Anoka-Hennepin schools’ long history in the culture war

Great work Andy!

The real mistake was in not standing up to these bullies in the first place. Once they tasted blood, there would be no sating their appetites.

These folks need to move their children to private/parochial schools, and leave the public school system to teach the basics, without interference from religious zealots…Either that, or move down to Texas, and enroll their kids in the public school system there.

WE NEED A REALITY TV SHOW showing the struggles and lives of gay people or gay couples who would like to marry but can’t. This would greatly humanize the gay challenges for those who don’t understand or don’t know anyone who is gay.

She called the school’s principal. “I briefly expressed my reasons as to why this poster was a propaganda piece and that without parental knowledge or consent, students calling this number could be indoctrinated into the homosexual lifestyle, referred to homosexual support groups, used for political purposes or put at risk for being affirmed in unhealthy and dangerous behaviors…..

such as getting 13 year olds to sign your petition?

I wont comment on any of the other stuff, it makes my stomach turn.

We almost moved into this district around the time of all of these conservative crazies (cc) began their hate campaigns. I’m so thankful we didn’t.

May all of the cc’s properties values decline to match their IQ scores….

The Christian right is like macabre parade of the savage medieval unconscious.

Imagine it: One month after Gay Pride comes Godly Christian Pride day, a big long procession down Hennepin Ave. Here’s how I see it.

The Parade Queen and King: Barb Anderson and a man dressed as Jesus are holding hands and waving at the cheering crowd. They stand atop a flatbed covered with hay. At the rear is a manger scene with men in period costume as the three wise men. Instead of candy the wise men are hurling handfuls of little Gideon Bibles into the air (apparently on the assumption that this crowd doesn’t have enough access to this book) where they scatter like shrapnel and smack the faces and bodies of the unaware. A toddler is belted to the ground by accident and begins bawling.

Pastors Against Porn: The flyer on the trailer reads, “The only one who touches me is my spouse! And Jesus!” Pastors and their wives standing on the trailer hold hands or half-hug. Sometimes they kiss, which generates rowdy applause from the parade route audience. There must be dozens, no hundreds of pastors and their wives in this float slowly filing past. Two minutes go past, then 5…then 10. Quickly the clapping dies down and an eerie silence fills the streets, except for the sound of footfalls, the occasional cleared throat, and the distance music from upcoming floats. The pastors force grins or look uncomfortably at their feet. Their wives appear to wish they were anywhere but here.

Christian Parenting Association: It’s as if we’re looking at some Victorian diorama. In one room a man is swinging a cane at the behind of a young girl in a dress. In the adjacent living room a young boy is reading a Bible on a couch, a huge smile on his face like he’s never done anything more fun. A portrait of Ronald Reagan is nailed to the wall above him. His mother, in an ankle length dress, is in the kitchen stirring a pot of soup with a smile on her face like she’s never done anything more fun. The parade route goes wild.

Support Christian Science!: -Reads the banner on the next float to the blaring Christian contemporary music. A man dressed as Charles Darwin is stooped over in a stockade while a pastor stands in front of him reading a Bible. Another man dressed as Jesus is cradling a baby tyrannosaurus rex in his arms in a pose reminiscent of the popular painting of him holding a baby lamb. The T. rex’s head is wrapped in a pink bonnet with a little white cross on the front, and its clawed feet covered in little clothe booties with tiny bells attached. Jesus and the dinosaur are both waving, while Jesus throws out free passes to the Creation Science Museum in Petersburg Kentucky.

Suddenly a wild boar appears, charging and sprinting back and forth across the street, terrifying those in its path. It’s wearing brown leather saddlebags that appear to be stuffed with Bible tracts. “You son of a bitch!” says one of two young men chasing it, “–get back here!” A contingent from the Pastors Against Porn float manages to tackle the unfortunate beast to great clapping and cheers.

NOM/MFC: Their banner reads “Defend Marriage!” Standing on this float is Tom Prichard of the MN Family Council, who has his arm around an attractive young woman 1/4 his age. She is wearing an ankle length dress and appears to be pregnant. Tugging on Prichard’s arm is a man dressed in rainbow wig with devil horns, a demonic gay interloper who is pointing at a sign that says Same Sex Marriage. Standing next to the sign is a man in blackface made to look like Obama wearing a pink pastor’s collar. He is cradling a Koran in his arms. Pastor/Imam Obama is waving his hand at Prichard, trying to entice him to leave his wife and kids who are crying “Don’t do it dad! Don’t give in to Satan!”

Anoka/ Hennepin is Ideological-assisted suicide or homophobic bullycide capital of the country thanks to Barb Anderson and the Minnesota Family Council pushing their peer-repudiated junk science on legislators, school boards, parents and families.

What makes it malicious and invidious is that they also keep the real science, from the credible medical associations out of the grasp of people who need it, which is basically everyone.

Lets be clear, this is an ideological based and driven, anti-Minnesotan and unchristian agenda going on up here. Let’s keep the pushers of the kool-aid away from Minnesota’s kids, their parents, school-boards, city councils and our legislators. I’m betting Jim Jones wasn’t on anyones speed-dial for advice. Ms Anderson is a PAID employee for a state extension of a CERTIFIED HATE GROUP for perpetuating KNOWN FALSEHOODS against gay kids and community. When kids discover they are gay or lesbian, it makes adolescence even more complicating to navigate, and they need and deserve to be spared from these ideological Trojan horses stampeding them off the cliff.

Andy–fine job sir, fine job!

Great article, scary, but great. The issue that has most bothers me as a parent in the district is the idea that the “narrow beliefs” of a small group of parents are being imposed on all of us. Reading that Barb Anderson actually pulled her own kids out of the district to send them to private school should have been the end of her “demand that the schools teach within the rigid guidelines our “her personal beliefs” and yet she’s still “barking out orders” and they’re all still jumping…..why is that?

A better question would be “How is that? Who does this woman think she is? And when did she become head of public education? I’m amazed at the fact the the inappropriate relationship between MFC and the Anoka-Hennepin school board goes back so far and through several board members, but I’m also embarrassed at how “backwards” and “out-of-date” our district appears as a result of that “unhealthy relationship.”

We (AH) have become more reflective of “the real America” over the last 20 years, we are fast becoming a “diverse community” which I think is great. As parent’s, my husband and I believe it’s our job to expose our kids to as much diversity as is possible, and are never afraid of our children learning something new, for it will only equip them with the skills and sensitivity they will need when they venture out on their own. It helps them to be kind and appreciative for not only the things that make us different but they find out there is more that makes us the same….and that’s a wonderful thing.

This idea that “different is always bad or scary” being propagated by MFC/PAL and those who cannot or will not see beyond their own walls is simply …not good for kids. The question to ask though is not, why they think the way they do? Tha’s simple, they have a right to. The question that needs to be asked is “why the school board would put their beliefs above all others?” I’ve asked it……but am still waiting for the answer.

Melissa Thompson
Parent/AH School District

Fantastic job! I think I’ve heard bits and pieces of this through the years, but reading it all together in a well written historical narrative like this, just makes my blood boil and my stomach turn.

Muck these bastards! My God it makes perfect sense this is Bachmann’s territory.

I wonder how Barb Anderson, PAL, and the Minnesota Family Council would define the word “stigma.”

I also wonder how straight allies and the GLBTQ community can connect the dots between stigma, shame, and silence. Seems to me there are lots of stories that need to be told about the harm that comes with those three things, as well as how to transform those things. I propose unconditional acceptance; connection with trusted peers and mentors; and speaking out against stigmatization.

TWO Exclusive: Researcher Reprimands Sham Pediatric Group For Distorting Research
Posted April 12th, 2010 by Wayne Besen

The American College of Pediatricians (ACP) is a small, mostly southern anti-gay advocacy group consisting of notorious activists and angry doctors who have an axe to grind with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). They are upset because the group has a pro-gay stance (and scientific) that claims:

Therapy directed specifically at changing sexual orientation is contraindicated, since it can provoke guilt and anxiety while having little or no potential for achieving changes in orientation.

To counter the AAP’s research-based conclusion, the ACP produced an error-riddled website, Facts About Youth, that grossly distorts research for political gain. To read more on this bastardization of real science check out Box Turtle Bulletin and Dr. Warren Throckmorton’s sites. Worse, the ACP sent a letter to more than 10,000 school superintendents to promote the site. One can only imagine the harm this might do to LGBT youth who come out in school.

Today, Dr. Gary Remafedi, M.D., M.P.H., a University of Minnesota researcher wrote a blistering letter to the American College of Pediatricians to hold them accountable for misusing his research. Here is the letter in its entirety. Take the time to read it – it is worth it.

TO: American College of Pediatricians

Dear colleagues,

I am deeply concerned about misstatements attributed to our research on the “Facts about Youth” website of the American College of Pediatricians (http://factsaboutyouth.com/ [accessed on April 12, 2010]), as they appear in the “Letter to School Officials” and “What You Should Know as a School Official.”

The first reference to our research in these documents deceptively states: “Rigorous studies demonstrate that most adolescents who initially experience same-sex attraction, or are sexually confused, no longer experience such attractions by age 25. In one study, as many as 26% of 12-year-olds reported being uncertain of their sexual orientation1…”

Although the finding (”26% of 12-year-olds…”) is accurately reported, the sentence preceding it invites misinterpretation. Our original interpretation, as presented in the discussion section of the paper, is: “Taken together, these data suggest that uncertainty about sexual orientation and perceptions of bisexuality gradually give way to heterosexual or homosexual identification with passage of time and/or with increasing sexual experience.”

The second reference to our research in your handout erroneously states:

Among adolescents who claim a “gay” identity, the health risks include higher rates of sexually transmitted infections, alcoholism, substance abuse, anxiety, depression and suicide. Delaying such labeling significantly reduces these medical and psychiatric health risks. For example, researchers find that adolescents who defer “coming out as gay” decrease the risk of suicide at a rate of 20 percent for each year that they delay self-labeling as homosexual or bisexual.15

This paragraph is wrong on two counts:

1) It incorrectly reports the results of the research and, once again, misrepresents the conclusions. As a matter of fact, we wrote:

For each year’ delay in homosexual or bisexual self-labeling, the odds of a suicide attempt diminished by 80%. These findings support a previously observed, inverse relationship between psychosocial problems and the age of acquiring a homosexual identity. Compared with older adolescents, early and middle adolescents may be generally less able to cope with the isolation and stigma of a homosexual identity;

2) Citing our work (reference #15) at the end of the paragraph would attribute the content of the entire paragraph to our publication when, in fact, the first sentence (”Among adolescents who claim…”) is not what we have written.

As the first author of the two publications in question and the authorized contact for related communications, I am responding to the inaccuracies in your website documents on behalf of the investigative group. However, the following reactions and suggested remedies are from my own personal perspective, and my co-authors may contribute additional thoughts and suggestions at their discretion.

I have previously encountered and confronted the problem of misrepresentation of research from other advocacy groups such as yours. However, this episode is especially troubling and egregious because it is led by colleagues within my own profession— who certainly have the ability, education, and experience to access, review, and accurately summarize the Pediatric scientific literature.

Our professional code demands of Pediatricians nothing short of the highest standards of ethical conduct in medical education, research, and patient care. Knowingly misrepresenting research findings for material or personal gain is a flagrant violation of this code of conduct. Implicating me in this chicanery is doubly damaging to my professional reputation and career by holding me accountable for misstatements and by associating me with a cause that most ethical Pediatricians will recognize as misguided and hurtful to an entire class of children and families.

Please immediately remove any reference to our work from the website. As a suitable remedy, I also would urge you take the following actions:

1) Publicly retract your references to our research with a written statement posted on the home page of your website;

2) Until then, any donations made to your organization since the “Facts about Youth” website was launched should be either returned to the donors or contributed to the LGBT youth research fund of the Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine.

I look forward to your prompt attention and response to these issues.

Sincerely,

Gary Remafedi, M.D., M.P.H.
Professor, Department of Pediatrics
University of Minnesota
CC: Robert Blum, M.D., PhD; Michael Resnick PhD; James Farrow M.D.

http://www.truthwinsout.org/pressreleases/2010/04/8136/

Repudiated junk science

OutFront and other gay rights groups have fought back; I think you should include some of thier efforts in the story. The ‘no homo’ policy wasn’t just scrapped for no reason in 2009.

The vocal conservative Christian zealots in our district that promote PALS and the continuation of the neutrality policy in district documents and practices are hate-mongers, not Christians.

I applaud anyone who see’s sin as sin. Homosexuality is a sin. It’s an attack on marriage.
Shame on anyone who says it’s ok to be gay!

Wendy,

Thanks much for the info.

This article reads like a timeline nicely showing how bigots always lose in the end. This so called “neutrality policy” will fall as well.

“Ultimately, the board upheld the teaching of evolution, but it directed teachers to be sensitive to Christian students.”

Meanwhile in another district: “Ultimately, the board upheld the teaching of gravity, but it directed teachers to be sensitive to students who believe they can fly.”

Isn’t it great that there are so many right-wing “Christian” groups working tirelessly to ruin children’s lives?

I’ll start asking all the Andersons I know if they are related to her. If they are, I will express my disappointment about their relative, messing up the teaching of science and for pissing me off with her knuckleheadedness. We need to do this grass-roots style.

” omg, there’s this wacko nutjob with the same last name as yours…”

Of course, we should have a policy of neutrality toward all faiths in the public schools. This means that we ought to remove any positive reference toward people of any faith. That will ensure that we have nothing to discuss at all because we will be so “neutral” that will not have anything good to say about anyone.

[...] The neutrality policy was introduced to the school board by the Minnesota Family Council, a Christian fundamentalist group, spearheaded by their Hate-Monger-In-Chief Barb Anderson. While at the high school Barb saw a poster for an LGBT helpline (you know those horrible places that help kids in need), she called the school officials ranting about the “homosexual agenda” taking over the school and began her devious plan to abolish all sensitivity and understanding within the Anoka-Hennepin district—making Anoka, MN ground zero for yet another culture war. [...]

[...] but they’ve done a lot of reporting on a variety of important political issues, from bullying in the Anoka-Hennepin school district to lobbyists crafting legislation with elected officials in ALEC. The Independent has also won [...]