Posted on 06/19/2006 4:32:55 PM PDT by DBeers
(AgapePress) - The young son of a Massachusetts pro-family activist was physically assaulted by fellow elementary school students on the two-year anniversary of same-sex "marriage" in the state.
On May 17, first-grader Jacob Parker was beaten up by a group of eight to ten kids on the playground at Estabrook Elementary School in Lexington. Just weeks before the assault, his father and mother had filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the school.
Last year, David Parker was arrested and jailed for refusing to leave the school until officials agreed to grant him the right to opt his son out of classroom discussions on homosexuality. The Massachusetts father believes the assault was incited by parents who are upset with his opposition to homosexuality.
"What we're concerned about," Parker says, "is actually the environment being created in the schools, where children, maybe in the normal course of scuffling, will translate the aggression that they may be hearing from parents and administrators to other children."
The pro-family advocate suspects the physical attack on his son may have occurred because parents and school officials are angry over his stand for traditional marriage in Massachusetts and have allowed these feelings to influence kids who attend Estabrook Elementary. Also, he notes, back issues of the "biased" Lexington Minuteman newspaper were placed on a table in the school library for children to read the local coverage of the lawsuit.
Parker feels the Bay State's schools employ a large double standard when it comes to protecting students from bullying and discrimination. If the assault against his son had been perpetrated on a child of homosexual parents, "lessons teaching tolerance and diversity or homosexual behavior normalization would be forced upon the young children," he contends.
"What we have in Massachusetts," the activist points out, "is large sums of money being earmarked for children being bullied from gay households or gay children." However, such funding really "shouldn't be earmarked and directed on that basis," he insists. "It should be for all the children -- not earmarked to protect just one particular segment of society."
Parker says his case against the Lexington schools is fundamentally about freedom of choice for parents to raise their children in the interest of their well being, health, happiness, and development as productive members of society.
While that society allows its citizens the freedom to cross "the God-given and nature-dictated boundaries" of gender, the Massachusetts parent asserts, to do so is a treacherous path to follow and is not the path of freedom he and his wife choose to offer to their four- and six-year-old children.
"We all want what's best for our children," Parker says, "although differences exist in how parents accomplish this goal." The freedom to define what is best for their own families and how to achieve these goals should extend to all parents, he contends, regardless of color, culture, religion, or sexual orientation, and this "parental sovereignty" should not be undermined by school officials or other external authorities.
This local newspaper article reflects that there was no police report filed nor a report to the school board. Parker's atty says the kid was not harmed.
http://www.townonline.com/lexington/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=516786
That article makes a little more sense to me than the more inflammatory articles because admit it, if your kid came home beat up by 10 people, there would be physical injury, you would immediately contact the school, you'd probably take your kid out of the school if adults truly watched and did nothing, and you'd file an immediate police report, etc.
Then look at this article from the School Board superindtendent.
http://lps.lexingtonma.org/
I don't know; there's just an awful lot about this story that doesn't make sense. It didn't make sense when I first read about it on FR and it makes even less sense now.
And since we gained a great reputation for research during the Rather fake memo scandal, I'd hate to see us jump on a bandwagon using faulty information.
Heterophobia?
The school Superintendent has posted an update which tells an ENTIRELY different story than Parkers. In order to believe Parker, one would have to believe that the police and Children's Services were in on a conspiracy.
UPDATE: JUNE 19, 2006
Recently, the media reported on a playground fight at Estabrook School in Lexington, Massachusetts, where one first grade student hit another first grade student. After the media focus on this incident, the Estabrook School principal issued a letter to parents reporting the details of this incident and the school's response, and the Superintendent of the Lexington Public Schools issued a similar report to the community and the press. Because of an allegation that the incident was "fueled and incited by adults (and yes, school officials)," the Superintendent, after having conducted his own investigation, referred the incident to the Lexington Police Department, the Middlesex District Attorney and the Department of Social Service(DSS).
The Lexington Police Department has issued the following statement, "The school department is handling this situation involving two first graders professionally and does not require action from the police." The Child Abuse Prevention office of the District Attorney and the DSS have each declined to initiate investigations, in part because the parents of the first grader who was hit have not filed a complaint, and in part because they found no basis for an investigation in the facts and circumstances reported. The School Committee and the Superintendent have both concluded that the allegation of adult involvement in and/or incitement of this minor playground incident is entirely without merit.
A more complete description of what happened at the school can be found on this web site:
http://lps.lexingtonma.org/
Massachusetts_**_ 1780, Preamble_*. We...the people of Massachusetts, acknowledging with grateful hearts, the goodness of the Great Legislator of the Universe ... In the course of His Providence, an opportunity and devoutly imploring His direction ..
(On May 17, first-grader Jacob Parker was beaten up by a group of eight to ten kids on the playground at Estabrook Elementary School in Lexington. Just weeks before the assault, his father and mother had filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the school.)
Tolerance of the left.
reverse gay-bashing?
This is Stalinism. Only Stalinist parents go so far as to encourage young children to become involved in violent politics. Even regular socialists usually wait until kids are in their teens before turning them into political thugs and bullies.
Drive by spanking?
I believe it's called straight-bashing.
How much you want to be the MSM *won't* be covering this 24/7 for months on end? I've got $100 right here, any takers? Anyone? [crickets chirping]
Kids don't beat up other kids for political beliefs. Unfortunately kids do beat up other kids who are different and attract attention (or their parents attract it for them). It is a sad state that the parents of the boy were the only parents in the school who did anything about the gay indoctrination. It used to be the ones who seemed different were the ones that actually were different. Now what is different and perverse is normal and what is traditional is viewed as perverse.
More news coverage of the Parker incident.
From my short experience pinging this list -only subjects involving Paul Cameron seem to surpass subjects involving David Parker in regards to the vitriol that comes from enraged leftists anytime something is published they and that which they oppose is subject of.
Based on this alone, David Parker must be doing something right... Regardless leftist attempts at damage control -they don't fool me! (this will be my little secret -shhh... tell no one that enraged leftists antics accomplish nothing) ROTFLMAO
It sounds like a HATE crime to me.
That's not why he was arrested. He would not leave after stating his case when asked. If you try to force your view on some school official and they say "I'm sorry, meetings over" and you refuse to leave their office, well guess what? They are going to call the police and you will be arrested. The guy was being dumb. You have to know when to 'fold em' and live to fight another day.
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