[Tax-chick]

Obviously this thread took off without my additional contribution (I had to go clean something), but to me, Blood of Tyrants and Michael sounded like they thought it was appropriate to have a free-for-all in the school, with pagans being a particularly suitable target:

Why don't we just make a law requiring children to be nice to each other? (BoT)

Pagans, huh ... Gee that might not have anything to do with the kid being harassed now would it? (Michael)

And the suggestion that the complaint is about money may be true, but as someone else pointed out, EVERY 14yo girl is harassed. Teenage boys don't have to be religious fanatics to attack a girl, but they'll use that as an excuse, if they think they can get away with it. Or they'll use any other excuse. I know from my own experience and what I hear from middle school girls today. It's one of the most important of the many reasons my children don't go to school!

How about we get rid of the unconstitutional government school system completely? Then families of every type can pay their own money for their own schools? Until that glorious day, if Maynardville Public Schools (or any other) are pretending they're in the business of education, then keep the students in the school and educate them, instead of going on field trips of any religious persuasion.

[Michael.SF.]

but to me, Blood of Tyrants and Michael sounded like they thought it was appropriate to have a free-for-all in the school, with pagans being a particularly suitable target

I am at a loss to understand how you could have interpreted my comment to actally condone the 'picking on' of children ('harrassemnt' sounds so PC).

Kids will be kids and they will be picked on, especially if you give them a reason. Me? I was 13, first day at a new school and was overweight. I got picked on and it stopped right after my first fight, one which I did not win, but let's call it a 12 round split decision.

What I did not do, was cry to my parents and then seek a court decision to charge the school with intolerance to those who were "Calorically over enhanced."

Now what the mother might have said, to her young pagan daughter, could have gone like this:

"India, not all people believe as we do and we need to understand that they might not be accepting of our life force-earth-circle ritual nor of our rite of 'Fluffy the Bunny Goddess.'

"So rather then talk of us as being Pagan's, lets just be tolerent of their bizzarre behavior, like worshiping a man being tortured, or their attempted drowning of those who want to be a part of their sect. We need to practice what are earth priestesses preach, after all."

[PeoplesRep_of_LA]

I know from my own experience and what I hear from middle school girls today. It's one of the most important of the many reasons my children don't go to school!

You really need to get out more.