 |
ABC News: Kids’ Dress-Up Day Draws Christian Ire
An elementary-school event in which kids were encouraged to dress as members of the opposite gender drew the ire of a Christian radio group, whose angry broadcast prompted outraged calls to the district office.
Students at Pineview Elementary in Reedsburg had been dressing in costume all last week as part of an annual school tradition called Wacky Week. On Friday, students were encouraged to dress either as senior citizens or as members of the opposite sex. A local resident informed the Voice of Christian Youth America on Friday. The Milwaukee-based radio network responded by interrupting its morning programming for a special broadcast that aired on nine radio stations throughout Wisconsin. The broadcast criticized the dress-up day and accused the district of promoting alternative lifestyles. “We believe it’s the wrong message to send to elementary students,” said Jim Schneider, the network’s program director. “Our station is one that promotes traditional family values. It concerns us when a school district strikes at the heart and core of the Biblical values. To promote this to elementary-school students is a great error.”
The dress-up day was not an attempt to promote cross-dressing, homosexuality or alternative gender roles, district administrator Tom Benson said.
“The promotion of transgenderism — that was not our purpose,” Benson told the Baraboo News Republic. “Our purpose was to have a Wacky Week, mixing in a bit of silliness with our reading, writing and arithmetic.”
What are these people afraid of?
I’d say the proper reaction would be “who the fuck asked you?”
Its really no different than if the school had encouraged every student to strap a dildo to their heads and being accused of encouraging people to be dickheads. I can clearly see the distinction the school wants us to make.
What are these people afraid of?
Well, this blog already answered that question.
http://www.dvorak.org/blog/?p=17054
They’re afraid of education.
The worst part about this case is that these themes were chosen by the students themselves. This is something they WANTED to do. Last I checked, most 3rd graders don’t have much of a political agenda.
Except bobbo.
This reminds me of a contest we had at one of my old jobs. It was who could dress up the silliest. I came as Carmen Miranda!
I must of been a butt-ugly Carmen. No one – NOT ONE PERSON – hit on me!
#4–Mac Guy==made me laugh.
But seriously, you remind me of my wife. If I ever want directions, I ask her which way to go, and take the opposite turn. Now, to be wrong ALL THE TIME shows insight and a necessary perversion.
Once again you are wrong. This story is not about politics but rather an assault on “biblical family values.” So, the only way this can be political is if everything is political, and if everything is political, then I’m not wrong to say so.
Ah but did they care about dressing up like a senior citizen? Of course not. Don’t forget about the senior citizens. the madness must end. Leave POP-POP alone!!!
/sarcasm
And public schools are not in the business of teaching biblical values. Granted, our public schools are going to shit for various reasons, but kids dressing up as the opposite gender is hardly worthy of an uproar.
I guess these kids don’t get to celebrate Halloween, either. I sure as hell wouldn’t want to live there. Reedsville is a hole.
OK,
This is stupid..
Its NOT as if girls wear DRESS’s ANYMORE…
Are they Afraid GIRLS will go BRA LESS…
And Boys will WEAR Bras??
Or that Girls MIGHT cut off their HAIR??
While I really think this is a case of fundies being fundies and they have a right to their opinion on what a public school does with their tax dollars same as anyone. I have to ask, what are the kids supposed to be learning by dressing up as the opposite sex.
If the school has taught all the kids all the reading, writing and arithmatic they need, fine. But really, is this activity going to make the kids any smarter?
And making fun of Senior Citizens is just mean.
I love the pic.
Did I leave the gas on?
#11 – If it gets the kids excited about going to school, then yes. It can be helpful. It’s sad that we have to resort to that, but if parents won’t properly encourage their kids to stay in school…
I’m sure most people that age want to cross dress…right. It’s nothing to do with the homosexual agenda…right again. It’s all meaningless fun…right a third time.
Now, we interrupt this fun to address the nearly 50% dropout rate of many public schools…
Yeah, this is a genius blogging topic and really brings credibility to John C.
I agree with the fundies on this one, lets go even further and kick all the candy sales, photographers, etc out of the schools and concentrate on learning.
I couldn’t decide whether to say that Jesus wore a long dress or that in my family dressing up was seen as a great game.
I like this Jim Schneider’s quote that “they are a program that tries to promote “Traditional Family Values”
Lat I checked Hate and Intolerance were not traditional Family Values…ANDI GREW UP CATHOLIC!!
I hate seeing stories like this, especially when it comes from my Home State. Pretty soon Dvorak is going to give Wisconsin our own “More Wacky News out of Wisconsin” tagline…
I’m not aware of much gender-specific dressing instruction in the Bible, but one passage does come to mind that should give many Christians reason to reflect on their own actions. In a letter to Timothy (1 Timothy 2:9-10), the Apostle Paul wrote the following…
“I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God.”
I would guess that if the Apostle Paul went into many modern Christian churches, he would probably mistake half the women there to be either heathens or prostitutes, with all their jewelry and expensive “Sunday best” clothes. Cross-dressing children for a day of silliness and fun should be the least of their concerns.
Actually, even as an atheist and antitheist, I must say that any students who decline to dress differently should be free to make that decision.
While I find the bible laughable and stupid in its entirety, there is indeed a clause forbidding dress as the opposite sex. So, we must allow students to decline this if they so choose.
That said, any kids that are enjoying the fun, why should any rational person object? And, given that the children chose this and voted on it, why not allow it? As long as it’s not required, who really gives a rat’s ass?
Here’s the stupid-assed quote from the freakin’ bible for anyone who gives a shit what some desert war god has to say in this day and age.
Deuteronomy 22:5
What a load of horseshit!!
Note also that the same chapter, verse 11 states “Thou shalt not wear a mingled stuff, wool and linen together.” Does this apply to 50% cotton 50% poly too or only wool and linen? I could probably make a nice silly case that blended materials are all verboten.
Some obvious jokes:
Parents of some third grade boys had previously aired concerns of alternative lifestyles being promoted in the school when the kids began to express they thought girls were “icky”.
Immediately after dressing up as boys the girls all said they “really wanted to become gym teachers when they grew up”.
If the kids chose the other option and dressed up as senior citizens:
-they would have spent their entire recess period telling each other to “stay off their lawn”.
-kindergarten teachers would be asked by students to put “Matwock” on the tv before nap time.
-social studies instruction would be interrupted by various complaints about how the new medical plan for seniors is too complicated.
-to get immersed into character, first graders would resume pooping themselves at their previous kindergarten rates.
Thank you, good night!
#16 good catch, M.Scott! Then cross-dressing is strictly verboten after all, and it comes from no less respectable a source than Deuteronomy. Most Christians would much rather fall on their own sword than follow some of Deuteronomy’s other pronouncements, but more about that on another occasion 😉
Sorry, I just don’t see this as appropriate for elementary school children. If it was High School, I’d say “go for it”.
Thank you for posting this. The religious wackos in this area need to be exposed…..
Think about it, these kids are going to have more exposure to the idea of transgender/alternative lifestyles now because of this ruckus than they ever would have if they had just left it alone…. pathetic!
There’s stupid… Then there is Fundy Xian Loonbat Stupid…
# 17 Madtownmoxie said, …Pretty soon Dvorak is going to give Wisconsin our own “More Wacky News out of Wisconsin” tagline…
+1
Perhaps the school should have had a Bible dress week… everyone dress as person in the Bible.
Then we would see how tolerant some of the posters here would be.
This is funny, all of the comments about “it’s the childrens decision”. You don’t think they were either limited or coached into their decision, by teachers/administrators? It’s easy to understand that they had limited choices.
What about if the children wanted to dress as their favorite religious figure, would that have been allowed? While I have no problem with dressing up as the opposite sex, I think we cannot say no to religion and yes to transgender.
I would’ve dressed my son up as the meanest looking bull dik…oops, sorry, don’t mean to offend the audience here. I meant: meanest looking Lesbian out there. A gangsta lesbian, if there actually is such a group of people.
I guess this is what our extra 40 billion dollars a year spent by the Dept. of Ed. gets us. I wonder if the Japanese school system encourages their kids to dress in the opposite sex on occasion or if they would rather these kids spend the time learning their multiplication tables by heart. But then again, that wouldn’t be a fair comparison, right? I believe the Public Schools in our country stopped focusing on teaching the fundamentals of English and Math and decided to teach acceptance and political correctness instead a decade and half ago anyway.
#26 RSweeney, I don’t think I’d complain about that as long as no school-sponsored Bible instruction were given in order for the kids to know how to dress, and an alternative such as senior citizens dress would be equally acceptable. Maybe it would be a good thing for kids to learn tolerance for crazy people at an early age, and dressing up like crazy Bible prophets might be a good introduction to the topic of mental illness 😉
Tim said
…the pressure builds up in their brains
Just as I thought.. steam powered!
J/P=?
Doesn’t the school have better things to do than force boys to dress as girls and vice versa? Like, dunno, educating the children? Those who think only a “fundie” would object to this nonsense are delusional.
No tech news today, John?