Maybe you read the headline and thought: “this must’ve happened in the Deep South.” Surprise! This all went down in the Great White North.
Canada’s National Post has the story; I’ll give you the highlights. Sharon Burns, principal of Eden High School in St. Catherine’s, Ontario is a big Iron Maiden fan. She also has a purple mohawk (under her hat).
Satanic panic 2021: Heavy-metal-loving Ontario principal can stay despite parents petitioning for her removal https://t.co/K47HshJ0If
— National Post (@nationalpost) October 15, 2021
Principal Burns posted–on her personal Instagram account–the photo you see above alongside a second photo, both showcasing her Maiden fandom. Apparently some parents of students at Eden High are stuck in the Satanic Panic of the ’80s: they started a petition to have her ousted. Here’s the quote from the National Post:
“As concerned parents with impressionable children at Eden High School,” began an online petition for her ouster, “we are deeply disturbed that the principal assigned to the school blatantly showed Satanic symbols and her allegiance to Satanic practices on her public social media platforms where all the students can see them.”
It didn’t take long for a group of better-adjusted parents to start a counter-petition. Their petition gathered over 20,000 signatures, while the petition to have her fired barely cracked 500. So Principal Burns won’t be running for the hills any time soon.