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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?
Isn’t there already enough wasted time in these grade schools, with the american, watered down curriculum (compared to UK, Japan, Germany)? That they have to invent more ways to waste time not learning very much? Meanwhile they’ve cut back on most recess activities (I’ve read), and physical fitness. No money, thanks to Dick Cheney’s War. This Wacky Day is cheap, the parents pay for the costumes or dresses. What a scam.
How about a day where all the students dress up in blackface and have a fried chicken and watermelon picnic. That OK?
#33–Animal==didn’t you do that in High School? Ethnic food day in the cafeteria???
At the time, I recall fried chicken was Ok, but watermelon was suspect for some reason. Now, both are great. At the time, I recall it was associated with “Southern Food” not our fine black brothers.
There was polish day with hotdogs, but my favorite was South of the Border with Tacos. That went well until someone brought in a chihauhau.
Can you explain why you can’t eat watermelon in blackface, or a taco while holding a chichauhau? These food fetishes are difficult to sort thru.
OH WHY OH WHY WON”T SOMEBODY THINK OF THE CHILDREN?!?!?
oh.. wait..
I work around schools, and I see a lot of this crap. So Johnny wants to be Jill for a day, big whoop.
If parents don’t want it to happen, that’s their call. tell your kids “no”.
As for biblical referances, Super Intendant Chalmers from simpsons had it right with
“God has no place within these walls”
Want your kid to go to school and learn biblical things? send them to a private bible based school of your faith, don’t expect every other kid that isn’t your particular brand of crazy to be required to suffer your illness just because you think your kids should.
Are you there god? it’s me, hypocrisy.
They could have had:
– Blackface Day
– Flaming Queer Day
– Handicap Day
Oh wait, only politically-correct themes like the elderly and cross-dressing allowed. Maybe S&M Day?
I can assure you that if my kids’ school showed such poor judgment as to have cross-dressing day they would be in a different school the same afternoon. Same thing if they brought in Eddie Izzard to talk to the class about transgender issues.
If they brought in Eddie Izzard, I’d take the day off work to attend.
That man is genius.
Funny that some can hate the “fundies” but it’s not ok for the “fundies” to voice their opinion.
Public schools can push their agenda, but “fundies” can’t.
Seems like discrimination to me!
#38 lighten up, francis, no one hates fundies, we all just like to point and laugh at how completely terrified you people are of the world.
everytime i see a fundamentalist, it’s like looking at national geographic film of a primitive tribe seeing white people for the first time and being scared of them.
it’s as if you’re convinced the world is going end if you just sneeze the wrong way.
you all are wound so tight, and none of you has a sense of humor.
anyway, you sound you need a hung.
er, a hug
we lefties can’t type — to busy being free thinkers and all.
dag, we lefties are stupid,
TOO busy being free thinkers and all.
(it’s nice when you’re smart enough to view the world through more than one point of view. try it some time, it won’t kill you, i promise)
#31, Lou,
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.
The school didn’t force the kids to dress in any specific way. They had a choice and about half the kids chose to dress up.
It was a “fundy” radio station that complained. White Oaks Nursing Home in California didn’t complain. The Veterans of Foreign Wars didn’t complain. The Muslim League didn’t complain. I think that is why we are focused on the “fundys”.
*
My own eight y/o had a dress up week before Easter. Although they didn’t cross dress or get into Grandma’s closet, they wore a different theme each day. My kid had the greatest time picking two most glaring socks for Mismatched Sock Day, or wearing a dress (whoa, my girl wear a dress, ya right) with matching shoes, purse, and necklace for Dress Nice Day, or whatever that day’s theme was. It was good fun, the kids loved it, and no one lost an eye. Except for Lou and the fundys.