Burnaby Parents Protest Anti-Bullying Policy

[ilvtofu]

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VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) - There are anti-bullying policies in place to stop discrimination based on race, gender and religion. But the Burnaby School Board's plan to include gay and lesbian students is not sitting well with all parents.

A rally was held last night to demonstrate their concerns. They say the new policy marginalizes heterosexuality and they were not told about this proposal until now. Some students, though, say this type of anti-bullying policy is necessary.

"People who are against it don't even go to school. We are the students who are being educated and we want to be educated in this," says one student, who formed part of a counter protest.

Board chair Larry Hayes says he will do what he thinks is right. "Whether there are five people protesting or 1,000 people protesting, I just think it is the correct thing to do for our district. At the end, I think I am going to be comfortable in being able to sleep at night, thinking we have done the right thing."

"We're basically following the lead of 13 other school districts. We want to be proactive and make sure we address things like gay slurs and bullying against someone who may be of a different sexual orientation," adds Hayes.

No decisions have yet been made on whether to approve the draft.

It's a little shocking to see this locally in this day and age.

[Jsunu]

The fuck, how does anti-homophobic policies "marginalizes heterosexuality" ?!?!

[TheNewGirl]

They still have bans on books in Surrey depicting homosexual parents.

My daughter's in District 42, and while able to teach what they call "reproductive health" which addresses body changes and puberty, is not allowed to teach sexual education or address sexual orientation, despite the repeated recommendations from all the sexual health agency that children receive at least SDT/STI and pregnancy prevention education by age 12 at the absolute latest (because while there's very low rates of sexual activity prior to 12, 30% of boys and 20% of girls lose their virginity by their 14th birthday... so while they're 13). Instead they save real sex ed until they're in grade 8/9 which is too little too late for about a third of kids.

You would be shocked and awed by the absolute ignorance of many people. Everyone wants to cover the eyes and ears of their kids and pretend they're keeping them innocent but really they're hamstringing the kids and setting them up for complete failure and creating the problem by identifying different as bad.

[k3mps]

This is pathetic. There will also be homosexuals in the world and in our community. If parents want humanity and their children to advance in history, they need to understand this. I agree, they're not even the ones going to school. I bet 95% of the students don't mind. There's like 5 gay students in my grade and noone in my grade cares if they're gay. Parents need to start making decisions based on what is right to move the world fowards, not what is right in their minds, which is trapped in the days when homosexuality was illegal
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[El Bastardo]

I don't see what the problem with kids growing up like I did is. In Junior High we learned who the gay kids were pretty quick. The gym teacher would should "Mike Stanwyk, get your faggy ass off the court" and then we'd know that Mike Stanwyk was a faggy ass.

Kids turn gay when they're bad at sports, right?

[Skyline350gt]

^ Lol

Don't know homosexuality doesn't sit well with me either.

[optiblue]

The ones protesting must be of religious decent.
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[TheNewGirl]

Originally Posted by Skyline350gt

^ Lol

Don't know homosexuality doesn't sit well with me either.

And where did you get that feeling from?

Cause that's kinda the point.

[Phil@rise]

Society is filling up with bleeding heart me me me pussies and all we're doing is raising more of them and I'm not just referring to the inclusion of homos but also the inability for people to deal with bullying in general. If your gay, great, be gay if your a sissy getting bullied, fine, but they need to learn to deal with it not expect everyone else to deal with it.
If your different or have no backbone deal with your choices and the outcomes. As my gramps and I'm sure alot of the older hard working generation would say "if you make your bed sleep in it". After all it was that generation, that the back bone of our society is based on and now were stuck with a bunch of bitches resting on those laurels and doing nothin to support it just undermine it.
Whats next it will be frowned upon for people to laugh when you stub your toe or whack your funny bone, where does it end?

[gdoh]

@newgirl
i dont know where i got mine from. my gf noticed that i cringe when a gay person greets/talks. i didnt even know till she pointed it out =|

[Tapioca]

Phil@rise:
I largely agree with your point. I was bullied all the way through high school. Was it fun at the time? No, definitely not, but part of growing up is learning how to deal with adversity. It's still a dog-eat-dog world out there and someday kids won't be able to rely on anyone but themselves to survive.

On the other hand, there are some negative long-term impacts associated with bullying. I do carry a chip on my shoulder when it comes to certain things.
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[Phil@rise]

Originally Posted by Tapioca

Phil@rise:
I largely agree with your point. I was bullied all the way through high school. Was it fun at the time? No, definitely not, but part of growing up is learning how to deal with adversity. It's still a dog-eat-dog world out there and someday kids won't be able to rely on anyone but themselves to survive.

On the other hand, there are some negative long-term impacts associated with bullying. I do carry a chip on my shoulder when it comes to certain things.
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I was bullied as well but figured it out by highschool that most bullies are pussies and just act tough so get tough back and you garner a no nonsense reputation and no one messes back. Thats how I raised my kid and she's one tough cookie that. It goes for homo's as well if your gettin roughed up by some bullies or given a hard time give the hard time right back and you can be the homo at peace.

[TheNewGirl]

Hey, I'm the first person to take the point of view that the bullied are generally a large part of the problem.

BUT that's not the issue here. This is a bunch of fuck up parents who think that acknowledging that gay people exist will either 1. make their kids gay like it's some disease or 2. feel their own sexuality is threatened by the presence of people with different sexuality then that which they believe is correct and are deliberately lobbying to have this one group excluded from the list of people protected by the schools rules.

Let me put it this way:

This is as fucking stupid as some old ladies who dislike sucking cock lobbing that blowjobs should be made illegal and that people who have their dicks sucked or do the dick sucking should be publically shamed because they don't like the idea of thinking that some where in their neighborhood someone might be getting a bj.

Would you guys stand up for that?

[gdoh]

i just think they dont want their kids to be introduced to all this gay stuff and make it seem alright to be gay(no parent wants a gay kid). seems more like a combination of whats next if this goes through and ingnorance

kids need a dose of man the fuck up and parents need to stop babying them

[highfive]

Why are they mixing bullying and discrimination into the same thing?

Yes some bully based on race, gender, and religion. But does all bullies have a reason to bully one person? I don't think so. They bully because they don't like the other person. This policy is to stop bullying regardless of whatever reasons behind it.

I can say I hate ppl who wear flames jerseys at school. I bully the guy, so should I include hockey fans into the policy? No. Any act of bullying should a zero tolerance approach.

[Tapioca]

@thenewgirl:

Your analogy is flawed. Homosexuality is not illegal and these parents aren't trying to make it such.
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[Skyline350gt]

Originally Posted by gdoh

i just think they dont want their kids to be introduced to all this gay stuff and make it seem alright to be gay(no parent wants a gay kid). seems more like a combination of whats next if this goes through and ingnorance

kids need a dose of man the fuck up and parents need to stop babying them

That's exact it.
I don't agree with the fact that being gay is okay. However, I'm acknowledging that in the general population there are many homosexuals.

But please let only those how believe they were born with the condition to be gay and not some LG's bored and wanting to experiment their sexuality, because that's fucked up.

Exceptions to: Youjizz

[LiquidTurbo]

How the hell does homosexuality "marginalize" heterosexuality? That's one of the dumbest things I've ever heard. Don't like homosexuality? Don't have a homosexual relationship. It's that simple.
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[TheNewGirl]

Originally Posted by Tapioca

@thenewgirl:

Your analogy is flawed. Homosexuality is not illegal and these parents aren't trying to make it such.
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No but they are trying to make it so homosexual kids aren't protected by the same rules kids of different races and religions are. Essentially they're intentionally wanting them to be excluded from the bulling rules so they will be bullied.

I want you to think about this very carefully. This isn't children who are picking on eachother. This is adults picking attempting to orchestrated the suffering of children based on the sex acts they may in the future preform but likely (at least for the majority of the time they've been covered by the school district's mandate) have not yet preformed.

And by the way. Homosexuality is still, on the books illegal to an extent, as far as sodomy has a higher age of consent (18, even though straight kids can start fucking at 12 and it's legal as long as their partners are within 2 years of their age).

So what makes your right to put your dick in someone you're attracted to more superior and important than anyone else's?

[ilvtofu]

Originally Posted by TheNewGirl

No but they are trying to make it so homosexual kids aren't protected by the same rules kids of different races and religions are. Essentially they're intentionally wanting them to be excluded from the bulling rules so they will be bullied.

I want you to think about this very carefully. This isn't children who are picking on eachother. This is adults picking attempting to orchestrated the suffering of children based on the sex acts they may in the future preform but likely (at least for the majority of the time they've been covered by the school district's mandate) have not yet preformed.

THIS

A lot of you here aren't understanding the problem, it's not whether you like homosexuals or not, it's whether or not you think it's okay to single them out from an anti-bullying policy as these parents want to do. The problem at hand has nothing to do with your personal experience with bullying nor does it relate to your personal preference of sexual orientation.

using racism as an example, i think most of us can accept that there will be racists in society, but I think a lot of us would be shocked if community centers made policies that prevented black people from using their swimming pools

[melloman]

Editted: Alright, now that I re-read it I do agree with ^^.

It's fucked to leave out gay/lesbians from anti-bullying because once a kid is found out to be gay, he gets dis-owned like no other. It's not so much a choice to be gay, but it sure as hell is a choice to show that your gay. Keep it in and live life sad yet not bullied. Or let people know your gay and except shit that happens... it's life. And we all should know life's a bitch.

Yet leave the sex-ed and everything for Grade 8. Highschool I find is when bullying gets bad, not so much elementary school. Do we really want to eventually teach our kids at the age of 10... about sex?

[El Bastardo]

Originally Posted by Skyline350gt

^ Lol

Don't know homosexuality doesn't sit well with me either.

Search for a sarcasm detector on eBay because I think yours is broken.

The point of my stupid diatribe was that attitudes of teachers need to be taken into account as well. For years schools have been an environment of bullying and shame. Those who stay in the education system keep up this status quo and can foster this type of behavior.

I can cite tons of examples of inappropriate teacher behavior in my old schools, both racial and homophobic, but I'm not going to bore you.

The mindset has to change within schools about homophobia. That shit won't fly in the real world. Try calling some guy a "Cock guzzling queer queen" at your office. See how well that goes over.

Schools are a preparation for the real world and should adjust to a changing society... despite parental protests.

This is Canada. We have the option for private schools if you don't like the content of our public ones. I, for one, would be happy to have my tax dollars going to create conditions of understanding for the next generation.

[rslater]

Originally Posted by Phil@rise

If your gay, great, be gay if your a sissy getting bullied, fine, but they need to learn to deal with it not expect everyone else to deal with it.

Originally Posted by Phil@rise

Thats how I raised my kid and she's one tough cookie that. It goes for homo's as well if your gettin roughed up by some bullies or given a hard time give the hard time right back and you can be the homo at peace.

Let me get this straight, your condoning a gay person to resort to violence if their being bullied? It is a little naive to think that gay people after years of torment would not resort to extreme violence to get back at bullies. Not everyone can stand up to people without the use of violence. Being a father, I am surprised to see that you do not believe in the school district intervening to help bullying? If you want everyone to fend for themselves in the school, then I for sure hope your daughter is never called a bad name or bullied.

Originally Posted by melloman

I can agree with Phil about the bullying part. I myself was bullied in highschool until I started to work out and when I grew, it stopped.. Usually bullies don't pick me people who are stronger and taller then themselves.

And this is my exact point. If you do not have the physical capabilities to stand up to bully, why must the school district, parents, teachers, and police, not help and intervene? What gives the right of a bully to ruin someone’s life? Why should they have to defend themselves without the willingness and openness of people to help them? Not everyone, being that gay people, black people, Chinese people, short people, tall people etc, have the ability to “fight “back.

[k3mps]

now that i've thought about it more, i can sort of see why.
if there are no gays/lesbians in the school, there's no one to make intentional fun of for being gay. everyone is going to keep calling each other fags and say "you're gay". but hey, at least it isn't intentional right?
if schools don't teach sex ed and talk about how some people might be what they call "gay" or "lesbian", it would stop kids from making fun of those who ARE gay/lesbian, because they would not know what the words mean/ right??

i think not. If a person were to find out what "gay" and "lesbian" meant as they got older, im sure they would become meaner and more discriminatory against the gay group because it's something that they have just learned, as well as the fact that it's something new to pass the time; make fun of gays and lesbians.

and @thenewgirl, yes kids aren't so much the ones bullying other gays/lesbians, it's the parents. Parents are who we look up to when we are young, and maybe even in our teenage years. If parents are the ones that are forbidding homosexuals and preventing sex education, they are leading us towards the life they lived growing up. Humanity has progressed because we are constantly adding more life skills and everyday knowledge to our curriculum. If parents were to eliminate many of the things we should all learn, our generation will not move forward. or the next generation.

@Tachycardia! i agree, schools are a preparation for the real world and by not teaching us this, it is not preparing us. It is preparing us for when we must deal with people who think like our parents.

If this way of thinking goes on, soon parents will have to put a stop to schools teaching us how to use computers and programs like "all the right type" because simply, "computers are used by gays too".

Im sure parents just want the best for their kids, and that they don't want their kids around the type of people that they didn't like to be around when they were young. But the fact is, if we keep letting parents intrude with our learning that will prepare us for life, humanity will stay at a standstill and maybe even go back in time.

[Shades]

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