Paulette Caruso: Tolerance for the minority but none for the majority

Jun 6, 2022
Jun 6, 2022 Updated Jun 6, 2022
1

To The Daily Sun,

This letter was prompted by a recent incident at Laconia High School where my 16-year-old son was suspended for exercising his 1st and 14th Amendment rights under our Constitution. At the beginning of "pride week" my son decided to "peacefully demonstrate" our family's beliefs by posting a handmade sign on the high school wall that simply stated his opinion, "No more LGBTQ!" I received a phone call from the vice principal notifying me that my son's sign "hurt people's feelings" and they were suspending him for the remainder of the week. Did I misread our Constitution? Do other groups have the right to demonstrate but not someone with a different opinion? Why was he not afforded the same protection as all the other students in their differing beliefs and perspectives? I have a 14-year-old going to LHS also and both kids report feeling discriminated against because they won't wear the rainbow stickers and pins or avoid the "pride table" set up in the cafeteria. They wear 2nd Amendment and religious apparel, stand for the Pledge of Allegiance and are regarded as weird and strange. Is this the way our world is headed: tolerance for the minority but none for the majority? Where is the respect for rights and freedom of speech? What kind of messages are we sending our kids? That if it's not the popular fad of the time then it needs to be punished and/or eradicated? I stand behind my son 100% and am completed ashamed of the staff and school district we have been actively supporting for over 13 years.

Paulette Caruso

Laconia

(1) comment

VegaTheChosen Jun 7, 2022 7:19pm

Pauline,

if you dont see the problem here you're either blind or extremely unintelligent. You don't see why your son who's a teenager making a sign to spew hate at a public school is an issue? The majority? The majority of what exactly? The majority of straight folks vs lgbtq? What about the straights that aren't bigots like you and you family and actually have compassion and care for their fellow man. The fact the you condone this behavior and encourage it is vile. You should be ashamed of yourself. You think you're in the majority but ironically you say your kids being picked on for being bigot. Also I find it bizarre that you think it's ok for your son to talk about guns in school, meanwhile there's been ten mass shootings in a week.

When I was in high school in 1996 I brought an army surplus magazine into school and I was suspended because it had guns it. This before the colombine. It was inappropriate. Just like your son's sign and it's bizarre you can't see that.

Furthermore, should we exercise our right as a community and hang signs all around town saying "The Colletes are bigots!" or the Colletes are trash? What if we had signs on your whole block that said it? You'd be ok with that because the 1st amendment righr

You guys need help. Sincerely your veern friend who isn't a bigot.

Mr Vega