It's been a little quiet in the ongoing battle between Texas and Florida for which state has the title of most intolerant and stupid population. Florida, who was already winning the homophobia category, put the final nail in Texas to win the 2005 top honors with this gem:
In an elementary school in Orange Park, FL, two 6th graders we're mouthing words to each other while the teacher was lecturing. Not an uncommon occurrence, about on par with passing notes and whispering, something each of us has done at one time or another. While it is often considered rude by teachers, usually students face admonishment, detention or in rare circumstances, a trip to the Prinicipal's office.
But not in Florida. No, teacher Larry Eager decided to really teach these kids a lesson, by making them get up in front of the class and tell everyone they were gay. That's right, this brilliant genius, who up until a couple of days ago was teaching children, thought it would be a good idea to get these kids up and make them sit closely next to each other with their knees touching and holding hands and announcing to the class that they were gay.
It goes without saying that this kind of humiliation technique is completely inappropriate for a teacher to engage in, as well as it being a little overboard for kids, who were probably not paying close attention, but also not disrupting class in any way.
But the larger issue is the idea that being gay is some sort of punishment and should be considered a thing that was a threat or humiliation. It just goes to show how deep this kind of bigotry runs in this country.
Remember that guy (from Florida) who beat his 3 year old kid to death because he thought he was gay? Remember those other kids (in Florida) who burned down the home of two gay men? Where do you think that kind of mentality comes from? Right here in this school. This teacher was obviously way out of bounds, but for someone who is obviously educated enough to be a teacher to think that this kind of thing was OK, is wrong on so many levels.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - nugget
I go to church. Is it my fault too?
just kidding.
I don't condone that action. That man is dumb and if I were in that school's administration I would have seen to his immediate resignation.
2 - Rudicus
I'm not blaming church per se, but they do come out especially strong against homosexuals - particularly in Florida and the rest of the south.
3 - nugget
some churches do, yes. Not mine. There are many in the south that welcome homosexuals into their congregations. These are typically the best churches. They are ones that steer clear of political muck and are more likely to snarl at an unapologetic discussant of current affairs. These churches leave the issue of homosexuality as a private choice and leave personal opinions to each member.
On the other hand, they don't say "Hey Homosexuals your are welcome here!!!", because to do so would imply that they are fighting some cause, prefering homosexuals to other types of would-be members.
4 - Rudicus
Fair enough - non-rhetoric spewing churches are fine, and I agree that ones that are all-inclusive tend to be better - from a diversity perspective.
5 - teacher
Reminds me of the hypochondriac who sees a pimple and concludes it's a case of leprosy.
6 - steve
Texas and Florida are two of our great states. Their morality is frowned upon by the immoral homosexuals in our great country. They should all be ashamed.
7 - Eric Berlin
There's a reason why the Germany or Florida game exists.
8 - Prosthetic Lips
As a member of a church in Middleburg (shares a border with Orange Park), I can say that many churches are open to homosexuals. However, we also believe that homosexuality is a sin. How, you might ask, can you reconcile this? Well, we all sin (act counter to how God wants you to act), so we all need to be accepted (and corrected).
If someone is cheating on their spouse, you would discipline them -- the same is true for any sin, including homosexuality or stealing. That doesn't mean that someone who sins cannot go to church, or be accepted, but it does mean that we try to keep ourselves from sinning.
Do I condemn the teacher? Yes! Wrong is wrong, no matter if the community supports or condones it. The same is true for other wrongs: looting in New Orleans (how many Reebok's do you really need?), beatings (Rodney King), etc.
9 - Silas Kain
This doesn't even come close to a religious issue. The teacher is in a public school system, being paid by the taxpayers. He is charged with educating children not instigating immoral behavior. He committed an indirect hate crime. In an ideal world he would be prosecuted for accepting government funds under false pretenses. He was paid to educate not obfuscate.
P.S. If there is any way to prosecute this guy, to me the fairest punishment would be 160 hours of community service in a cosmetology school.
10 - Rudicus
I wouldn't equate homosexuality with stealing and beating people - that's probably where the problem comes in. But your opinions about homosexuality aside, the point of the article was that these kids weren't gay, the teacher was using the gay thing as a punishment - which is not only wrong but morally reprehensible.
And I'm sorry, but no God could call himself benevolent if his policies included bigotry and discrimination as part of the belief system. Plus, why is it that Christians can't accept that others have different beliefs and that those beliefs are no less valid than their own.
I do not beleive that your God exists and I think that your belief system preaches hate and division among people and is in fact the single greatest threat to civilization as we know it.
But at the same time, I do not go around condemning you or trying to change laws to prevent you from living life as a Christian in the privacy of your own home, nor do I beleive that Christians should be stopped, no matter how delusional or dangerous they may be.
Why is it that you cannot do the same?
11 - nugget
"I do not beleive that your God exists and I think that your belief system preaches hate and division among people and is in fact the single greatest threat to civilization as we know it."
Easy there Rudicus. Let's not let this thread run the wrong way. I understand your point in response to Prosthetic Lips, but if you think Christians are that dangerous, then I wouldn't be throwing the word "delusional" around so recklessly if I were you.
Also, I am a christian. I condemn what that man did. do you not want to use me as an example of a tolerant and informed person who is a christian? Or should I be sniffing for an agenda?
Let's not bring "all churches" and "your God" into this. Clearly this man was an ignorant wretch. He was punished, perhaps not severly enough, but that's no reason to start spouting off about churches in the south and bigotry in christianity.
12 - Rudicus
Fair enough nugget, my bad.
And yes, Christians who are living their lives and follwing their beliefs and saying that this type of ignorance doesn't reperesent them, is EXACTLY what is needed, since rants like mine tend to fall on deaf ears.
Everytime I hear the "sinner" thing, it just get's my panties in a bunch - I'll try and control that - thanks for the course correction.
13 - Shark
Is it just me, or is the name "Larry Eager" just too rich for words!?
14 - Dave Nalle
Just because there are a few lunatics in Florida and Texas - like Larry Eager - don't write off the states as a whole. The big secret is that these two states get a lot of publicity for loonies and bad policy, but that's only because their population is so huge. There are other states - West Virginia, Maryland, Rhode Island, Idaho, New Mexico, Utah, South Carolina - which have far more dangerous crazies per capita, but their populations are small and no one ever goes and spends a lot of time there, so their dirty little secrets stay secret.
Dave
15 - Rudicus
Dave,
That first bit is a reference to an ongoing game on The Rudicus Report based on an original idea that all the crazy stories seemed to come out of either Texas or Florida and that both were states involved with Bushs.
I understand about the population thing and certainly there are crazier people elsewhere - it just sees like extremists in larger numbers tend to congregate in these two states. (It's also in reference to things like weather, voting irregularities, redistricting plans, corruption, bribery, intimidation etc.
16 - Dave Nalle
Yes, I understand the 'game', but it lacks a basis in reality. For most of the improprieties you mention in your little list, Missouri, Rhode Island and Louisiana so completely outdo Florida and Texas that there's not even any point in considering those larger states. And as for extremists, have you HEARD of Utah and Vermont?
Dave
17 - nugget
oh now you're both talking inconsequential jibberish. There are crazy people everywhere. Laundry rooms, the white house, truck stops, preschools, nightclubs, churches, bars, bc.org (shark), etc.
18 - Rudicus
I'm going to assume that we're not talking apples to apples and i'm not suggesting that Texas and Florida are the only states with challenges, but at the same time I don't have a laundry list of nationally covered challenges from the states you mentioned like I do for Texas and Florida, so I'm going on the information I have - it's not scientific.
Plus no one named Bush was Governor of any of those states.
19 - another extremist
“Extremists in larger numbers tend to congregate …”
Extreme weather - the Northeast and Midwest get battered every winter.
Extreme voting irregularities - NYC, Boston and Chicago (to mention a few).
Extreme redistricting plans - Massachusetts and Illinois (to mention a few).
Extreme corruption - NYC, Boston and Chicago (to mention a few).
Extreme bribery - NYC, Boston and Chicago (to mention a few).
Extreme intimidation - Los Angeles street gangs (to mention #1).
Extreme homosexual hyperbole - #15.
20 - Rudicus
Maybe this is a Blogcritics thing, but I don't get why everyone keeps focussing on minutia in the posts and not discussing the actual theme or subject of the posts.
I have no doubt that 50 posts from now there will be a lengthy discussion on the why Texas is better than Utah and vice versa. Maybe these post just serve as a forum for people to engage in dogmatic arguments - I have no idea.
21 - wordsmith
We should put our brains in gear before putting our mouths (or words) in motion.
Words have consequences.
Reduce the hyperbole and it will help everyone stick to the subject.
22 - The Fifth Dentist
Rudicus:
Everyone seems to agree that this teacher's actions were criminally insane. Ironically, I think that fundamentalist christians would view the teacher's actions as more out of bounds than a person with mainstream views toward homosexuality precisely because they would view the false accusation of being gay more negatively.
23 - nugget
rudicus: Perhaps if the article at hand wasn't comprised with minutiae spin to begin with, focusing on the main theme wouldn't be such a heavy task.
I appreciate your civility thus far, but reaping the benefits of snide generalizations means sowing more in other bloggers that do the same thing. In other words, you chose the company in this thread with your writing. (no one make a joke about that because I'm posting in here, even though it would be funny)
24 - Dave Nalle
Rudicus, the fundamental problem here is that you picked your states because they had Bush governors rather than because they were actually particularly known for craziness. If you came out with a real littany of craziness nationwide and then classified it by state and discovered a pattern connecting it to states run by the Bushes that would be entirely different. But what you basically did was to say that only a state full of crazies and extremists would elect a Bush, with no evidence to back it up. If you start from a biased assumption like that people are going to respond to the obvious bias rather than whatever larger point you had to make.
The gay confession incident in its own right is worthy of an article. Throwing in the backhanded slam at the Bush brothers and their states trivialized whatever genuine point you had to make on that subject.
Dave
25 - Rudicus
What minutiae spin are you referring to?
If I'm guilty of doing that myself then please point it out to me.
My commentary is that the culture of hate (my terminology) toward homosexuals and homosexuality propagated to varying degrees by the church (in general), government and community is the predominant influence behind the actions of this teacher and other acts that have occured in various places including Florida.
And while yes this teacher is crazy and so are the other people that make the news - the culpability must be shared by those who continue to foster those feelings.
Now if anyone wants to discuss that thesis, let's have at it.