Posted on 02/07/2003 4:24:38 AM PST by kattracks
From Tolerance to Affirmation: One School's Experience with a Gay-Affirmative Program
Indeed, and many other homosexual groups and authors are particularly "focused" on younger kids:
My how prudent of the GLSEN folks. They have such concern for the kids. < /s>
Lots of kids look older than they really are, e.g. 12 year-olds who look like they're 14 or 15. And you're telling me GLSEN's presenters "just eyeballed the attendees?!" That's irresponsible, madg!
"It was quite clear that the conference was about sexuality and education."
Actually, there are a good many things that are unclear.
"Like Ive already mentioned, there is no evidence that ANY of the workshop attendees OR their parents have complained about content "
Since parents never signed permission slips for individual workshops and GLSEN didn't keep track of who went to which workshops (and didn't care enough to more than "eyeball" the kids), the kids could simply tell their parents "no, I did NOT attend that (fisting) workshop."
Like I said, you're trying to have it both ways. It was a public event, therefore the presenters are off the hook. But Camenker should be off the hook too.
GLSEN is a private organization that used its own funds to hold its own conference.
A previous inquiry was made by another member which you haven't answered: did Tufts University let GLSEN use their space free of charge, or did GLSEN pay rent? And if rent was paid, was it reduced or full price?
The answers will reveal whether additional taxpayer money was used to support this event. The Massachusetts DOE's HIV/AIDS Task Force people are being paid a salary just like CenterRight is being paid a salary. Therefore, like CenterRight and his continuing legal education seminars, they wouldn't get paid by the hour to present this conference.
CenterRight reported that his travel, meals and lodging were paid for. Did tax money pay for the travel, meals and lodging for the HIV/AIDS Task Force people to present this conference?
By the way, Brooke Shields was a very well-packaged 12-year-old who was able to convince the modeling world that she was 18. Traci Lords was a very well-packaged 15-year-old who convinced the porn industry that she was 18.
Teenagers concentrate really tremendous efforts, and not inconsiderable expenditures, on the task of looking older than they actually are. The fact that you "presume that presenters just eyeballed the attendees" says a great deal. No one selling liquor or cigarettes will just "eyeball" a teenager.
Not at all.
"GLSEN has no control over what kids tell their parents."
GLSEN influences what kids say and think more than you realize - through GSA's, workshops such as those in their 'Teach Out' conferences, and throught their recommended reading lists.
" The parents could have attended if they wished."
Unless parents had reason for concern, why would they attend? Most parents, believeing this was a "safe-schools" conference for middle and high school aged children, gave permission for their children to attend the conference in general. You've already confirmed that no registration or parental permission was required for individual workshops, so it's very unlikely parents knew that this sexually explicit workshop would be included at a "safe schools" conference.
"Driscoll had nothing to do with conference and SHOULD have had nothing to do with the contrived controversy... Driscolls was dragged into this via deception..."
From State condemns 'gay' sex discussion:
"While I had a letter in the conference brochure, it offered general support of programs that promote safe schools; it was not a letter of specific support for this conference. I had no knowledge of what the conference workshops would entail," he said.
If Driscoll didn't intend for his letter to be "of specific support for this conference" why did GLSEN put it in their 'Teach Out' conference brochure? We know why - to convince parents that the conference was supported by the state. GLSEN was trying to pull one over on everyone. The letter had to be printed up before the conference, so someone at GLSEN carefully planned this. When parents hear that the conference is about "safe schools" and then see a "letter of support" from the commisioner of Education in a GLSEN conference brochure, why would they have reason for concern? If Driscoll had absolutely nothing to do with the conference, why did GLSEN solicit a letter from the highest ranking education official in the state?
Yeah, Driscolls was dragged into this via deception - it was GLSEN doing the dragging.
"And I have no idea how or if they checked ages. Seeing as how there are no charges or harm to minors, I don't see how it makes a difference."
There's a lot of truth in that little "satire" you posted in reply 210:
DA: So, Mr. Whiteman, you think that children were harmed at this presentation?...
WHITEMAN: I dont know their names and I dont know their ages but some of them looked kind of young
DA: I see hmmm Ill ask the conference organizer. Ummm GLSEN, what are the names and ages of the kids in that workshop?
GLSEN: We dont know.
DA: What?
GLSEN: We dont know. Folks register for the conference, not for individual workshops. If you want to attend a specific workshop, just walk into the room at the appropriate time (assuming that theres room available) we dont take names.
DA: I see. Well, Mr. Whiteman, before we even get to the evidence we have to have at least one victim
DA: ... But Im sorry without an identifiable victim, I cant possibly prove that they were in any way harmed.
Parents were never required to sign permission slips for specific workshops and GLSEN didn't keep track of the ages of the kids going to sexually explicit workshops. Ah, the method in GLSEN's madness.
" Seeing as how there are no charges..."
In reply 104, you wrote:
"We KNOW that no charges have been filed against GLSEN, therefore the complaint was without merit."
Actually madg, there have been no charges filed yet. The fact is, the Attorney General has not rendered any opinion on the complaint filed by Scott Whiteman. Until such time that the complaint is officially dismissed, the workshop presenters could still be charged. Quite frankly, if I were the attorney for Camenker and Whiteman, I'd demand that the AG stop sitting on his hands and make a ruling.
And, as I pointed out in reply 136, Camenker and Whiteman have NEVER been charged of any crime in a criminal court. The homsexual activist group (Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders) who brought the civil suit used a little-known wiretapping law originally written for organized crime and twisted its meaning to accuse Camenker and Whiteman of committing crimes.
As quoted in State condemns 'gay' sex discussion:
"Faced with the irrefutable evidence of his employees' actions, David Driscoll, commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Education, admitted Tuesday: "The participation of our staff in conversations with students about explicit issues of sexuality outside the realm of AIDS/HIV prevention was wrong. The workshops were of prurient nature, and not educational, and what we heard suggests that the discussion contributed absolutely nothing to the students' understanding of how to avoid AIDS and HIV." "
It's 1984 in Massachusetts And Big Brother Is Gay:
"Clossey called her mayor. He never called back. Calling school officials, she says she encountered "arrogant disrespect for parents." So she filed a criminal complaint against the teacher for corrupting a minor. Even Boston's hard-line pro-homosexuality newspapers and TV stations couldn't sit on this. But the complaint went nowhere. It emerged that Kozuch was not acting alone. The book was on a reading list given to every student. Urged by other furious parents, Clossey went to the local prosecutor. But the receptionist had been warned to expect her, according to Clossey. She waited and waited, but was not allowed to speak to her district attorney."
"The third annual national conference of the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) featured a keynote address by civil rights activist and Georgia Democrat Rep. John Lewis, comic relief by comedienne Margaret Cho, a "prom" for homosexual youth, and symposia on topics such as "Responding to the Religious Right" and "Addressing GLBT (gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered) Issues in Middle School."
Kevin Jennings, founder and executive director of GLSEN, opened the conference by proclaiming, "We are at a new moment in our history."...
Activists from GLAAD, the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund (LLDEF), the ACLU, and Americans United for Separation of Church and State also gathered with attendees to give tips and trade strategies on how to change school policies on issues such as homosexuality in sex education classes, homosexual literature in school libraries, school-sponsored homosexual student groups, and cross-dressing among "transgendered" students, as well as fighting "parental rights" amendments and the elimination of sex education..."
Whether her actions were criminal or not will be decided when the AG acts on Scott Whiteman's complaint. To date, the complaint has not been dismissed. And the Commissioner of Education stated that she violated DOE policy, as pointed out in reply 249 above.
All they have to do to prove it is disclose the financial records for the conference showing that no taxpayer money was used and that charges for the rental of facilities were not reduced -- contracts and agreements signed, invoices paid, etc would be acceptable documentation. Those were public facilities that GLSEN held their conference at.
Now that's very interesting! GLSEN received taxpayer money to manage a Mass DOE program that receives taxpayer-funded grants to create GSA's, as documented in reply 115. Students GLSEN makes it happen...
A private homosexual advocacy group should not be managing public school programs of any kind. And getting paid with taxpayer money on top of it...
The "45 minutes" are, word-for-word, a good portion of what was covered in the "entire" workshop. Actual documentation, madg. The remainder of the tape could be released except for that nasty little gag order the "Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders" had slapped on Camenker and Whiteman. Obviously, "GLAD" doesn't want the rest of the tape released. This is documented in reply 136 above.
When the highest ranking education official in the second-most pro-homosexual state in the U.S. says that the GLSEN workshops "were of prurient nature, and not educational," you know the problem is serious.
When one of the presenters tells you during this GLSEN workshop that a homosexual speaker she had brought in to a public middle school was too graphic about explicit homosexual sex, you know there is a very serious problem. Only she didn't notice that the same speaker she had invited to speak in the middle school was also in attendance in her workshop:
From time index 5:39 to 7:41 on audio clip 8. Scott Whiteman: As With Vegetables, Children Shouldn't Knock Homosexuality Until They Have Tried It (Length 8:02), you can hear a representative from a homosexual organization known as "SpeakOut" state: "I'm that speaker who was at the middle school." He then goes on to explain that with "SpeakOut," "students can ask us anything and we will answer." He also states that he doesn't know what school policy is about sex education and "how much you tell the kids, but our policy is we don't lie, we don't hide things." He also claims that students can't talk to their parents or churches and then states "so who do the talk to?" "they talk to SpeakOut."
From SpeakOut Programs and Services:
"SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
Every year, our volunteers conduct informal, interactive speaking engagements in hundreds of settings, including high schools, colleges, businesses, government agencies, churches, synagogues, youth groups, and community service organizations of all kinds.
We generally speak in pairs (one woman and one man) but also offer panel presentations. We begin by talking for a few minutes about our own lives our experiences of prejudice, as well as how weve grown to understand, accept, and take pride in our sexual or gender identities. We talk about how weve "come out" to our families, friends, and coworkers; how weve faced discrimination; how weve fallen in love and raised families; how weve worked and lived our lives.
In keeping with our motto of "Ask Us Anything," we encourage audience questions. Our speakers are trained to solicit questions and respond to comments. We listen for underlying myths and help audiences feel at ease raising difficult issues. Sometimes we will offer simple workshop exercises to increase understanding.
Obviously, there is a link between what was being taught at GLSEN conferences and what's being taught in schools.
Why was security necessary? Did GLSEN pay for it?
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