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Bishops No Help To NC Students

Post on May 4, 2009 by 4 Comments »

SavonarolaThanks to Under the Dome for my daily dose of outrage. I know the Catholic Church prefers to do its own bullying – give them that: since the Inquisition, they don’t outsource – but actively lobbying against a bill that would protect vulnerable children from aggression is hideous. To assert that gay teens are not at risk in our society is ridiculous; to work against passage of a bill that would protect them is disgraceful. No strangers to disgrace, US bishops aren’t exactly known for their protection of America’s youth. North Carolina’s two bishops are living down to that fine tradition urging the faithful to oppose the School Violence Protection Act, a bill pending in both the House and the Senate that prohibits discrimination based on “gender identity and sexual orientation” in schools.

How could anyone oppose this? In their latest homosexual panic, the bishops have decided that protecting LGBT teens will lead to gay marriage. That might thin the clergy’s ranks a bit, but they must be used to that. What’s the problem?

Msgr. Michael Clay, the legislative lobbyist for the Diocese of Raleigh, said three states — Iowa, California and Connecticut — have used similar anti-gay bullying laws as part of their ‘findings of fact,’ in building a case for same-sex marriage.

‘It could be a precursor of actions by our legislature and/or our courts to mandate same-sex marriage,’ said Clay. ‘It’s more than speculative. This is a result that happens.’”

Oooh, scary. Tormented by visions of happy, committed homosexuals (not people, mind you, homosexuals are “outside the human ecology” according to the pope), the bishops have hiked up their skirts and waded into muddy water. I’m certain there were more “findings of fact” in those enlightened states than just anti-bullying bills. I’m sure there were long-standing strains of independent thought and commitment to individual liberties that set those places on the road to legal marriage for all their citizens. While some of us might harbor the hope that NC is on the same path, we’re hardly there yet. But gay teens are here, and they deserve protection. They don’t deserve to be held up as pawns in some crazy war against an institution that isn’t on any ballot or legislative docket anywhere in this state. They don’t deserve to be dehumanized by religious leaders in the grip of an ancient, and profoundly hypocritical, prejudice. But if there’s one thing the bishops of this nation have proved, every chance they’ve gotten, it’s that protecting vulnerable children is not their concern.

Possibly related posts:

  1. New poll shows absurdity of anti-gay marriage laws
  2. Groups behind the marriage discrimination amendment
  3. The religious right’s bigoted message on marriage
  4. Civil rights pioneer joins Marriage Equality campaign
  5. Experts explore flaws in amendment and supporting arguments

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Comments (Closed):4

  1. John Byrnes
    May 5, 2009 at 10:30 am

    Research has determined that from the Moment of Commitment (the point when a student pulls their weapon) to the Moment of Completion (when the last round is fired) is only 5 seconds. If it is the intent of a school district to react to this violence, they will do so over the wounded and/or slain bodies of students, teachers and administrators.

    Educational institutions clearly want safe and secure schools. Administrators are perennially queried by parents about the safety of their schools. The commonplace answers, intended to reassure anxious parents, focus on the school resource officers and emergency procedures. While useful, these less than adequate efforts do not begin to provide a definitive answer to preventing school violence, nor do they make a school safe and secure.

    Traditionally school districts have relied upon the mental health community or local police to keep schools safe, yet one of the key shortcomings has been the lack of a system that involves teachers, administrators, parents and students in the identification and communication process. Recently, colleges, universities and community colleges are forming Behavioral Intervention Teams with representatives from all these constituencies. Higher Education has changed their safety/security policies, procedures, or surveillance systems, yet K-12 have yet to incorporate Behavioral Intervention Teams. K-12 schools continue spending excessive amounts of money to put in place many of the physical security options. Sadly, they are reactionary only and do little to prevent aggression because they are designed exclusively to react to existing conflict, threat and violence. These schools reflect a national blindspot, which prefers hardening targets through enhanced security versus preventing violence with efforts directed at aggressors. Security gets all the focus and money, but this only makes us feel safe, rather than to actually make us safer.

    Some law enforcement agencies use profiling as a means to identify an aggressor. According to the U.S. Secret Service and the U.S. Department of Education’s report on Targeted Violence in Schools, there is a significant difference between “profiling” and identifying and measuring emerging aggression; “The use of profiles is not effective either for identifying students who may pose a risk for targeted violence at school or – once a student has been identified – for assessing the risk that a particular student may pose for school-based targeted violence.” It continues; “An inquiry should focus instead on a student’s behaviors and communications to determine if the student appears to be planning or preparing for an attack.” We can and must assess objective, culturally neutral, identifiable criteria of emerging aggression.

    For a comprehensive look at the problem and its solution, http://www.aggressionmanagement.com/White_Paper_K-12/

  2. Jerimee
    May 5, 2009 at 11:38 am

    cheap shots against communities of faith don’t advance justice

  3. old social worker
    May 5, 2009 at 1:41 pm

    No, Mr. Jerimee, they don’t. But rational shots like Andrea’s do.

    Besides, the Roman Catholic Church, despite the phony humility of its leaders, is far more wealthy, powerful and consequential than a mere community of faith. In a free society, it can and should receive strong criticism.

    And if that still seems unfair, well, I guess you can take comfort in having an ancient, omnipotent sky-god in your corner.

  4. Andrea Verykoukis
    May 5, 2009 at 4:56 pm

    Let me be absolutely clear. I hold the bishops accountable for this cruel and misguided stance on the anti-bullying bill. I do not hold Catholic communicants responsible for the bishops’ stance. Thus any and all shots are directed at the bishops, not “communities of faith”. Refusing to call out leaders who are bigoted won’t advance justice.