20 September 2003 - 9:39 a.m.

Roger Abramson, a self-described Republican-leaning "pro-business conservative," in this week's Scene:

The What-Planet-Are-These-People-On? Award: This goes to all the people who wrote or said something to me along the lines of "I don't want those people (read: gay people) teaching my children," upon learning of my position in support of nondiscrimination in Metro hiring. This is a newspaper, so here's some news for all of you: If your child is in Metro schools (and many private schools for that matter), there's a pretty good chance he or she is already being taught by a gay person (or, heaven forbid, people). For a variety of reasons (none of them nefarious, by the way), the teaching profession attracts gays and lesbians. You just don't know it because, for all your talk about gay people, you really have no clue who gay people are. The good news for you is that some of the best teachers in the system are gay, so your kids are still getting good educations, which, last I checked, is the whole point. (The exposure to Kenneth Cole clothing accessories can't hurt your kids' fashion sensibilities either.)

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