paper dolls of two girls with a heart in the middle

“Same Love” gets teacher in trouble. Image: Shutterstock

Oh Macklemore, how could you have known what a stir your song would cause?  “Same Love”, the song heard around the world, has once again made headlines.  A school teacher has again been reprimanded for playing the song the North Carolina superintendent called “inappropriate.”  No real reason as to why it was inappropriate was given.

If this sounds like dejavu, it is.  The same thing happened in South Lyon, Michigan when another teacher played it and the teacher, Susan Johnson, got suspended.  In that case, the ACLU, the media and public outcry got the better of the district.  The teacher was reinstated and the suspension dropped.

It’s hard to place what is so offensive to people about “Same Love.”  Yes, there is one swear word in the song when Macklemore sings the lyric, “Damn right I support it.”  High school students have undoubtedly heard the word before.  It’s not as if teachers are playing this in an elementary school setting.  Even if they did, they could simply bleep out the one swear word.  It seems to be a bigger issue.

teacher in trouble

Teacher gets in trouble for playing “Same Love.” Image: Shutterstock

It’s all about bigotry and anti-gay sentiment.  There seems to be not one other possible reason the song that preaches love and tolerance could be considered “inappropriate.”  What does this teach our kids?  It teaches them that it’s “inappropriate” to talk about the truth.  It teaches them that any time you feel uncomfortable about any issue, you just sweep it under the rug.  It teaches them that censorship is alive and well in America.

Yet, we all know that, don’t we?  Some students do not know that Columbus didn’t discover America.  They don’t know that he got lost and accidentally stumbled across a country people were already living in.  We rewrite history, and that’s okay…but talking about freedom to love who you want is wrong.  Well, we think that’s wrong.

We agree with Macklemore.  “No freedom ‘till we’re equal.  Damn right I support it!”