[Re: A Wisconsin law known as the Healthy Youth Act]
In his letter, Southworth told school district leaders the new law promotes sexual assault of children, and warns that teachers who follow the law could be charged with misdemeanor or felony delinquency of a minor, with maximum punishments ranging from nine months in jail to six years in prison...
"For example, if a teacher instructs any student aged 16 or younger how to utilize contraceptives under circumstances where the teacher knows the child is engaging in sexual activity with another child -- or even where the 'natural and probable consequences' of the teacher's instruction is to cause that child to engage in sexual intercourse with a child -- that teacher can be charged under this statue," Southworth wrote...
Southworth's letter also said the new law requires schools to condone controversial sexual behavior because they must teach students about gender stereotypes. He said that would likely mean teaching about homosexuality and transgender and transsexual people.
"In effect, the new law injects an intense amount of unnecessary politics into our human growth and development classrooms, and places our teachers and children into a position of discussing extremely controversial issues that will likely conflict with the religious beliefs and values of most Juneau County families," he wrote.
79 comments
Here in Australia we had sex education in primary school [c.a. 12 years old]. The kids thought it was hilarious, nobody turned into a deviant and the amount of homosexuals is statistically exactly the same. In other words, nothing happened, you alarmist idiot. Now shut the fuck up. If you want your children to be repressed, ignorant twats then that's your problem. Don't impose this shit on other people.
I live in Wisconsin and this shit PISSES ME OFF!!! Sorry for shouting but it is a way sore subject for me since I went to Catholic grade school and was subjected to highly-sanitized "sex education." We were told sex was for reproduction only and that any other use was a sin, punishable by an eternity in Hell. Of course, this was being told to us by geriatric, celebate priests and nuns who knew nothing of the subject.
However, as Sienfeld once mused, the best revenge is to live well. I'm a healthy man, good education with a great career, loving family and a wide circle of friends. I'm not married but I do date regularly though I'm not seriously seeing anyone in particular. I have no children and I have no wish for children. Life is good.
For those priests and nuns? A dirt nap by now (30 years later).
"will likely conflict with the religious beliefs and values of most Juneau County families"
And science classes,,,and history classes.
Or have you already 'fixed' those in Juneau County?
Wow. just wow... D.A stands for District Attorney right? Because, yeah...fuck the seperation between church and state.
oh, and kids will have sex anyway, enjoy your teenage moms and daddies
What the hell? In what world does a guy who thinks he can go around telling people that they will break the law by following a law he doesn't like, get to be responsible for prosecuting criminals? It would be one thing to just send out letters urging them not to adopt the new policies until the state "amends or repeals these new mandates" as he believes will happen. However, to try to use his position to strong-arm these schools by threatening legal action against people who would be following the law is a total abuse of power.
As a Wisconsinite I sincerely would not mind watching this state burn.
Edit: Actually, the above is a lie, but I do hate this retard and everything about what he'll do to Wisconsin.
(Part 1/2)
Southworth told school district leaders the new law promotes sexual assault of children...
What planet are you on, buddy? My junior-high and high school health classes stressed abstinence but had a surprisingly comprehensive sex-education program (in the Bible Belt no less), and nobody was "sexually assaulted". In fact, what was promoted was the exact opposite (i.e. "No means no. No exceptions.").
...and warns that teachers who follow the law could be charged with misdemeanor or felony delinquency of a minor, with maximum punishments ranging from nine months in jail to six years in prison...
Okay, so, let me get this straight: you want prison time for teachers being law-abiding citizens and teaching their students what they are supposed to teach? Uhh... what the fucking hell, man? The law does not work that way!
Southworth's letter also said the new law requires schools to condone controversial sexual behavior because they must teach students about gender stereotypes.
Wait, I thought you Religious Right types were all about enforcing gender stereotypes? So, what's the problem here?
If a student is going to engage in sexual activity - of any kind - he needs to know how to use a condom. The fact that he may be abusing a younger person is incidental. Certainly knowing how to use a condom does not encourage sexual activity. Rather is is essential information for sexual health. If, however, a student is in fact having sex with someone younger, then the knowledge of how to use a condom is possibly going to save the younger one from an STD.
As to knowing about homosexual, transgendered and transsexual people, since when is such knowledge a bad thing? Knowledge is good! That why people go to school in the first place.
"where the 'natural and probable consequences' of the teacher's instruction is to cause that child to engage in sexual intercourse with a child"
Yeah 'cos we all know that the only reason teens refrain from sex is because they don't know how to use a condom...
@The Jamo:
Yeha, I'm from there too and i've got to say that I never realised how lucky I was to get real information, rather than googled info.
Hell, the State government even gave every student a hand book outlining everything from how to buy a car, how to purchase alcohol, and how to screw without getting a kid. Damn do we rule
Y'know what? I was taught about human sexuality at 12. Because that's around when I and other girls hit puberty. Trust me, the boys noticed and were wondering what was happening to us just as much as we were. Not one of my teachers has ever touched a child; not even the ones from my inner-city high school who had to include lessons on how to deal with the pimps outside the school in the human sexuality classes.
As for conflicting with your community's values, guess what? There's a high chance that some, it not most, if those kids aren't going to stay in that community. Many are likely to go live in a city where they will be confronted with all sorts controversial issues that you should have prepared them for.
""In effect, the new law injects an intense amount of unnecessary politics into our human growth and development classrooms, and places our teachers and children into a position of discussing extremely controversial issues that will likely conflict with the religious beliefs and values of most Juneau County families," he wrote."
Which is the real issue here, isn't it? That someone might actually discuss, in a reasoned and factual manner, something you personally deem "controversial" that might "conflict with religious beliefs." The rest of your bullshit and obfuscation is there simply to prop up a shaky argument that you hope will bamboozle all those too stupid to think for themselves and get them on your side.
I have an idea. How about we put a bill forth that prohibits all sexual education for youth. When they go out and have sex out of curiosity, they will know nothing about how to stay safe and prevent getting nasty diseases. The diseases will spread and no one will know how they're getting them or how to prevent or cure them. Let's call this bill the "Healthy Youth Act" .
If 2 teens (which is what I think you mean by "children") want to have sex they will, whether or not they know how to use contraceptives. I'd rather they know how to prevent pregnancy and STDs before they start bonking each other's brains out. It might also take some of the stress out of a first time to actually know what goes where and prepare the girl to bleed like a stuck pig.
There is nothing controversial about transgender people and homosexuals except the way they're treated by asshats like you.
Crazy fundie is crazy.
Oh, and for me personally there have been a couple of occasions where I can say that knowing about condoms came in very handy. Like when a really cute, but psychotic, neighbor from my apartment complex came over uninvited to "watch a movie" and we ended up nude on the couch. In the time it took to go to the bedroom for a condom and come back to the living room I realized that this was not a good idea.
Because I had her pretty much pegged as someone who would boil a bunny.
The only extremely controversial issue I can see here is whether Scott is a fuckwit or a psycho. perhaps a questionnaire would help solve the problem.
1. What century do you think you're living in?
2. Did your mom tell you it would fall off if you played with it?
3. ...
And USA's province Wisconsin is just another piece of evidence for how batshit insane the whole country is. It doesn't matter which state it is, they are all filled with similar morons uttering equally stupid ideas and putting into law even more medieval crap.
USA - Just another semi-civilized third world country.
I think D.A. Scott Southworth is a tad jealous. He probably has never had sex much less sat in a sex education class, and doesn't want some kid to know more than he does.
All three of my kids had sex ed at school and I was glad. They had homework and it made us sit and talk about things that we may not have otherwise. I'm pretty open about all that stuff, but kids are shy sometimes around their parents regarding sex.
The best thing my two older boys had to do in junior year of HS was write an essay on what they would do if they got a girl pregnant at their age? May daughter is a freshman this year, so she will write the essay in 2 yrs from a girl's perspective. What would she do if she got pregnant as a junior.
@#1146904/Painful: You know that Wisconsin is a liberal state, right? And that this guy is not supported here, and is in fact going AGAINST mainstream opinion? Or could you just not make a comment without adding a gratuitous insult towards a state you evidently know nothing about?
D.A. Southworth sounds like a fucked-up crackpot. This turd should be bounced from office at the first opportunity. He obviously hasn't heard of separation of church & state, or more likely, thinks it doesn't exist.
FUCK YOU D.A. SOUTHWORTH!
Serious abuse of power on his part. Can he be somehow penalized for such behavior? I see no reason why a D.A. should be above the law.
BTW, I wish I'd had sex ed when I was in school. Would have made learning about things I flat-out refused to talk with my parents about a bit easier. Thanks to mental wonders like Southworth, I was reduced to searching online, and erasing my search history each time I logged off the family computer.
Kids are going to have sex. I would hope they'd choose to do it with someone close to their age. It's horrible that you don't think we should teach them how to be safe. But since the guys can't get pregnant, I guess it doesn't matter.
Also, what does "condoning controversial sexual behavior" have to do with gender stereotypes? I guess teaching women that they can have orgasms, what their clitoris is, and the proper name for their genitals would prevent males like you from taking advantage of them, or for using them for your pleasure only, so I guess that makes sense.
Kids are eventually going to come across homosexual and transgender/transsexual people (if they haven't already), so they ought to know they exist; you wouldn't want them to act like ignorant hicks, now, would you?
Howd this guy get to be DA? Hes got it backwards. Your not supposed to arrest people for obeying the law.
"Southworth's letter also said the new law requires schools to condone controversial sexual behavior because they must teach students about gender stereotypes.
Wait, I thought you Religious Right types were all about enforcing gender stereotypes? So, what's the problem here?"
My guess is their going to teach students about "stereotypes" meaning that they are stereotypes. Hed rather they teach students "stereotypes" as "facts" and not use the word "stereotypes".
What's the difference between jail and prison?
On a more serious note: What are they smoking?
Isn't it better for the kids to know how to protect themselves from STDs and unwanted pregnancies? They ARE going to have sex, whether the teacher tells them about contraceptives or not. Sure, they might do it a bit earlier and a bit more frequently, but what's the harm in that, really? Two "children" (I'd rather use adolescents or teenagers here) having sex is not the same as an adult having sex with a child. The two children are on the same level.
Controversial sexual behavior? It's not behavior, it's what they are, and it's no more controversial than left-handed people or blind people. OF COURSE you should teach the kids about homosexuals and transgender persons! That is probably (one of) the problem with the US, you haven't learned in a academic way about it, so you think it's something strange, mysterious, new.
Your beliefs and values have no right to exclude other people, morons! School is where you learn about life, the reality, and the reality contains people different from you. That is one of the biggest lessons that kids MUST learn in school. In your church, you can say whatever you want, but in school, reality takes first priority.
Wisconsinite here. From what I've been hearing, most people around here think this guy is a raving loon. I mean, even people who are against anything other than abstinence-only think he's nuts.
Honestly, I think that comprehensive sex-ed is a damn good idea. When I had sex-ed in middle school, it was really just crammed into a quarter-long 8th grade health class that also cover the drugs we didn't cover the previous year. The teacher did teach us a lot of stuff about STDs and contraceptives, but I'm not sure it was totally up to date. Most of our materials looked like they had been Mimeographed at one point. Also, our teacher was crazy and most of the class was about what a cheating bastard her first husband was. Fun times.
I think I might have been better off if we spent more time on it with a better-developed curriculum.
"Southworth's letter also said the new law requires schools to condone controversial sexual behavior because they must teach students about gender stereotypes. He said that would likely mean teaching about homosexuality and transgender and transsexual people."
How DARE they try to make non-heterosexual people feel comfortable and like part of the community! Don't you know how impressionable kids are? If you teach them that being gay is okay, those few out kids might actually be accepted! And, if you teach them it's okay to not feel comfortable in your own body, then they'll start looking for ways to be comfortable! Maybe even... Support! How DARE they inform children about things that will improve their self-worth and esteem!! </sarcasm>
I don't get it. He wants to arrest teachers for following the law? This guy is begging to get his ass sued.
And oh, by the way, we were taught about contraceptives in high school. In a Catholic school, even. Didn't change a single persons mind about when to start having sex. I didn't start until a good 3 years after I took the class.
@Headache
Your surroundings should probably alert you to the stupidity of making generalizations about massive groups of people.
But, I guess they didn't.
SpaceLizard said:
@#1146904/Painful: You know that Wisconsin is a liberal state, right?
Which outside USA means it's a center right wing state and not an extreme right wing state.
The US meme "liberal" has nothing to do with any type of progressive or social democratic policies but rather some slight right wing ideas.
Canadia said:
@Headache
Your surroundings should probably alert you to the stupidity of making generalizations about massive groups of people.
But, I guess they didn't.
It's not generalizations, it's based on observable and demonstrable facts.
Y'know, this whole "delinquency of a minor" thing shows another problem with current legal classifications in America. I mean, it only classifies "minor" and "adult." With a few exceptions, a 17 year old is treated the same as a 7 year old. What kind of sense does that make?
What you said, #1147341.
The sad thing is that as crazy as this guy is, he might technically be correct. If the law says it's illegal for sixteen-year-olds to have sex, than it's not unthinkable that anyone giving them any advice or assistance to do so could be in legal trouble. Of course no sane DA would actually put it into practice, but it still shows something is a bit whack with the law.
P.S. "Jail" is usually run by the county whereas "prison" is run by the state (or feds).
@Swede
In America(parts of it anyway) jail is where you're sent to sober up, cool down, wait for mom and dad to come bail you out, wait for trial, or in some cases, serve a short sentence. Usually just some cells in or near the police station.
Prison is where you go to do your time after you're convicted. It's usually a big sprawling facility out in the country somewhere.
The terms are fairly interchangable, though.
@Snopster in Exile - You're probably right. The problem is a ridiculous flaw in Wisconsin law that makes it a crime for anyone under 18 to have sex at all. Most other states have a "close in age" exception for teenagers under 18. Here in NJ, for example, I believe consensual sex is only actionable if one of the partners is under 13 or if one or both is under 18 and the difference in age is more than four years. This DA gives a good argument for adopting a similar practice in WI. In theory, people who sell condoms to minors could be prosecuted, too.
So, following your stupid logic, if a teacher teaches the theory of gravity they should be charged with the said misdemeanour because they taught the children the consequences of jumping from very high?. Stupid.
So.... for teacher's to teach their students about something that has been known since the dawn of the human species, there has to be some sort of politics involved? So teaching anatomy is the same as watching the presidential election?
I don't think he got his point across......
#1147028
breakerslion
The only extremely controversial issue I can see here is whether Scott is a fuckwit or a psycho. perhaps a questionnaire would help solve the problem.
1. What century do you think you're living in?
2. Did your mom tell you it would fall off if you played with it?
3. ...
4/15/2010 11:14:01 AM
HAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!! YOU SIR, WIN TEN THOUSAND INTERNETS... LMFAO *wipes the tears of mirth from my morning eyes* THAT WAS PRICELESS... ohhhh Gods yes!
>>Headache
Canadia said:
@Headache
Your surroundings should probably alert you to the stupidity of making generalizations about massive groups of people.
But, I guess they didn't.
It's not generalizations, it's based on observable and demonstrable facts. <<
Headache,
You have written many things on this board, and a good fraction of them are provably untrue. More importantly, the remainder are phrased in an incredibly inflammatory tone.
If you seek to troll, you are succeeding. But if you actually want to people to read and consider what you type, you should avoid alienating them in every sentence.
Regarding Southworth:
All of the schools in Juneau County that Southworth targeted in the quote adopted the new sex ed curriculum, he has not (and could not) charge the schools or their teachers, and he recently was compelled to release a bunch of his correspondence on the matter after he was sued for withholding it from the public. Wisconsin appears to regard him as an embarrassment, but he hasn't been run out of office yet.
http://www.milwaukeenewsbuzz.com/?p=432185
In his letter, Southworth ...warns that teachers who follow the law could be charged with misdemeanor or felony delinquency of a minor, with maximum punishments ranging from nine months in jail to six years in prison..."
A bully in public office is still just a bully.
Confused?
So were we! You can find all of this, and more, on Fundies Say the Darndest Things!
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