Arrested father had point to make (disputed diversity lesson in school)

[wicket]

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2005/04/29/arrested_father_had_point_to_make/

For David Parker, the first alarm went off in January, when his 5-year-old son came home from his kindergarten class at Lexington's Joseph Estabrook School with a bag of books promoting diversity.

Inside were books about foreign cultures and traditions, along with food recipes. There was also a copy of ''Who's In a Family?" by Robert Skutch, which depicts different kinds of families, including same-sex couples raising children.

The book's contents concerned Parker and prompted him to begin a series of e-mail exchanges with school officials on the subject that culminated in a meeting Wednesday night with Estabrook's principal and district director of instruction. The meeting ended with Parker's arrest after he refused to leave the school, and the Lexington man spent the night in jail.

-snip-

David Parker said he moved his family from New Jersey to Lexington last year after his employer relocated him. He acknowledged yesterday that he and his wife oppose same-sex unions, but they described themselves as Christians who do not advocate hatred.

[wellst0nev0ter]

1. Heh. That Last Line Made My Morning.

Yeah, they're full of love all right. Love for their own kind.



ijits.

[newscott]

2. I saw him on the news last night

The words stupid and putz came immediately to mind.

[enki23]

23. whether the asshole *likes* it or not, there are many same sex families

what the is wrong with these idiots? would they react the same way to a book which included hindu families? most christians believe hindus are going to hell too. but they exist, regardless. and somehow, i doubt the reaction would be the same. so what's the fucking deal with homosexual relationships? they exist, whether the assholes in my country like it or not.

don't like same sex families? go ahead. dislike all you want. tell your kid they're sinful, going to hell, whatever. whatever floats your rotten little boat. but blowing up over a factual presentation of them? a school book which simply acknowledges their existance, and doesn't pass judgement against them? that's too much for you fucking mouthbreathers?

i hate my species. would that i could congratulate the universe on the day of our demise.

[Tempest]

3. The parents obviously don't care about their child's education

From the article:

Parents received notice about the book bag at the beginning of the year and the date that it was scheduled to be sent home with their child. The bag's contents also were put on display at a back-to-school night earlier in the school year, she said, and parents are not required to have their child bring it home.

''The kids don't have to take them home," she said. ''Parents can either opt out entirely or use whatever materials they want."


If the parents took an interest in their child's education, they would have known about the book bad at the BEGINNING of the school year.

[Toucano]

4. Half-assed underparenting or half-assed overparenting?

Take your pick, but that's all these fundies have to offer.

[MARALE]

10. half-assed parenting

We need to show good examples to our children to be a good parent.

[fishwax]

5. and they could also just have the child opt out

but instead they have to try to eliminate it for everyone, because they want to impose their beliefs on others. it's pretty typical ...

[yorkiemommie1]

21. yes, it's typical and has fungus like fingers

much like toenail fungus like we see in those tv ads.

my anecdote is about my adult daughter who is a singer and advertised for a guitarist to play a few local gigs, just for fun.

a fat, fiftyish man responded and since he was local ( my daughter is recovering from car accident and finds it painful to drive SoCal freeways ) she said ok.

he insists on playing a couple of 'church' type songs AND his fundie wife is filtering what my daughter wears to photo shoots and what they sing , through their rw fundie "CHRISTIAN" ( as she puts it ) lenses.

ie; don't wear sexy clothes ( daughter wears those cute little tank tops that reach the waist and jean or long pants. )or play at Texas Loosey's because we're 'CHRISTIAN'. It is a secular band but they are trying to take it over and re-make it to fit their model.

sounds like a neocon plan on a small scale.

but dontcha worry, i can outbitch that woman any day!

[progressivebydesign]

6. "FIRST ALARM"???? I'm sorry.. WTF is that all about???

What kind of "alarm" would be sounded in a supposed non-hating Christian mind when presented with books about LOVING ONE ANOTHER, as Jesus supposedly taught. Do you sense a bias in the damn article? This is ridiculous. We are becoming the AMerican fucking Taliban with all this religious intolerance and hate. AND IT IS HATE, Mr. PARKER!!

[BattyDem]

7. How dare they ...

teach children not to hate people who are different then they are?! :eyes:

[Roland99]

8. Rush was lamenting this today

heh heh

[Rockholm]

9. More in the Massachusetts Thread....

[meganmonkey]

11. OMG - How is a gay union more of an 'adult theme' than a straight one?

Do they think this kid is going to go through life and never encounter a homosexual?

Time to enter reality, dude! 'They' are everywhere! Look out!

:eyes:

[Bridget Burke]

12. Yes. The books mentioned kids living in homes with same-sex parents.

That's having breakfast with them, going to the park, all that family stuff.

At what age are kids taught graphic details of parents' sex lives? Wouldn't they just say "Ooh, gross"--no matter what genders were involved?

[meganmonkey]

13. Remember a couple months ago when PBS was showing a same-sex

couple on Postcards from Buster show and there was a lot of controversy - many stations refused to run the episode.

It was a lot like that - they were profiling several families as they went about their day-to-day activities. The lesbian couple was making maple syrup in Vermont.
Well, the father of one of the women featured in the episode volunteers at my work a couple times a week. It was soooo appalling to him to imagine that people would react like that to his daughter's normal daily life! It was interesting to think about it from his perspective. He loves his daughter, she is happy and has a good life. What the hell could POSSIBLY be wrong with that?!
It is amazing when these people say they are 'good Christians'. In fact they go out of their way to say so. I thought Christians weren't supposed to be so judgmental :shrug:

on edit: btw - nice avatar ;)

[Maat]

22. Please tell him that my daughter and I watched that ..

episode together and enjoyed it very much (somebody put it up on a website). We weren't allowed to purchase it - the episode disappeared after Spellings (Education Secretary) sent that nasty letter to PBS. My child focused on the cheese and the milking of the cows. To her, the idea of families coming together in different ways is as natural as breathing - because her friend has two moms, and she was adopted.

Bottom line: please let him know that we are not all jerks. I would appreciate it.

[Sivafae]

14. That guy is an idiot

The school had the books displayed and a notice that is sent home to inform the parents. So now it is the school's fault that he did not pay attnetion. What dumbshit!

[youspeakmylanguage]

15. How ironic would it be...

...if the kid turned out to be gay.

Of course, the parents would blame the school and the administrators. Why bother admiting you hate gays when you can simply pretend they and their families don't really exist?

But hey, Jack Chick is to the rescue!

Fair Use Notice: This post contains copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. I am making such material available in my efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc.. I believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law.

[wellst0nev0ter]

20. Already Tried That With Phyllis Schafly

She's still a demented fundyclown. Same goes for Alan Keyes.

Face it, they are ALL about hate and hate alone. Even for their own flesh and blood.

[jazzjunkysue]

16. I will never understand fear of gays. What's the threat? What's so bad?

Why do so many people react violently to gays? Can anyone explain this to me? What harm can come to people from co-exisiting with them? Do these people really fear being "turned" by gays? Is it their own latent gay potential that sparks these attacks? Why?

[wicket]

17. I don't get it either

It's disturbing that people will treat a fellow human being this way.

[Kathy in Cambridge]

18. Parker is a blow-in from NJ, and friends with Brian Camenker, anti-gay

activist. More here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=158x4210

[MAlibdem]

19. In Massachusetts, gay marraige is legal.

To teach children about gay couples is a very normal, logical step.

In fact, it is almost indisputable from any rhetorical framework other than pure emotion/fear (which is not a rhetorical framework so to speak).