Schools in tennessee k-8 not allowed to discuss gays.

[Angleter]

Good grief. Really? America? At least I suppose it bans negative portrayals of homosexuality, which is something.

[Chumblywumbly]

Good grief. Really? America?

Sadly, is this all that surprising?

[Kobeanare]

my mother even had some gay friends in high school!

...and I thought "I have a [minority] friend!" was the most lame "proof" of a lack of bigotry ever. Guess I was wrong.

[Bottle]

And presumably you learned in your puberty class about crushes and sexual attraction, right? I did in mine, anyway. So, what harm would it do to say, "Some people have crushes on people of the same sex"?

You know what, I'd rather have school teach about what sex is.

Make it fucking blunt. Enough with these stupid PG-13 nonesense. Make it known that sex is about putting a man's penis into a woman's vagina repeatedly. And that, in the case of homosexuality, however disgusting it might be, make it known that anal sex is the same thing, except now everything is anal.

I do think there's value in teaching kids the gross truth about sex, because otherwise there's a good chance that they'll think sex is as tidy and softly-lit as it is on TV. Then they'll think something is wrong with them or their partner when it turns out that there are, like, fluids involved in actual sex.

[Wikkiwallana]

Oh come off it. If a kid is going to learn how to use contraception or STD protection properly, that REQUIRES teaching them about the different forms of sexual contact.

For instance:

If your child is male, and your male child is going to be taught about safe sex, then your male child needs to know how to safely use a condom with a partner. But using a condom correctly (and SAFELY) during anal sex is actually quite different from how to use a condom correctly during vaginal sex. If your (male) child is having anal sex with another male person, this will have significantly different risk than if your (male) child is having anal sex with a female person.

Not teaching these things will not stop your child from having sex. All that will happen is that your child will be less likely to have safe sex. You may be okay with that, but I'm not, because there's a chance that your child might some day come into physical contact with MY child, or with somebody else I care about, and I'd rather not see the people I care about get infected with deadly diseases because your child never learned the proper way to use a condom during anal sex.

Well, congrats. You do not have to worry about my child having anal sex with a male. I'd rather my child not come into contact with someone who thinks the school needs to take the initiative to tell them how to have sex while it is the parent's responsibility. Sure would be nice to have a few more responsible parents these days. One could only hope. This way though, you can just blame it on the school when a child gets an STD. You can just shake your fist at them and ask them why they did not have an in depth conversation with a child about having anal sex with another child. I guess we may as well just have live demonstrations, watch a few porn flicks, maybe some practice? Guess we need to make sure they all know how to have sex with both sexes. Give them some practice with each? I know I am being facetious, but wow...you really want a school teacher to have an in depth conversation of the difference between having vaginal sex with a girl and anal sex with a guy...to an eighth grader?

Given that I've heard about seventh graders having sex in public, I'm going o go with: Yes, I sure do.

[Phonencia]

OK SERIOUSLY!? you're bashing my religion now?
REAL MATURE. I swear to GOD this entire thread is derailing like a fuckin train.
quit mocking people's beliefs because they aren't yours, ever think, huh, maybe, JUST MAYBE, some of them have a point. and you know what? I don't give a damn what you believe, if you want to worship a frickin toe nail collection and magical tree fairies feel free.
you know what PISSES ME OFF, is how when a veteran player gets PO'd at a noob and starts flaming somewhat, he get's warned. but if any player runs around insulting and mocking peoples religions no one says anything. oh, great. now my blood pressures up again. I better go before I feel the need to hit somethign with a sledgehammer.

If it will make you feel better you're more then welcome to mock anything I hold dear.

I might be a prick, but I'm also just about the last person to whine or flame when I'm on the receiving end of it. You deal with it, either it's a joke, or refutable. Either way letting it get to you on a personal level isn't worth it.

my religion is personal and important to me. why would it NOT get to me on a personal level when someone mocks my religion? Im glad you're one of the few pricks decent enough to admit he's a prick though, so, I guess you aren't TOTALLY evil.

let's see.


I am somewhat against this legislation.
I have REPEATEDLY said, I would be teaching my kids Sex ed including homosexuality
if I were taking them to meet a gay friend, I would explain homosexuality to them in advance.
if parents won't teach their kids sex ed, let them take a sex ed class, I just want mine to learn it at home.
I am for the most part, against this bill, like, 90%
I suppose mid to late middle school would be ok, but before that I don't want the school teaching kids about homosexuality, I'd rather do that.

And that's fine. Do realize Soviet was attacking your religion not you. I don't get worked up when people say atheists causes people to be immoral sex addicts who prefers anal sex and that we will go to hell.

The road goes both ways.

I have no problems with atheists, in fact my godmother is athiest (teehee, I did another minority thing)

[Bottle]

Well, congrats. You do not have to worry about my child having anal sex with a male. I'd rather my child not come into contact with someone who thinks the school needs to take the initiative to tell them how to have sex while it is the parent's responsibility. Sure would be nice to have a few more responsible parents these days. One could only hope. This way though, you can just blame it on the school when a child gets an STD. You can just shake your fist at them and ask them why they did not have an in depth conversation with a child about having anal sex with another child. I guess we may as well just have live demonstrations, watch a few porn flicks, maybe some practice? Guess we need to make sure they all know how to have sex with both sexes. Give them some practice with each? I know I am being facetious, but wow...you really want a school teacher to have an in depth conversation of the difference between having vaginal sex with a girl and anal sex with a guy...to an eighth grader?

Given that I've heard about seventh graders having sex in public, I'm going o go with: Yes, I sure do.

And given that Ashas seems to think that the only choices are "don't teach kids about safe sex" versus "show them hard-core porno," that kind of makes me even less inclined to trust him to educate his kids on this subject.

[Soviet Haaregrad]

my religion is personal and important to me. why would it NOT get to me on a personal level when someone mocks my religion? Im glad you're one of the few pricks decent enough to admit he's a prick though, so, I guess you aren't TOTALLY evil.

I wouldn't go that far. I'm more evil than Maggie Thatcher and Stalin's rape baby.

[Dyakovo]

Thank heavens. Everyone knows that teh gay is also an airborne disease that can be transmitted by the mere mention of the word.

NOOOOOOOO!!! B&C HAS CONTRACTEDIS SPREADING GOLF ALPHA YANKEE!!!

Fixed

[Dyakovo]

I knew the mechanics of sex before kindergarten. Wasn't scary or disturbing or confusing to me at all. What's the problem?

If you can't talk to your kids about sex without getting red in the face and stammering a lot, I highly recommend the book Where Did I Come From? It explains the mechanics of heterosexual sex and the biological process of reproduction in a straight-forward and age-appropriate manner for little kids. It was one of my favorite books when I was learning to read.

Clearly it turned you into a sex-crazed maniac.

And the down side is?

[Dyakovo]

Hey! That kind of talk isn't very PG-13.

I'm doing my best, okay? I censored out the sick details about how we sometimes sit next to each other on the couch and watch DVR episodes of the Soup.

An effort we all appreciate... But then you had to go and ruin it.

[Wikkiwallana]

Sure I do, just as much as I need to worry about your child having anal sex with a female, or oral sex with a male, or oral sex with a female, or any other kind of sex.

If your child is ignorant, that poses a direct threat to the public. I'm a member of the public. My loved ones are members of the public. If you don't want public interests to have an impact on the education that your child receives, then...DON'T PUT YOUR CHILD IN PUBLIC EDUCATION.

If you do not want Politicians creating legislation that their voters put them in office to create, DO NOT MOVE TO TENNESSEE...or any other state where you would be the minority. IE: A state where you do not have to worry about "the religious" getting into your PUBLIC EDUCATION SYSTEM.

I already live in Tennessee, and I don't want my state legislature implementing this dumbass exclusionary policy. There are other non-homophobes living here too, and their children shouldn't be forced to miss out on important social, historical, and health information just because the state legislature is filled with jackasses.

[Wikkiwallana]

I believe that covers it twice over.

No religion has been officially been established, nor has group been denied its rights. The case merely is that sexual orientation, namely homosexual, is not being discussed in grade and middle schools. The elected officials of the state have chosen not to offer offering all the standpoints on an issue, they are not offering an in-depth sexual education either, and no one, including homosexuals, are being denied their rights in this case and instead lies mostly with the preferred education of their constituents. As well, since no group is systemically being vilified the state will most likely be able to carry on its merry way due to the fact that not compelling federal interest can be stated and since states control their

The argument you pose is rooted in the fallacy that a group not being reported in public schools at least before high school is somehow denying people (homosexuals) their rights. It is simply not as they are not being repressed nor are the students being taught they are evil.

This isn't "no mention of the mechanics" this is "no mention of it, period." Kids of all ages have a right to know about non-standard family structures, and older children have a right to know how to stay safe when having sex, since they are going to be having it whether we tell them about it or not.

[Dyakovo]

If it will make you feel better you're more then welcome to mock anything I hold dear.

I might be a prick, but I'm also just about the last person to whine or flame when I'm on the receiving end of it. You deal with it, either it's a joke, or refutable. Either way letting it get to you on a personal level isn't worth it.

my religion is personal and important to me. why would it NOT get to me on a personal level when someone mocks my religion?

Because you realize you aren't your religion and/or you're secure in your beliefs?
*shrugs*
I guess neither of those are true...

[Wikkiwallana]

Dear Tennessee: The UK repealed Section 28... seven years ago. And now the Conservative Party says it was all one big mistake.

Please enter the twenty-first century. It's okay, we won't hurt you.

Are you kidding? We have people here still bitching about things changing in the middle of the 19th century. You think they would be willing to skip a whole century after that?

[Wikkiwallana]

Seems somehow unnecessary, at least for the older kids. It's not like talking about homosexuality will somehow turn you into some kind of fashion designer.

Don't they have middle school sex-ed in Tennessee? I have trouble believing that homosexuality wouldn't come up at least once or twice in such a class.

Speaking as a Tennessean, we do, but it's near worthless. It was one, maybe two class periods in health and wellness class where they just showed us a bunch of slides of late stage STD infected genitals. This was in a science oriented magnet school in the state capital, so I have a hard time believing the normal schools, especially in the more rural areas, are much better.

[Intangelon]

Hmm. So, because it's different, it's wrong. Does that mean that a person with Down's Syndrome is wrong? Or, how about someone with spina bifida? How about an albino? Are they wrong because they're different? I was born with a predisposition to be fat - does that mean I'm wrong? Some people have addictive personalities, does that make them wrong. Anne Boleyn had six fingers, was she wrong? Your logic seems to indicate that if a natural occurence doesn't fit within the norm, then it's wrong. How very unpleasant of you.

No, it depends on what it is. Obviously Spina bifida isn't nearly as bad as something like Asperger's.

Not just a troll, but an ignorant troll. Nice. You clearly do not know what spina bifida is, and to claim such a debilitating birth defect as being born with a split spine is not as bad as the flavor-of-the-month, get-out-of-responsibility-free, pseudo-disorder is just plain ignorant.

[Tekania]

Indeed, when people start mocking Christianity I generally do not take it personnel, as I realize it's almost always merely a reaction to those Social Conservative Christians who give my faith a bad name.

[Intangelon]

Doesn't seem PG-3 to me.

Doesn't matter half the time, this forum is more censored and totalitarian than Stalin's Russia.

Aaaand the ignorance continues. Dude, read a book or something before you post such drivel.

[Soheran]

You know what, I'd rather have school teach about what sex is.

Me, too, but I try to make the argument against homophobic nonsense like this legislation as robust as possible.

Make it fucking blunt. Enough with these stupid PG-13 nonesense. Make it known that sex is about putting a man's penis into a woman's vagina repeatedly. And that, in the case of homosexuality, however disgusting it might be, make it known that anal sex is the same thing, except now everything is anal.

How about we also make clear that (a) straight people engage in non-vaginal (including anal) sex all the time, (b) gay people engage in many sexual activities other than anal sex, and (c) lesbian sex generally doesn't involve penises at all?

And I do think it's important that people learn about the most salient facts of gay people--that they are attracted to and fall in love with people of the same sex--substantially before they learn about the specifics of gay sexual practices. That's already the case for straight people, and it's tiresome to see again and again the objectifying portrayal of gay people through the lens of particular sex acts (particularly anal sex.)

[Tekania]

Doesn't matter half the time, this forum is more censored and totalitarian than Stalin's Russia.

Aaaand the ignorance continues. Dude, read a book or something before you post such drivel.

Well, merely because you're blind to the fiction of the mods gathering up all political dissent and banishing them to work camps in the frozen tundra, that's really more an issue with you accepting reality.

[Soheran]

Good grief. Really? America?

Tennessee. Please.

[Buffett and Colbert]

Good grief. Really? America? At least I suppose it bans negative portrayals of homosexuality, which is something.

That's not how these things work, though. It'll be a one-way ticket. Teachers will not hesitate to abide by the law... except when it suits them not to.

[Wikkiwallana]

Because they're too young?

I had my first crush (on a same-sex individual) when I was 8. You seem to think I was too young to know about homosexuality at that age, yet I was experiencing it. Interesting theory.

Happily, my parents weren't so backward about these things. I had a lesbian godmother, so nothing about same-sex attraction seemed weird or confusing to me.

Yeah, I had my first crush in 1st grade, so I knew about heterosexuality then, and one of my friends in high school said she had kissed a girl in 2nd grade, so she not only knew she acted on it. Definitely not too young to know.

[Wikkiwallana]

I had my first crush (on a same-sex individual) when I was 8. You seem to think I was too young to know about homosexuality at that age, yet I was experiencing it. Interesting theory.

Happily, my parents weren't so backward about these things. I had a lesbian godmother, so nothing about same-sex attraction seemed weird or confusing to me.

I was speaking of the mechanics not the concept itself.

But the bill would ban mention of even the concept.