In my classroom intolerance is
not tolerated ...
I have a sticker on my door that
says tolerance.
My student are aware
that I will not tolerate racial,
ethnic or sexual slurs in my
class. I can not tolerate
prejudice based on sexual
orientation, ethnic background,
or race in my classroom. I try to
make my class a place where every
child feels comfortable to be proud
of who they are and who their
families are.
Dr. King said that in silence
we give approval to horrible
things ... A simple slur like
calling something or someone
or gay is often ignored by
many people .. I try to challenge
my students to think of
the danger of putting negative
connotations on types of people
... nobody has the right to put
down another person or group of people
on such a scale.....
Ending prejudice starts with
everyone of us.
We all understand that no child
is
safe to learn, free to grow, and
proud to be - until they can be
accepted unconditionally and
respected for who they really
are.
-Tipper Gore |
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Every hour ...
someone commits a hate crime.
Every day ...
at least eight blacks, three
whites, three gays, three Jews
and
one Latino become hate crime
victims.
Every week ...
a cross is burned
Act
Do something. In the face of
hatred, apathy will be interpreted
as acceptance � by the haters,
the
public and, worse, the victim.
Decency must be exercised, too.
If
it isn't, hate invariably persists.
�Darkness cannot drive out
darkness; only light can do that.
Hate cannot drive out hate; only
love can do that.�
- M.L. King, Jr. |
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God hates... Heath Ledger? By: Amanda Kiser
Issue date: 2/6/08 Section: Opinion
Heath Ledger is burning in hell, if
Westboro Baptist Church is to be
believed. God goes to the movies,
apparently, and is especially
angered by brave and brilliant
portrayals of love between gay men.
Westboro, famous for its assertion
that "God hates fags," tactfully
and tastefully announced its
intention Jan. 22 to protest the
late actor's funeral. In a press
release, Westboro Baptist asserts
"God hates fags and fag enablers,"
and because "Heath Ledger thought
it was great fun defying God
Almighty," it is its duty, as "the
mouth of God," to politicize a time
of mourning.
Undoubtedly, Westboro's doctrine -
which thanks God for the death of
soldiers, as they believe these
deaths to be punishment for
America's tolerance of
homosexuality - represents a polar
extreme of the mainstream Christian
population. However, given
convictions regarding gays that are
tolerated and even promoted by most
religious denominations, it is not
hard to see where this kind of
radical nonsense would come from.
Christianity is theoretically a
religion about love and leaving
judgment to God. It has, however,
become notorious for its
condemnation of homosexuals and the
readiness of the church's members
to involve themselves in state
affairs to ensure that gays are
allowed as few rights as possible.
Call me crazy, but that's hate.
A common defense used by religious
zealots wishing to avoid
accusations of bigotry is, "I don't
hate gays, but�"
The second part of this sentence
usually makes the speaker's
insistence that they do not in fact
hate gays laughable. Imagine if one
were to make the statements we hear
about gays all the time about a
different social group. For
example, "I don't hate Whites,
Blacks, Jews, Muslims, Christians,
liberals, conservatives, I just
think that they're living in sin,
shouldn't have the same rights as
the rest of us, I should be able to
fire them on the basis of their
belonging to this group, shouldn't
be allowed to adopt children and
should be kept far, far away from
my kids." Of course, this is
ridiculous. We don't find it
acceptable to make such statements
about other social groups, so why
do we tolerate it about gays?
Many will retort that the reason it
is different is because the Bible
condemns gays.
Much of the basis for
Judeo-Christian objection to
homosexuality comes from a few
isolated Old Testament verses -
which also makes eating shellfish a
serious offense - and a few
passages in the New Testament, none
of which Jesus wrote. It should be
noted that the homosexuality that
the Bible condemns is a hedonistic
lifestyle that is very far from the
loving relationships sought by gays
today. Let's face it - there
weren't exactly thousands of gay
couples beating down the church
doors begging to be married in the
days of Nero and his anonymous orgies.
Even if this fails to convince that
homosexuality is not an egregious
sin justifying self-righteous
condemnation of our fellow man, a
certain line informing us of who
has the right to cast stones should
remind us of our place in the matter.
If there is in fact a movement
against Christianity going on in
this country, as conservative news
pundits are so fond of claiming
that there is, it is because
proponents of civil liberties see
only this mutated form of the
religion. When the face of
Christianity most widely seen is
that of extremists who put the
oppression of those they see in
opposition to their beliefs ahead
of the meat of Christ's message,
one of love and compassion, it is
no wonder that many see organized
religion as a dangerous enemy.
Christianity is a beautiful
religion that promotes peace and
forgiveness, but if the Church
continues to tolerate policies of
exclusion and condemnation,
Christ's legacy will be tarnished.
The Christian Church can either
accept that gays choose nothing but
to be who they are, as they were
created, or it can continue to
share a doctrine of hate with
people like Westboro Baptist as the
most important parts of Christ's
message are ignored or forgotten. |
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