Itchy and Scratchy on Beacon Hill

Okay, sports fans, I must start by saying that I am uncomfortable flinging electrons for the Article 8/MassResistance folk. That's the Globe's job and they're very good it at over there.

However, there's an important follow-up to Ryan's peek under the freakish skirt of the opt-out folk in testimony yesterday. Tom Lang over at KnowThyNeighbor wallowed in the muck and the mire and the murk, as well as providing his own testimony on the education bills.

Just when you think these raised-by-wolverine fools can't be any more crazed, they surprise. Yesterday, half of the not-yet-institutionalized MR duo, Brian Camenker, testified in favor of S321. He repeatedly claimed historical revisionism that homosexuals were never targeted or murdered by Nazis before and during WWII. Holocaust denial from a Jew is only the latest lunacy from this pair.

The bill they're pushing attempts to legislate their private religious beliefs into public school. You'll recognize the intent if you followed the David Parker et alii case, particularly its U.S. District Court failure. There, Chief Judge Mark L. Wolf told them that if they wanted to control the curriculum and keep their kids from being exposed to facts and opinions, they could home school or go to some private religious version. Instead, the MR people are back with another try to force schools to teach only what parents approve of in advance.

Do read Tom Lang's reportage. Note that in its present form, if you want to see his testimony, left click on the link there, save the file as HTML and open it in a browser. To save a bit of work, I'll note that he says:

• Kids could read Gertrude Stein's poetry, but not hear that she wrote love poems to a woman, unless parents provided permission in writing first.
• They could see images of Michelangelo and da Vinci's work, but not hear about their sexual nature that influenced it.
• They could read about Alan Turing's computer work and breaking of the German code system, but not how he was driven mad by forced drugs.
• Holocaust teaching could include mentions of Jews, Catholics, the Romany people and others, but not homosexuals.

And so the theme is obvious. Parents afraid of information, thought, discussion and learning would set the curriculum for all. As Tom said:

Parents Rights Bill S321 does not just set to limit free discussion of past history but it also restricts discussion of current events such as the current Equal Rights struggle for LGBT in this state and throughout this nation and the world. And it would set apart children, LGBT or straight, being raised by same-sex couples.

But the true intent of Bill S321 is to take away the identity of LGBT children and to prevent them from reaching their full potential and achieving their greatest self-worth. LGBT—is not what someone does in the privacy of their bedroom but constitutes our very existence, past, present and future. LGBT youth need to have free access to their identity and to be allowed (without restrictions) to know that they share this identity with some of the world’s greatest leaders, inventors, athletes, poets, musicians, politicians, thinkers, parents, activists and fellow human beings.

We can feel some compassion for the befuddled and wrong-headed who would sacrifice the minds and spirits of future generations on the altar of their own insecurities and hatred of others. Yet, that cannot determine educational policy or legislation for the rest of us and our children.

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Tags: massmarrier, Massachusetts, same sex marriage, public schools, parental notification