Letters to the Editor: How does Temecula think its LGBTQ+ students feel right now?

To the editor: I have grown to expect stories like this out of the Midwest and the Deep South — but California? The debate in the Temecula Valley Unified School District over the mere mention of Harvey Milk and the LGBTQ+ movement in a history textbook is an example of homophobia and ignorance.

Do these school board members think that the students in their district are unaware of gay people? There are, no doubt, gay kids in these classes. How does this make them feel?

As a gay man, I am saddened at the attempt to wipe out the history of an entire class of people in textbooks, particularly a group that has contributed so much to the quality of life we have in California.

For years the far right’s plan has been to take over school boards, one of the lowest rungs of the political ladder. With that goal accomplished in much of the country, what next? Shall we remove any mention of the Holocaust, or the Civil War, or Jan. 6?

Doug Jones, Los Feliz

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To the editor: The parents in Temecula, among those in too many other communities, are failing to prepare their children to survive in society.

When parents cannot or do not want to defend their positions on sexuality, race and culture, schools can provide the essential exposure to those issues. When schools are prevented from offering a complete and inclusive education, students will be thrust into a world that, to them, will seem alien.

When confronted with the realities of a global economy and the knowledge possessed by the people in it, the shock will be significant. They’ll want to know, “Why didn’t anybody tell me this?”

Without knowing America’s racial history and the contributions to art, literature, entertainment and fashion made by LGBTQ+ people, the world these kids enter won’t make sense. Insulated and isolated, American students will be lost in a multicultural world.

Peter Altschuler, Santa Monica