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| Invitations for the eighth grade graduation dance at St. Andrew Catholic Elementary School, and Principal Nancy Matteo. |
The principal of a Catholic school in Bucks County is apologizing to parents for using a photo of Ellen DeGeneres on an invitation to an Oscars-themed graduation dance, and is demanding students return them to be destroyed.
It was "completely wrong" to use DeGeneres' picture because the lesbian celebrity "lives her life outside the teachings of the Catholic Church," St. Andrew Elementary School principal Nancy Matteo wrote in an email to parents on Tuesday.
The text of the message was provided to Philly.com. The email doesn't specifically mention DeGeneres' sexual orientation. She famously came out in 1997 and married actress Portia de Rossi in 2008.
The image appears to be from when the famous comedian, hosted the Academy Awards in 2007.
And though the email does not specifically mention that DeGeneres likes the ladies, the principal's reasoning does not seem to leave much doubt that her sexual proclivities are the only problem.
In the email, Matteo says she was "obviously NOT thinking" when she let the invitation to the June 8 dance be distributed with DeGeneres’ photo. "Perhaps I was distracted by the Oscar," she wrote, calling the entertainer a "poor role model." "A role model, as defined by Webster's Dictionary, is a person who is unusually effective or inspiring in some social role, job, position, etc.," the email says. "This does not describe her at all. We work so hard to be good role models and then I go and do something stupid!"
"Something that stupid." What exactly about using the photo of Ellen DeGeneres would call for such strong language? And what in the world would cause her to want them back simply to destroy them?
"I need every single invitation returned and I will personally destroy them," wrote Matteo, who in 2002 became the Newtown school’s first lay principal, according to its website.
She added: "Once again, I am sorry for my lack of forethought. I look forward to receiving the old invitations and distributing new ones."
I don't watch Ellen's show, but from everything I have EVER seen about her she is an incredibly gracious, kind, and loving individual, who often uses her show to reward people who are kind to others with extravagant gifts.
In other words Ellen DeGeneres is perhaps the very definition of a good role model.
Which means that the ONLY possible problem that this principal could have with using that photo, is that Ellen is gay, and to Catholics that makes her a sinner.
Well I see only one sin here, and it was certainly NOT one committed by Ellen DeGeneres.
I feel sorry for the children that are being educated in such a hateful environment.
You blog is blocked:
ReplyDeleteThis blog is in violation of Blogger's Terms of Service and is open to authors only
http://theimmoralminority.blogspot.com/
I got that same message too for about the 12 hours past. Alarming to say the least. I tried Sarah Palin Has A Serpent's Heart - which I luckily also keep bookmarked - to see if the friends there had any bulletins, and nothing. That was spooky. Hope everything's okay.
DeleteIt's all fixed now.
DeleteGlad to see you're back, Gryphen, I've been lost without my daily IM nourishment! :o)
ReplyDeletewelcome back, my friend. major concern amongst your followers this morning..Malia was on it.
ReplyDeleteShame on her for her ignorance and bigotry. She should NOT be a principal or be anywhere near children. Fat pig.
ReplyDeleteIt saddens me that this principal could be so hurtful, especially because she must realize that there are LGBT children in her school (and in EVERY school).
DeleteWell, sure, you wouldn’t want your kids’ eyes to be scalded by photos of a human being who’s been affiliated with 41 different charitable organizations, who regularly uses her talk show as a platform to recognize and reward deserving individuals and families, whose now apparently contentious Oscar gig helped raise $3 million for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and the Humane Society and who also brings the awesome moves to any dance party. I’m sure his holiness Pope Francis would be outraged.
ReplyDeleteBut as if the mea culpa over the sending out of the invitations wasn’t absurd enough, Principal Matteo decided to go all in, telling parents that “I need every single invitation returned and I will personally destroy them.” You’ve really got to admire the dedication of someone with such a clear-cut mission to not just apologize for putting a gay person on a mailer but to “destroy” said invitations as if they were a trove of smallpox-infested blankets. And I would certainly never speculate that, knowing what I know about the denizens of the Internet, that’s a request that might well lead to some increased mail volume this week for Ms. Matteo.
A photograph of a gay person – a gay person, by the way, just doing her job as a television host – isn’t going to corrupt your eighth graders. And if you’re concerned about their role models, consider what they’re seeing when they see educators more concerned about division than acceptance, more interested in “personally destroying” than in creating.
http://www.salon.com/2014/05/22/catholic_school_vows_to_destroy_dance_invitations_featuring_ellen/
right on!
DeleteThe need to destroy the invitations is weird. And, this principal clearly doesn't trust her students enough just ask to have them destroyed. She has to do the destruction personally.
DeleteWhat if some student doesn't want to participate in this hate and just keeps the invitation. Eternal damnation?
"Perhaps I was distracted by the Oscar," she wrote. Or perhaps you were distracted by a pretty blond wearing a tux?
ReplyDeleteEvil Gays Secretly Plotting to Recruit and Sodomize Your Children, Claims GOP House Hopeful
ReplyDelete...Of course what he fails to tell his readers is that the piece is clearly identified as satire at the very beginning.
http://aattp.org/evil-gays-secretly-plotting-to-recruit-and-sodomize-your-children-claims-gop-house-hopeful/
Yes, it's almost certainly "The Ghey," but in Matteo's case, I wouldn't rule out some added commonplace jealousy of DeGeneres's stylish looks, and especially her fit, trim figure. I can tell you right now if I were a straight guy, I'd rather try to talk DeGeneres into a little hetero experimenting than try to get the clothes off Matteo. Ew.
ReplyDeletePlease stay gay.
DeleteWe LIKE you that way.
If that principal is so holy, maybe she should not indulge in the deadly sin of gluttony. Judge not lest ye be judged.
ReplyDeleteI was going to say the exact same thing!
DeleteMe three.
DeleteAlso, is the principal being a good role model in violating copyright and printing a copyrighted photo without permission?
ReplyDeleteAnonymous11:54 AM
ReplyDeleteIf that principal is so holy, maybe she should not indulge in the deadly sin of gluttony. Judge not lest ye be judged.
****
Take your bible verses....and shove them where the sun don't shine.
Go post ur sanctimonious bllshit on barstools blog.
She is a fat ! Not overweight FAT! bet she loves her self a few buckets of Chikfila
Palin is a drug addict. The only reason SHE is skeletal.
"she is an incredibly gracious, kind, and loving individual, who often uses her show to reward people who are kind to others with extravagant gifts"
ReplyDeleteYes, she is and yes, she does. But,once again, those 'good Catholics' decide to only love one another if The Other is NOT a different religion, culture, sexual orientation, or race. Because, after all, Jesus was very selective in who he would love, right?
Oh, wait...
I think that obviously gluttonous and lacking in self -control individuals like Principal Matteo should certainly NOT be anywhere around children, especially in the lunch line.
ReplyDelete"lives her life outside the teachings of the Catholic Church,"
ReplyDeleteGuess the kiddies have to be shielded from even seeing the photograph of people like Dalai Lama, Mahatma Gandhi, Oscar Wilde, Alan Turing,...
Hey, what about that Sistine Chapel all decked out with paintings by Michelangelo. Better make sure the kiddies never see those, after all a great painter can't be a role model if he wrote love sonnets to another man.
Gay Rights Issue Is Boost To Dems
ReplyDeleteIt wasn't all that long ago that Republicans used gay marriage as a tool to drive Election Day turnout. But as public opinion on the issue has turned and courts strike down same-sex marriage bans, gay rights is evolving into a wedge issue for Democrats to wield.
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/gay-rights-boost-to-dems
Ha ha, my nephews graduated from this school, and from St. Andrew's high school (one is still there), and I'm pretty sure they would not be offended by seeing a gay person on an invitation. In fact, unless I'm seriously misjudging them, they don't care if someone is gay or not. It's only the adults who are trying to impress others about how pious they are. Bleah.
ReplyDeleteNope, they don't care at all.
Delete'You guys are HUSBANDS?': Boy's incredulous reaction to meeting a gay couple for the first time
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2636379/You-guys-husbands-Thats-funny-Boys-adorable-understanding-reaction-meeting-gay-couple-time.html
1:55 -
DeleteDid you notice how quickly that little boy got right to the most important point? If they got married, that means they must love each other.
End of story...no controversy, shock or horror in his mind.
Maybe there is another thing this woman is trying to undo? Like maybe, that invitation seemed to indicate that Ellen would be AT the prom? That is what I would have thought. Why else have her picture front and center? Could it be? Did kids and parents get excited at the prospect of Ellen being in attendance?
ReplyDeleteSomehow I think trying to undo a misunderstanding about Ellen Degeneres attending wouldn't require so much gratuitous hate like needing to personally destroy the invitations or adding
DeleteIt was "completely wrong" to use DeGeneres' picture because the lesbian celebrity "lives her life outside the teachings of the Catholic Church,"
What kind of vacuum does this principal live it that she didn't recognize Ellen Degeneres?
ReplyDeleteApparently, an industrial model the size of a double wide dumpster.
DeleteThere is now only one state left in the country with an unchallenged ban on marriage equality
ReplyDeleteNorth Dakota is the last and only state in the country with an unchallenged ban on marriage equality. Every other state has had its ban struck down in federal court (with a pending appeal), is in the middle of having its ban challenged in court or has marriage equality.
http://www.salon.com/2014/05/23/there_is_now_only_one_state_left_in_the_country_with_an_unchallenged_ban_on_marriage_equality/
Phil Robertson is at it again
ReplyDeleteThe "Duck Dynasty" star goes on another anti-gay tirade
In a development that has surprised exactly nobody, it turns out that “Duck Dynasty” star Phil Robertson is still saying ignorant things about gay people.
...Radar revealed a new video of Robertson speaking at an Easter event, telling the crowd — in an epic 43-minute speech about birth, death, rebirth, demons and sin — that “they railed against me for giving them the truth about their sins … Is homosexual behavior a sin? The guy asked me. I said, do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Don’t be deceived.” He then paraphrased Corinthians, saying, “Neither the sexually immoral, nor the idolators nor adulterers nor male prostitutes, nor homosexual offenders, nor thieves, nor greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.”
...But as his cable network prepares to premiere “Duck Dynasty’s” new season in less than three weeks, it will be interesting to see how the show’s viewership – which has already been dramatically declining — reflects public support or lack of for the patriarch’s views. Based on A&E’s previous wrist slap for Robertson, it’s doubtful this latest video will have much effect on how the network treats its reality star. Yet those declining ratings probably have their attention, and it’s easy to see that provocative remarks don’t necessarily translate into success for the seemingly running out of gas former hit. Frankly, after watching nearly 45 minutes of Robertson’s rambly Easter bloviating, I have to marvel that anybody still has any patience for or interest in this guy.
http://www.salon.com/2014/05/23/phil_robertson_is_at_it_again/
She wants her invitations back because she remembered they taste great and have a lot of fibre.
ReplyDeleteHas Ellen responed anywhere about this? I bet she responds in a very loving way, like she does everything. She doesn't have a mean bone in her body, unlike this idiot principal.
ReplyDelete"Once again, I am sorry for my lack of forethought."
ReplyDeleteLooks like lack of forethought is her modus operandi. Her "correction" is a disaster.
Gryphen, you should try to catch Ellen's show once in awhile. I've never seen a more giving, compassionate, loving woman who does great things for so many deserving people. She showcases talented people, especially kids and she does good not looking for reward nor recognition. She's an amazing person.
ReplyDeleteHere's one of my favorite clips of many.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWHdMLiLTfI
The hefty, zoftic unchristian "woman" who's going to collect and destroy every evil photo can go suck an egg or a dozen, preferably directly from the source. Homosexuality isn't contagious, but stupid sure is!
An amazing woman that I knew (who was dying) was selflessly trying to get her message of kindness and compassion out to others before she passed. She was invited to be in Ellen's audience and Ellen not only pulled her up to talk and sit with her, but to present her with a scholarship (can't remember which company gifted it) for her 2 children to pay for their future college.
ReplyDeleteIf that doesn't sound like a role model, then that woman has some seriously fucked-up idea of what one is.
Maybe all of those former priests?
I've seen Ellen do so many things for people, this sounds exactly like her style. I wish she were on in prime time so a wider audience could experience what a genuinely caring woman Ellen is and the things she does.
ReplyDeleteGee, surprised that the cowardly Principal didn't use some silly copyright violation as a reason. Not the best example of loving one another without judgement. Sad.
ReplyDelete