MITCH ALBOM: Nude dancing, the Bible and kindergarten STRIPPER MOM

Detroit Free Press ^ | May 19, 2002 | Mitch Albom

[ccmay]

If wealthy donors and/or the school board say "She is OUT," then the child is out

There we have it. Filthy lucre takes precedence over the plain word of God, as expressed in the verse "Suffer the little children to come unto Me."

Can it be made any more obvious that fundamentalist churches of this ilk are among the enemies of Christ? These vipers and Pharisees make me want to join the Unitarians just out of spite.

I've tried, but words cannot express my contempt for people who support kicking this innocent 5-year-old girl out of school.

-ccm

[lsee]

"The school offered to waive the last month's tuition for the student so the young girl could remain in school to the end of the year if the mother would quit her job as a strip-tease dancer. They also offered to support the mother and walk 'hand in hand' with her as she worked through the spiritual issues involved and sought to better her life," said Hagelin. "The pastor believed that the meeting had been well-received by the mother, but the next thing he knew he was getting calls from the local media. I found Pastor Cole to be clearly upset that his efforts to help a woman in a very bad situation were not successful."

The school didn't punish the daughter...the mother did through her own choices in life...Yet only the mother's "side of the story" has been widely publicized.

[dixie sass]

Thongs for 7 year olds? Please tell me you are kidding?

[Frohickey]

I agree with the school on this issue. My friends do not see the point, and only see that a child is being expelled because of the mom's legal occupation.

I see it as the school's right to associate is whoever it wants to. And the mom has a right to do so as well. I would not force the school to suffer the company of the mom and the mom's child, anymore than if the situation were reversed. The mom has a choice as well, and I think that the school's offer to pay for the rest of the term shows good faith.

[xsmommy]

abercrombie and fitch sells them. OPH pinged me to the thread, sure i would be spitting fire and screaming blue murder. i actually have no problem with them being sold. i would NEVER permit my girls to have them, but the hullabaloo is so great over this, it is more publicity than A&F could possibly hope for. like i said, they were positively hidden away in the store, and you would have had to be seeking them out to find them.

i find it curious that the strippymom supporters, like hobbes and dubs, are so appalled by the free enterprise selling of thongs for 7 yo's, that one is perfectly free to NOT BUY>

[kezekiel]

If there was ever a CHILD who desperately needs to be around Christians, it is this child.

I'm on the deacons' board at my church, and we talked about this issue this morning. We were nearly unanimous that we wouldn't have expelled the little girl. We don't require parents to be Christians or live a certain lifestyle for the kids in our pre-school. If we did, our school would be half-empty, and the kids would get no exposure to God.

Sometimes, in our quest to be pure, we end up scrubbing too hard, I think.

[NeoCaveman]

i find it curious that the strippymom supporters, like hobbes and dubs, are so appalled by the free enterprise selling of thongs for 7 yo's, that one is perfectly free to NOT BUY

I think the operative words here are "7 year olds"

[joathome]

There are other innocent children in the school. You would do well to try to imagine WHY they spend their hard earned dollars to send their children to Christian school. If they wanted their kids to be talking about Heather's two mom's, Billy's two dad's, and strippers, they'd just as soon send their children to public school.

I'm not saying the school officials handled this perfectly, but your venom is completely misplaced, and shows your own small minded attituded.

[NeoCaveman]

I'm consistent. Not only do I support StripperMom(TM), I also don't have a problem with A&F selling something people won't buy.

I'm consistent as adults are NOT children.

XS are you trying to highjack this thread?

[joathome]

But you have made a determination that your school serves as a mission field. That is right and proper for your church. Not all people view Christian school as a mission field, but instead view it as an aid to parents who are to provide a Christian home and education for their children. In good faith, can you not see both sides?

Again, I don't know if this was handled properly, because I think everyone has judged to rush since the mother has sought her 15 minutes of fame.

[NeoCaveman]

Dumbest marketing idea of the century. That'll flop.

I certainly hope so. I still have to wonder about the sick b@srt@rd who came up with this one. Kiddie thongs, Sheesh.

[kezekiel]

I do understand the church's position. Given how young the little girl is, how likely is it that the mother's influence on her kindergartener is going to rub off on other kindergarteners? If we were talking high school-aged kids, it might be a different story, but we're not. We're talking about kids way too young to have a clue what stripping is.

I understand the impulse to nuture and protect the kids that are there... but what if the girl's mother was a drunk? A drug addict? In prison? Would they expel the little girl because of those things too?

I think we forget sometimes that our churches--and their ancillary programs--are there for sinners, not saints. No matter where we are, we're still in the world, and we have to deal with that.

[dixie sass]

You know, that is a curiosity. I wonder why they (most men) are like that. Is it a "do as I say" type situation? If I had a daughter, she wouldn't be wearing them. I'll have to look for the thread and see what people are or were saying about it.

[dixie sass]

I guess since A&F only had a handful and then had them hidden, they are not to popular.

[mrfixit514]

But its moral ones seem a little twisted

Hey Mitch, you just described yourself, not the school!

[dixie sass]

I had a thought, maybe they make them for all the beauty queen wanna-be's.