In Rebuttal: Bullying in the name of 'values'

[meow2u3]

In response to "Putting the Squeeze on SpongeBob" by Bill Maier, Midweek Perspectives, Feb. 2:

In his op-ed defending his colleague James Dobson, Focus on the Family Vice President Bill Maier condemned school lesson plans that present homosexuality as normal. He warned that the mention of homosexuality causes children to sexually experiment and participate in a list of horrifying at-risk behaviors. Maier, who is also psychologist in residence at Focus on the Family, cited Harvard research published in Pediatrics magazine. Representatives of each have condemned Focus on the Family and other groups for turning the research on its head for their own purposes.

Gay youth engage in at-risk behaviors not because of their sexual practices, but because they are marginalized by voices like that of Focus on the Family -- a group whose self-described mission is "to cooperate with the Holy Spirit in disseminating the Gospel of Jesus Christ to as many people as possible." Moreover, such hate, judgment and intolerance -- presented as moral values for the "right thinking" -- bully into silence the school systems that should be helping all kids feel safe.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05046/457526.stm

[applegrove]

1. Youth are supposed to play and experiment. So they know exactly

who they are when they reach adulthood - and can then not be exploited by the adult world. And, so they can make the most informed choices for themselves.

It seems to me the other side of this argument is that groups like Focus on the Family rely on 'institutionalized repression and ignorance' in their followers. That just allows them to be used. By organizations like Focus on the Family.

To assume that without Focus on the Family that homosexuals, black clad youth, inner city kids, universities students, etc. etc. would not go out and find families of their own that are built on love - well that is just lies.