Iron Maiden Superfan Principal to Remain in Office After Petition Launched Over ‘Satanic’ Imagery
UPDATE: Though a recent petition was launched to oust the head of Eden High School in St. Catharines, Ontario after she posted on social media displaying imagery associated with Iron Maiden that "blatantly showed Satanic imagery," The National Post reports principal Sharon Burns will not be transferred. A second petition followed by those supporting Burns after the initial petition made headlines. Public support then quashed the call for the principal's ousting. The petition against her gained 553 signatures while the one supporting her received 20,000.
The original creator of the petition seeking her transfer later added, “Sharon knows full well what she did was simply inappropriate, unnecessary and not professional but has yet to publicly admit so and is willing to allow people to believe a completely different story, making very real concerns seem petty," but later removed the petition after the backlash.
Burns declined an interview, however, Kim Sweeney, chief communications officer for the District School Board of Niagara, stated, “As you can imagine, Principal Burns, like all of us, is quite surprised by how her Instagram post led to two petitions and grew to be a topic of interest around the world. We know Ms. Burns as a passionate and dedicated educator who is happiest when she can focus on and connect with her students.”
A petition has been launched to transfer a high school principal, who's an enormous Iron Maiden fan, because of "Satanic symbols."
Sharon Burns is the principal of Eden High School in St. Catharines, Ontario, and due to her social media posts about Iron Maiden and heavy metal, a parent started a petition on Change.org to have her transferred to a different school. The title is "Eden High School Principal, Sharon Burns, Needs to Be Transferred Immediately!"
"As concerned parents with impressionable children at Eden High School in St. Catharines, Ontario, 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," the petition's description reads.
"Our school is based on inclusion, and openly displaying Satanic symbols (on a public social media platform) that directly goes against the principles of the vast majority of families who represent the school, is not inclusive."
As a result, some parents have come together to argue that she should be transferred to another school, and be replaced by someone who "aligns with the values of the families at Eden."
What fucking year is it again?
The photos included in the petition are of Burns holding up the Devil horns — whoa, so horrific — with a bunch of Iron Maiden decor in the back of a car. Another image features an Eddie doll with a note that has "666" written inside of a heart. Apparently, these parents aren't familiar with the Maiden song "The Number of the Beast."
Or they are, and they're still that offended by it.
"Please Note: This petition is not about Sharon Burns’ love for Iron Maiden. At no point has it ever been," the petition also mentions. "This petition is about a principal of a school openly displaying her own handmade sign with the 666 clearly displayed on it which she knows full well what that Satanic symbol means to the vast majority of families in her school and she put it on a professional, public account on social media, not a private one, which she very easily could have done."
"If she had not posted a picture of her own handmade 666 sign, this petition would not exist. Nobody cares what band she likes and this is not about her choice in what she listens to. That would be petty and nonsensical."
Well...