Hatred lives among us...

The blogo-/twitter-/social-media-sphere is in an uproar over an Arkansas senior school board official's Facebook rant. Clint McCance, vice-president of the Midland School District, used his Facebook page to vent his homophobic, intolerant, hatred-filled spleen and, in doing so, ensured his rapid ascension to the throne of Internet pariah-hood. (Coverage here, here, here and here.)

Mr. McCance, apparently upset that everyone wore purple last week on Spirit Day in a show of solidarity toward gays and lesbians, said he'd wear purple only if gays and lesbians would "commit suicide," and that he would disown his kids if they told him they were gay. It got worse from there, in a pathetically error-filled tirade that isn't suitable for any workplace I've ever known.

Never mind that this man is responsible for educating thousands of kids in Arkansas (G-d help them all) and never mind that the school board didn't fire him outright. Okay, they couldn't fire him outright, as he's an elected official. But we've seen politicians get tossed out of office for far less.

This happened in an age where cyberbullying runs rampant, where too many kids of any background, let alone LGBT, feel so marginalized that they see suicide as the only answer. That a man responsible for guiding the educational future of so many children would go public with this kind of misinformed, misplaced rage is, from where I sit, a call to greater action.

CNN's Anderson Cooper took the high road in an eloquent and passionate response (see video). The rest of the Internet lit up in a similar fashion, as rational folks everywhere realized what true hatred looks like, and how much damage it can cause when it goes unchecked.

Well, Arkansas schools, here's your chance to check it before it gets worse, to set a precedent in the accelerating war against cyberbullying. In the growing fight to reintroduce tolerance and understanding back into the modern dialog. Don't let the Clint McCances of the world win. Don't let them take any more children away from us.

Your turn: Thoughts?

This just in: The idiot resigned in a live interview with Mr. Cooper. If you read into the words he used, though, it's clear he isn't truly sorry. He's only sorry he got caught. Some people never learn.