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Page: Profile: Wren's Nest News Local
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Article: 16328
[Civil]
Date Posted:
10/7/2006
8:38:58 pm EDT
Wvox Stats
Views: 10,525
RSS: 14,352
Comments: 18
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ACLU vs. Harrison County Ends
Author: Anna L. Mallory Source: The Charleston Gazette (WV)
Title: ACLU VS. HARRISON COUNTY ENDS
After spending close to $19,000 to defend itself, the Harrison County Board of Education has decided to end a legal battle over a portrait of Jesus Christ that once hung in a county high school.
On Friday, Harrison school board members voted 4-1 to settle a lawsuit filed by Americans United For Separation of Church and State and the American Civil Liberties Union over the portrait.
The portrait, Warner Sallman’s Head of Christ, had been hanging at Bridgeport High for at least 35 years. In June, the two groups sued the school board, county superintendent and the school’s principal, claiming the art infringed on students’ constitutional rights to religious freedom.
The settlement requires the board to never display the artwork again, or “any pictures, paintings, posters, prints, statues, carvings or other items with religious content” at the school.
Additional Article Link: [Click HERE]
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Community Thoughts: There are 18 comments posted | Reverse Sort |
| Religiously Neutral Ground | Oct 10th. at 11:20:29 am EDT
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Mysteries Child (Garfield, Arkansas) - Email Me
You know, I really like the idea of our schools, courts, and civic buildings being religiously neutral places.
Places where anyone-- regardless of religion-- can go and get the same education, the same law, the same civil services.
That would be wonderful. I don't expect to see it in this lifetime-- or, for that matter, the next-- but it would be wonderful.
Unfortunately, creating the *image* of neutrality and creating *actual* neutrality are **not** the same thing.
Remove a principal-- or even a teacher-- who treats non-Christian students in any way differently?? I'll come up with some money to help with that. For that matter, I will unambivalently punish other students who engage in clear and indefensible religious harrassment. I see evangelism as defensible free exercise; I also see a difference between 'evangelism' and 'teasing' or 'bullying.'
Get rid of a judge-- or for that matter a lawyer-- who interprets the law as if they thought they were there to propagate Mosaic Law?? Damn skippy. Kick out a town council that thinks they can treat a Wiccan as if s/he is not a taxpaying citizen?? Just let me get my steel-toed shoes!
Do I think Americans United and the ACLU have an anti-Christian or anti-religious agenda?? Not really-- even though it certainly appears that way. Saying so certainly makes a great recruiting slogan for the Jihadists of the Cross-- but even good propaganda is still just propaganda.
I think what they have is a pro-underdog agenda-- and that's really sweet. Admirable. Trouble is, in this case, I also think it's *stupid*.
Removing pictures, taking down plaques, and banning prayers *does not* create a religiously neutral environment. It may create the *appearance* of a neutral environment, but that does absolutely nothing to change the reality of the situation. Just under the official surface, the sh*t goes on, quite possibly more aggressively than ever.
Can Darla Wynne-- Father and Mother bless and protect her-- actually *get* the police to answer a phone call now?? Can she show up in a town council meeting and be treated like an equal citizen?? Can she walk down the street for a candy bar and a gallon of milk alone?? Can she, for that matter, ever have a listed phone number or her name on her mailbox if she should, for some unfathomable reason, want to??
Feel free to answer for yourself, ma'am, if you happen to be hanging about. I don't know the answers to those questions, but I hope my theoretical and rhetorical guess is incorrect. Feel free to answer for yourself, and I hope you are well.
Aren't those things-- some of them, anyway, with the possible exception of the phone number and mail box-- more important than getting rid of an open display of the dominant religion??
Of course they are.
Why, then, is no one willing to stand up and *prosecute* the bullying, badgering b*stards who choose to make every day an un-holy war?? Find *something real* to bust them for! It's a *crime* to destroy property. I think it's a crime to kill people's pets, and I *know* it's a crime to threaten someone's life and limb. I'm pretty d*mn sure it's a *crime* for the police to ignore a citizen's call for help.
If it's not a crime to discipline or educate a student differently because of his or her religion (or that of his or her parent/s) , a whole organization full of someones surely ought to get busy *making* it a crime, and making sure it's enforced.
I officially followed my husband's job to Arkansas a couple months ago. Some of my stuff is still in West Virginia. I was born in Fairmont, raised in Wadestown, and went to college in Morgantown. For the majority of the populace not familiar with the political geography of West Virginia, all of those places are within an hour's leisurely drive of Bridgeport.
Close enough that my mother worked there. Close enough that I have friends there. Close enough that the litter currently in my cats' pans came from the $0.19-a-pound bulk bin at the pet store in the Eastpointe Plaza up by I-79.
Close enough that I stopped by the Meadowbrook Mall-- where the keep-the-picture people were fundraising-- to see if the New Age store was still open on the way to my best girlfriend's house.
Close enough that I stopped and *talked* to these people. Lemme give you a profile.
The vast majority of them don't want to shove their religion down anyone's throat. They think it would be horrible if a student were teased, bullied, harrassed, or treated differently because of their religion. That would be "un-Christian," and "that's not what Jesus wants [them] to do."
Aside from good-hearted (if misguided) concern for my immortal soul, they really don't care if I'm Christian or not.
They don't even *want* to offend. They just don't understand why a 30-odd- year-old piece of artistically mediocre religiously-themed kitsch should be offensive to anyone. It's just Jesus, and it's just hanging there.
They don't understand why people want to take it away; the simplest among them (like my 80-year-old grandma probably in the early stages of Alzheimer's) are confused and hurt. The preacher says the "Godless Pagans" and the "Godless Atheists" and the "Godless Liberals" are out to get them, and they don't really understand that either. They don't want to fight a holy war, and they don't want to fight a culture war. They're confused, they're frightened, and all they really want is to wish their neighbor a Merry Christmas, exchange tree-shaped sugar cookies, and sing "How Great Thou Art" in peace on Sunday morning.
They don't really care what your religion is. They're not familiar with it, they don't understand it, but most of them really don't give a flying purple rat's a*s.
They think ya oughta not kill folks what ain't bothered you, not mess around on yore man (or woman) , take care of yore Mom and Dad, r'member them holy days onect in a while, and try not t' cuss lessen yer real mad. They hope Santy brings ya nice presents, and shore do hope bein' Santy don't setcha back so much that money's tight come January. He'p y'self to the cookies. God bless ya; peace on Earth and goodwill t' ever'body.
Yes, some of them probably do think that a 'Pagan' is someone who drives around in a big black van, killing cats and sacrificing blond-haired blue-eyed virgins on one of them-there upside-down-star-thingys in the graveyard on Halloween. The Satanic Panic never quite died back in WV; to the best of my knowledge, it also preceded Jack Chick and 1986 by at least a couple centuries. I think that has more to do with distrust of people in general and the outside world in particular than with specific and fervent religious hatred. It's always been there-- and it's always been up to the individual to demonstrate their intent by their behavior.
For crying out loud, I've heard similar stuff about people from New York, New Jersey, California, Florida, and any city larger than Charleston (population at the 2000 census: 53,421) ! My grandmother had panic attacks when I moved to Morgantown (2000 census: 26,809) because she was afraid I'd get raped and murdered in the big city! Don't even mention Pittsburgh (334,563) ; she'll have a coronary!
Quite a lot more of them think that a 'Pagan' is someone who likes incense, fresh flowers, recycling, dancing naked, and having (sometimes polyamorous) sex in circles in the woods. Silly and weird-- and probably going to Hell, but maybe not, they're not really sure God would do that-- but essentially harmless...
... and some of them still don't quite realize that a 'Pagan' isn't 'someone who doesn't eat meat.' Since both the application of 'Pagan' and the definition of 'vegan' are inaccurate, I guess neither term has historically been common in vocab lists or spelling bees in north-central WV public schools.
Quite a few of them think my pentacle is "a really pretty little star" or "a very nice Star of David." At least one person has put a hand on my shoulder, told me they have no problem with Jews, apologized for the Holocaust (there are quite a lot of people there-- including me-- with at least partially German ancestry) , and said they think them-there Neo-Nazis oughta be hung.
I have yet to have anyone get up-in-arms when I disabuse them of the "Star of David" perception. Some do ask me if I know that I'll go to Hell without Jesus...
...but I really don't care about their opinion of the destination of my [eternal soul]. All I care about is that they'll check me out at the bookstore, let me merge in traffic, and let my tires, my windows, my animals, and my family pass their existences in relative safety.
Insofar as anyone can, I know the destination of my [eternal soul], and I'm the only one who *needs* to know. They-- or more appropriately, their [eternal souls]-- will figure it out one of these incarnations. As long as they're not yelling it in my face amidst a spray of spittle or feeding it to my 5-year-old with a clear intent to attain conversion thru terror, I'll thank them for their concern and invite them to the food court for steak fries, ice cream, and a theological discussion.
Do I expect anyone else to do that?? It would be nice-- I think it would help the cause of attaining true religious neutrality-- but I neither expect nor demand it. I am neither your parent, your significant other, your deity, or your spirit guide; I cannot tell you what to do. All I can do is make (often frustrated and occasionally bellicose) suggestions.
I know it's not about a picture. It's also not about either of my grandmothers, sugar cookies in the effigy of white pines, or theological discussion with people with 12th grade educations in crappy food courts in two-bit malls. It's not about Christmas, or Sunday, or "How Great Thou Art," or Jesus Himself Christ.
It's about religious neutrality.
Unfortunately, it's also about all those other things. We didn't involve them, but they got involved anyway. Culture wars have civilian casualties, and the culture warriors are going to remember those civilian casualties when they go out drumming up more soldiers for a bigger war.
As for religious neutrality??
Well, Bridgeport, Harrison County, and the surrounding areas are a lot less religiously neutral now than they were two years ago.
And if my daughter were entering kindergarten in Harrison County schools next year, I would now be planning to homeschool.
I don't want anyone to be harrassed, suppressed, hurt, or offended. I don't want to fight a culture war, and I don't want it to turn into a holy war.
Wants and wishes notwithstanding, the bandage committe will meet next Thursday.
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| Simple Solutions Are Oft Overlooked | Oct 9th. at 1:17:59 pm EDT
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Paradox Greymind (Lexington, California) - Email Me
Some people are so caught up in thier cause they aren't willing to compermise i personally would have found it acceptable for the principle to move the painting into thier own office as a personaly decoration and not worry about the debacle until there was evident proff that students that aren't christian where being singled out for harsher punishments
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| What Teeth Does This Agreement Have? | Oct 9th. at 12:46:56 pm EDT
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Opus the Poet (Garland, Texas) - Email Me - Web
What is to keep the school district from waiting until all the brouhaha has died down and people are not watching them 24/7 any more, then putting up any and all kinds of Xtian twaddle? Where are the teeth to keep those pictures and other things (like the inscription on that mirror) from going up as soon as the heat is off? "If you do it again we will file another lawsuit"? How about "If you do it again we will take your houses and cars and use them for covensteads"?
Or would that just make too much D@mn sense?
Opus
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| The Money Was Blown By The Defense | Oct 8th. at 10:56:50 pm EDT
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Stormsinger (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) - Email Me
Not the people who asked that the unconstitutional endorsement of religion by a government entity be ended. That money could have been saved at any point in time if the school had been willing to admit that a picture of Jesus on the wall of a public school was maybe a little too religious for the venue. It could have been done for the cost of a box to put the picture in and a quick trip to Michael's for a nice, inoffensive landscape.
It wasn't the people protesting who cost the school that money. THEY WERE RIGHT. It was the people who are perfectly willing to throw away other people's money to "fight for Jesus" when he doesn't need to be fought for in a place his picture doesn't need to be. A public school is a government agency, and a government agency has no religious rights -- it has merely responsibilities and duties to the individuals it serves.
Blaming the people who protested the picture for the money spent against them is just another form of blaming the victim. Surely we're smarter than that by now.
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| ...Are You Serious? | Oct 8th. at 9:23:08 pm EDT
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Darcie (Sicklerville, Arizona) - Email Me
$19,000 to take down a picture of Jesus? Now, I'm a Pagan, and I believe that no one religion should be favored over another. But if I went to a school that had a picture of Jesus on the wall, I wouldn't get totally offended, jump up, and start a giant thing. I have better things to do. Forget about better computer programs for students, new textbooks, andbetter facilities on campus. Nope. Let's blow our money ranting about how we don't want to have to look at Jesus. *sigh*
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| Losing The War | Oct 8th. at 7:32:11 pm EDT
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Mysteries Child (Garfield, Arkansas) - Email Me
Is this a battle won??
Maybe-- if you consider enforcing the "If we can't have it, you can't either" mutual-silence approach to handling religious diversity a victory.
I don't.
I can understand the gratification it brings. I agree that it's unfair and un-Constitutional for Christians [or-fill-in-dominant-religion-here] to be the only ones permitted to display articles of their faith in public.
Free exercise and free speech and expression must belong to all, or to none.
It's just that I'd rather see it be ALL, and I don't believe that going thru NONE is the way to get there.
Call me an idealist.
Is the militant Christian right out to get us?? Do they want to establish exclusivity by rule of law?? Oh, you bet they do. You just bet they do.
By definition, the militant ANYTHING is out to establish exclusivity by rule of law. That's what militants DO.
And today, they've got one more weapon in the propaganda arsenal.
"Christians unite! The Godless Pagans, the Godless Liberals, the Godless Atheists want to take your religion from you! If we do not stand up now, we will soon be forced to practice in silence as in the days of Rome!"
I don't even need to go to church to hear the battle cry.
Well, I suppose intolerance, also, is a two-way street. *sigh*
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| Freedom Of Speech | Oct 8th. at 7:04:37 pm EDT
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Stormsinger (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) - Email Me
The common problem here -- and the one the Religious Right LOVES to muddy the waters with -- is the confusion between INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS and GOVERNMENT RIGHTS.
For over 200 years, patriots have fought and died to, among other things, preserve the Constitution of the United States, which promises freedom from government interference in -- or government backing of -- religion.
A public school is a government institution. It has no rights, only responsibilities to the individuals it serves. And one of those responsibilities is to provide an atmosphere that neither blocks INDIVIDUAL religious expression, nor favors any particular brand over another.
A picture of Jesus on the wall of the school is a pretty blatent picture of favoritism. Doesn't matter if he was real or not. Doesn't matter if he was a nice guy or as twisted as Adolph Hitler. Doesn't matter if he was any more deity than the rest of us. What matters is that he is the symbol of a religion, and he does not belong on the wall of government building.
The best thing any government institution can do is keep religion out of its "official" realm -- its walls, its alcoves and foyers, and so on. Whether it's a picture of Jesus on the wall of a public school or a two-ton carving of the Ten Commandments on the courthouse lawn, it's a statement that religion is a consideration in a place where -- BY LAW -- religion is NOT to be a consideration. Children should not get better teachers, better books, fewer detentions or lead roles in the school play because they are members of the "right" religion any more than any person should walk into a courtroom afraid that the judge will be considering what religion they profess rather than the facts of the case, or ruling by the Bible rather than the law of the land.
If more people would simply understand and accept this long-established principle of American government, maybe there'd be more money for books, music, art and language in schools. Wouldn't it be nice if they could look at the Fundies and say, "Sorry, we aren't fighting that -- all our money is tied up in the art program this semester, and we need the $19,000 to buy new instruments for the elementary music classes."
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| Very Asinine | Oct 8th. at 3:57:19 pm EDT
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Sickle (Mt. Jackson, Virginia) - Email Me
I fail to see how this battle to take down a picture makes any sense at all. People have fought and died for the right of freedom of speech, and the solution presented here is to take that possibility away. No pictures, or statues, or whatnot? What's next? Shall people have their eyes removed in the event they *might* see something *someone* deems offensive?
People are dying of diseases, starvation, and living in poverty, and $19,000 was used to remove a picture? Even if Jesus is a total fabrication, the stories about him show him to be one of the most kind and loving people ever. What's the problem? A picture means a school promotes a certain relilgion? My school had a copy of Hitler's _Mein Kampf_. Does that mean my school was part of the Fascist regime? Hardly!
This whole event was a complete wast of time and resources. It's not a victory. It's a disgusting display of people being a bunch of whiners, and it seems it will only get worse. People are taking the wrong path to tolerance: Ridding ourselves of everything that soemone says is offensive.
What a bunch of babies! (No offense to toddlers)
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| It's Not About Excluding Everything... | Oct 8th. at 1:01:39 pm EDT
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Tophy (Los Angeles, California) - Email Me
It's not that anyone finds a picture of Jesus Christ threatening, and saying that "we're making things worse" by trying to make the school religiously neutral is like telling black people that it's their fault people are racist because they sometimes seperate themselves. The truth is that EVERYONE needs to change a little, whether they're the oppressed or the oppressor, though the latter is probably the one that needs to change more, vastly.
Anyway, the point is that we aren't being exclusive - we're simply trying to make everything neutral, so that everyone has the chance to express themselves equally without fearing that they're going against the grain, or in this case, portrait. I don't think the ACLU would mind if people had pictures of Jesus up in their lockers...In fact, I KNOW they wouldn't mind, as long as anyone else was afforded the right to put any other religious symbol up in their own lockers.
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| I'd Still. . . | Oct 8th. at 11:30:31 am EDT
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Dynnys Derwydd (Lubbock, Texas) - Email Me
. . .like to donate two statues, one of the Goddess and another of the God (doesn't matter which aspects) and see if they'd be willing to place those.
Doubt it. Though it is nice to know that the threat of a lawsuit can still get things done.
Fight with knowledge and not in ignorance.
Gnothi Seauton,
Dynnys Derwydd
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