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04/03/2007
They simply can't shut up about the Day of Silence
In response to the Day Of Silence, a GLSEN-sponsored event wherein students take a vow of silence to protest LGBT bias in schools, Daniel T. Zanoza, founder of Republicans For Fair Media, has these thoughts:
Though I do not support special rights for homosexuals, I do believe the concept of silence in our schools concerning the subject of homosexuality is appropriate. In fact, I feel there should be silence 365 days a year--when it comes to the discussion of how individuals have sex. Wouldn't it be wonderful if school children were not bombarded with propaganda from special interest groups, like GLSEN, which promote unhealthy and, some times, deadly lifestyles.
However, there are those who are using our nation's public schools to advance their political agenda. What was once considered unlawful private behavior is now being presented to children--in the third grade or earlier--as "normal."
You know what makes someone gay? No, neither do we, as nobody knows definitively. But you know what makes those gay "lifestyles" dangerous? Ignorance! It's not one's truth that leads to an unhealthy or dangerous future, but rather attempts to deny or stifle that truth. Heterosexual students are told from day one how to grow, advance, and protect themselves in a hetero-focused world. Gay students, meanwhile, are often mocked, teased, abused, and told my non-accepting adults that they are somehow wrong. Flawed. Immoral. This sort of non-acceptance is what can lead these marginalized kids to go off and explore a life on the margins. And it is disgraceful for those who encourage such stigmatization and bias to accuse groups like GLSEN of promoting "unhealthy and, some times, deadly lifestyles." If the nation's anti-gays would curb their non-accepting ways en masse, many gay-related dangers would be diminished overnight.
Zanoza goes on to say:
Some say we are living in a changing world, but who is doing the changing and for what reason? Children's lives should not be complicated as they try to understand why Johnny has two "mommies." It is sad when children are subjected to such psychological trauma. Our nation's young people should not be forced to share the collective guilt created by adults who put sex above the welfare of their children.
It is no secret some believe the best place to change society is in our public schools. Homosexual groups admit this is part of their agenda. They feel children who have been taught to believe in moral truths need to be re-educated. These special interest groups do not respect the religious beliefs of parents and their mission is to socially re-engineer society.
But here's the thing: We're not living in a "changing world." We're living in the same world we've always lived in, we're just trying to wise people up to its realities! Some Johnnies are going to have two mommies because many lesbian couples choose to start families. What we are fighting is the idea that an acknowledgment of these types of families would lead to some sort of "psychological trauma" for the kid. Kids aren't ingrained to think of gay-headed families as disgusting; they have to be TOLD to think this way by folks like Mr. Zanoza!
It's enraging that when we ask for simple acceptance of our realities as part of the spectrum of normalcy, social conservatives paint it as if we are seeking some sort of radical idea. Mr. Zanoza says that gay activists admit that they are targeting public school as "part of their agenda." He's right in that we unapologetically think students need to be taught from day one that they must respect everyone around them (regardless of their personal religious beliefs). However, this desire for childhood exposure to tolerance is no more an "agenda" than is the idea that it is best for students to be introduced to a foreign language at an early age. Just like with Spanish or French, acceptance is something in which everyone could become fluent, if only they were taught to embrace it in their formative days.
For more of Mr. Zanoza's "wise" words, click the link below. While you're reading that, we're gonna go share the collective guilt created by our putting sex above the welfare of children hug our nephews.
I support the "Day of Silence." In fact, I support 365 of 'em [Republicans For Fair Media]
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