Will Media Report Teenager Suspended From School for Expressing Belief Homosexuality Is Sinful?
While the media have been keen on pushing anti-bullying campaigns, there is a flip side to the coin: students can become the victims of over-sensitive school administrators who confuse legitimate free speech with bullying.
A prime example comes to our attention out of Fort Worth, Texas, as Dakota Ary recently served a suspension from school for telling a classmate in a classroom discussion that he believes homosexuality is sinful.
From CBSDFW.com:
FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) – A Fort Worth high school student says he was suspended from school for expressing his Christian beliefs in class. His teacher, however, saw it differently, labeling the student’s comments about homosexuality as bullying.
“It really took me by surprise because Dakota doesn’t get in trouble,” said the student’s mother, Holly Pope.
The disciplinary referral given to Dakota Ary called his comments a “possible instance of bullying.” It wasn’t anything the freshman honor student physically did in his second period class, but what he said.
The comment came during a German class, where conversation turned to vocabulary for Christianity and the Bible. Dakota said one student asked about translations for homosexual terms.
“I said, ‘I’m a Christian, and I don’t think being gay is right,’” he said. “If the same situation comes up, just different scenario, I think I’d do the same thing.”
His decision to speak out earned him a full day of in-school suspension, and he was banned from campus for two more days. His mother was floored, she said.
“I kind of rethought our conversation and realized, no, he shouldn’t be punished at all,” Pope said.
Dakota was back at school Wednesday, after his mother got a constitutional attorney involved.
To her credit Texas native Tamron Hall made the controversy the MSNBC "NewsNation" program's "Gut Check" question this afternoon, but it remains to be seen if other national media outlets pick up on the story.
- Ken Shepherd's blog
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FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) – A Fort Worth high school student says he was suspended from school for expressing his Christian beliefs in class. His teacher, however, saw it differently, labeling the student’s comments about homosexuality as bullying.









Comments
And the wheels on the bus go
Submitted by Dan The Man 2 on Fri, 09/23/2011 - 4:45pm.
And the wheels on the bus go round and round. The world is upside down.
The teacher started the conversation about the...
Submitted by USMC8411 on Fri, 09/23/2011 - 4:49pm.
Bible, which contains numerous examples supporting Dakota's belief, and when Dakota refuses to translate homosexuality from German to English, the teacher accuses him of bullying?
Score one for the brilliant teacher's union!
The teacher, the school, and the school district should pay for the attorney and for damages.
Agreed
Submitted by Brad90956 on Fri, 09/23/2011 - 4:55pm.
So disagreeing with homosexuality is bullying? The kid is an honor student and was expressing his beliefs. I'm sure if he said homosexuality was OK the teacher would have given him a gold star.
Some questions not being asked
Submitted by Marcus Porcius on Fri, 09/23/2011 - 5:14pm.
I read three versions of this story. So far, the student and his mother are named, as is their attorney, the principal and the district spokesman. Funny thing is, the teacher wasn't named nor was the assistant principal who actually gave out the suspension.
Maybe that information has since been released, but I have to wonder why everybody involved was named except for the people who really should be named.
On a related note, yet another example of a Christian being persecuted for his beliefs. It's no wonder some are talking about the end times.
"Tolerance is the virtue of the man without convictions." G.K. Chesterton
www.theconservativereview.com
I don't know whether the media will report this or not
Submitted by Dave. on Fri, 09/23/2011 - 5:22pm.
But I do hope his parent's aren't zombie sheeple, and are now pouring over the Lawyers R Us directory with the intent to sue everyone involved.
That is the only thing that is going to bring a halt to this PC (not to mention illegal) Bravo Sierra.
If it were my child these idiot teacher's goonion people had done this to, they would be naming a shool after my child before I finished with them.
-Dave
Vote for the American in November
So did not the teacher and
Submitted by ForeverOnTheRight on Fri, 09/23/2011 - 5:21pm.
So did not the teacher and school violate Dakota's Constitutional right to freedom of religion, and freedom of speech? Merely expressing the belief that a lifestyle is wrong is not bullying. I think one would have to taunt and harass a person to be a bully. To be confronted with a person who believes my lifestyle is wrong is unpleasant at best.
2 men kissing photo in German Class?
Submitted by Texndoc on Fri, 09/23/2011 - 5:25pm.
I listened LIVE as the mother first called Mark Davis and gave the story. About the teacher in German class with the picture on the wall of 2 men kissing who gave her son a hard time about his beliefs, causing Mark Davis to go "Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!, lets back up and go one at a time. Two men kissing on the wall of a German class?"
There was bullying in this situation without a doubt,
Submitted by Bhaal on Fri, 09/23/2011 - 5:38pm.
But the bullying was done by the teacher. How about a week suspension without pay for the teacher? That would be appropriate.
Since no one else has yet
Submitted by Model850 on Fri, 09/23/2011 - 5:42pm.
"I’m a Christian, and I don’t think being gay is right" = Bullying
Tea partiers are racists and terrorists and hostage-takers and can go straight to hell = meaningless political rhetoric
OK fine. Got it!
Having gone through the
Submitted by deerjerkydave on Fri, 09/23/2011 - 5:48pm.
Having gone through the public school system there were always certain teachers who would push their politics and world views on students. I had a history teacher who pushed global warming. I had another teacher who pushed homosexuality. He would ask students to raise their hands so he would know which were conservative and liberal. I felt very intimidated by these teachers. I felt I had to hide my conservatism or suffer the consequences.
------------------------
"The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the Federal Government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the State Governments are numerous and indefinite. -James MadisonThe only thing they will report is
Submitted by Tjexcite on Fri, 09/23/2011 - 6:10pm.
The only thing they will report is that this kid was a homophobic which is no different than being racist. They will play the race card early and often. The school was just in his punishment as if he said that all blacks should be sterilized or all strung up. They would equate the two and no one would question that.
...
Submitted by kata on Fri, 09/23/2011 - 6:12pm.
"My sight is failing," she said finally. "Even when I was young I could not have read what was written there. But it appears to me that that wall looks different. Are the Seven Commandments the same as they used to be, Benjamin?"
For once Benjamin consented to break his rule, and he read out to her what was written on the wall.
There was nothing there now except a single Commandment. It ran:
ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL BUT SOME ANIMALS ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS
Animal Farm - George Orwell
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I truly hope this is an isolated incident where a Teacher was simply foolish and it does not get repeated.
My husband and I were just talking about this this morning....
Submitted by TeachertT on Fri, 09/23/2011 - 6:54pm.
Both of us wondered what is the relationship between the teacher and the assistant principal. (Assistant pricipals are the ones who dole out the punishments) Regardless what the kid said, the punishement was way over the line for the "crime". Shoot, you don't even get that kind of punishement if you have a fight in school.
They have a dog in this fight, I believe.
Submitted by Newsbubba on Sat, 09/24/2011 - 12:03pm.
I'm betting that the assistant principal's name is Gerald Fitzpatrick, and the teacher's name is Patrick Fitzgerald.
And teachers wonder why they don't get respect?
Submitted by Radical1979 on Fri, 09/23/2011 - 7:46pm.
This is a prime example.
Again, the tolerant left exposed
Submitted by MacWell on Fri, 09/23/2011 - 8:00pm.
If someone wrote this "play" for SNL, everyone would get a good laugh from it. For this type of nonsense to continue, we the people will have to lay down everything we believe in. OH RIGHT, that's exactly what the left wants us to do. After all, that's what we've been doing for the last 50 years. Meanwhile, the homosexual lobby keeps marching forward.
Racist!
Submitted by bkeyser on Fri, 09/23/2011 - 8:04pm.
Wait. What's this one about? Oh. Homophobe! His parents should be levied with a higher tax rate.
omg
Submitted by michiganruth on Fri, 09/23/2011 - 9:00pm.
ok, it's official: we are a nation of wusses. when did everybody get so WHINY about everything? like Herman Cain said, America needs to learn to take a joke. and people need to understand that your right to never be offended is not in the Constitution.
So now, in addition to being
Submitted by motherbelt on Fri, 09/23/2011 - 9:24pm.
So now, in addition to being "hate speech" expressing one's Christian beliefs is now "bullying."
I guess criminal behavior is next. Oh wait!! It already IS in Canada!
I'm sure we'll follow suit soon.
Freedom of religion? Just like freedom of speech, it apparently doesn't apply if someone is offended by it.
The Freedom of Religion and
Submitted by lotr on Fri, 09/23/2011 - 10:31pm.
The Freedom of Religion and Freedom of Speech are inextricably connected to one another -- it is no accident that they are both components of the first fundamental right in the Bill of Rights, something I like to refer to as the Freedom of Thought, a principle that derives from the Judeo-Christian understanding of God. The Founders of the USA were far more "enlightened" and intelligent than today's mush-for-brains media and intelligentsia can fathom.
Without the freedom of speech, "freedom of religion" is meaningless and worthless -- the one (free speech) follows from the other (free belief). I cannot stress this enough on this forum, as these most fundamental of human rights are slowly being eroded away by post-modern secularism. Christians, by and large, are increasingly being driven into the proverbial catacombs, as on this internet blog, where most of us speak out under the safety of anonymity.
A Couple Letters Got Added...
Submitted by Tom1969ca on Sun, 09/25/2011 - 12:23am.
Somewhere along the line, Freedom of Religion has quietly become Freedom From Religion... :(
Not only is homosexuality a sin...
Submitted by stage9 on Fri, 09/23/2011 - 10:47pm.
...it is an utterly disgusting and reprehensible practice. If most Americans knew the TRUE nature of the lifestyle instead of this glossed over, mythical, "Will and Grace" view of it, they'd rise up against it, and homosexuals know this.
So, please educate yourself and begin to understand what is truly behind the agenda:
After the Ball - How America will conquer its fear and hatred of Gays in the 90s
http://www.article8.org/docs/gay_strategies/after_the_ball.htm
Yes, we are indoctrinating children, says New York h o m o s e x u a l magazine
http://www.massresistance.org/docs/gen/11b/homo_admission.html
Graphic h o m o s e x u a l s e x flier given to kids at state-supported "youth pride" event
http://www.massresistance.org/docs/gen/11b/youth_pride/bisexual_pamphlet...
Support traditional marriage? 'You're d e a d'
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=317681
What same-sex "marriage" has done to Massachusetts
http://www.massresistance.com/docs/marriage/effects_of_ssm.html
http://www.massresistance.com/
"If God is dead, somebody is going to have to take his place. It will be megalomania or erotomania, the drive for power or the drive for pleasure, the clenched fist or the phallus, Hitler or Hugh Hefner." — Malcolm Muggeridge
These are great links showing
Submitted by lotr on Sat, 09/24/2011 - 8:33am.
These are great links showing the concerted propaganda campaign, as well as the consequences, over the past 20 or so years. The propaganda campaign in particular explains the blink-of-an-eye sudden social acceptance in what was pretty much universally considered abominable behavior (across all cultures throughout all human history). Remember that Clinton wanted to lift the ban on gays in the military, but there was no way in hell he was gonna get it passed in the 90s, so he smartly (from the gay agenda POV) went with the DADT compromise, which was then (and now), from the standpoint of history, very liberal. Since that time, so much ground had been lost that the conservatives who opposed it then were forced to actually defend it.
However, in terms of revealing the disgust factor, these links are very tame.
Well, ok....you asked for it:
Submitted by stage9 on Sat, 09/24/2011 - 8:22pm.
SORRY IN ADVANCE FOR THE CRUDITY NB!
O R A L S E X
H o m o s e x u a l s f e l l a t e almost all of their s e x u a l contacts (and ingest s e m e n from about half of these). S e m e n contains many of the germs carried in the blood. Because of this, g a y s who practice o r a l s e x verge on consuming raw human blood, with all its medical risks. Since the p e n i s often has tiny lesions (and often will have been in unsanitary places such as a r e c t u m), individuals so involved may become infected with hepatitis A or gonorrhea (and even HIV and hepatitis B). Since many contacts occur between strangers (70% of g a y s estimated that they had had s e x only once with over half of their partners), and g a y s average somewhere between 106 and 1105 different partners/year, the potential for infection is considerable.
R E C T A L S E X
Surveys indicate that about 90% of g a y s have engaged in r e c t a l intercourse, and about two-thirds do it regularly. In a 6-month long study of daily s e x u a l diaries, g a y s averaged 110 s e x partners and 68 r e c t a l encounters a year.
R e c t a l s e x is dangerous. During r e c t a l i n t e r c o u r s e the r e c t u m becomes a mixing bowl for 1) saliva and its germs and/or an artificial lubricant, 2) the recipient’s own f e c e s, 3) whatever germs, infections or substances the p e n i s has on it, and 4) the s e m i n a l fluid of the inserter. Since s p e r m readily penetrate the r e c t a l wall (which is only one cell thick) causing immunologic damage, and tearing or bruising of the a n a l wall is very common during a n a l /p e n i l e s e x , these substances gain almost direct access to the blood stream. Unlike h e t e r o s e x u a l i n t e r c o u r s e (in which s p e r m cannot penetrate the multilayered v a g i n a and no f ec e s are present), r e c t a l i nt e r c o u r s e is probably the most s ex u a l l y efficient way to spread hepatitis B, HIV syphilis and a host of other blood-borne diseases.
Tearing or ripping of the a n a l wall is especially likely with “f i s t i n g,” where the hand and arm is inserted into the r e c t u m. It is also common when “toys” are employed (h o m o s e x u a l lingo for objects which are inserted into the r e c t u m–bottles, carrots, even gerbils). The risk of contamination and/or having to wear a colostomy bag from such “sport” is very real. By 1977, well over a third of g a y s admitted to doing this. The r e c t u m was not designed to accommodate the fist, and those who do so can find themselves consigned to diapers for life.
F E C A L S E X
About 80% of g a y s admit to l i c k i n g and/or inserting their tongues into the a n u s of partners and thus ingesting medically significant amounts of f e c e s. Those who eat or wallow in it are probably at even greater risk. In the diary study,5 70% of the g a y s had engaged in this activity–half regularly over 6 months. Result? –the “annual incidence of hepatitis A in…h o m o s e x u a l men was 22 percent, whereas no h et e r o s ex u a l men acquired hepatitis A.” In 1992, it was noted that the proportion of London g a y s engaging in o r a l/a n a l s e x had not declined since 1984.
While the body has defenses against f e c a l germs, exposure to the f e c a l discharge of dozens of strangers each year is extremely unhealthy. Ingestion of human waste is the major route of contracting hepatitis A and the enteric parasites collectively known as the G a y Bowel Syndrome. Consumption of f e c e s has also been implicated in the transmission of typhoid fever, h e r p e s, and cancer. About 10% of g a y s have eaten or played with [e.g., e n e m a s, wallowing in f e c e s].
The San Francisco Department of Public Health saw 75,000 patients per year, of whom 70 to 80 per cent are h o m o s e x u a l men….An average of 10 per cent of all patients and asymptomatic contacts reported…because of positive f e c a l samples or cultures for amoeba, giardia, and shigella infections were employed as food handlers in public establishments; almost 5 per cent of those with hepatitis A were similarly employed.” In 1976, a rare airborne scarlet fever broke out among g a y s and just missed sweeping through San Francisco. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control reported that 29% of the hepatitis A cases in Denver, 66% in New York, 50% in San Francisco, 56% in Toronto, 42% in Montreal and 26% in Melbourne in the first six months of 1991 were among g a y s. A 1982 study “suggested that some transmission from the h o m o s e x u a l group to the general population may have occurred.”
U R I N E S E X
About 10% of Kinsey’s g a y s reported having engaged in “golden showers” [drinking or being splashed with u r i n e]. In the largest survey of g a y s ever conducted, 23% admitted to u r i ne -s e x . In the largest random survey of g a y s, 29% reported u r i n e-s e x . In a San Francisco study of 655 g a y s, only 24% claimed to have been monogamous in the past year. Of these monogamous g a y s, 5% drank urine, 7% practiced “f i s t i n g,” 33% ingested f e c e s via a n a l/o r a l contact, 53% swallowed s e m e n, and 59% received s e m e n in their r e c t u m during the previous month.
Death and disease accompany promiscuous and unsanitary s e x u a l activity. 70% to 78%x, of g a y s reported having had a s e x u a l l y transmitted disease. The proportion with intestinal parasites (worms, flukes, amoeba) ranged from 25% to 39% to 59%. As of 1992, 83% of U.S. AIDS in whites had occurred in g a y s. The Seattle s e x u a l diary study reported that g a y s had, on a yearly average:
f e l l a t e d 108 men and swallowed s e m e n from 48;
exchanged saliva with 96;
experienced 68 p en i l e p e n e t r a t i o n s of the a n u s; and
ingested f e c a l material from 19.
Smokers and drug addicts don’t live as long as non-smokers or non-addicts, so we consider smoking and narcotics abuse harmful. The typical life-span of h o m o s e x u a l s suggests that their activities are more destructive than smoking and as dangerous as drugs.
Obituaries numbering 6,516 from 16 U.S. h o m o se x u a l journals over the past 12 years were compared to a large sample of obituaries from regular newspapers.23 The obituaries from the regular newspapers were similar to U.S. averages for longevity; the medium age of d e a t h of married men was 75, and 80% of them d i e d old (age 65 or older). For unmarried or divorced men the median age of d e a t h was 57, and 32% of them d i e d old. Married women averaged age 79 at d e a t h; 85% d i e d old. Unmarried and divorced women averaged age 71, and 60% of them d i e d old.
The median age of death for h o m o s e xu a l s, however, was virtually the same nationwide–and, overall, less than 2% survived to old age. If AIDS was the cause of d e a t h, the median age was 39. For the 829 g a y s who d i e d of something other than AIDS, the median age of d e a t h was 42, and 9% d i e d old. The 163 l e s b i a n s had a median age of d e a t h of 44, and 20% d i e d old.
"If God is dead, somebody is going to have to take his place. It will be megalomania or erotomania, the drive for power or the drive for pleasure, the clenched fist or the phallus, Hitler or Hugh Hefner." — Malcolm Muggeridge
facts speak for themselves and as such aren't "crude"
Submitted by lotr on Sat, 09/24/2011 - 10:01pm.
Assuming you've done your homework and are accurate with them. So don't apologize. There's a passage in the book of Romans that alludes to what you've illuminated above. As Jesus said "Blind fools!"
Woe to those who go to great depths to hide their plans from the Lord, who do their work in darkness and think, "Who sees us? Who will know?" -- Isa 29:15-16
What a missed opportunity.
Submitted by BTW Biological ... on Fri, 09/23/2011 - 10:55pm.
The student should of been education or sent to a diversity class. To immediately suspend the student sends the wrong message.
You mean the teacher right?
Submitted by sentry_99 on Fri, 09/23/2011 - 11:24pm.
Or the vice principal? The ones who reject the 1st Amendment and suspend the student for voicing his opinion should be sent to a class. I'm sure you just misspoke. Right?
Got it
Submitted by Hoosier Conservative on Sat, 09/24/2011 - 10:15am.
Religious kids should be singled out and shipped off to re-education training.
Drag the school and the
Submitted by LAM SON 719 on Sat, 09/24/2011 - 3:50am.
Drag the school and the teacher into court. Where are muslim moderates at?
Who's the Bully, why Teachers of course!
Submitted by Less1leg on Sat, 09/24/2011 - 6:10am.
Once you cross over that boundary of schoolyard and the public Teachers exert their unquestioned influence over the young people walking those halls. Of course Teachers can slander your parents should one be a Tea Party person. That's an acceptable slander when Teachers call your Mom or Dad a Nazi. But if you dare question the Super Superior Intellect of a Teacher, well you had better find a place to hide because every bit of hyperactive progressive liberalism will be shoved down your throat. How dare you question the validity of homosexuality according to the Devine World of Teachers.
Its kinda weird that most teachers before being a teacher only worked entry level low paying jobs. Yeah, yeah some did others. But on the big picture of life most as in majority only held entry level jobs to get through college. It hardly gives a Superiority of Life to a Teacher. Now, a teacher may have read a few more books than most of us to get that degree but when it comes to life skills, I don't know too many teachers who can function too well outside of the classroom. This placing so much value and significance on a Teacher is trully bizarre. Just because you went to Teachers College doesn't make you a rocket scientist or a person greater than your actual contribution to life.
So the kid made a question about homosexuals. Big deal..
Are people really so naive?
Submitted by Kenny Bunkport on Sat, 09/24/2011 - 10:56am.
Are people really so naive? Was it so hard to figure out when the state legislatures were passing "no bullying" legislation, that the goal was to censure any disagreement with homosexuality?
Should have brought book on how to lie, cheat, & steal
Submitted by wouldubelieveit on Sat, 09/24/2011 - 12:16pm.
Lie, Cheat, & Steal that's how you heal. Lie, Cheat, & Steal
Exactly who was he
Submitted by vanderfk on Sat, 09/24/2011 - 8:34pm.
Exactly who was he bullying??? Doesn't a bully need a target? To voice an opinion that is not addressed to any particular person cannot be defined as bullying.
This is a very clear example of the incompetent and moronic people that are being "issued" college degrees without having one iota of critical thinking skills.
These are the people entrusted with our children's education? Once the older generation dies off this be a nation of Bolshevist's.
The inmates are running the asylum.
Where is the A.C.L.U. on this?
Submitted by Qtaug on Sun, 09/25/2011 - 4:33am.
Oh that's right, this doesn't fit their "narrative" as to what rights need to be protected!
The Real Question!
Submitted by aposematic on Sun, 09/25/2011 - 8:30am.
The real question here should be: Why is anyone allowed to be punished for personal beliefs? A slippery slope straight to Hell for all individual freedom when some are allowed to dictate their beliefs with punishment to the opposition onto others.