End Of Gay Culture Watch

A reader writes:

I'd like to share a really amazing video my students produced, a lip dub to Kim Wilde's "Kids in America." Two weeks ago, the video was in the middle of going viral, receiving around 130,000 views, which is quite incredible for a small(ish) school in Kansas. Since then, I'm sad to write, the video was hacked and we had to take it down (thus losing our views and the nearly 250 comments of support and encouragement from all over the country). The hacking was despicable--annotated with horrific homophobic slurs, etc.

Needless to say, my students--who worked so hard on creating something so special--are fairly devastated. To have something so special so rudely and abruptly taken away from my students, the school, the community ... it just makes me sad--for us all.

Which is why I'm writing you. Somewhat defiantly, we decided to reupload our video, thinking that if we could once again share our joy and provide even just 3 1/2 minutes of happiness to someone, somewhere, we can show that hate doesn't always win, that sometimes joy and the true spirit of community and diversity prevails.

Buzzfeed highlights another blurring of gay/straight identity from the University of Rochester.