(4)
To avoid these confrontations, I do a lot of self-censoring. I don't discuss certain issues raised in a story, such as death, for fear of offending some parent. Whenever they complain, we have to meet with the [school] board and go through the entire process. It's definitely a wearing-down strategy. They know that after awhile it is not worth the effort for us. So we become very bland in our teaching. We just present the information. We don't interact with students. What's most difficult is when the kids themselves bring up intolerant views. As angry as it can make me, I have to remember that they're just parroting their parents.

This experience really affects daily life. When I moved to Yucaipa, the community seemed very friendly, very open. Now I can't even go to the store for milk without having some kind of confrontation with parents. It's come to the point of name-calling--"spawn of the devil," "Godless heathen" are real favorites.

Last October, I sold my house in Yucaipa and moved my family to a nearby town because it's more anonymous.
