprisingly, get too detailed online about some of their belief positions, but I figured it couldn’t hurt to try.
And I noticed no rainbows. No social justice discussions (I was assured they were trying to not be too political on that question).
Finally, I made an appointment with their pastor to broach the subject.
Now, to an Evangelical, on the outside, I’m “good.” I am a widow whose husband died six years ago. The thing is, I knew in my early 20s that I didn’t even notice men, only women, but being raised fundamentalist Baptist, my options were “obedience”: marry a man and be an obedient wife, or “choosing sin.” When even churches began admitting that orientation is innate and not chosen, I asked if the position would change. I was assured that it was just like being an alcoholic: “just don’t drink.”
Well… I am old and I don’t care as much now. So I asked the pastor what their position was on LGBTQ people, since I hadn’t seen anything suggesting they were affirming. He praised my obedient wifehood and assured me that, as long as I stayed celibate they would have no problem with me.
I have never been back. I know if I came out to the congregation I would be one of two “types” of person to them: a sinner to hold accountable and encourage, or a threat to their children and young adults who must be avoided. No matter how much they profess to “love the sinner,” when so much rhetoric portrays you as an abominable risk to the vulnerable you are never truly welcome.
What has made me angry is that I have made websites and understand search engine optimization. They had to include LGBTQ affirming and similar descriptions in their optimization to place where they did, which means they did this with the disingenuous belief that they can lure LGBTQ Christians to their church to “bring them to repentance and salvation in Jesus Christ.” 😡
Right. I think they just put it in their search engine list to “reach sinners for repentance.”
It frustrates the heck out of me trying to deal with those kinds of true believers. They believe (and are encouraged in that belief from the pulpit) that their actions are “loving.” I am sure who ever does their website wholeheartedly believes that misleading people into their church is neither misleading nor unethical. To them “affirming” LGBTQ+ into “repentance” (either celibacy or into the closet) is kindness. 🙄
Few people disgust me more than those who claim their religiosity entitles them to a say in other people’s personal choices. The intolerant mindset of these administrators represent a far greater danger to society than a teen age girls same-sex relationship. These Christian schools try to program their students to be blindly obedient Christians. I know from first hand experience, they also produce some massively screwed up kids they never accept any responsibility for.
Iron is the divine kryptonite. During the bronze age, gods were seen everywhere interacting¹ with humans, but then, at the start of the iron age, they all suddenly disappeared from earth.
Her ex-friends are motivated by fear. They are afraid of what would happen to them if it were publicly known that they are still her friends. Hopefully, they will grow up and reach out to her to rekindle the lost friendship.
Well, the school officials apparently DID try on the shoe (recognized themselves in Morgan Armstrong's SM posts) and found that the shoe fit....so they wore it -- with pride?
The people who stick by Trump despite all his evil are awful people. The horrible part for the rest of us was learning that people we knew and loved were far more despicable than we had realized to that point.
Absolutely, telling the truth about der kinderführer would mean they would also have to admit truth about themselves. Admitting they are are evil is not something they are willing to do.
Hitch said it best - "Religion poisons everything". Without any proof, they claim that they are god's favored people and they are willing to trash a young woman's education and future in the name of that god. The strange thing is how the Jesus in the bible is not the Jeebus they are now worshiping. Christianity is an amorphous concoction of a religion that changes with every generation. and each new sect promises the one true interpretation of the bible... They need to get their god to come down and do something godlike and end all dispute. Tell everyone just exactly how to worship him.
Critical of others, not remotely critical of themselves. Reminds me of a story someone once told about a person observing a speck in someone's eye, while they had a log in their own.
I think we all know why the school punished her harshly.
She was gay. Worse, she wasn't ashamed of being gay. Even worse, she called out people like them on their bigotry. And even worse, she didn't "respect mah author-itay" of the male administrators like a good submissive wife candidate is supposed to.
All of which to say, she rocks.
As for her former friends, well, I get it. Indoctrination is a hard thing to shake and I'm sure there was much gossip in the form of "praying for her to get out of 'sin'" happening. I hope at least half of those kids shake off the programming and become better.
I do get the social pressure and indoctrination. Yet ... when it really mattered, the teens yielded their individuality.
I was in a similar situation where people warned me against a person. So, I just wouldn't like him (I didn't hate him, I just kept all interactions minimal). Then, when I was forced to interact with him, he was just a friendly guy who was helpful. He took the time to teach me something when he didn't have to. I deserved to feel as small as that made me feel.
After that, I noted "warnings" about people and put those warnings in the opinion pile; they had a bad experience, but I don't know anything other than I'm probably being recruited with one-sided information. One such person I was warned against is now my supervisor. When my wife developed breast cancer and I had to take six weeks off of work, he made sure we were taken care of. Years later, even his boss, our program manager, still asks how my wife is doing.
Hopefully the kids did learned from this.
When I started at the main library, I was told not to trust one of the supervisors because she was a backstabber. I told them I couldn't do that because she hadn't done anything to me. She and I got along well, and over time the others gave her another chance.
Then a few years ago, I found out that she was in prison for embezzling from a different city department. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Forgot to say. You work at the Main Library? Damn! So jealous.
Ook!
1989 - 1993
lol.
Advice is a double-edged sword.
It can be legit (I know women's whispernet is very important in protecting women from predators).
It can be semi-legit. Yes, she embezzled, she got caught, paid her price. Hopefully she doesn't do it again. Limiting people to a stupid/illegal act can be damaging. I know I wouldn't want to have my worst moment define my entire life. (Like in the Irishman bar joke: https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/26pf4s/an_irishman_at_the_bar_heavy_npr_listeners_might/)
It can often be retaliatory. One guy at work, after just starting, was asked about his supervisor, "So, what do you think of him? He's a little Hitler, right?" He thought is supervisor was stern, but fair. He found out later the guy who asked him that question was the ex of his supervisor's girlfriend. I knew everyone involved, "little Hitler" was way off the mark. The girlfriend was wicked smart, her only mistake was her ex.
Might take them years to shake off the programming if at all. But as Jesus said, something something watch out for the wolf in sheep's clothing.
When people tell you who they are. Listen.
How come the "pray away the gay" crowd don't try to pray away the(ir) gray? 🤔
C'mon. They only "pray" like that at revivals! Then people can be "healed" of whatever. Come to think of it, have they ever prayed for the LGBTQ+ community?*
*Pray against, surely.
Dang, if only you could post pictures here I'd put up that one of the guy declaring "I GAY'D THE PRAY AWAY!"
𝑊ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑡𝑤𝑜 𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑠 “𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑎𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑒” 𝑜𝑛 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑀𝑜𝑟𝑔𝑎𝑛 𝑣𝑖𝑜𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑠𝑐ℎ𝑜𝑜𝑙 𝑝𝑜𝑙𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑠, 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑐ℎ𝑜𝑜𝑙 ℎ𝑎𝑠 𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑦 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑐𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑑 ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑠𝑢𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛. 𝐴𝑑𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑠 𝑎𝑙𝑠𝑜 𝑠𝑎𝑖𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑛𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑑 𝑀𝑜𝑟𝑔𝑎𝑛 𝑡𝑜 𝑎𝑛𝑦 𝑜𝑓 ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑔𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑠𝑒 𝑛𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑡𝑜 𝑑𝑜 𝑠𝑜 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑢𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒.
Morgan: "I know some bigots."
School: "She's talking about us! She can't do that!"
Morgan: "I wasn't talking about you, and I definitely never mentioned the school."
School: "Agree to disagree! But we will give you money and promise to not follow through with our threats."
Why am I not surprised that the tacit admission of bigotry by the school is followed up by them doubling down? I am not sure how much I would trust their promise, only time will tell. And any college that would deny Morgan entry because she called out some bigots is beneath her anyway.
Something I’ve noticed at CP is that commenters almost never acknowledge it when they are shown to be wrong.
To admit to being wrong would be to question their faith, something their indoctrination calls anathema.
The same believers who swore up and down that dinosaurs never existed now claim that dinosaurs were on the Ark.
They're just like Trump: can't keep their stories straight to save their lives!
It's not about consistency or saving their life. It's about the story in the moment to relieve cognitive dissonance. Thinking take work, faith doesn't.
Has our resident psychologist been absent for a while?
DG is proof of that.
If I was on a university admissions board, and I received some shit like that from a school, I would block any applicant that came from there that wasn't accompanied by hateful correspondence.
Of course. But then, what are the odds that you'd knowingly and voluntarily serve on an admissions board for the likes of Liberty "University", Hogwarts, etc.?
STILL waiting for Christians to point to scripture in the gospels that has Jesus condemning (or even mentioning) homosexuals, male or female.
Could be a very long wait. Maybe I should take up knitting.
While you're at it, I hear that Waiting for Godot is a popular pastime!
Or maybe 𝑊𝑎𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐺𝑎𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑐 𝐵𝑢𝑠.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waiting_for_the_Galactic_Bus
If they find anything it will be fiction like most of the Jesus story.
"Most" of the Jesus story? ;)
Matthew and Luke couldn't even agree whether or not Joseph took his family and fled to Egypt until Herod died or simply went to the temple with Mary to present Jesus before returning home with no flight to Egypt even hinted at.
Considering the ridiculous amount of plagiarism found in the synoptic gospels, plus the wide divergence where the gospels disagree, their credibility should have been shredded ages ago.
Some point to the OT passages and lean heavily on the "Jesus is God" argument.
Oh, but then they proclaim that "Because of Jesus, Christians are no longer under the Old Law." They want it both ways.
(And that bit about Christians no longer being under the Old is directly contradicted by Jesus in Matthew 5:17-18)
MPD, perchance?
MPD? :)
Multiple Personality Disorder
Ah!
I googled “LGBTQ affirming church in my location,” and expected search engine optimization meant the highest listed one was most likely to be affirming. They had a dedicated single women’s program, encouraged involvement in various community service programs…. They didn’t, surprisingly, get too detailed online about some of their belief positions, but I figured it couldn’t hurt to try.
And I noticed no rainbows. No social justice discussions (I was assured they were trying to not be too political on that question).
Finally, I made an appointment with their pastor to broach the subject.
Now, to an Evangelical, on the outside, I’m “good.” I am a widow whose husband died six years ago. The thing is, I knew in my early 20s that I didn’t even notice men, only women, but being raised fundamentalist Baptist, my options were “obedience”: marry a man and be an obedient wife, or “choosing sin.” When even churches began admitting that orientation is innate and not chosen, I asked if the position would change. I was assured that it was just like being an alcoholic: “just don’t drink.”
Well… I am old and I don’t care as much now. So I asked the pastor what their position was on LGBTQ people, since I hadn’t seen anything suggesting they were affirming. He praised my obedient wifehood and assured me that, as long as I stayed celibate they would have no problem with me.
I have never been back. I know if I came out to the congregation I would be one of two “types” of person to them: a sinner to hold accountable and encourage, or a threat to their children and young adults who must be avoided. No matter how much they profess to “love the sinner,” when so much rhetoric portrays you as an abominable risk to the vulnerable you are never truly welcome.
What has made me angry is that I have made websites and understand search engine optimization. They had to include LGBTQ affirming and similar descriptions in their optimization to place where they did, which means they did this with the disingenuous belief that they can lure LGBTQ Christians to their church to “bring them to repentance and salvation in Jesus Christ.” 😡
So, their "LGBTQ affirming" stance was of the "our gay bashing will be limited to the 'love the sinner hate the sin' type of verbal bigotry."
Right. I think they just put it in their search engine list to “reach sinners for repentance.”
It frustrates the heck out of me trying to deal with those kinds of true believers. They believe (and are encouraged in that belief from the pulpit) that their actions are “loving.” I am sure who ever does their website wholeheartedly believes that misleading people into their church is neither misleading nor unethical. To them “affirming” LGBTQ+ into “repentance” (either celibacy or into the closet) is kindness. 🙄
Lying for jebus is the greatest virtue dontcha know.
Check out the UUs. Our local UU church flies the rainbow flag.
Rural red state. There aren’t any within commuting distance.
Few people disgust me more than those who claim their religiosity entitles them to a say in other people’s personal choices. The intolerant mindset of these administrators represent a far greater danger to society than a teen age girls same-sex relationship. These Christian schools try to program their students to be blindly obedient Christians. I know from first hand experience, they also produce some massively screwed up kids they never accept any responsibility for.
Generational personality disorder is the gift of authoritarians to the future.
There is no hate as strong as “christian” love.
"The problem was acknowledging the open cruelty of Trump supporters", aka school administrators.
Heaven forfend someone should call a spade a spade!
Their awesome god defeated by a mere slip of a girl. :)
She had an iron chariot.
And a backbone to match!
Fae are supposed to be weak to iron. Does that mean YHVH is secretly fae...?
Iron is the divine kryptonite. During the bronze age, gods were seen everywhere interacting¹ with humans, but then, at the start of the iron age, they all suddenly disappeared from earth.
¹ mostly impregnating women.
𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑖𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑦, 𝑠ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑎𝑖𝑑, 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚 ℎ𝑎𝑑 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤𝑛 𝑠ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑔𝑎𝑦 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠. 𝐼𝑡 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑜𝑛𝑙𝑦 𝑎𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑦 𝑤𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑣𝑖𝑟𝑎𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑑𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑐𝑢𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑟 𝑡𝑖𝑒𝑠.
Her ex-friends are motivated by fear. They are afraid of what would happen to them if it were publicly known that they are still her friends. Hopefully, they will grow up and reach out to her to rekindle the lost friendship.
Fair-weather friends ... 😝
A good news story! We need those every now and then. Good for her and her parents!
"Then they threatened to sabotage her future by sending proof of her posts to her prospective colleges, like some kind of bizarre academic blackmail."
That would only work if she wanted to go to some sort of religious school. Which she would really be stupid to want to do. :)
No kidding. My uni would have taken it as a letter of recommendation.
I must say, I'd give her a place on the strength of her defiance alone.
"A hit dog always hollers" is a favorite phrase of mine. And those hit dogs certainly hollered REAL loud.
They weren't even "hit," per se. They were just called out for what they are.
That's what the phrase means. It's like when Hillary talked about Russian agents and Tulsi Gabbard immediately got defensive.
Well, the school officials apparently DID try on the shoe (recognized themselves in Morgan Armstrong's SM posts) and found that the shoe fit....so they wore it -- with pride?
Ii saw the "Christians" waiting to get in to the rally in DC a few weeks ago. They were awful people. When I told them about the recent pew poll (published here, but not in Wapo or NYT) saying that most people, including Christians, thought that Trump was not very religious https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2026/04/16/americans-have-become-more-likely-to-say-trump-is-not-too-or-not-at-all-religious/ one woman shouted out "I DON"T GIVE A SH__!" Others didn't flinch -- except for me.
The people who stick by Trump despite all his evil are awful people. The horrible part for the rest of us was learning that people we knew and loved were far more despicable than we had realized to that point.
They're awful, ignorant, incurious, and disinterested in learning. What can be done about them, I have no idea.
Some of them are enough older than me that I am just waiting to see which one of us drops dead first.
Well ... I'm 75 and in pretty fair health. I feel like sticking it out.
You’re not one of the people whose death I eagerly await.
Nor are you, nor anyone else of our regulars. I have no problem calling you guys and gals "friends."
Absolutely, telling the truth about der kinderführer would mean they would also have to admit truth about themselves. Admitting they are are evil is not something they are willing to do.
Hitch said it best - "Religion poisons everything". Without any proof, they claim that they are god's favored people and they are willing to trash a young woman's education and future in the name of that god. The strange thing is how the Jesus in the bible is not the Jeebus they are now worshiping. Christianity is an amorphous concoction of a religion that changes with every generation. and each new sect promises the one true interpretation of the bible... They need to get their god to come down and do something godlike and end all dispute. Tell everyone just exactly how to worship him.
“They focused on her (honest) admission that conservative bigots wouldn’t like it… which they took as a personal insult for some reason. “
Gee, I wonder why they automatically assumed she was talking about them? /s
Critical of others, not remotely critical of themselves. Reminds me of a story someone once told about a person observing a speck in someone's eye, while they had a log in their own.
Truth
https://wp-media.patheos.com/blogs/sites/1519/2023/09/Ann-Richards-300x240.jpg
Ann Richards knew whereof she spoke!
I still miss her and Molly Ivins.