Why we need to raise our voices.
Posted on: November 22, 2008 - 8:02am
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Why we need to raise our voices.
This is a post at a local website.
Quote:
Two of my daughters class (13) got detention as punishment for saying they didn't believe in God in their Religous Education class (still compulsory).Seems Religon doesnt tolerate freedom of speech either, or at least some of the teachers don't!
What makes Christianity so much more righteous than other religons like the muslims everyone seems to despise these days?
I left out the name of the poster and the website to protect their privacy, but did suggest to them to report this to atheist activists sites with specific details.
THIS IS WHY WE NEED TO RAISE OUR VOICES.
"We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and nonbelievers."Obama
Check out my poetry here on Rational Responders Like my poetry thread on Facebook under Brian James Rational Poet, @Brianrrs37 on Twitter and my blog at www.brianjamesrationalpoet.blog
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Was this a public school in the US? If so, they SO need to sue! Contact both the FFRF and ACLU.
I responded with those recomendations and more.
"Religious education". Why is there even such a class? Are they going to teach Islam and Buddhism and Scientology and Rastafarian?
I am sick of schools being treated as social day care. Students should learn math, science, English(writing skills), reading. Using classroom for cultural wars is divisive and if the students spend all their time in class saying, "I am ok and so are you" no learning gets done.
The Buddhist, Jew, Christian and atheist have plenty of hall time, lunch time, bus time, and time off campus to socialize and debate these issues or go to their favorite Church. Schools are not Mosques, Synogauges(sp) or Churches. You don't play ice hockey on a football feild, and you don't play NFL football in an ice rink.
This is a bigoted teacher who should be fired and the school should be sued and the class should not even exist at all.
"We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and nonbelievers."Obama
Check out my poetry here on Rational Responders Like my poetry thread on Facebook under Brian James Rational Poet, @Brianrrs37 on Twitter and my blog at www.brianjamesrationalpoet.blog
The FCC TV is even worse, allowing the selling of snake oil god shit on what is called our public balanced TV .... Ummm, god needs your money ....
Equally teaching and broadcasting all religion equally would end religious prejudice. Add in simple science, the 2nd law of thermodynamics, and elementary grade school ethics 101, would bring the end to religious idol worship fantasy .... But of course, the rich controllers wouldn't want an informed public .... so I say "Eat the Rich" ....
Atheism Books.
So, it is a public school. Son of a *****!
edit: Maybe the poster should visit RRS.
Our revels now are ended. These our actors, | As I foretold you, were all spirits, and | Are melted into air, into thin air; | And, like the baseless fabric of this vision, | The cloud-capped towers, the gorgeous palaces, | The solemn temples, the great globe itself, - Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve, | And, like this insubstantial pageant faded, | Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff | As dreams are made on, and our little life | Is rounded with a sleep. - Shakespeare
The kids should refuse to serve the detention and she should back it. She should also contact the local and if possible national media. Make as much of a pain in the ass for the school as possible. I'm sure both the ACLU and FFRF would give them shit. The supreme court has said freedom of speech doesn't end at the school door as long as it isn't disruptive - which clearly this wouldn't be. Isn't having this class be mandatory likely also a 1st ammendment violation?
Matt Shizzle has been banned from the Rational Response Squad website. This event shall provide an atmosphere more conducive to social growth. - Majority of the mod team
Please pardon my skepticism here: We only have one half of the story. People do have a tendency to re-arrange the facts to suit their claims.
Where the girls punished for claiming to be atheists, or punished for disrupting the class in the process of proclaiming their lack of belief?
It's sadly a very plausible story that they were punished inappropriately for their lack of belief. However it is perhaps more likely that they disrupted the class - children of that age are pushing their boundaries and often like to shock authority and try to be outside the norm as a matter of asserting their fledgling sense of independence. This can easily be pushed beyond classroom boundaries, preventing the class from moving forward and becoming a shouting match among the students.
"Anyone can repress a woman, but you need 'dictated' scriptures to feel you're really right in repressing her. In the same way, homophobes thrive everywhere. But you must feel you've got scripture on your side to come up with the tedious 'Adam and Eve not Adam and Steve' style arguments instead of just recognising that some people are different." - Douglas Murray
Once I had a co-worker who corrected the teacher for telling her that Columbus was NOT the first to find the Americas, and that there WERE native Americans their prior to Europians. He too got detention.
Did it occure to you that the students were merely stating their lack of belief and the teacher will claim that it was a disruption, rather than a lagitimate questioning of religion?
I cant tell you how many times I have had people tune me out, or say, "You have the right to believe what you want" but what they really mean is "don't question me, I don't want to hear it".
"We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and nonbelievers."Obama
Check out my poetry here on Rational Responders Like my poetry thread on Facebook under Brian James Rational Poet, @Brianrrs37 on Twitter and my blog at www.brianjamesrationalpoet.blog
UPDATE,
This person is from the UK, but it still was a public school and religious study is manditory. My argument still stands that this is unacceptable anywhere, and we do have instances here where atheist students are discriminated against. IE not saying the pledge or not bowing during a pre-game prayer.
They are persuing action there and they are checking out the websites I gave them in any case. It may, at the least, let them know they are not alone.
"We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and nonbelievers."Obama
Check out my poetry here on Rational Responders Like my poetry thread on Facebook under Brian James Rational Poet, @Brianrrs37 on Twitter and my blog at www.brianjamesrationalpoet.blog
I can't justify outrage based on one side of the story, however. I simply don't know what really happened, and my experience working with juviniles suggests that there are other more appropriate possible reasons for the detention.
"Anyone can repress a woman, but you need 'dictated' scriptures to feel you're really right in repressing her. In the same way, homophobes thrive everywhere. But you must feel you've got scripture on your side to come up with the tedious 'Adam and Eve not Adam and Steve' style arguments instead of just recognising that some people are different." - Douglas Murray
She's just stating that it's possible that the students caused an unjustified disruption since we don't know what actually happened.
Our revels now are ended. These our actors, | As I foretold you, were all spirits, and | Are melted into air, into thin air; | And, like the baseless fabric of this vision, | The cloud-capped towers, the gorgeous palaces, | The solemn temples, the great globe itself, - Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve, | And, like this insubstantial pageant faded, | Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff | As dreams are made on, and our little life | Is rounded with a sleep. - Shakespeare
That point is not lost on me. There have been cases where teens will accuse a teacher of physical violence or sexual harrasment because they got a bad grade. I get it.
BUT, it would not suprise me at all if these two were not being disruptive, for the reasons I stated. Being assertive in wanting to partisipate is not the same as being disruptive.
AGAIN, many here, including me, have been accused of "wanting attention", or "hating Christians" falsely merely because they are offended that we don't sit at the back of the bus and stay quiet and "know our place".
There are believers that get offended merely because you pose something to them that is contrary to their beliefs.
"We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and nonbelievers."Obama
Check out my poetry here on Rational Responders Like my poetry thread on Facebook under Brian James Rational Poet, @Brianrrs37 on Twitter and my blog at www.brianjamesrationalpoet.blog