PTA: PFLAG, no PFOX
Normally I wouldn't use WorldNet Daily as a source of information, but I think this is pretty accurate, if you disregard the spin.
Seems the The National Parent-Teacher Association is planning their big annual convention. They've invited PFLAG, an organization that promotes awareness of homosexuality, to present a workshop at the conference.
But PFOX, the "ex-gay" group that recently sued MCPS to shut down the sex-education curriculum, will not be allowed to participate in the conference.
Ignore the tone of outrage as you read the story as written on this conservative web site:
No, it's about time PFOX understood the fact that nobody's buying their bull-oney. Even the statement "Ex-gays are people, too," needs to be proven. Have you ever met a person who "used to be gay?"
Let me say this again. If a person is "ex-gay," it means they are "straight." You don't need a special booth at the PTA convention to promote straight people. They say their theme is diversity, and well, straight people make up a big ol' majority of the population. Maybe, like, red-headed "ex-gays," or "ex-gays" who can twist their feet around their necks, or something. But if the theme is diversity, I'm sorry, Regina, they're not looking for more straight people, even ones with "a past."
If you want to reward a person for going against his deepest feelings, and especially for making the ultimate sacrifice of marrying someone he does not find attractive, well, go ahead. But I don't think the PTA would want to encourage that.
Yes, this is the direction that the Real World is going. Towards tolerance, understanding, kindness, caring.
<Blogger waves hand wildly in the air> I could! I could!
To which I can only say: Can you imagine the nerve of those people?
Seems the The National Parent-Teacher Association is planning their big annual convention. They've invited PFLAG, an organization that promotes awareness of homosexuality, to present a workshop at the conference.
But PFOX, the "ex-gay" group that recently sued MCPS to shut down the sex-education curriculum, will not be allowed to participate in the conference.
Ignore the tone of outrage as you read the story as written on this conservative web site:
The National Parent-Teacher Association has refused an ex-homosexual group’s request to exhibit at its annual convention while welcoming a pro-homosexual activist organization – even inviting it to present a workshop.
Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays & Gays had its application to exhibit rejected because it supports former homosexuals. The National PTA, however, sought the attendance of Parents, Families and Friends of Gays, a pro-homosexual advocacy group that promotes in same-sex marriage.
With 6 million members, the National PTA is the largest volunteer child advocacy organization in the United States. One of its purposes is "to be inclusive in its efforts to represent and assist all who nurture and educate children."
"As we indicated on the application, our purpose at the National PTA exhibit is to distribute educational publications promoting inclusive school environments for ex-gay students and educators," said Regina Griggs, PFOX’s executive director. "We fit right in because one of the themes of this year’s National PTA convention is diversity. Ex gays are people, too. And it’s about time the National PTA recognized that fact of life." National PTA shuts out ex-homosexuals: Welcomes 'gay' activists to convention, shuns other side
No, it's about time PFOX understood the fact that nobody's buying their bull-oney. Even the statement "Ex-gays are people, too," needs to be proven. Have you ever met a person who "used to be gay?"
Let me say this again. If a person is "ex-gay," it means they are "straight." You don't need a special booth at the PTA convention to promote straight people. They say their theme is diversity, and well, straight people make up a big ol' majority of the population. Maybe, like, red-headed "ex-gays," or "ex-gays" who can twist their feet around their necks, or something. But if the theme is diversity, I'm sorry, Regina, they're not looking for more straight people, even ones with "a past."
If you want to reward a person for going against his deepest feelings, and especially for making the ultimate sacrifice of marrying someone he does not find attractive, well, go ahead. But I don't think the PTA would want to encourage that.
According to the National PTA, PFLAG will present a workshop that "raises awareness about lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) students, their families, and the issues pertaining to them in the school environment. Participants will receive a 'how-to' guide for improving the school environment for LGBT students."
Yes, this is the direction that the Real World is going. Towards tolerance, understanding, kindness, caring.
"We submitted exhibit materials for the National PTA's review that included a booklet for students and teachers on how to address homophobia in the public schools from an ex-gay perspective," said Griggs. "We also included an information sheet from the NEA Ex-Gay Educators Caucus outlining the goals sought by ex-gay teachers for diversity, tolerance and inclusion for all, including both ex-gays and gays. Who could be opposed to that?"
<Blogger waves hand wildly in the air> I could! I could!
"The National PTA is discriminating against a class of students and that is just wrong," Griggs said.
To which I can only say: Can you imagine the nerve of those people?
posted by JimK at 12:16 PM
25 Comments:
So Jim, I haven't been paying much attention lately.....who's winning?
At what point is this battle over?
What would constitute a win or loss for you?
Dear Dr. Johnson
Thank you for your inquiry. At the moment, the other team has just scored a touchdown, and then fumbled the point after. But only the quarterback knows that, the rest of them are dancing around the end zone.
Jim
They touched a pigskin even though doing so is banned in Leviticus?
Tsk tsk!
Oh, heck, I hear they eat shellfish, cheeseburgers and have sown mixed seeds- plus I am pretty sure they don't honor the Sabbath Day and keep it holy. I think I have seen some of them out shopping on Sunday.
Andrea
I am not a 'right winger' but I believe that it is the NEA and public school teachers who are using their positions to usurp my position as an educated, conscientious parent. I don't need you indoctrinating my children. You are the reason that home schooling and private schools have grown all over American. You will be the eventual downfall of the public school system. Have your own children to indoctrinate and leave mine alone.
really, well I don't want my kids to go to school with kids who learn psuedo science and bigotry at home and carry it with them. People like you who speak of "public school teachers" like they are some sort of one thought group are narrow minded and already indoctrinated in your own small minded way. Private schools were started for the wealthy, for those interested in having only their religious beliefs taught and to maintain segregation.
Feel free to home school or send your kids privately-we won't miss you.
Andrea
Seems like if we removed public funding from the school systems, we would all be in agreement then.
I vote yea !
Yeah, PFLAG is just a diversity group. No agenda at all. Of course. Silly to think otherwise.
Oh, and how is it the all-knowing TTF knows the religious affiliation of all of the CRCers? You all can even divine their motivations!
Gleeful, wake up! You're dreaming that somebody said something about "the religious affiliation of all of the CRCers."
Screw religion.
Can we all agree that sticking a penis up a man's rectum is not "normal" behavior here? I dunno... seems unnatural to me. Do we need graphical pictures and ideas to face the reality? Do the math 3%, 10%, NOT NORMAL!!!
That is NOT a normal natural "lifestyle choice" - or they could procreate. I have no issue with folks that want to do that. More power to them and I could honestly care less what they do at home - NO REALLY. However, you will never be allowed to teach my children in the public school system - which they are required BY LAW to attend - that this is "just a choice" as valid as any other. Please don't give me crap about attending some other school if I don't like it. We all fund public schools with our taxes and we should not have to run from pseudo-Europeans to extract our value from education.
Make public education about math, science, language, etc. Leave the indoctrination out of it.
IP, I'll bet that what you're saying sounds obvious to you. i'm not going to argue every point, but let me say a few things.
The penis-rectum thing. I have been thinking about how opponents of the curriculum have "pornographized" it. For instance, being gay is not only penis-rectum activities, any more than being straight is all penis-vagina activities. People who are homosexual fall in love with people of their own sex. There is romance, there is that eye-catching thing, there is showing off for the other person and trying to build a family together.
This sex-ed curriculum says a lot about the topic of "sexual identity," which incorporates many aspects of sexuality. A teenage kid might wonder if they're cute, if they're boy-crazy, they might dream of some great love int the future. It's not just about where the penis goes. Interestingly, the dirty-minded puritans turn everything into pornography, and many of their arguments have been based on the assumption that "sex" means inserting a penis somewhere.
As for whether it's "natural," I'm not sure you have been nominated to determine what nature should create. Maybe it's not natural for you. It's not for me, either. But for some people, it is the natural response. You obviously can't expain why that happens, and neither can I, but nature is full of surprises. I recently wrote a comment on this topic. Look, most ants can't procreate. That's not a problem for nature.
And, if you think that MCPS was going to teach that "this is 'just a choice' as valid as any other" then you haven't been paying attention. For one thing, it's not a choice. What kid would choose to be teased mercilessly and be treated as an outcast? No, it's not a choice.
Is being gay as "valid" as being straight? I think most people agree, it is. You might feel a little creeped out by it, but gay people do fine in the world. There's nothing wrong with them, they're just different from you.
I have no idea what a "pseudo-European" is, or what you're saying there.
As far as taxes and public schools. Well, gay people pay taxes, too. But more importantly, your taxes should go to a school that teaches the thinking that scientists and researchers agree on. It should not be teaching religious views, but scientific ones. Scientists in the psychology and mental health fields are very unified on this. Homosexuality is not a disease. Nobody understands why some people are gay and others not, but, well, it's a fact, not something to pass judgment on. And I prefer that my taxes go towards teaching facts in the public schools.
JimK,
Anything other than stating that homosexuality exsists is a from of indoctrination. Period. Liberals love to talk about how open-minded they are, and how close-minded Christians are, until they run into someone who does not agree with them. Then all of a sudden they are not so open-minded. I coulndn't agree more.."Teach the Facts"...not your facts.
So, you are saying that homosexuality does not exist?
That certainly goes a long way on the "factual" plane.
Also, I have read about this study. Check it out:
Gay men attracted by same scents as women: Swedish study
STOCKHOLM, May 10 (AFP) - Homosexual men respond in the same way as women to pheromones, or odors believed by many to regulate sexual arousal, a new Swedish study shows, lending credence to the theory that homosexuality is biologically determined.
"We found that homosexual men react the same way as women do to the (testosterone derivative) androstadien pheromone: they get aroused," said Per Lindstroem, a physician at the neuroscience department at the Karolinska University Hospital and the co-author of a new study on the subject.
The report, titled "Brain response to putative pheromones in homosexual men", reveals that gays, unlike heterosexual men, are not aroused by the female pheromone estratetraen but are instead turned on by the same odors that get straight women's juices flowing.
"This shows that reactions to these pheromones are not linked to gender but to sexual preference," Lindstroem told AFP, admitting that the study of human pheromones is controversial.
While experts agree that pheromones in animals influence the behavior and often function as an attractant of the opposite sex, there is no consensus on what role the chemical stimulant plays in human relations.
"It is not yet generally accepted that humans have a pheromonal system at all," Lindstroem said, insisting however that his research has shown a clear link between pheromones and sexual attraction.
When a heterosexual woman senses androstadien pheromones, which have a nearly undetectable odor, the part of her brain that governs sexual arousal is activated. If she senses pheromones from another woman however, only her sense of smell is triggered, he said.
"We believe that our studies lend more credence to the biological explanation model than to a psychological one when it comes to homosexuality. And this result can also help remove the feeling of guilt that still often accompanies homosexuality," Lindstroem said in an interview on Swedish public radio.
For the study, which was published on Monday in scientific publication Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, or PNAS, researchers used a complex brain imaging technique to measure the level of arousal in heterosexuals and gays when exposed to the same pheromones.
Four test groups, consisting of 12 individuals each, were examined: one made up of heterosexual men, one with gay men, one with heterosexual women and one with homosexual women.
"This is a very complex and very expensive technology, so we couldn't afford and didn't have the time to conduct the tests on larger groups," Lindstroem told AFP, claiming that the research had nonetheless been conclusive.
Lindstroem and the two other co-authors of the report, Ivanka Savic and Hans Berglund, are currently working on a follow-up study on how lesbians react to female pheromones.
Jim, you are amazing. Sure 'homosexuals' fall in love. Who doesn't? Its not about falling in love. Its about promiscuity and everything goes and the normalizing of every and any type of sexual activity. A very large part of the gay population practices PROMISCUOUS sex. Promiscuous oral and anal sex. You cannot deny that. You have already tried to downplay this, but the part of the gay population that you choose to believe does not exist gave out booklets (through GLSEN) to middle school student just last month that normalized all kinds of promiscuous sexual behavior. This is the kind of thing that sends most parents crazy. And I do not think you would have to be a republican to think so.
http://www.article8.org/docs/news_events/glsen_043005/black_book/black_book_inside.htm
michaela, that's ridiculous. Straight people are plenty promiscuous too, and y'know what? Some even engage in oral and anal sex! Yes, straight people.
You post this link to this rightwing site, who cares? You think I couldn't find a corresponding pamphlet or document instructing boys, in equally graphic language, about how to have sex with girls? Like, I remember as a kid, seeing the "Playboy Advisor" or whatever it was called. Bought it at the drug store, no less graphic than this thing you linked to. How loudly did you complain about the advice column in Playboy? ... Ah, just as I thought.
This is the kind of stupid stuff that TeachTheFacts needs to adamantly oppose, stereotyping paranoia like yours. Most sex crimes in this country are committed by heterosexuals -- in fact, here's a cool page for you to ponder: Republican values cause child molestation.
Sorry, dude, but what you think is obvious is just plain wrong.
There you go mis-stating the facts Jim. The Playboy advisor was not given out in school now was it? This pamphlet was given out without parents permission to middle school children! This is not something cooked up by your right-wing fantasy. This happened in the real world Jim. In a real public school. By left-wing radicals. Can you honestly say that you would approve of such a thing?
And to argue that the gay community is less promiscuous than heterosexual people tells me that you will argue just about ANYTHING so as not to agree with me.
Here's what the Boston Globe said:
Fenway Community Health officials yesterday said they left about 10 copies of the ''Little Black Book" on an informational table they rented at a conference sponsored by the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network of Boston. The annual event, held on April 30 at Brookline High School, was aimed at high school students, educators, counselors, administrators, and parents. Explicit pamphlets displayed at school: Health center regrets mistake
Or, as the CRC put it in their very accurate way: This booklet was distributed to hundreds of kids (middle school age and up) at Brookline High School, Brookline, MA, on April 30, 2005.
Man, you guys are something else.
IT WAS THERE. IT WAS GIVEN OUT BY GLSEN. HOW MANY DOES NOT MATTER SO MUCH AS THE FACT THAT IT WAS GIVEN OUT TO CHILDREN.
HOW CAN YOU DEFEND THAT?
IT IS YOU WHO ARE SOMETHING ELSE. THE FACT THAT YOU CONTINUE TO DEFEND IT AT ALL IS VERY TELLING ABOUT EACH ONE OF YOU AT TTF.
Wow, G., all those capital letters! You don't have to shout.
No, they were not presented by GLSEN, the books were brought by Fenway Community Health. The conference was sponsored by GLSEN.
It is not clear that any children at all saw it. The only person who we know actually saw the book was Sally Turner, 73, of Carlisle, an Article 8 Alliance supporter who attended the conference, according to the Globe. Woo! I bet she was surprised! [Note to the naive: check out Article 8 Alliance's web site if you don't know what they are. This will all become clear to you.]
Here's what the Globe says: Sean Haley, executive director of the education network [that is, GLSEN], which sponsored the conference, added: "We have very clear policies that sexually explicit material of any kind will not be made available at the conference. Had I seen the book, I would have asked them to put it away."
See, G., I know truth is not an important thing to your side -- are you a CRC member? Just asking. So I know it doesn't matter to you that GLSEN did not bring the book, and in fact had a rule against it and also apologized for it. You will still believe that GlSEN's puppet, MCPS, was trying to bring the Little Black Book in Montgomery County classrooms as part of the gay agenda.
How do like what CRC did? They were able to transform "ten copies left on a table" to "hundreds of copies distributed to middle school students" without blinking an eye. Impressive, huh?
(Sometimes this is like talking to sleepwalkers.)
Jim,
It would not matter if only one booklet had made its way to this conference or if a student who got it somewhere outside of school had given it to another student . The truth is not what these people want- the big lie works so much better. Sleepwalkers- hey, they wake up by the next morning- these people- never.
Andrea
It's like talking to a wall -- you cannot hear any reason nor be reasonable.
Hey Michaela, don't you hate it when people check the facts? Oooh -- to you, that's equivalent to not being able to reason.
CRC don't need no stinkin facts.
Or rules.
Their mission is too important for such details.
I am sure you guys are all right. But the proof will prove itself in each person's life. That is a fact. Take facts like the average life expectancy of a homosexual man to be 42 years of age (this excludes that of those who have AIDS which is 39). Lesbian women live to a median age range of 45. The facts here do not lie and can not be refuted, only desensitized or ignored. Don't just promote health. Promoting health does not work as most homosexuals are very educated in STD prevention. This does not change the facts. I choose to educate my family on these facts. I have no doubt that giving them these facts, just like giving them facts, and love, and attention, and guidance will help them to live a much longer and happier life than the figures you just read. At least on average. Think on these things.
Interesting point. My first thought, when I see statistics like these, is to wonder what they would be if we did not marginalize those populations, if we went ahead and included them. For instance, "some people" threw a big hissy when the video mentioned oral and anal sex. Well, two guys ain't gonna be havin' vaginal sex, I'm pretty sure. And if they're doing the other stuff, they ought to be told how to do it safely. You don't throw a fit because the words are mentioned, you go ahead and assume that part of your audience needs to know this.
And anyway, your statistics are wrong. Read THIS carefully.
Pleeease! Homosexuality has given us a public health fiasco, tragedy upon tragedy, including my good friend "Jim" who died of AIDs contracted from his "partner in life", "Bill" (who broke up "Jim's" marriage to his wife, "Sue", shortly after she sufferred a miscarriage, when everyone was feeling vulnerable). "Partner in life" used to bring home little boys for sex. No telling how many of them are dead now, or we are paying for their very expensive medical maintenance.
I am over thinking how "clever" and "witty" these gay men are. I am bored with the "diversity" of the reproductively disabled. It does not matter wheter it is nature or nurture. We can't afford this.
What parent who has a young, impressionable child (or rebellious youth?) wants them to learn about this particular disability? Who wants to end the genetic potential of their tribe/clan/family?
It's just sad, and misery loves company.
Schools are for teaching reading, math and science. Families are for teaching children what are acceptable social norms. Good families also teach zero tolerance for meanness to people who are different from you.
PTA is a great organization, but they need to lose this CEO who misunderstands the organization who pays her salary.
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