Feel the Rainbow? Texas teacher fired over rainbow stickers

Absolutely disgusting.

 

ThE gAy AgEnDa

 

I think the criteria should not rest on fuzzy, subjective assessments of how much harm or discomfort it might cause in the student population.

Of course, whether this counts as a political statement itself is being debated, so there’s no clear-cut solution here. But I think that would be a clearer and more neutral criterion to go by.

 

I can deconstruct any concept we teach young children as a political statement. Teaching the concept of sharing? Communist ideology? But why don't we do that? Because that concept of "sharing" is ubiquitous enough that it isn't seen as a political message. That's all.

So are you telling.me the concept of empathizing with LGBTQ people and understanding the ills they go through is to new of a concept for society to tell children this? Like in 50 years it'll be okay then?

I don't think it's a "fuzzy subjective concept". "sharing" as being a good thing also is a subjective concept yet we teach it to young children right?

 

You have to make some judgment somehow. That judgment should squarely be about the student and about education.

Your whole thing, if I understand it correctly, is 'political subject' should be off-campus. But who gets to define what's political? That's so softy and shifty. Remember that integration was once political. We have real historic examples of the harm of judgment based on political stance from society. I think it's much better to based on the impact on the student and not the political landscape.

 

I'm going to be a wishy washy moderate here and will have to read more about the situation.

From what I've seen so far I think declaring your room a safe space apart from the rest of the school is a problem as that is a statement of values. For example if she put a Crucifix on her door and declared it a safe space for Catholics would that be acceptable?

My own view is that as a teacher she has a right to those personal values and LGBT students should be safe. That should be a school wide policy and not just for one teacher to decide on her own.

 

I think the rainbow sticker signals advocacy for much more than just showing empathy and understanding.

Take the case of a BLM sticker. One could read that as a mere acknowledgement that racism against black people is wrong. Who can disagree with that? But in fact it can convey much more than that anodyne sentiment. Do you support teachers posting that as well on doors?

 

But isn't that mostly due to the framing of people who do have issues picking up basic empathy skills(right wingers)?

Are you saying if a group of people adamant enough to stop teaching the concept of "sharing" to kids created a successful propaganda campaign to make that concept political, teachers should cease teaching that concept?

 

This is just idiotic. How should she do that? Tell each student in the school? How could she possibly know which students are LGBTQ+ or not? They don't all belong to the GSA club. They don't all have a marking. Most people wouldn't and don't know that my son is gay. How would a teacher know to talk to him about that if he didn't tell the teacher?

 

What about when the school-wide policy or lack of policy is harmful to LGBT students? Silence is also a statement. The unfortunate political situation in TX and growing elsewhere is that LGBT discrimination and hatred are growing. Schools might claim they are for everyone and treat everyone equally but their silence is also a statement that they are not, especially if students on their campus do feel not just unsafe but are bullied or being harassed for simply being.

To answer your question - if Catholics are being discriminated against in similar societal and political ways, yes, it's acceptable.

 

I haven't read that, but that sounds to me like a reckless statement. If you have time to dig that back out where you found it I'd be interested in seeing the actual quote. Not saying you're misquoting him, but that doesn't sound quite right to me

 

I’d have no problem with a teacher teaching the value of sharing. And I’d have no problem with teaching the value of not grabbing stuff from other people who don’t wish to share it with you.

Politics is about how we should be forming policies according to such values. A sign that signals “under these situations, the US government should force individuals to share even if they don’t want to” should probably not be posted on a school door, in my view.

 

So you are saying expressing LGBTQ sympathies is forcing LGBTQ on people. Like does it force them being gay?

So the government is going to force us being gay now?

 

You’re right. I had thought the sign was only visible inside the classroom — to her students — when I posted that. What I was describing would be workable if she only intended to communicate to her own students.

 

And I think you gave great starter material here for some right wing edgelord to do a propaganda campaign about kids having activities that teach them concepts of sharing leading to government forcing people to share their property. That's a good one. Right wing propagandists on this board, taking notes?

 

Again, I interpreted the sticker as signaling more than just expressing sympathy or empathy. Perhaps I am mistaken to have done that. I’d have no issues with a statement that said you shouldn’t hate someone based on their sexual orientation. I don’t view that as a political statement. But if there was a law being debated by politicians, for instance, a statement or sign that expresses support for one side or the other would be a political statement.

 

This is my point.

Any group with enough of a propaganda campaign can make almost any concept political. So are you saying we need to abide by the framing of those propagandists that something is political?

The rainbow flag is political because the people who have trouble empathizing with LGBTQ people made it political.

 

Yes. That is hateful and endangering students, much moreso than a rainbow sticker.

 

I read the Rolling Stone article and it sounds like it was several teachers who had put up sticker. That to me does sound like this was a problem with school wide policy that many teachers didn’t feel that the school or district was doing as good of a job addressing whether LGBT students do feel safe or not.

As I’ve aid in the other thread regarding the FL law my own view is that there is a difference between acknowledgement and encouragement. That can be a fine line and this is one of those situations that the line is being walked. While the rainbow flag isn’t a symbol of prostelyzation (I’m sure some will disagree with me) it is a statement of values. In the case of displaying a Crucifix even if Catholic students are being discriminated against would be prostelyzation and one that I don’t think should a teacher should be displaying in their classroom window.

I will go back to an argument I’ve made repeatedly for the FL law. This should be a small government problem with a small government solution. The school board teachers and parents of Irving should address this and not through some state law.