The National Organization for Marriage has - in its own way - admitted that it erred in a video claiming that a gender identity lesson in an Oakland, CA school was targeted at kindergartners.
Originally in a letter to supporters, NOM's president, Brian Brown said:
But the video (seen below) clearly showed that the students NOM called kindergartners were in fact fourth graders. An announcer on the video also said so.
When NOM's error was exposed, Brown's letter was surreptitiously changed to say:
And now a note on the NOM blog entry reads (Correction: The Oakland class in multiple genders was addressed to fourth-graders, not kindergarteners, and this post has been update to correct the error.)
However, the title of the video still said Public School Teaches Kindergartners There Are Multiple Genders Without Parental Consent.
That is until now. You will notice that the title of the video has been changed:
However, NOM still seems to be holding out on the idea that parents were not notified, even though the video said - at 1.45 - that the parents did not have a problem with the lesson AND an article on the Fox News website quoted Oakland Unified School District spokesman Troy Flint saying that parents were given prior notice and in fact, three families opted their children out of the lesson.
I might also point out that the article also quoted a spokesperson for a group opposing the lesson, who also said that three families opted their children out, thus giving more proof that parents knew beforehand of the lesson.
The question here isn't were kindergartners incorporated in these lesson plans but why did NOM feel the need to push this incident to the brinks of hysteria.
Why did NOM feel the need to go the extra mile and bring up false visions of scared and possibly tear-stained kindergartners held captive in classes being taught lessons that could potentially scar them for life?
Why did NOM feel the need to embellish the lessons plans in such a way that not only channeled the "gay recruitment" lies of Anita Bryant, but also the daycare sex abuse hysteria of the 1980s?
As if I have to ask that question.
In spite of Brown's talk of civil and respectable discussion regarding marriage equality, this is the modus operandi of NOM.
The organization does not want a civil discussion on marriage equality and they certainly don't want to talk about the same-sex couples or the same-sex couples with children who are the true center of discussions on marriage equality.
Instead, the organization wants to scare people into opposing marriage equality by pushing phony horror stories of children getting their minds corrupted via a plot by a group of hedonistic monsters out to wreck American values and Christianity.
I think it's safe to say that in this case, it was NOM which got wrecked. And while this embarrassing incident is probably a momentary, very small setback for the group, I sincerely hope folks remember it and file it away for future reference.
Originally in a letter to supporters, NOM's president, Brian Brown said:
Just when you think it can't get any weirder or more disturbing, an Oakland grade school decided to teach kindergartners about multiple genders, under the banner of preventing bullying.
Watch that video. Look at the children's faces. And then look at the activist from a group called "Gender Spectrum" who wants to embed in these children's minds the idea that we all have a right to make up our own gender(s).
But the video (seen below) clearly showed that the students NOM called kindergartners were in fact fourth graders. An announcer on the video also said so.
When NOM's error was exposed, Brown's letter was surreptitiously changed to say:
Just when you think it can't get any weirder or more disturbing, an Oakland public school decided to teach grade-school children about multiple genders, under the banner of preventing bullying.
Watch that video. Look at the children's faces. And then look at the activist from a group called "Gender Spectrum" who wants to embed in these children's minds the idea that we all have a right to make up our own gender(s).
And now a note on the NOM blog entry reads (Correction: The Oakland class in multiple genders was addressed to fourth-graders, not kindergarteners, and this post has been update to correct the error.)
However, the title of the video still said Public School Teaches Kindergartners There Are Multiple Genders Without Parental Consent.
That is until now. You will notice that the title of the video has been changed:
However, NOM still seems to be holding out on the idea that parents were not notified, even though the video said - at 1.45 - that the parents did not have a problem with the lesson AND an article on the Fox News website quoted Oakland Unified School District spokesman Troy Flint saying that parents were given prior notice and in fact, three families opted their children out of the lesson.
I might also point out that the article also quoted a spokesperson for a group opposing the lesson, who also said that three families opted their children out, thus giving more proof that parents knew beforehand of the lesson.
The question here isn't were kindergartners incorporated in these lesson plans but why did NOM feel the need to push this incident to the brinks of hysteria.
Why did NOM feel the need to go the extra mile and bring up false visions of scared and possibly tear-stained kindergartners held captive in classes being taught lessons that could potentially scar them for life?
Why did NOM feel the need to embellish the lessons plans in such a way that not only channeled the "gay recruitment" lies of Anita Bryant, but also the daycare sex abuse hysteria of the 1980s?
As if I have to ask that question.
In spite of Brown's talk of civil and respectable discussion regarding marriage equality, this is the modus operandi of NOM.
The organization does not want a civil discussion on marriage equality and they certainly don't want to talk about the same-sex couples or the same-sex couples with children who are the true center of discussions on marriage equality.
Instead, the organization wants to scare people into opposing marriage equality by pushing phony horror stories of children getting their minds corrupted via a plot by a group of hedonistic monsters out to wreck American values and Christianity.
I think it's safe to say that in this case, it was NOM which got wrecked. And while this embarrassing incident is probably a momentary, very small setback for the group, I sincerely hope folks remember it and file it away for future reference.
6 comments:
And yet after all this NOM is STILL making the patently false claim "Fox News covered a class full of kindergartners in California being taught that you can feel like a girl, feel like a boy, feel like both, or feel like neither" in their blog post "Video: Coming to a Public School Near YOU?" (http://www.nomblog.com/9382) which has now been up for several days.
I know but folks also know that it is false. NOM's hardcore followers are the only ones buying that mess.
cookie monster says he had NOM first. give it back.
I've made an issue of this because many, many more people read their blog than comment there. (Heck, many people read their blog who are not ALLOWED to comment there.) And many of these people reading this false information will not know it is false. NOM is lying, and yes, they are getting away with it. Their false claim is a scare tactic, the kind NOM and their allies are known for, but when their scare tactics include outright lying, how can we effectively get the word out about just how dishonest they are? It amazes (and dismays) me that anybody would ally themselves with such an organization.
Excuse my geek nature for a moment, but teaching kids the concept of "Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations" is not a Bad Thing.
John B;
the only way i know is the YELL the truth - louder than the lies.
which isn't possible with MSM, because "fair and balanced" means they HAVE to treat lies as "a truth". even when - maybe *especially when* - they KNOW it's a lie.
after all, everyone knows that reality has a "liberal bias", and that's just NOT FAIR to those who don't want progress!
but you're right - we have to keep fighting anyway. i'd just like to find tactics that *work*, ya know? something more than screaming louder than the other side - because then they get all quiet and say "look how loud and insane those people are" [and when we try to say "look how loud and insane they are" they say "but you're trying to change things and we have to be loud to "protect" ourselves" - so we never win. sigh]
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