No doubt, it's been noted in the media by now that the Safe Schools Coalition is under review, thanks in part to the ACL (among others) complaining. The amount of mudslinging from both sides on this subject is utterly horrendous and in the interests of keeping the topic to well...the topic, I decided not to put it up here. (In addition, while I'm 100% straight, this topic has hit a bit of a raw nerve with me in terms of the bullying going on.)
When I got wind of this however on Reddit (at the moment, probably the most reliable source for me in terms of actually GETTING the articles),
The concerns with the Safe Schools program include (and why these are flawed arguments):
- Pushing an "Agenda" onto other individuals: Most of the time, people aren't able to explicitly state what that "agenda" is at all. In a further twist of irony, the groups who tend to make that claim do often have an agenda in question and aren't simply doing it out of the goodness of their hearts.
- Denying "competing views" or a "reasonable debate": This argument most commonly tends to be held by groups who view that there's too much exposure on "the other side" of the argument and not enough to argue their point. This would make logical sense if the view was say, that Muslims were all horrible individuals and they weren't being allowed to show what real Muslims are like, but when asked for their arguments, they tend to fall into the traps of logical fallacy, reliance on a religious text or some other argument that does not in any way, shape or form address the actual issue at hand.
- The "Too sensitive" or "Too PC" argument: The second part seems to refer more to this idea that we have to be "PC" (which ignores the point of what politically correct actually refers to) and therefore can't piss someone off without consequence, while the first part refers more to this idea that we've become too soft as a society and need to "toughen up" more. If someone can actually show me (with scientific backing) that we are becoming too PC/soft, then I might retract the following, but until then, the people who use thesse arguments are nothing more than bullies who have had their way for far too long, get away with it scot-free, are finally getting called out for their behaviour and cannot deal with the consequences.
- The "Discrimination" argument: This one seems to refer more to this idea that it's discrimination to have set spaces for one group but not another (i.e,. a women's space but not a man's space), or that one group is being allowed to form, but the "opposing" group is banned from campus/school (good example with the school side is that a public school is OK with having a Christian prayer group, but a Muslim prayer group is not allowed). I'll make this one nice and simple: if you feel that you are being discriminated against, then go ahead and raise hell by lodging a complaint with the Equal Opportunity board in your state or the Human Rights Commission if you so desire. Just be prepared to argue your case before a tribunal.
- The "Oppression" argument: See above on the "Too sensitive" argument/reasonable debate subject. Simply put, unless you are being jailed explicitly for your beliefs/identity and not for your actions (i.e. you're jailed for being gay, not because you assaulted another man) then yes, you can claim you're being oppressed. If your school, place of worship or other building has been torched to the ground, vandalised or similar because you are of a particular race, religion, ethnicity or sexuality, then yes, you can claim oppression. If you are being beaten up, fired, denied jobs or other services (that are the only option out there) because of your beliefs or sexuality, then yes, you can claim oppression. Until then, this argument fails.
- The "Taxpayer dollar" argument: Usually this argument takes on the idea that "Why should my taxpayer dollars go towards this thing I don't support?" Aside from the fact that you have no direct control over where your tax dollars go (i.e. they don't specifically allocate your money to roads or welfare), this argument really shows a lack of knowledge about how the tax system actually works. On top of that, most of these rooms are usually funded by the university or student union or even the students themselves. In other words, no taxpayer funds needed.
So, I've given quite a number of the arguments that are against the Safe Schools Coalition, that do not delve into the outright homophobic comments, along with why these are failed arguments.
Now comes the question: well, what can I (as a parent or student) do about these things?
Children in Primary/High School:
- TALK TO YOUR KIDS. Seriously. Have an open and honest discussion about sexuality and gender identity. If you don't know something, admit it to your child, but also actually go and start looking for resources so you and your child can learn together. Good places to start are your local library, community centre, GP, youth/family health clinics or sexual health clinics (the latter tend to be staffed by nurses and GPs who can answer questions as well).
- If your child does come out as something other than straight, be supportive. There are a number of support groups out there for parents of non-straight children and I would highly recommend a face-to-face group over an online one. PFLAG is a good place to start. I wouldn't fret about how it'll "look" to others-it's not worth your time or theirs.
- In a similar vein, should your child turn out to be straight, don't celebrate it as a good thing-just see it for what it is.
- For parents with younger children, there are a few books out there that are age-appropriate and simply discuss different families (The Family Book by Todd Parr is an excellent resource for this, I cannot recommend it enough as it covers many different families, not just families with two mums/dads or one of each). At that age, it can just be a simple explanation on homosexuality, bisexuality, transgenderism and intersex, without getting too far into the nuances. (I.e. "Some boys grow up to fall in love with other boys, some girls grow up and fall in love with other girls, some people fall in love with both boys and girls, some people feel they were born in the wrong body and try to change it and some people don't feel that they're boys or girls.")
- If your child is trans, get them to a therapist as soon as possible.
- If you are from a religious background, try to avoid shunning someone on those grounds alone. You'll find that there are priests/rabbis/imams/whatever who are just as supportive of non-straight worshippers and depending on what branch of the religion you follow, there are places of worship that are a little more open with sexuality.
Teachers/Schools:
- If you aren't part of the Coalition already, it may be worth raising it as an idea at the school. Some of the issues to consider will relate to how the "All of Us" resource (which is likely the centre of the controversy) is used in the classroom, but it is entirely possible to incorporate this into your existing sex ed curriculum.
- If you aren't part of the Coalition, or your school refuses to implement the Coalition for whatever reason suggested, it is still possible to act as a supportive person for LGBTI individuals. Consider the possibility of becoming a school "Ally." (meaning someone who is supportive of LGBTI individuals, especially if your school lacks a counsellor or psychologist) It may be worth raising it with the principal or education department on the idea of you undertaking some training if you wish to take it further.
No comments:
Post a Comment