Eat me, people--no matter what side you're on, too far is too far.

[silverthorne]

Link

People, people, people. The painting has been there for 30 years and not every kid coming out of that school during that time became a Zombie for Jesus. Chill the fuck out, okay?

And just because Verizon tends to erase their news within a day, here's the text:

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Two civil liberties groups sued in federal court Wednesday to remove a picture of Jesus that has hung in a high school for more than 30 years.
Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the West Virginia American Civil Liberties Union say the painting, "Head of Christ," sends the message that Bridgeport High School endorses Christianity as its official religion.

"I frankly cannot understand why this school insists that it is doing nothing wrong," said the Rev. Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United. "This is pretty clear constitutional law. Public schools cannot promote specific religious ideas."

A vote by the Harrison County school board on removing the painting ended in a tie this month.

"At this point, it's a matter that's pretty much going to be up to the board," Superintendent Carl Friebel Jr. said. "It's just going to be very interesting for me to see what the board wants us to do with it."

The suit was filed on behalf of Harold Sklar and Jacqueline McKenzie, whose children attended or will attend the school.

Comments

[derek-bliss.livejournal.com]

Going by your logic, then, what does the sudden removal of a religious artifact in a school teach the kids that actually believe in that religion?

That they are no longer accepted.

Parental education is the answer. Not this.

[molotovcoqtiz.livejournal.com]

But I am not allowed to educate other people's children. And just as we have shown in the past with sex education, parents suck.

They are letting television and the school and their friends raise their children.

As for removing it? So it's better to leave it and oppress several groups rather than present a plausible, and yet make it truthful, explanation of moving it to where it better belongs, such as a church, or museum. It's not lying, not in the least. It's presenting a truthful answer to solve a problem.

[derek-bliss.livejournal.com]

No, it isn't, but just as parents are lousy at teaching their kids the differences, they're likewise lousy at doing things like taking their kids to museums, where they can see these things side by side and compare.

The answer is still education. The answer is still parents. The answer is likely also actually using some of those home ec classes everyone ends up taking to teach kids about effective child raising beyond having them carry an egg around for a week(if they still even do that).

And again, I don't see it as oppression. Then again, I don't attach that much religious importance to a picture, whether it's my religion or not. It's art. It's about a subject that, like so many (most) things in this world, is controversial thanks to a wider world view. I can't change that that picture exists, that until twenty years ago, it was all right to litter Christian symbols and the like all over the place, or that, whether or not that painting stays or goes, my child will still run into people and things that will challenge what I taught her and what she herself believes in.

But I can certainly teach her respect--both for herself and others--even if the rest of the world is incapable of it.

As for 'educating' other peoples' children--no one really has that right, other than actual teachers, and what they should be teaching and expected to be teaching should be limited to raw facts, regardless of subject. Most religious teaching is subjective and very much 'us verses them'. Which is also how things like this article come across, at elast once we get into everyone's rational for why or why not something should happen.

If people would spend more time on their own offspring rather than other peoples' kids and what the government should be doing for them...a lot of problems would be lesser at the least.