On May 14, 2008, I was instructed by email to allow the formation of a Gay/Straight Alliance Club at Irmo High School. On May 15, 2008 I told Ms. Ann Pilat to allow the formation of this club for the 2008-2009 school year.
Allowing the formation of this club on our campus conflicts with my professional beliefs and religious convictions.
......
The formation of this club conflicts with my professional beliefs in that we do not have other clubs at Irmo High school based on sexual orientation, sexual preference, or sexual activity. In fact our sex education curriculum is abstinence based. I feel the formation of a Gay/Straight Alliance Club at Irmo High school implies that students joining the club will have chosen to or will choose to engage in sexual activity with members of the same sex, opposite sex, or members of both sexes.
And here we have it, another homophobic christian who doesn't understand human sexuality, Christianity or the very mission of the group he opposes. Their mission is:
Mission Statement
Gay-Straight Alliance Network is a youth leadership organization that connects school-based Gay-Straight Alliances (GSAs) to each other and community resources. Through peer support, leadership development, and training, GSA Network supports young people in starting, strengthening, and sustaining GSAs and builds the capacity of GSAs to:
1. create safe environments in schools for students to support each other and learn about homophobia and other oppressions,
2. educate the school community about homophobia, gender identity, and sexual orientation issues, and
3. fight discrimination, harassment, and violence in schools.
All noble goals and all very reasonable and yet he opposes them.
His position is clearly not based on what this clubs goals are, not on what other GSA clubs have done or this one is planning on doing, but on his own rather silly and self developed idea that this group is based on promoting orgies (or some other such foolishness). Or maybe he fears what would happen if we lived in a society where gay students were not abused, ridiculed and picked on.
IN any case at least he has the decency to get out of a professional endeavor that he is clearly ill suited for. We need more education and rational thought in our schools, and far less right wing religious silliness. His departure has to be seen as a positive step.
Ed Brayton at Dispatches from the Culture Wars chimes in on Irmo's principal: No, sorry. I do not respect your choice to be a bigot and an ignoramus.
Tags
Education, Irmo
1 comment:
Not to get too picky, but:
"The formation of this club conflicts with my professional beliefs in that we do not have other clubs at Irmo High school based on sexual orientation, sexual preference, or sexual activity."
So by that rationale, this guy's "professional beliefs" (whatever that means) would prevent any new clubs/organizations whose focus was not somehow related to an existing club/organization.
If people who opposed things like the GSA could articulate their opposition in reasonable terms instead of making "gays are bad, m'kay" arguments, then maybe they wouldn't come off looking like such idiots in the public square and maybe they would actually win some of the arguments instead of being relegated to sitting on the rocking chair and pining for the good ole days.
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