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Family

Teacher berates young boy for having two dads. Then three female classmates stood up.

"It's awesome what happened as far as those girls coming forward."

via OD Action / Twitter

The teacher said having two dads was "nothing to be thankful for."

Just imagine being an 11-year-old boy who's been shuffled through the foster care system. No forever home. No forever family. No idea where you'll be living or who will take care of you in the near future. Then, a loving couple takes you under their care and chooses to love you forever.

What could one be more thankful for? That was the situation that Daniel, a fifth grader at Deerfield Elementary School in Cedar Hills, Utah, found himself in back in 2019. Understandably, when asked by his substitute teacher what he was thankful for for Thanksgiving, young Daniel said, finally being adopted by his two dads.

dads, foster care, same-sex parents, louis van amstel, snow, warm suits A photo of Louis van Amstel and his husband.via OD Action / Twitter

To the child's shock, the teacher replied, "that's nothing to be thankful for," and then went on a rant in front of 30 students saying that "two men living together is a sin" and "homosexuality is wrong."

While the boy sat there embarrassed, three girls in the class stood up for him by walking out of the room to tell the principal. Shortly after, the substitute was escorted out of the building. While on her way out, she scolded Daniel, saying it was his fault she was removed.

One of Daniel's future parents happened to be Louis van Amstel, a former dancer on ABC's "Dancing with the Stars." In an interview with The Salt Lake Tribune., he said "It's absolutely ridiculous and horrible what she did. We were livid. It's 2019, and this is a public school."

Daniel told his soon-to-be parents he didn't speak up in the classroom because their final adoption hearing is December 19 and he was afraid to do anything that would interfere. He had already been through two failed adoptions and didn't want it to happen again.

gay marriage, gay rights, gay dads, LGBT, LGBTQ rights, LGBTA allyship, allyship, marriage equality Louis van Amstel at an event. via Loren Javier / Flickr

A spokesperson for the Alpine School District didn't go into detail about the situation but praised the students who spoke out. "Fellow students saw a need, and they were able to offer support," David Stephenson said. "It's awesome what happened as far as those girls coming forward."

"We are concerned about any reports of inappropriate behavior and take these matters very seriously," Kelly Services, the school that contracts out substitute teachers for the district, said in a statement. "We conduct business based on the highest standards of integrity, quality, and professional excellence. We're looking into this situation."

After the incident made the news, the soon-to-be adoptive parents' home was covered in paper hearts that said, "We love you" and "We support you." Thankfully, the substitute teacher was also fired from Kelly Services. And by the looks of this strapping prom photo, it seems that Daniel is doing just fine.

See on Instagram

That was 2019. And in 2025, bigotry threatens the LGBT community once again—including the landmark same-sex marriage act being proposed to be overturned by the Supreme Court. While it's scary, not to mention disheartening, standing together against such atrocious prejudice is the only way to keep history from repeating itself. Sometimes we adults really can take the example from our kids.

This article originally appeared six years ago.

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best of humanity

Family

I told a kid a riddle my dad told me when I was 7. His answer proves how far we've come.

This classic riddle takes on new meaning as our world changes for the better.

When I was 7, my dad told me a riddle.

"A man and his son are driving in their car when they are hit by a tractor-trailer.

Photo via iStock.

(We were driving at the time, so of course this was the riddle he decided to tell.)

The father dies instantly.

The son is badly injured. Paramedics rush him to the hospital.

Photo via iStock.

As he is being wheeled into the operating room, the surgeon takes one look the boy and says:

'I can't operate on him. He's my son.'

How is that possible?!"

Without missing a beat, I answered:

"The doctor is his mom!"

Photo via iStock.

My dad first heard the riddle when he was a child in the '60s.

Back then, most women didn't work outside of the home.

Few of those who did had college degrees, much less professional degrees.

Female doctors were few and far between.

Back then, it was a hard riddle. A very hard riddle.

By 1993, when I first heard it, the notion that women could be highly skilled, highly trained professionals wasn't so absurd.

To me, it was normal.

I knew women who were lawyers. Bankers. Politicians. My own doctor was a woman.

To be sure, women still faced challenges and discrimination in the workplace. And even 20 years later, they still do.

But at its core, the riddle is about how a family can work. And that had changed. Long-overdue progress had rendered the big, sexist assumption that underpinned the whole thing moot.

A very hard riddle was suddenly not a riddle at all.

I never forgot it.

Now, I'm 30 — almost as old as my dad was he first told me that riddle.

My dad at 30 (left) and me at 30. Photos by Eric March/Upworthy and Mary March, used with permission.

I don't have kids, but I mentor a child through a volunteer program.

Once a week, we get together and hang out for an hour. We play ping pong, do science experiments, and write songs. Neither of us like to go outside.

It's a good match.

One day, we decided to try to stump each other with riddles.

He rattled off about five or six.

I could only remember one: The one about the man, his son, and the surgeon.

Photo via iStock.

I thought it would be silly to tell it.

I was sure that, if it was easy in 1993, it would be even easier in 2014. Kind of ridiculous, even.

But a part of me was curious.

It had been 21 years — almost as long as it had been between when my dad first heard the riddle and when he shared it with me.

Maybe it wouldn't be so easy.

Maybe I was missing something obvious, making my own flawed assumptions about how a family could work.

Maybe the world had changed in ways that would be second nature to a 13-year-old but not to me.

So I began:

"A man and his son are driving in their car, when they are hit by a tractor-trailer. The father dies instantly. The son is badly injured and is rushed to the hospital by paramedics. As he is being wheeled into the operating room, the surgeon takes one look at the boy and says:

'I can't operate on him. He's my son.'

How is that possible?!"

Without missing a beat, he answered: "it's his other dad"

Photo via iStock.

Times change. Progress isn't perfect. But no matter what shape a family takes, at the end of the day, #LoveWins.

This article was written by Eric March and originally appeared on 06.21.16

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Education

'Batman' expert has the perfect explanation for saying 'gay' at a Georgia school assembly

After being censored by the school's principle, he quit.

Harper Collins and Jack Burnley/DC Comics

Author Mark Tyler Nobleman and Batman and Robin.

Over the past few years, "Don't Say Gay" bills have been introduced across the U.S., sparking widespread controversy about how LGBTQ issues should be addressed in schools. Supporters argue they protect children from inappropriate content by restricting discussions of sexual orientation and gender identity in educational settings.

Opponents believe these bills marginalize LGBTQ individuals by fostering stigma and potentially infringing on teachers' ability to openly address students' questions or experiences.

Currently, 11 states have banned LGBTQ discussion in public schools, and 5 require parental consent.

Author and comic book expert Marc Tyler Nobleman recently found himself at the center of the controversy, and his simple rationale for using the word “gay” in his school presentations presents an age-appropriate and inclusive way to approach at the issue.

Nobleman has spoken in schools in “about 30 states and almost 20 countries” to inspire children to write and do research. He’s the author of the book “Bill the Boy Wonder: The Secret Co-creator of Batman” about the fabled superhero’s unsung co-creator.

THE RIGHT WAY TO WRITE: Visiting Author #MarcTylerNobleman, writer of numerous fiction and nonfiction books for young readers, met with students in Grades 3-8 last month. He inspired curiosity, shared his research process, and provided guidance. #TaipeiAmericanSchool
— TaipeiAmericanSchool (@TaipeiAmericanSchool) 1681265112

Artist Bob Kane is known as the creator of Batman; however, Bill Finger is believed to have refined the costume and given the character his secret identity as Bruce Wayne, amongst other contributions.

Nobleman notes in his speeches that one of the significant reasons why Finger lives in obscurity is that he died in 1974, and his son, Fred Finger, was gay and died of AIDS complications at 43 in 1992. Without an heir, the movement to get Finger the proper credit lost any hope.

However, the twist in Nobleman’s presentation is when he reveals that through his research, he discovered that Fred Finger had a daughter, Athena. This led to DC Comics officially recognizing her grandfather as Batman’s co-creator in 2015.

“It’s the biggest twist of the story, and it’s usually when I get the most gasps," Nobleman told the Associated Press. “It's just a totally record-scratch moment.”

After a presentation at Sharon Elementary in Forsyth County, Georgia, on Monday, August 21, where he mentioned Fred FInger's orientation, the principal handed Nobleman a note saying, “Please only share the appropriate parts of the story for our elementary students.” So, he removed any reference to Fred Finger’s sexuality over his next two days of presentations.

The school’s principal, Brian Nelson, sent a letter to parents after the initial presentation that read: “This is not subject matter that we were aware that he was including nor content that we have approved for our students,” Nelson wrote. “I apologize that this took place. Action was taken to ensure that this was not included in Mr. Nobleman's subsequent speeches and further measures will be taken to prevent situations like this in the future.”

But after some soul-searching, in a presentation two days later, Nobleman said the word “gay” once again. After discussing the situation with the school, the remaining assemblies were canceled.

Nobleman shared his reasoning for using “gay” on X, formally known as Twitter, and his rationale makes a lot of sense. “And as I've told Jennifer [Caracciolo, the school’s chief communications officer] and her colleagues, mentioning a sexual orientation is NOT the same as discussing sexuality.”

Answering student questions is ALSO not a problem.

Teaching without parental approval of every line is not a problem.

And as I've told Jennifer and her colleagues, mentioning a sexual orientation is NOT the same as discussing sexuality.#pride #saygay
— Marc Tyler Nobleman (@MarcTNobleman) September 20, 2023

That’s a huge point missed in much of the debate surrounding LGBTQ visibility in education. There is a big difference between discussing sexual acts—whether heterosexual or otherwise—and someone’s orientation, especially when there’s a good chance that there are children of LGBTQ parents in the audience.

Further, in a world where same-sex marriage and heterosexual marriage are treated equally, why is mentioning one orientation any different than the other?

“If a child asks me if I am married, can I say I have a wife? This is discrimination. It is also extremely insulting and dangerous to our children," Nobleman told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "We have so much LGBTQ teen suicide because they are not welcome to speak up about their own lives in their own community.”'

Caracciolo likened saying “gay” in front of third graders to talking to kindergartners about one of the greatest atrocities in world history. “It would be almost like if someone was doing a speech to kindergartners and they talked about the Holocaust and the horrors of the Holocaust,” the district’s chief spokeswoman, Jennifer Caracciolo, said, according to The New York Times.

“I asked her not to compare a kind of love to mass murder,” Nobleman wrote in Newsweek.

After his remaining presentations were canceled, Nobleman emailed administrators involved in the controversy and asked them to take three specific actions:

-Apologize to their community for the principal's apology.

-Apologize to their community for censoring an established author who did what he was hired to do: Pump up their kids about reading, writing, and research.

-Challenge the standards that stigmatize any mention of LGBTQ people.

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lgbtq

Nature

Same-sex penguin parents Electra and Viola hatch a chick together and it's just adorable.

via Heather Hogan / Twitter

One of the common reasons homophobic people give for being against homosexuality is that it's "unnatural." However, they are totally wrong. Research shows that homosexuality doesn't just occur among humans, but throughout the animal kingdom.

According to Yale University, homosexuality has been observed in approximately 10% of "prevailing species throughout the world."

At first glance, the prevalence of homosexuality seems to work against Darwin's theory of evolution. Animals that prefer same-sex relationships are likely to reproduce and pass their genetic traits to the next generation.

But according to Yale, same-sex partnerships can have a positive effect on a species' survival because of their social benefits.

"Same-sex pairing in many species actually alleviates the likelihood of divorce and curtails the pressure on the opposite sex by allowing members to exhibit more flexibility to form partnerships, which in turn strengthens social bonds and reduces competition," Arash Fereydooni writes.

Given the inherent naturalness of same-sex coupling, the Oceanogràfic València aquarium in Spain allowed a pair of female Gentoo penguins, Electra and Viola, to adopt another penguin's egg after employees saw them displaying nesting behaviors.

Caregivers at the aquarium noticed the couple gathering stones in preparation for an egg so they knew they'd be perfect parents. After the couple received the egg, they took turns standing over the egg, incubating it until after a little over a month, it hatched a healthy chick.

Caregivers at the aquarium have called the two an "an exceptional pair."

The penguins will work together to raise the baby bird for about 75 days until it becomes independent.

via faith / Twitter

The same-sex penguin adoption is a first for Oceanogràfic València, but the aquarium says it's fairly common.

In 2018, a pair of gay male penguins at the Sydney Sea Life Aquarium caught the world's attention by raising an egg together. After noticing that Sphen and Magic had built an intense relationship together, caregivers gave them a fake egg to incubate.

They knew the relationship was real when the penguins sang to each other.

"You would see Magic standing in his spot looking for Sphen, and he would call and Sphen would come running over and give Magic a little bow and sing as well," Tish Hannan, head of penguin supervision at the aquarium, told The Independent. "They've chosen each other. That's it. They're bonded now."

— (@)

The pair did such a good job they were given a real egg to incubate and they raised it until it successfully.

The gay penguins' relationship was even more important because it happened while Australia was having a heated political debate over gay human marriage. Eventually, same-sex couples won the right to marry Down Under.

In the end, love is love, and whether human or penguin, a portion of the population is going to be gay. So, if anyone ever tells you that same-sex relationships are unnatural, let 'em know that being gay is not only natural, but beneficial to the survival of the species.

From Your Site Articles

A Christian man got a real Bible lesson after asking if she should exclude his kids from gay sister's wedding.

Not all religions are homophobic, but a sizable number of religious people still abide by homophobic interpretations of their text of choice. Having a devotion to that text, while still navigating a world full of diverse people you love can create some fairly clear contradictions. For example, if you love her sister and she's gay, then the logical step for most people would be to support that relationship and stand up for your sister's rights.

However, for someone who genuinely believes the Bible prohibits and discourages LGBTQ relationships, then a certain level of cognitive dissonance arises.

In a recent post on the subreddit Am I The Asshole a man asked if he's an asshole for not wanting his daughters to be in his sister's "gay wedding."

"AITA for not wanting my young daughters in my sister's gay wedding?"

"Throwaway for pretty clear reason.
I am a brother to a pretty awesome little sister (24) and also a dad of three beautiful little girls (2, 5, 9). My sister dated men throughout her teenage years and I'd always assumed that's how it'd stay. However she is now engaged to be married to a woman. Her soon to be wife is a really cool person and my own wife and I have enjoyed having her over and the kids enjoy her company. We haven't told them they are dating."

OP kicked off the post by clarifying that him and his wife really do enjoy his sister's fiance, but they haven't told the kids the women are romantically involved.

"My sister came to me recently as the wedding planning has begun and she wants my wife and I in the wedding party and also wants our oldest daughter as a bridesmaid with the two younger ones as flower girls."

OP's sister recently told him she wants him and his wife in the wedding party, as well as their three daughters.

"Here is my dilemma.. I have a very Christian family. My wife and I take our girls to church every Sunday and to me, homosexuality isn't in gods word. I feel that having my daughters go to church and then be a part of a gay wedding is only going to create confusion and questions for them. I have yet to discuss this with my wife. It's not that I intended for any of our family to miss my sisters wedding, but I hadn't even thought that far up until she told me she wants us to be a part of it."

While he fully intends on attending the wedding, OP wrote that he feels uncomfortable having the kids in the wedding since he hasn't told them their aunt is gay yet, and "homosexuality isn't in God's word."

"I spoke with our mother who is completely against the wedding happening at all. She says I should tell her no, in hopes she won't go through with the wedding. That's fucked up and I told her absolutely not. Like I said previously, I never made plans to not attend the wedding. I was hoping to maybe have the girls be babysat but I also struggle with that as they adore their aunt. Now that she wants them in the wedding, I can't get a babysitter and decline her offer. That would break her heart."

OP's mom doesn't support the wedding at all, and thinks he should tell her no in hopes it'll cause her to cancel the wedding.

While OP has no plans on doing that, he still doesn't want to have a conversation about gay marriage with his children.

"But again this wasn't a conversation I wanted to have with my girls. I don't want to give them the wrong idea.
I'm so torn here. WIBTA to tell my sister I don't want the trouble of small kids at her wedding even though it's a lie?"

Now, OP is considering avoiding telling the truth to both his sister and daughters by creating a lie about not wanting small children at the wedding.

"TLDR: sister is marrying a woman and wants my whole family involved in the wedding but I don't want to have the conversation about homosexuality with the daughters I've raised Christian. I want to tell her that I planned on having them babysat as I don't like bringing them to weddings despite it being a lie."

Since he feels generally conflicted all around, OP brought the situation to people on the internet, most of whom think he's an asshole for lying about his sister's sexuality.

Rabid-Sqrl got straight to the point with their assessment of the situation.

"YTA. Don't teach your kids to treat gays differently, no matter how your pastor interprets the Bible.
"Be careful who you hate, it could turn out to be someone you love"

Wuellig pointed out how the Bible itself doesn't actually condemn LGBTQ relationships, so OP's supposed excuse of faith doesn't even properly apply.

"YTA Not ignoring the irony of "should I bear false witness because I'm too Christian to be okay with the gays?" to begin with. Secondly, lots of passages in the bible often used to justify the viewpoint you espouse here don't hold up to scrutiny when considered in the larger context of the stories they are within. If you're on a journey of discovery, please take time to consider the points raised in the article and video here. https://www.upworthy.com/homosexuality-in-the-bible-here-s-what-six-passages-say-and-how-to-interpret-them"

Songofwaterandheat pointed out that no Christian follows the Bible perfectly, so why pretend to now?

"YWBTA. Let's not pretend you follow every one of "God's" words. You can ignore this one for one evening too.
You may want to find a more tolerant church."

AnimalLover38 gave OP advice on how to have the talk with his daughters.

"When ever I see people asking for advice on how to tell their young children about the LGBT+ and such it reminds me of what my parents said I asked about after they gave lil' ol' 5 yr old me that talk."
"They explained how sometimes a man loves a man and a woman loves a woman just like they love each other, and that's ok, there's nothing wrong with that."

And that sometimes little boys are born little boys, but they feel like they should have been born as little girls and when they grown up the can get surgery to become girls . And vise versa.
Apperantly I sat there thinking long and hard and finally asked "so does that mean if I feel like I shouldn't have been born as a little girl... I can get surgery?"

My parents had "oh fuck she's only 5" moment and panicked because they thought I was too young to have those thoughts, but being the awesome parents they are they just went "yes, of course you can"

"Then I elaborated, "cause sometimes I feel like I sh-shouldnt (starts crying) have been born a little girl. Sometimes I feel like I should have been born a baby bunny" cue my parents holding in laughter and thinking on their feet."

"Um sweetheart, I'm so sorry but doctors can't do that yet, but maybe when you're older they will have the technology to be able to do that! Or maybe you can become a doctor and figure out how to do that yourself!"
I stopped crying and said ok. 12 yrs later and I have no desire to convert to a bunny"

fruskydekke pointed out that children have far less hangups than adults in general, so it shouldn't be that complicated.

"Unless you've already taught your daughters that homosexuality is wrong, which I sincerely hope you have not, they have no preconceived notions. Just dress them up nicely, take them to the wedding, and if they have questions, just tell them that your sister and her girlfriend love each other and are getting married."

"Present it as natural and unremarkable, because, you know, it actually is. Humans can love each other in all gender constellations, and the sooner your daughters learn that, the sooner they can learn to be loving and accepting towards all people. I'm not a Christian, but isn't charity the greatest of all virtues among you lot?"

This article originally appeared on SomeeCards. You can read it here.

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A tennis star claimed the sport is ‘full of lesbians.’ John McEnroe’s response? Epic.

In a fiery new video produced by Eurosport's "Game, Set, and Mats," American tennis legend John McEnroe blasted Australian tennis star Margaret Court for her recent appalling homophobic comments.

He also took the opportunity to unveil incredible plans to celebrate gay marriage in Australia at the expense of Court ... and with help from none other than Elton John.

— (@)

Now that marriage equality has won out in Australia, McEnroe's proposed celebration will be quite the memorable occasion.

To understand why so many people are applauding McEnroe, you first should understand how stunningly offensive Court's recent comments about LGBTQ people really were.

In an interview with Christian Vision Radio, Court said transgender people are influenced by the devil, alleged LGBTQ rights activists are brainwashing children like Hitler did, and claimed, disappointingly, that the sport she once championed is now "full of lesbians."

That interview came on the heels of Court's public boycott of Qantas Airlines after the company's CEO voiced support for same-sex marriage.

Margaret Court. Photo by Ryan Pierse-Pool/Getty Images.

Court's comments haven't gone unnoticed in Australia either.

Many players have called for Melbourne's Margaret Court Arena — one of the country's most prominent tennis venues — to be renamed in light of her homophobic and transphobic remarks.

McEnroe, long known for his blunt candor, has other plans in mind for Court's namesake arena. That's where Elton John comes in.

When same-sex marriage comes to Australia, "I will personally call my good friend Elton John to host the biggest same-sex mass wedding ceremony ever seen — in Margaret Court Arena," McEnroe says in the video, addressing Court directly. "Margaret, that’s the kind of guy I am.”

Elton John (left), Andy Roddick (center), and John McEnroe (right) watch a tennis match together in 2014. Photo by Jordan Mansfield/Getty Images.

McEnroe also tore into Court for her comments about tennis being "full of lesbians."

“The way I see it, there are three options regarding this statement," McEnroe skewered, staring into the camera, both angry and amused.

"Number one: This is true, and who gives a f***? Number two: This is not true, and who should give a f***? And number three: This is half-true and should we really give a f***?”

After the threat of her arena losing its name, McEnroe's blistering takedown, and a good public roasting on Twitter, maybe Court will take a moment to reflect on the lesson most of us learned in grade school: If you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all.

This post was updated on 12/07/2017.

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Roger Federer keeps promise to young tennis player - Upworthy ›

Ben & Jerry's is implementing a new policy that will surely ruffle some feathers in Australia.

On May 24, the ice cream company announced that all 26 of its Aussie stores will be barring customers from ordering multiple scoops of the same flavor.

Why? Marriage equality isn't yet legal in Australia.

— (@)

The flavor ban, of course, is meant to be symbolic of Australia's ban on same-sex marriage.

Despite the indisputable popularity of marriage equality in Australia, political gridlock has prevented parliament from approving any measure that would legalize same-sex marriage.

The country's (very dated) Marriage Act 1961 prohibits two people of the same gender from tying the knot.

That's where the ice cream scoop ban comes in.

Ben & Jerry's knows the new policy might upset some customers. But that's sort of the point.

The company — which has championed progressive causes like climate action, ending systemic racism in law enforcement, and expanding voting rights in the U.S. — has never been one to shy away from controversy.

Getting angry at the ban on two scoops of the same flavor "doesn’t even begin to compare to how furious you would be if you were told you were not allowed to marry the person you love," the ice cream company's website reads.

Photo by Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images.

In addition to the flavor ban, Ben & Jerry's is setting up mailboxes in all of their Australian stores so customers can write their representatives, urging them to support marriage equality ahead of the next parliament sitting on June 13. The company is also encouraging customers to get involved with Australia's Equality Campaign.

These might sound like bold stances for a company to take. But to the ice cream makers, it's simply standing up for what most people believe in: "At Ben & Jerry’s we love love, and we think most Australians do too."

To learn more about Ben & Jerry's efforts promoting marriage equality in Australia, visit the company's website.

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Man destroys racist sign in Australia - Upworthy ›