Hatred is Not a Foreign Concept: A Minnesota School District's "Neutrality Policy" and Its Devastating Consequences

Minnesota's Anoka-Hennepin School District has come under national scorn for its district-wide "neutrality policy". This sexual orientation curriculum policy, which it finally did away with on February 14th of this year, mandated that teachers remain neutral on issues regarding sexual orientation1. Although the District argues that this policy was intended to only apply to a school's curriculum, teachers contended that the policy’s wording was ambiguous and could easily be construed to apply beyond the classroom and into the hallways, preventing them from intervening in anti-gay bullying. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Jefferson Fietek, an art teacher at Anoka Middle School for the Arts, argued that, “LGBTQ students don’t feel safe at school [...] there's no one to stand up for them, because teachers are afraid of being fired,"2. An excerpt from the Rolling Stone article details a conversation that a girl, Brittany, had with her school’s administration following a bullying incident in which she had been called a “fat dyke”:

The school's principal, looking pained, had suggested Brittany prepare herself for the next round of teasing with snappy comebacks – "I can lose the weight, but you're stuck with your ugly face" – never acknowledging she had been called a "dyke." As though that part was OK. As though the fact that Brittany was bisexual made her fair game.3

Anti-gay bullying and the school staff’s seeming acceptance of it were followed by six student suicides within two years, all of whom had been gay or had been victims of anti-gay bullying4. Some students, represented by advocacy groups, are filing charges against the school, arguing that Anoka-Hennepin’s “neutrality policy” led to the death of these students5.

In reading about the above controversy, my mind went immediately to Stanley Milgram’s obedience studies and how the teachers in the Anoka-Hennepin School District demonstrated the power obedience can exert on individuals. As Mr. Fietek demonstrates above, there were at least a handful of teachers who opposed the policy and the bullying that was occurring, but the overwhelming pressures of complying with the District’s mandate (and ensuring one’s livelihood) outweighed their individual morality. Assuredly some of the teachers blamed the policy for their silence, “unable to realize their values in action[,] and found themselves continuing in the experiment [or in this case adhering to the policy] even though they disagreed with what they were doing,”6.

On a more systemic level, certain concepts found in the Ervin Staub article can also be seen at work in the “neutrality policy” case. Michele Bachmann was born and raised in this school district, and her conservative ideology is very much alive in her hometown. US politics is becoming incredibly polarized, with conservatives genuinely feeling threatened by an increasingly liberal polity. Tea Party slogans like “Take America Back” imply that there is a ‘they’ from which ‘we’ must take the country back, demonstrating the “us” vs. “them” thinking detailed by Staub7. This threat to their sense of self is demonstrated by a mother in the School District who supported the “neutrality policy”:

"We are at a crossroads. You either cave in to the demands of the homosexual activists, an action that will make our schools unsafe for all kids, or you stand firm and protect the children," Anderson said.

The inherent connotation that homosexuality poses a danger to our children shows not only a devaluation of those who are homosexual but a scapegoating of a weakening sense of identity on homosexuals, both of which are detailed by Staub8. It is unfortunate that the students are the ones caught in this ideological crossfire.

It is easy to criticize foreign governments and actors for their genocidal acts, but it is important to remember that anyone, regardless of nationality, can find themselves in a morally compromising situation. As Milgram repeatedly asserts, anyone can commit these crimes given our human propensity to obey authority. As demonstrated in the case with Minnesota's Anoka-Hennepin School District, it could be happening right at your local school.

I affirm I have adhered to the Honor Code in this assignment.


1  http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=146882552


2  http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/one-towns-war-on-gay-teens-20120202#ixzz1n4WMIOhc

3  Ibid.

4  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/14/minn-school-board-ends-po_n_1275843.html

5  Ibid.

6  Milgram, Stanely. “The Dilemma of Obedience.” 1975. Print. pp. 6

7  Staub, Ervin. “The origins of genocide and killing: core concepts.” 1989. Print. pp. 17

8  Ibid.