Barfing Florida Teacher Is Just Like Jesus

Jim Burroway

August 26th, 2011

The resemblance is uncanny.

Jerry Buell, the Florida history and American government teacher who was suspended two weeks ago for anti-gay comments posted on his Facebook page, has been reinstated at Mount Dora High School. Buell’s lawyer said that the school district suspended him over concerns that his actions violated the separation of church and state at the taxpayer-supported public high school. Buell was suspended after writing on his Facebook page, “I’m watching the news, eating dinner, when the story about New York okaying same sex unions came on and I almost threw up.”

Jerry Buell returned to the classroom yesterday. School officials refused to comment on whether Buell’s actions violated the separation of church and state, saying only that it had placed a “written directive” in his personnel file. The district removed Buell’s school-hosted web page on which he had written “I try to teach and lead my students as if Lake Co. Schools had hired Jesus Christ himself.” The district also directed him to change his syllabus, which included this statement:

I am a man of God and I try to be like Jesus every day. I teach God’s truth, I make very few compromises. If you believe you may have a problem with that, get your schedule changed, ’cause I ain’t changing!

Last night, Buell spoke at a rally staged by the Liberty Counsel, where he remained defiant:

Fighting back tears, he said: “I’m a social studies teacher, and I knew I what the heck I was doing. “There’s a thing in this country called the First Amendment,” he told the crowd of a few hundred. “I firmly believe in the right to express my opinions passionately.”

Ben In Oakland

August 26th, 2011

“I try ot be like Jesus every day”….

except for the part about judging people’s sins.

JohnAGJ

August 26th, 2011

I have a bigger problem with what he said on school-owned website and on his syllabus rather than his idiotic comments about gay marriage. That’s where the school administration should have focused on.

DONALD CRADDOCK

August 26th, 2011

Nothing resembling my Christ is apparent there.

David Malcolm

August 26th, 2011

It’s so sad that this guy thinks Jesus was such an asshole.

tavdy79

August 26th, 2011

If he’s like Jesus, I don’t think I want to be like Jesus.

Regan DuCasse

August 26th, 2011

Oh…gag!
What IS it with these people that put themselves on the cross after a self made kerfuffle?
As if it was SUCH an ordeal! As IF he’s just SO courageous for expressing a nasty opinion and after being busted, whining about it?
He teaches social studies?!
Really?
He thinks he’s living like Christ? Well, he’s forgotten that inconvenient directive about treating another human being the way HE’D want to be treated. And he’s forgetting that Jesus had two dads and no wife.

Wearing one’s religious belief on the sleeve as if that’s a character reference of irrefutable virtue makes me wanna just GAG!

As the memorial dedicated to the life of Dr. ML King is about to happen, I wish these people like this teacher, and the knuckle draggers at Liberty U (founded by an avowed RACIST who hated Dr. King), would be exposed for the supremacist values cowards they truly are.

This teacher needs to read “Letters From a Birmingham Jail”, and I bet a gay student could relate to who deals with real injustice more than this dickhead could ever appreciate.

dn

August 26th, 2011

I wonder how liberty counsel would feel about a public school teacher who proudly teaches the traditions of allah and muhammed.

I also wonder what the public reaction would have been if it had been a post about black people or jews.

just because he has a right to say something does not mean that it is right to say it.

Erin

August 26th, 2011

Oh the ire I am experiencing right now. You know what? The anti-gay hate speech is nothing new. And of course I’m irate this school district reinstated this man who effectively demonized any LGBT kids in his school and any kids with LGBT loved ones. But then, to top off my anger, this man is a social studies teacher. He has been educated and assigned a task to teach kids about their government. Then, just like a freaking ignoramus, stands up and completely misrepresents the Constitution of our United States. Yes, he has a right to say what he wants, as in, the government cannot arrest or fine him and another party cannot lawfully sue him. THAT’s IT! When will these idiotic Christianists get it through their heads that the first amendment does not protect their business partnerships when their words threaten that business’ success, and it does not protect their jobs, public or private when they engage in misconduct and represent their employers poorly. Jesus would just love this vile man’s hatred, arrogance, and appalling ignorance. Just freaking love it.

WMDKitty

August 27th, 2011

I can’t believe they didn’t fire his sorry ass — not so much for the FB comments, but for the Jesus-spew on his syllabus and school-hosted web page. He was clearly proselytizing, and former students have come forward and said that he did, in fact, preach in the classroom.

JohnnyC

August 27th, 2011

@JohnAGJ

For all we know the syllabus and website were the issues for the school board, the only side of this story we’ve heard so far is that of Buell and Liberty Council. It wouldn’t surprise me at all to find that they had lied about what the suspension is over. I’ve noticed a trend on the anti-gay right to interpret any anti-gay comments controversy as being about opposition to marriage equality.

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