— Musings —06.06.2012 05:23 AM
Memo to some (not all) of my fellow Ontario Catholics
I don’t know what your strategy was, but it has been a failure on a truly epic scale. If it’s any comfort, Tim Hudak and his Ontario PC caucus agree with you.
Congratulations.
Not so much whipping up intolerance. More like reawakening awareness that there is a fundamental flaw in our education system. Government should not support religious based schools, full stop.
I don’t give a crap if it is in the constitution. Quebec and Newfondland fixed their problem without any fuss. What is holding Ontario back?
In response to earlier comments on the UN declaration on this subject, yes – many of us do happen to care about how Canada and Ontario are percieved by the international community, notwithstanding the current federal govt.
The way my faith’s establishment has handled this mess may end the funding now!
Is there any difference between bullying a kid that has braces or bullying a kid because he is gay?
If there is a difference, please post a comment here.
Well, I haven’t seen a news story about a kid who committed suicide over being teased/bullied for having braces…
Bingo
I’ve seen lots of news stories about kids (gay and straight) killing themselves after being bullied. The reason that they are targeted is irrelevant. Gay Catholics and those with crooked teeth both deserve a safe environment in their schools.
I can introduce you to some parents of children of who committed suicide who were not gay.
They started the London Anti-Bullying Coalition several years ago. If you’re really interested in learning, let me know, I can put you in touch, but a link at the London Anti-bullying Coalition’s website will do the same thing.
You can change what you wear. You can’t change who you are. Clear enough for you?
Another bingo….
Any difference between bullying a kid because he has big ears or bullying a kid because is black or Jewish?
Is there isn’t a difference, please post a comment here.
I think this issue will eventually give Hudak power, not because a majority of Ontarians want him or his policy they don’t, but next election education will end up being a bigger issue again and the GPOs 1 school board policy will bump them back up to the 8%+ range they had during the 2007 election with John Tory’s big policy of funding all religious schools. The GPOs 1 school board policy during that election drove at least half of their vote from what I saw on the ground.
Devout Catholics will vote with Hudak, I don’t how many they are but it should garner him at least 1%, Schriener will skim from all parties but more so from the Libs and NDP, Increased green vote will lower the threshold for a majority giving Hudak a very good chance of taking it all
If Dalton McGuinty was smart, I mean REALLY smart, he’d incrementally introduce curriculum changes that would ultimately force an increasingly reactionary and conservative church to opt out of the education system, with the government doing nothing but nudge.
Ted, I don’t agree. If McGuinty was to go into the next election on a platform ending funding to the Catholic school boards, I think he would win a majority hands down. I’d certainly vote for it (despite my misgivings over the austerity drive they’ve recently embarked on), the devout Catholic who runs this blog is going to vote for him and even some Tory supporters I know would support him. What this issue has done is:
1) Reinforced the impression that the MEN (and they are all men) in charge of the Catholic church really are clueless as to which century they live in (which explains why the church is seeing a decline in church attendance); and
2) Once again demonstrated that Hudak is competely unfit to be premier as he has chosen to position himself (once again) on the wrong side of history and the overwhelming opinion and beleifs of Ontarioians. As the Alberta election demonstrated if you want to be a successful politician anywhere in this country you cannot have even a whiff of intolerance about you. And in this regard Hudak stinks.
Why am I left with the feeling that this was a war room operation solely designed to provoke this outcome? It was the plan all along; the GSA thing is actually a non-issue in and of itself; the name of a club is far less important than what goes on in it and frankly the kind of kids who bully wouldn’t give a rats ass what a club was called. Neither does forcing Catholic schools to have GSAs actually do anything substantive – as other posters have said, kids get bullied for many other reasons and McGuinty isn’t doing anything to help out those of us with big ears, Aspergers, clumsiness, poor eyesight or any of the other myriad reasons kids get singled out. Straight kids have and continue to kill themselves because of bullying and a GSA won’t help them. No, this was a political, back room move designed to fire the first shot in the war on the separate school system – and I don’t have a problem with that debate, I think it should be had. But it should be had in the open, not triggered by war room tactics like this. Have the integrity to come out and say what the Ontario Liberals are really trying to do.
I had older kids try to bully me when I was in school. They didn’t like the fact I had long hair, glasses, and I was a nerd who listened to alternative music.
They were also unaware that my father was quite a scrapper and passed along a few lessons to his youngest son. The bullying usually ended when they received a poke in the nose. If not the first time, then the second or third time.
Not condoning violence mind you, but sometimes it is necessary.
I am gaining respect for you James, not only because you knew how to take care of yourself, but because you had long hair and glasses and listened to alternative music.
With the exception of the long hair (how I miss it)…..I still do.
As I have seen, those who plow iniquity and sow trouble reap the same. Job 4:8
So…what you are saying is get a job?
No. He’s saying with all the trouble and iniquity, the chances of getting a Job in this economy, run by this “economist” is 4:8, or 50%.
Sorry, Tim, I should have said “So…what you are saying is get JOB”…as in the ancient bible dude…not the economic job.
I was trying to be clever with a play on the words, but apparently didn’t do a good JOB of it. (groan)
I know what you were doing, I just did it better.
When do majorities get to call the shots on minorities, when the minority’s rights / protection from the majority is in the constitution?
In light of the Archbishop’s comments and the institution’s continuing assault on the integrity of bisexual and gay people, I have finally pulled together the moral courage to write to my parish priest and ask that he formally officiate my apostasy.
This is why my daughters will no longer go tro church (although that is the only thing that he wanted them to do) and I myself am very annoyed at them to and have become a lapsed Catholic. My oldest duaghter thinks her catholic education in high school wa a waster – she saw intolerance form a relifgion teacher towards a Muslim in her class. My youngest daughter was supset by another student suggesting that all Anlicans including my mother were not real Christians i.e because of Henry VIII