Dear Editor,
Re; “Invisibility — a form of bullying,” Voices, June 10.
Unfortunately, there is latent homophobia in Richmond and the comments from the editor, Eve Edmonds, highlights it very clearly.
Every school district in the Lower Mainland, with the exception of Coquitlam and Richmond, has a gay/straight alliance club within its schools. They also have clearly articulated policies regarding gender discrimination. The reason why Richmond doesn’t need such a policy, according to Richmond trustees other than Sandra Nixon, is because we already have an anti-bullying policy that applies to everyone.
However, as Edmonds points out, the district does specify factors such as race and religion as part of the Human Rights Code.
This exposes a bias on the part of Richmond’s board of education, which appears to care more about the ideology of some parents than the comfort and safety of all students.
The rainbow picture on the Richmond News’ website, of the notice put up by the BC Teachers’ Federation stating, “This is a safe place for LGBTQ people,” shows that inclusivity in our Richmond schools is going to be driven from the bottom up, by teachers and students, not from the top down, by trustees.
This sad situation is directly related to the steadfast lack of any acknowledgement from Richmond City Hall of Gay Pride Week, which is celebrated in other municipalities throughout the Lower Mainland.
Even Abbotsford, the heart of the “Bible Belt,” has a Gay Pride Parade during this special week, highlighting the LGBTQ community.
Yet, here in Richmond, no rainbow flag, no proclamation from city hall welcoming everybody to help celebrate this special time and declaring our city an inclusive place for all people.
Canada, B.C. and especially the Lower Mainland have always been on the vanguard of including minorities of every persuasion.
It is a blemish on Richmond`s reputation that we continue to leave out in the cold the LGBTQ community.
Alan Halliday
Richmond
