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To the editor:

I am responding to the letter from “A rainbow shouldn’t be offensive.”

I grew up in the time when a rainbow was a sign from God that his promises would be fulfilled. Unicorns danced under a rainbow in a happy and fanciful way and we were awed by one in the sky. Who didn’t love a rainbow?

Unfortunately, that is not the case today in our society. The rainbow now represents the LBGTQ+1A or lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersexual, asexual and others community. The rainbow flag is seen often in the news, we have gay parades and it is displayed in windows of businesses.

Now, when I see a rainbow flag or a rainbow painted somewhere, I, as a Christian, am offended. The rainbow now represents a group of individuals whose lifestyle which I cannot agree. Do those individuals have a right to choose that lifestyle as adults? Yes. But I don’t have to agree that their choice is healthy or godly.

The fact that a rainbow was painted on a rock in front of Ellis Middle School is disturbing. As a passerby, I would wonder what is being taught there. The news is full of transgender rights for childrren and we are being told that parents have no right to be told if their child wants to be called Sue instead of Bobby. We are told we are racist if we question it. You asked, “When did a rainbow become offensive.” Look around at the media, the government and even the churches have turned away from our Christian and family values.

You asked, “When did a few override the wishes of the majority.” A 2022 Gallup poll found that 7.1 percent of
Americans identify as LBGTQ+. The few have overtaken the many. I think that Jeff Wallace was correct in painting over the rock. It was displayed in the front of a middle school; it sent the wrong message to the public.

As a parent and a retired middle school teacher, I know all too well the developmental stage of middle school students. The need to fit in, to be noticed, having feelings they have never felt before because of hormonal changes, saying to a parent “you don’t understand me,”; these things can lead to dangerous experiential situations.

We have an obligation not to encourage negative behaviors, teachings, or displays that could be misinterpreted by our students. Let our children be children.

I think the “House” system in the middle schools (The painted rock was said to represent the colors of the individual houses.) is a way to help our childen thrive. But there is a need to be vigilant on how we present ideas that can send mixed messages.

Karen Crowe,     Mocksville