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Pride unity flag in my kid's classroom! So much HBOT fodder...

My view for: what about the kid who’s gay, or whose friend is gay and comes in for help and suddenly knows this teacher in a Christian school has that kid’s back?

I went to Catholic school from grade school through high school. I’m straight but one of my favorite teachers in high school had a PFLAG sticker on his office door. (This was the 90’s so that was pretty bold at the time.) I immediately knew he was a good dude I could come to with problems that were too big for me.
Why, because he was gay? Are you REALLY straight? I think you may need to take a deep look inside yourself if the only person you feel you can trust is a gay teacher.🤨
 
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This is wild to me. We had pride flags in school back in the early 90s. Some made jokes, some took an interest in learning more while most just paid little attention to it and went about their normal lives. Had no idea our school was so progressive and years ahead of the times.
 
You know, I knew virtually nothing about the personal lives of any of my teachers. Seems like that has changed significantly.
 
You know, I knew virtually nothing about the personal lives of any of my teachers. Seems like that has changed significantly.
i don't think a teacher displaying that flag is necessarily saying anything about their own personal life

i think they're indicating both general support and understanding, along with a message to any students struggling with those issues that they are someone they can talk to without judgement or condemnation
 
Are you equating tolerance with support like you did love & support earlier?
I guess I don't know what your definition of "support" is.

All I know is I was taught in Catholic school that Jesus says you should try to empathize and love every human being from the most egregious sinner to the most righteous and everyone in between.

Seems like solid life advice. 🤷‍♂️

"Let he who is without sin cast the first stone" - ya know what I'm sayin'?
 
What if he had a back the blue flag in his classroom? I'm sure this discussion would be much different on here...
 
I guess I don't know what your definition of "support" is.

All I know is I was taught in Catholic school that Jesus says you should try to empathize and love every human being from the most egregious sinner to the most righteous and everyone in between.

Seems like solid life advice. 🤷‍♂️

"Let he who is without sin cast the first stone" - ya know what I'm sayin'?
I agree but I will emphasize that word selection is of the utmost importance when you want to bring Jesus into this discussion. Love, support, tolerance are all different ideas.

Jesus’s purpose in loving all of us was NOT to let us keep living in our state of sin, but to redeem us and asked us to repent from sin by seeking the Kingdom of Heaven.

He never supported or tolerated sin. Homosexuality, adultery, none of it. He raised the bar and claimed all sexual immorality as sinful. Just looking at a woman lustfully is sinful. Sexual sins and/or other sins, we all have been charged guilty.

He did not come to support and tolerate our sin. He wielded the sword of truth against sin:

Not Peace, but a Sword​

34 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36 And a person's enemies will be those of his own household.”
 

Not Peace, but a Sword​

34 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36 And a person's enemies will be those of his own household.”
Yes, above all, he was a revolutionary.

And a pretty radical "socialist" type one to boot!

“Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” | Luke 12:32-34


“Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” | Luke 12:13-15
 
I agree but I will emphasize that word selection is of the utmost importance when you want to bring Jesus into this discussion. Love, support, tolerance are all different ideas.

Jesus’s purpose in loving all of us was NOT to let us keep living in our state of sin, but to redeem us and asked us to repent from sin by seeking the Kingdom of Heaven.

He never supported or tolerated sin. Homosexuality, adultery, none of it. He raised the bar and claimed all sexual immorality as sinful. Just looking at a woman lustfully is sinful. Sexual sins and/or other sins, we all have been charged guilty.

He did not come to support and tolerate our sin. He wielded the sword of truth:

Not Peace, but a Sword​

34 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36 And a person's enemies will be those of his own household.”
so what does all this mean in the context of a school/classroom?

if anyone (administrator, teacher, student or parent) interprets something as sinful, it has to go? any displays of wealth, or greed, or covetousness, or blasphemy or anything?

no one is without sin...everyone needs jc...understood
 
Yes, above all, he was a revolutionary.

And a pretty radical "socialist" type one to boot!

“Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” | Luke 12:32-34


“Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” | Luke 12:13-15
Ugh, try to stay on topic Torbs! Odd that you switched gears.

BTW - that section you cited has about as much to do with socialism as the Parable of the Talents has to do with capitalism.
 
so what does all this mean in the context of a school/classroom?
In the context of OP, it is a private-Christian school. Even if the school takes a weak stance on enforcing Christian values, it should consider its constituents.

If we were talking a regular public school, then it is about introducing a divisive symbol into a public funded forum.
 
The point many of us are making is the absurdity of a flag asking for tolerance being described as "divisive."
i understand that point. it is what is...up to the school whether its acceptable or not

what i find interesting is - out of all the sinful behaviors there are (and there are A LOT), people only seem to get upset or have these kinds of arguments about a very select few
 
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It's saying a lot about their politics.
If Rs would get out of the culture wars I might get back onboard. It's making stuff like this a political issue that I can't stand. I have relatives who didn't like people of color and weren't too shy about it. Lets just say they won't admit it now but it's clear that they still have their beliefs but wont say it out loud. It's the same thing with gays and other different people. Just leave them alone and worry about yourself. You want to practice your religion... but doesn't need to impact others. Not everyone holds the same beliefs... so let others live their lives just like you are living yours. Keep the bs to yourself.
 
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The point many of us are making is the absurdity of a flag asking for tolerance being described as "divisive."

Because you only see it through your lens. Will you at least acknowledge that others view it as political and/or distinctly sexually themed? And therein lies the rub. A controversial symbol being placed in a school setting.
 
Why does it have to be a political flag? It’s not like it is a Harris campaign poster. Very likely the teacher is letting the gay kids in the school know they have an ally. Apparently the school is a private Christian school. I imagine some gay kids might feel ostracised in that type of environment.

Oh the horror of a teacher who cares about those kids.
Its political because people with ultimately disagree with the statement which potentially leads to people fighting/arguing which is what politics is
 
Because you only see it through your lens. Will you at least acknowledge that others view it as political and/or distinctly sexually themed? And therein lies the rub. A controversial symbol being placed in a school setting.
Martin Luther King Jr. posters could be seen as far more political than a flag representing acceptance of people born anywhere on the spectrum of orientations. Why don’t you MAGA types protest them?
 
Back to school night at my kid's school, 7th grade. Private "Christian" School.

My wife attended with my 7th grader, and all the parents met in the English teacher's room, where he'd hung a flag like this one:

progress-pride-flag.jpg


My take is split:
My view against: How does this help the teacher teach 7th grade English better? How is it that I learned English without ever knowing the political or social views of my teachers.
This is unprofessional and inappropriate for the classroom. IMO there's no place for this, or maga flags, etc. In schools. The exception would be if a civics/social studies teacher had multiple flags of all sorts representing many viewpoints as fodder for discussion, etc.

My view for: My kid is going to be exposed to multiple viewpoints forever, and he needs to learn to work together with people of all kinds. Middle School is a reasonable time to start expanding those views understand things from multiple perspectives. This teacher is going to share things from a perspective he won't get at home, yet we'll have a chance to field those questions that arise from whatever influence/indoctrination this teacher tries (BTW the teacher isn't gay/trans/etc. He's a white male in his 40s married with boys the same age as mine. This is just virtue signaling).

What say you HBOT? Should I speak up to the school? Say anything? Or just kind of let it play out? What would YOU do?
Scared for life. Probably doesn't even know what it is.
 
Back to school night at my kid's school, 7th grade. Private "Christian" School.

My wife attended with my 7th grader, and all the parents met in the English teacher's room, where he'd hung a flag like this one:

progress-pride-flag.jpg


My take is split:
My view against: How does this help the teacher teach 7th grade English better? How is it that I learned English without ever knowing the political or social views of my teachers.
This is unprofessional and inappropriate for the classroom. IMO there's no place for this, or maga flags, etc. In schools. The exception would be if a civics/social studies teacher had multiple flags of all sorts representing many viewpoints as fodder for discussion, etc.

My view for: My kid is going to be exposed to multiple viewpoints forever, and he needs to learn to work together with people of all kinds. Middle School is a reasonable time to start expanding those views understand things from multiple perspectives. This teacher is going to share things from a perspective he won't get at home, yet we'll have a chance to field those questions that arise from whatever influence/indoctrination this teacher tries (BTW the teacher isn't gay/trans/etc. He's a white male in his 40s married with boys the same age as mine. This is just virtue signaling).

What say you HBOT? Should I speak up to the school? Say anything? Or just kind of let it play out? What would YOU do?
7th grade ain't too bad... it's the 7 year Olds that get me worked up
 
Because you only see it through your lens. Will you at least acknowledge that others view it as political and/or distinctly sexually themed? A
Sure, others view it that way. Incorrectly.

The people who created the symbol have been very explicit about what it means and it most definitely is not intended as "sexual" or "political." It is a symbol advocating tolerance.

It seems absurd to me that that message has to be prohibited because some people don't take the symbol's creators at their word.

Here's an analogy.

Imagine that a parent came into a classroom and saw that the teacher had the kids make those snowflakes that you can make by folding papers and cutting them. Let's say those snowflakes were then attached to the walls to make the room look festive ahead of winter break.

If some progressive/liberal parent came in and immediately started mewling about "snowflakes" being a "divisive and political" symbol because someone on Fox called liberals that pejoratively, your reaction would be to laugh that person off and tell them they're out of their f----ing mind for being so sensitive about a relatively innocuous symbol.

That is the exact same thing going on here, only it's conservative parents mewling about a symbol advocating for tolerance and respect and falsely claming it is is divisive and political.
 
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i don't think a teacher displaying that flag is necessarily saying anything about their own personal life

i think they're indicating both general support and understanding, along with a message to any students struggling with those issues that they are someone they can talk to without judgement or condemnation
This is how I feel about it. I don't think the flag is suggesting anything more than trying to be a supportive learning environment. But, if the OP has a problem about it, they should speak with the teacher. It wouldn't concern me though.
 
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