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04/17/2009
Well at least we seem to agree about recycling
The Liberty Counsel has issued a press release wherein they detail some of the alleged bits of bias that Christian students have faced because of the pro-gay Day Of Silence:
Florida - A principal told a father that if his son was not at school on the Day of Silence that the boy would fail the school year. Indiana - A public school is participating in the Day of Silence against the wishes of some parents. Parents were told that it is "against the law" to cancel the program and that any absences would be unexcused that day. Iowa - A school board member told a former student that a student refusing to speak on the Day of Silence was not anymore disruptive in a school setting than a "Christian wearing a cross." Oklahoma - A high school graduate wrote to her former principal to protest the celebration of the Day of Silence. The principal said that if he did not allow the Day of Silence, he could not allow Bible clubs and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. South Dakota - A student was told that if she is absent on the Day of Silence, she must write a paper explaining why she will not participate.
Students Have the Right Not to Remain Silent on the Day of Silence [LC]
Now, we could write something new to discuss why we think these state-by-state bullet points are disingenuous. However, we don't have to, since these are EXACTLY the same scenarios they used against us last year. And if they're going to be lazy in 2009, then so will we:
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Counsel's claims? We think they took a Liberty or two
(originally posted on 4/17/2008)
The legal-minded arch-conservatives at the Liberty Counsel are once again gearing up to protest the pro-acceptance Day of Silence, an annual GLSEN-sponsored event wherein students take a vow of silence to protest LGBT bias in school (held this year on 4/25/08). So as part of their organized attempt to discredit the mission of the pro-gay day and to make the event instead sound like one that is trampling on religious freedom, the group has compiled a list of alleged complaints that they have received from parents across the nation. Check out their claims:
Florida - A principal told a father that if his son was not at school on the Day of Silence that the boy would fail the school year. Indiana - A public school is participating in the Day of Silence against the wishes of some parents. Parents were told that it is "against the law" to cancel the program and that any absences would be unexcused that day. Iowa - A school board member told a former student that a student refusing to speak on the Day of Silence was not anymore disruptive in a school setting than a "Christian wearing a cross." Oklahoma - A high school graduate wrote to her former principal to protest the celebration of the Day of Silence. The principal said that if he did not allow the Day of Silence, he could not allow Bible clubs and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. South Dakota - A student was told that if she is absent on the Day of Silence, she must write a paper explaining why she will not participate.
But you know what? We don't buy any of it for even a second! There is not one ounce of backup to any of the above claims other than the Liberty Counsel's own assertions, and we have been misrepresented by that organization far too many times to ever trust their uncorroborated allegations!
The situation in Florida? If it even happened at all, it very well could be that a student was told that there's a test or speech or something that is imperative that they give on that day, and that an unexcused absence would threaten their grade.
Indiana? Public schools don't have the right to "cancel"the day, since it really isn't school-backed to begin with. And yes, if you say "I'm keeping my kid home because he came down with a case of gay non-acceptance," then that very well may be an unexcused truancy.
The Iowa point? Well no, a quiet student is not disruptive. At all. So this most surely a matter that this former student blew out of proportion.
Oklahoma? Again, it sounds like a simple case of a former student with a political agenda hoping to make a political point. If this happened at all, then it sounds like the principal was simply making a point about expression.
The South Dakota situation? Perhaps the paper was offered as a way for the student's absence to be marked as excused rather than unexcused.
Because knowing what we know about the "pro-family" movement, there is absolutely no way that these situations would have happened in the way that Liberty Counsel is describing without their side raising a mega-stink about it! They are certainly not shy about publicizing situations that they think would be helpful to their cause, and we think that they'd be mouth-foamingly eager to make a national example of any one of these situations.
So yea, we call shenanigans on all of the Liberty Counsel's claims. Anyone can present one-sided bits of cursory information in a way that benefits their agenda, and we absolutely think that is what they've done here. If they stand by their claims, then we ask them to reveal more information about the situations so that we can research them a little further. Because while superficial attacks are the vehicles through which their side frequently travels, we who are trying to cut through the spin and get to the heart of these "culture war" battles benefit more from full disclosure and transparency. And if they have no way of providing the clarity that we're seeking on these matters, then they really need to clam up and learn to embrace this reasoned, progressive, peaceful 'Silence'!
Students Have the Right Not to Remain Silent on the Day of Silence [Liberty Counsel]
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Your thoughts
Let's never forget that these people lie. They lie often. They should be assumed to be lying until proven otherwise.
(Conservatives can be nice people, and Christians can be nice people, but when the two go together they terrify me. These people don't have a shred of decency.)
TRiG.
Posted by: Timothy (TRiG) | Apr 17, 2009 1:55:23 PM
My guess in the Florida case would be that the student has reached the maximum number of unexcused days and would exceed it by not attending classes that day. Probably another attempt at obfuscation from LC.
Posted by: SammySeattle | Apr 17, 2009 2:13:44 PM
This reminds me of chain letters.
"A woman in Peru won a prize that paid off all her bills after mailing this letter to three friends. But a man in Canada who did not forward this letter died the next day in a car crash".
Posted by: Timothy | Apr 17, 2009 2:46:17 PM
WTArf mate. I actually DISPROVED these points LAST YEAR. The whole thing is a fib, nothing to that extent happened within those states.
A. You can bet their lawyers would have done something
B. No sources
C. I actually took the time to attempt to look into it, searching archives of papers and what not.
To this day, I haven't found a THING.
The fact that they're the SAME. ARFING. POINTS. is also both condemning and stupid.
As for someone whom ACTUALLY participated, it goes like this:
I wore a simple t-shirt with some rainbows on the front, and "What will you do to stop the silence?" on the back. I was questioned by a few of the freshmen whom haven't heard of the day before. I had a handy little card to tell them what it was about.
I answered any and all questions through writing, so I was still able to participate in class. I had asked people the day before to read my answers for me.
I only had ONE negative comment, and it was from a heavily christian teacher. He explained to me that he doesn't think it's fair that I'm aloud to be silent, but he's not aloud to read the bible to any one, because he attempted to start a prayer group before school.
I happily explained to him that the difference was my protest was for a civil cause, not a religious one.
He then asked me what the difference was, and walked off in a huff.
I walked away, shaking my head.
And that is what it's like in a school in MA.
Some of my friends noted that the freshmen are less accepting, but I've noticed as the get older, they start to realize how wrong they are.
Day of Silence helps them along with that.
END REALLY LONG POST.
Posted by: Clicky the Fox | Apr 17, 2009 10:16:30 PM
Hey, Clicky, I think what you said to this "teacher" was right on!
Posted by: Gretchen | Apr 18, 2009 8:09:15 AM
Actually, I normally have a lot of respect for the teacher in question. He gets along very well with his students, and often has a vested interest in trying to make sure they all pass.
Just, he needs a little work in that area.
Posted by: Clicky the Fox | Apr 18, 2009 9:42:31 PM
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