OK, kiddo! Here are all the fantastically amazing posts tagged with Censorship
Catholic Group Protests Teacher’s Diversity Guide
The Catholic Civil Rights League has launched a protest against a draft teacher’s guide in British Columbia. The guide, entitled Making Space, Giving Voice, was introduced by the Education Ministry to encourage discussion about diversity and is part of a larger review to ensure discrimination isn’t promoted by schools.
So what’s the Catholic League’s beef with the guide? Well, according to a press release entitled Resist, Counter and Protest, the guide is all about the B.C. Education Ministry’s “drive to introduce non-heterosexual realities in all classrooms.”
“Non-heterosexual realities?” Hey, I think that’s a new entry for my still-growing Dictionary of Obtuse Lobbying Terms! (Though, it is a little unusual for a lobby group to flat-out admit they’re protesting reality.)
At any rate, Glen Hansman, the president of the Vancouver Elementary School Teachers’ Association, was confused by the protest, saying that these guides are nothing new, and are only an optional resource:
The new guide will assist teachers in addressing social justice issues, just as a similar guide some years ago helped them incorporate aboriginal content across the curriculum.
The ministry is putting out this document as a suggestion; it’s not mandatory, but I think it’s pretty solid.
Lobby groups often oppose the discussion of diversity in schools. In November, the anti-gay lobby group Defend Traditional Marriage and Family successfully banned a teacher’s resource on diversity from the Waterloo Catholic School Board, saying that the booklet could have “[encouraged] students and teachers to view the gay lifestyle as being morally neutral.”
- Parents urged to protest teacher guide on diversity [Vancouver Sun]
Anti-Gay Group Bans Diversity Book From Schools
A teacher’s resource book has been removed from staff rooms in the Waterloo Catholic District School Board after an anti-gay group, Defend Traditional Marriage and Family, lobbied to have it pulled.
The book, entitled Open Minds to Equality, advises on how to deal with ageism, sexism, and homophobia in schools. While the resource was available for teachers to consult, it was not required reading, nor accessible by students directly.
Jack Fonseca, a spokesperson for Defend Traditional Marriage and Family, was thrilled by his lobbying victory:
[The removal] will make it more difficult for the book to get into the hands of teachers who might’ve been misled by the flawed lessons within.
So, what “flawed lessions” might these be?
Prior to the censorship decision, Fonseca was unable to present anything demonstrative of his rhetoric, only saying that the book “could have the effect of encouraging students and teachers to view the gay lifestyle as being morally neutral,” and adding “they will have been led to reject Jesus.” In an open letter, however, the group said that “the effect of this book is to indoctrinate teachers and children to accept and celebrate homosexuality under the guise of ‘diversity’ and ‘equality.’”
It’s clear from the language used by Defend Traditional Marriage and Family that they are incapable of distinguishing a “morally neutral” presentation of homosexuality from one that “indoctrinates” and “celebrates” the “rejection of Jesus.” When convinced, however, that there is no such thing as gay people—only straight people who are sinning—that’s enough for them to expend great effort ensuring teachers do not even have the option of consulting resources to help them deal with issues that gay students face.
What a sad state of affairs. It’s no wonder Catholic teachers feel they must hide their student compassion from these groups.
Incidentally, of the lobby group’s executive members, only 6 indicated that they support the Catholic School Board on the voter list, and none of the 11 members have their children enrolled in the system. Could all this hoopla over a rarely-consulted resource book be ostensible rhetoric for a larger anti-gay agenda? I think I’ll let Catholic board spokesperson John Shewchuk’s jugement stand on this one: “It seems fairly obvious this group isn’t as concerned about Catholic schools and Catholic education as they would have local Catholics believe.”
The board has kept the book available in a central teacher’s resource library.
- Book yanked from school shelves [The Record]
- Catholic school cautious in approach [The Record]
Group Lobbies to Censor Unavailable Book
Defend Traditional Marriage and Family, an anti-gay lobby group, is trying to ban a book entitled Open Minds to Equality because it presents a “morally neutral” view of homosexuality. The book, an optional teacher’s resource for the Waterloo Catholic District School Board, is unavailable to students.
Jack Fonseca, the lobby group’s spokesperson, said that Catholic teachers should not have the option to read the resource because “[it] could have the effect of encouraging students and teachers to view the gay lifestyle as being morally neutral,” adding “they will have been led to reject Jesus.” In an open letter, the group stated that “the effect of this book is to indoctrinate teachers and children to accept and celebrate homosexuality under the guise of ‘diversity’ and ‘equality.’”
So, which is it? Is the book “morally neutral,” or something that “indoctrinates” readers to “celebrate” homosexuality? Frankly, I don’t think that Defend Traditional Marriage and Family distinguishes the two. Anything that acknowledges the existence of homosexuality without condemning it is akin to “celebrating the gay lifestyle” in their eyes. And that’s enough for them to lobby to ensure teachers are ill-equipped to dealing with issues that gay students face.
- Defend Marriage calls for board to pull book [The Record]
- Catholic school board urged to ban book [Globe and Mail]
School Forbids “Gay Eskimo” Song
An Inuvialuit high school student in the Northwest Territories has been barred from singing a sexually suggestive song about a “gay Eskimo” at her school’s fundraiser. The staff’s rationale for the ban: The word “Eskimo” is culturally insensitive. Uh, yeah.
Vice-principal Lorne Guy, the only staff member to comment to the press, eventually admitted the following: “I would say that the combination of both the cultural sensitivity and the sexual preference [led to the decision].”
So, first, let me get this out: Anyone who finds the word “Eskimo” insensitive had better not be using the term “sexual preference.” I mean, gee whiz.
Second, the song, though funny, is sexually suggestive. Gay-related or otherwise, it’s OK to bar a secondary student from singing provocative material at a fundraiser. The anti-gay lobby loves to scare people into believing that people like me would be screaming homophobia over any sort of “gay censorship,” but in reality the song isn’t appropriate for school and there’s no need to pretend there’s something else offensive about the song just because the sexual content is gay.
Poland To Launch Teletubby Probe
Poland’s conservative government is launching a probe into whether Tinky Winky of the Teletubbies is a gay character designed to promote homosexuality to children.
Purportedly, if Tinky Winky enjoys the probe, he’s gay.
- Poland to probe if Teletubbies are gay [Reuters Canada]
American Father Says Amazon.ca Offers Porn To Kids
An American dad is furious with Amazon.ca after his daughter found a sociology book using the site’s search function.
The book—a compilation of academic essays compiled by Todd G. Morrison, PhD—is entitled Eclectic Views on Gay Male Pornography and was listed among the three pages of results for the keywords “science videos”.
The father was inconsolable:
My child wanted to know what this stuff was all about. Imagine my shock and awe!
[Amazon said] they don’t censor their materials, and will be inclusive of Gay material. I replied back and asked how a science video search could return pornography. So far, no answers.
You know, I think I’ll start an Amazon Wish List.
As for why a search for “science videos” would turn up this book (which is notably not pornography), I have one explanation: Amazon’s search feature sucks llama gonads.
Still, though it’s far too late for the daughter (she has undoubtedly turned gay after this fiasco), I have to say the book sounds like an interesting read. Even if it turns out to be horrendously dull, a collection of essays is a great way to deal with insomnia.
And a tip o’ the hat to Jeremy at Good As You for the story.
- ‘WorldNet’s anti-Amazon vendetta reignited [Good as You]
- 8-year-old’s Amazon search turns up porn [WorldNetDaily]
Ottawa Illegally Pulls Gay Newspaper Distribution
Won’t someone please think of the children!?
An Ottawa city councilor is out to ban Capital Xtra, a weekly gay community newspaper, from being distributed in public after a father complained that his son saw an ad for a gay chat line at a local community centre. An ad! How awful!
The paper (which has already been the victim of mass-theft and defacement) was immediately pulled from the centre’s display case, and now the city is mulling over bylaws to prevent its distribution elsewhere. Greg Evans, the father, is encouraged by the city’s actions, but was pretty shaken up: “I sat there looking back and forth at the pictures and words at the kids’ basketball practice, and I thought, ‘this is wrong!’”
Gareth Kirkby, the editor of Capital Xtra, is furious:
Capital Xtra is not an adult publication. It is a community newspaper. The municipal government has no business restricting the content of community newspapers.
We at Capital Xtra are tired of being labeled obscene, or adult material, or even pornography. [...] It’s time city hall acknowledged that queer individuals, couples and families live throughout the city, use the full range of city services, and have the same rights to access their community newspaper of choice as is enjoyed by straight families.
Rusell Zinn, a lawyer for for the paper added that there are serious legal issues with the city’s actions, saying the paper’s removal “is not only illegal, but highly offensive to the city’s gay and lesbian community.”
As for the shattered family: There’s no word yet on how gay Greg’s son turned after seeing the ads, but—just to play it safe—he’ll probably subscribe to the Ottawa SUN, where his children can view ads for straight chat line, dating, and escort services.
- Gay publication Xtra peeved at centre censor [Ottawa SUN]
- Action Alert [Capital Xtra]
- Rights versus ‘wrong’ [Ottawa Citizen]
Out-Of-Town Update
Well, I’m out of town for today, folks! But, never fear! I’ve prepared a special out-of-town update to let you know how some of those crazy anti-gay characters I’ve been telling you about are getting along!
Super crazy prime minister extrodinare, Stephen Harper, sent out a notice to his caucus last week, informing MPs that they are not to comment on the two gay mounties that are marrying this month. While Conservative MPs had no comment (duh), Liberal MP Scott Brison put it best: “If [Stephen Harper] doesn’t trust his caucus to be socially progressive, then why should Canadians trust his party to be socially progressive?” Sing it, bro!
The former principal found to have violated human rights codes for assuming a gay teacher was molesting students has been reassigned by the Halifax Regional School Board. And what, you may ask, is the job he’s being forced to give up? Why, director of human rights policies, of course! A job that he held for over a year even though the human rights violation occurred 6 years ago! Compounded with the bizarre survey asking gay teachers to identify themselves, the board doesn’t seem to be particularly big on diversity…
And that, my scrumptious little readers, is the out-of-town update!
Children’s Book Deemed “Too Sophisticated”
Once upon a time, there was a young prince who “never cared much for princesses.” Although his mother introduced him to several potential suitors, he just couldn’t find someone to marry. But one fine day, he was elated to discover another handsome young prince! They married and lived happily ever after! The end.
Thus goes the plot of the children’s picture book, King & King, which was rejected on Tuesday by a Surrey School Board committee for being “too sophisticated” for grade three. And we shan’t be introducing the children to that sort of sophistication, shall we?
But fear not, kids! If King & King is too hard to follow, there’s always The Lion King: A tale of Mufasa, an emporer murdered at the hand of his rancorous brother—who deceives the rightful heir into believing he’s responsible for his father’s death. It’s a classic Disney tale of overcoming personal anguish in exile, and it’s available in picture book, too! Enjoy!
- Censorship Continues at Surrey School Board [Egale Canada]
- More gay books being considered [The Surrey Leader]
