High School Theocracy

Rob Tisinai

March 1st, 2012

This is Dorothy Bond, principal of Haywood High School, a public school in Brownsville, Tennessee. The local ABC affiliate informs us she’s been accused of telling gay students they’re not welcome at Haywood. And that gays are going to Hell. A parent challenged Principal Bond: he claims she replied, “I’m sorry if I offended you but my view is still the same you’re not welcome here.”

According to the ACLU, Bond has threatened to expel students who show public affection for members of the same sex (not the way opposite-sex PDAs are treated). The ACLU also reports that she gathered students in the cafeteria for prayer, and threatened student with disciplinary action if they didn’t bow their heads. I don’t know whether the allegations are true, but if so, it seems obvious that she should be fired.

And wouldn’t that be interesting.

It’s a clear-cut religious freedom issue. A government employee can’t demand that the public adhere to her own religious practices in order to receive government services. What could be more clear? But then I think of that New York town clerk who wouldn’t issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, claiming it violated her own religious freedom. The antigays rushed to her defense.

That’s scary. And it’s new — this notion that religious freedom means you have to pass a state employee’s personal religious test before they’ll help you. War is peace, freedom is slavery, ignorance is strength, and religious freedom is being penalized for not adhering to a government official’s religion.

Dorothy Bond is going way beyond what that town clerk did, though. She’s not merely refusing service. She’s actively harming those who don’t bow down to her public school theocracy. I’ve often wondered just how many special rights our opponents are trying to claim in the name of religious freedom. This might become a good chance to see if they’re willing to destroy religious liberty in the name of defending it. To see if they’re fine with putting the government in charge of religion, as long as it’s a religion they agree with.

UPDATE: Dorothy Bond has resigned (thanks for the tip, Clayton!). That’s great news, if she’s actually done the things she’s accused of. Please help out and report any backlash from anti-gay groups. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if there were none?

Timothy Kincaid

March 1st, 2012

Sounds pretty clear-cut to me.

But I have no doubt that the dominionist-minded will portray her as a martyr. It will be fascinating to see how they do so.

Timothy Kincaid

March 1st, 2012

When a public institution is accused of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and their response is

[we do] not condone or engage in the unlawful discrimination of administrators, faculty, or students on the basis of sex, race, color, religion, or national origin.

then it’s pretty clear that they approve of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

Muscat

March 1st, 2012

Well of course they are fine with it. The overlap between anti-gay activists and supporters of public prayer in schools (by which they mean Christian, especially conservative Christian, prayer) seems likely to be high. Anti-gay activists are fine with bullying people into staying closeted/invisible, and public prayer in schools of the kind they want is just another form of bullying.

The main thing that might cause them to not support her is saying students aren’t even “welcome” at the school. Perhaps a bit too obvious or extreme form of bullying, since even conservative Christian churches have increasingly claimed to be “welcoming” of gay people.

Steve

March 1st, 2012

You forgot that she also threatened and insulted pregnant students. She is clearly a religious nutcase who needs to be fired

Steve

March 1st, 2012

She resigned:

http://www.abc24.com/news/local/story/Haywood-High-School-Principal-Resigns/I8uisJEyN0e2DfvDompxWQ.cspx

Timothy Kincaid

March 1st, 2012

Muscat,

you misstate the position of Conservative Christians on school prayer. They don’t insist on only conservative Christian prayer. That’s not fair, not at all.

So long as it is distinctly Christian, implies criticism of gays, atheists, other religions and especially those liberal christian sell-outs, and makes it clear to the kiddies that Jesus loves them just a pinch more when they grow up to vote Republican, then they would be perfectly happy (or, at least grudgingly happy) to accept moderately conservative Christian prayer.

See how tolerant and open they are?

Timothy Kincaid

March 1st, 2012

Steve: “She resigned.”

My prediction

And the militant homosexual activists have cost a Good Christian Black Woman (and in all press releases be sure to point out that she’s black – it means we’re not racist) her job, just for standing up for Jesus Christ and her Christian principles. They call for tolerance, but see how intolerant they are.

Steve

March 1st, 2012

Also something about “violating her religious freedom”

RF

March 2nd, 2012

Now that the one monster has “resigned”, her replacement got his doctorate from some private “Nazarene” Christian college.

Blake

March 2nd, 2012

“To see if they’re fine with putting the government in charge of religion, as long as it’s a religion they agree with.”

I’m pretty sure a good many of them have already staked such a claim. I certainly know Bryan Fisher has.

Snowball

March 3rd, 2012

The principal of the second high school I went to, and the one I graduated from, was a Fundamentalist Christian pastor of some kind or other.

I say that because the issue of his religion, or of religion in general never came up. I honestly remember more about speaking with him about black powder guns and the fact that like my dad, he was a civil war re-enactor, than anything ever said about religion. I couldn’t even tell you what his denomination was, only that he was in a “Confederate” re-enactor group. He never even brought up the subject of religion to my knowledge, at school.

How much things have changed for the worse since the late 1980’s, eh?

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