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I read an article that talks about how the Tennessee State Senate has passed a law making it illegal to say the words Gay or Homosexual or discuss any related issues in the classrooms of Tennessee schools. Just when you thought people couldn't be any dumber, this just adds another layer of stupid. They already get made fun of for other things, but now they will really get it big time. I guess the birthplace of the KKK wants to ensure a new generation of bigots continues for years to come. Unreal! This is the 21st century, not the dark ages! It's time these people figure that out!
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Except they can't do that
Because even students are citizens, and have that whole Free Speech / Free Expression thing going on for them. The ACLU will be on this like white on rice.
Nah, you have it the wrong way round
It's political correctness, silly! Since everybody is supposed to be so all-inclusive now, just saying those words would be an insult, wouldn't it?
Just like you can't say black, you have to say African-American, even if you're talking about paint?
(Takes tongue out of cheek)
Mind you, in the UK they do things just as stupid, and it is political correctness.
Penny
This Time It Is Not Meant As A PC Issue
Some move forward, some move backward...
Sounds similar to the UK's infamous Section 28, which was enacted in 1988 and repealed in 2000/2003.
--B
As the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body, then only left-handers are in their right mind!
Not Quite
It's not the legislature, it was a State Senate committee. At least so far, according to this article. [CLICK HERE]
(Don't fail to read THIS ARTICLE, which is referenced by the one above, and has all the gory details about legislative procedure and amendments, etc. Also, it mentions an existing educational law that already makes it a misdemeanor to teach any sex education that is not part of the "family life curriculum" adopted by the state Board of Education.)
And, it appears it would only apply to public school curricula prior to the ninth grade.
In any event, the legislator pushing the measure has tried this for the last 6 years, without success.
Although it likely won't pass into law this time, either, I can't help speculating on possible unintended consequences. After all, the law doesn't just prevent teachers from allowing discussions of the prevalence, existence, rights or aspirations of gay persons, it prohibits any mention of them, including unwittingly enough, any negative mention. Without the ability to mention same-sex affinity or marriage, might it make it harder to instill a sense of discrimination in their students? Would a disparaging remark about gays then be actionable under the new state law? I'm imagining a gay student pursuing a legal case against a teacher for uttering an anti-gay remark in a classroom!
Anyway, it won't pass, so I'll have to survive without the hope of this minor amusement.
God, I hate the South and their foolish ways and their bigoted fools.
___________________
If a picture is worth 1000 words, this is at least part of my story.
Yep my feelings exactly
Wish all these social conservative bigots all move down there so they can all bigoted together and leave the rest of us alone. Also, knowing where they are would be a good way of figuring out where to get rid of them if they start becoming threatening and nasty and get into this whole firing on Fort Sumter type mentality.
Kim
Hey, watch it
Pippa,
I live in Tennessee. Its actually a very lovely state and I enjoy living here. Everyone is not a socially retarded idiot here. It will more than likely not pass into law, and is the crusade of a few individuals. Please try not to lump everyone in together with comments like that.
XXX,
Bri
XXX,
Bri
Wishing You Well
I wish you, and all other progressive Tennesseeans, only the best wishes in your fight against bigotry and fools. It would be nice if you guys could get half of the publicity that the social reactionaries seem to garner all the time.
The sad fact is that the entire South is more socially conservative, more reactionary, and often more foolish in its governmental and economic policy than elsewhere. Only the people who live there can change that. It's not going to be easy, though. Most southern states are "right to work" states, meaning unions can't protect workers, wages are lower, benefits are poorer and it's easier to get fired, including for political activities that rub your bosses the wrong way. I wish I had some advice, but all I can do is wish you well.
Hrm.
Right to work states also don't tend to have anywhere near the problem with keeping businesses afloat. If the Unions had their way, people still wouldn't be able to buy plumbing supplies without a union card. (My wife's whole family is/was UAW, and even her father admits he was under worked and grossly overpaid)
My _only_ desire is this.
Even with temp workers, the person who determines that a worker is to be terminated must be the one to actually perform the termination, and MUST give a reason for said termination. That being said, there need to be protections so there isn't an instant lawsuit on the part of the terminated worker towards the business. "You don't bathe enough" or "You mumble incessantly and are bothering the rest of the workers around you" or even "You refuse to quit trying to convert your fellow workers to your religion." should be perfectly reasonable reasons. At least then the worker has SOMETHING to keep in mind at his next job.
Me? Anti-union, self-employed, and a proponent of the right to freedom, including the right to take the consequences.
I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.
Freedom
If only the freedom to be different, the freedom to speak your mind, the freedom to access the truth, the freedom to be ourselves, the freedom to marry, the freedom to choose or reject your own religious beliefs were the freedoms we could ensure for all.
Having to do without health care, food, housing, education, legal protection or security isn't freedom. It's oppression.
*scratches his head*
How is it oppression when there are no guarantees for any of those, even in the Declaration and Constitution?
Nobody guarantees that I will get food, health care, education, legal protection, or security unless I pay for them. If I don't pay for food, I go hungry. In fact, Benjamin Franklin, as I recall, stated "Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety" (paraphrased, it's talking about freedom vs security)
On the other hand, I'm a HUGE believer that if you want to dress up in a rabbit costume wearing lingerie, and dance along the streets of New York, you should be able to do so as long as you don't knock people into the gutters. NOBODY has the right to tell you how to act, dress, eat, or live in general, unless it directly impacts their ability to do the same.
(George Carlin had a routine where he described something similar to the above rabbit outfit, but a lot more...risque)
I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.
Offended
I was very tempted to issue a a strong three word epithet, but decided not too, no matter how well earned it might be. I grew up in rural SE Texas, in a very redneck set of schools.
Nobody really cared about gay/homosexual. The most you heard about was the redneck vs black fights, and those were only very small groups out of a school with 2,000 people in it.
Now I'm living in Houston (closest major city), which has, for years, had an extremely large and active 'alternative lifestyle' community.
Get over it. If you hate the South, I guess it would be reasonable for those down here to hate those carpetbagging Northerners.
I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.
Qualified
I intended it as a targeted statement, that is insofar as the South is tainted by foolish ways and bigoted fools. That's not all Southerners, by any means, although they certainly do have an outsized role in shaping the public discourse down there, and gobble up most of the media.
In any event, isn't Texas considered part of the West, or are you including yourselves in the South now?
Generally, the 'South' is
Generally, the 'South' is considered to be Texas and all states east that are south of the Mason/Dixon line, with a split between Virginia and West Virginia. Basically, all states that participated in the Confederacy of States during the "War of Northern Aggression" (well, it's slightly more accurate than 'Civil War', which is an oxymoron :) I REALLY think they need to come up with another name for it)
The "Old West" was more those states north and west of Texas. Texas was sort of a... amalgam of West and South. It had rough areas, cattle drives, and everything else, but certainly wasn't Tombstone, Arizona, or Deadwood, N. Dakota.
I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.