Guest Commentary: Moving forward (co-founders of anti-David Parker hate group)

Guest Commentary : Moving forward By Meg Soens and Pam Hoffman/ Guest Commentary Thursday, June 29, 2006 - Updated: 07:58 AM EST

Our community has been wounded. The recent false allegation that a first-grade child was beaten by several children because of his parents’ activism has had grievous impacts on many people in our town. Amid the rancor and distrust this has created, it has left many of us wondering what we can do to regain our balance as a community. What can we do to move forward?

First, we need to understand the effects of this allegation on our community and on the individuals affected. An anti-gay group publicized the now-discredited story to news organizations and right wing media outlets across the country. One of these outlets published the e-mail address and home phone number of the superintendent of the Lexington Public Schools. This has lead to many out-of-state hate e-mails and phone calls to his home, in what looks like an attempt to punish him for doing his job. This is unacceptable and deeply regrettable. We hope that all Lexington residents will find a way to express their support for our superintendent as he does his job admirably under very difficult circumstances.

In addition, all of Lexington suffers when false and sensational stories about our children make their way through the Internet and news media. We suffer as a community when our school and town officials are harassed. But another group of people has been especially hurt by this story: the parents at Estabrook, where the alleged events supposedly took place. Many parents feel sad, disappointed, and even betrayed. In addition to blaming the right-wing organization that put out the "press release," some feel that parents who brought the lawsuit against the schools have used their own child and other first-graders to further their agenda. They worry that that this kind of false allegation and misuse of children could happen again.

We do not know what will happen in the future. However, we do know that as a community we will feel better again when we feel good about who we are and how we are treating others. For each of us, this means not simply reacting out of our fears, but to find our grounding again in our best and most generous passions and to act with as much trust, and then some, as we can find within ourselves.

This means all of the children need to be allowed to be children and to play with each other. They do not deserve to suffer in isolation because of who their parents are or what they do. And our efforts to keep this uppermost in our minds will be rewarded in our children’s, and our community’s, greater happiness.

We also urge each of us to go further. Those of us who feel alienated from our community, as well as those who feel betrayed or angered by recent events, would benefit from reaching out, even in small ways, to those who seem to be adversaries as we treat all our children with the care and gentleness they deserve. We know that our children will do best if we adults can try to stay connected to each other even when the conversations are hard and there is conflict. We can keep talking to each other. We can trust enough to let the children be children and play with each other. Perhaps the children who are able to make up after a fight will be the ones who teach us how to heal.

Your support of leftist viewpoints on "homosexuality" has been completely contained and your agenda campaign on FR rendered irrelevant.

I'm just so sad...

But then I support no leftist viewpoints on homosexuality on FR, and never have. I support the truth, which, although you may, I do not, consider leftist. I think my point has been made by me and others concerning the antics of Mr. Parker. That you continue in your support of him after the truth of May 17 has been confirmed says a lot more about you than me. It's interesting that Parker does not debate me, but leaves it to you.

You will continue threatening all conservatives here who value truth over lies, and many do move on, leaving you to rule over your homosexuality domain. I don't care about most of your issues including your theories about cause and effect, but I do care when you use a fictitious event concerning a seven year old boy as a springboard for your crusade.

Rather than wait for the next "Parker" topic to contribute irrelevantly to or attempt to hijack I suggest you just accept the reality of your position and move on.

I would suggest it's you who are hijacking the thread, when you refuse to discuss the issue of the thread but immediately move to your crusade, having nothing to do with the issue. As long as you keep hijacking the Parker threads, I will keep pointing out the truth of the story to all who read. As for all of your other threads, unless they involve the marriage amendment, you needn't worry about me pointing out your usually fallacious arguments. That's for others to debate you on. But I strongly urge you to leave the Parker threads for the Parker issue.

If not that -then at least try bugging me less repeatedly with your whining over things I consider irrelevant to my agenda and purpose for following such specific stories -opposition to the homosexualization of society...

Since you seem incapable or unwilling to debate the issues you raise, I'd hardly charge anyone with whining if I were you. As for your agenda, fine. It is part of Free Republic's agenda also, and though most of us here don't live it 24/7 as do you, we are supportive to varying degrees. Still, what you have never understood here is that your threads are not sacrosanct. FR is not a pulpit, but a forum for the expression of conservative thought and debate. As I have suggested to you before, if you are unable to support a position, ask some of your ping list for help. Threatening everyone who questions anything you post does not do much for the promotion of your agenda. It simply makes you look intellectually impotent.

" Neil Tassel, the Parkers’ legal counsel, said Jacob Parker and the student had “been friends and continue to be friends,” after the confrontation. Tassel said the Parkers were notified of the altercation and were content with the investigation and follow-up by the school. Tassel said the Parkers’ only concern was that the incident, while triggered by a disagreement in the cafeteria, may have resulted from the “atmosphere created by adults on the outside.”

Good find, MACVSOG68. I hadn't realized that there were freepers who were still perpetuating the lies told by Parker about this story. Well, I guess even freepers don't want to let the truth get in the way of their agenda.

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