This Gay Teacher Had the Perfect Response to a Homophobic Tweet
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Last week, one Twitter user received a dual lesson in grammar and tolerance after posting a homophobic tweet that has since been deleted.
@Naj_Mullah, who has also identified as a supporter of Bill Cosby, mused:
As a straight man, how do u [sic] feel about your child having a homosexual teacher!? Who their [sic] around for 8 hours of the day!
ALSO: This Gay Drama Teacher Had the Perfect Response to a Homophobic Parent
And one response in particular, made by a gay teacher and self-identified LGBTQ activist based in Texas, has since gone viral for the best reason:
"If a gay teacher teaches my child the difference between they’re, their, and there, I’m good," Twitter user @haitreason wrote. The Texas teacher smartly called out the homophobic tweet's grammatical error without descending to argue with its writer and his illogical bigotry. The response, posted on Wednesday afternoon, has since received more than 17,000 likes and around 16,000 retweets.
His classy response has since been shared by actress Ruby Rose, who came out as a lesbian at 12 years old and has more recently identified herself as gender fluid, on her Instagram.
This latest, brief Twitter feud follows controversy in July at a Roman Catholic private school in Philadelphia, where a lesbian teaching director was fired after numerous parent complaints. The upheaval against gay teachers fueled by blatantly intolerant parents shows that unfortunately, while @Naj_Mullah's homophobic tweet wasn't exactly popular, the Twitter user wasn't alone in his sentiments.
Unfortunate cases of real-life discrimination and rampant social media trolling show that despite plenty of progress for LGBT rights over the past few years, from marriage equality to improved media representation and social acceptance, there's still more progress to be made. And it's savvy responses like Twitter user @haitreason's that provide us with hope — and humor.
