by DS211 17 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
Saw this article on yahoo. There was a little JW kid whose teacher made him stand up and salute the flag and/or say the pledge in class. He went to the administrator and she got suspended.....my lord the JWs are going to be shouting Great Trib over this. So what do you guys think on the matter?
DS
I read this account on a local news report as I also read the locals opinions. First My heart goes to this child, he is only 6 years old and kept trying to recite his reasons he was taught to the children. I had teachers, especially substitutes who did the same thing to me. it is wrong to do this to a child. It is wrong by the religion, parents and teachers. The local opinions told me what the people think of JWs. JWs were called many names, the top two was the old standby communist, unAmerican , and the new one to me Taliban and people were calling for JWs to leave this country. JWs will be convinced persucution has started. This incident will stay with that child for the rest of his life.
No one, adult or child should be forced to do something that goes against their conscience, regardless of whether others think it's right or wrong. It's cruel, especially to a child.
Poor kid being used as a pawn. JW childhood is shitty enough without teachers adding to it.
After the student informed McDonald of this, McDonald went to the front of the class and said, "If you don't want to say the pledge, you still have to put your hand on your heart and if you don't want to do that, you should move out of the country," according to the report.
Read more: http://www.wptv.com/dpp/news/state/anne-daigle-mcdonald-jehovahs-witness-school-district-suspends-teacher-over-pledge-issue#ixzz2jxxsfrHo
She stepped outside the bounds of well-established law, and the school board took appropriate action. Her ignorant comment above reflects lack of training and probably the political sentiment (tea party) of the surrounding area.
No child should be put in that position.
The WT is wrong to force kids not to salute the flag.
The teacher was wrong to force the child to salute the flag.
Ding said- The teacher was wrong to force the child to salute the flag.
Yup, and the child has the law on his side.
What he does with the event is up to him now, since he can choose to view it later in life as standing up for what he honestly believed he was supposed to do at the time, despite a teacher who tells him otherwise. Whether he's aware of it or not, he's being introduced to the concept of power of the social group.
The irony is that by adopting such policies as not saluting the flag, JWs are teaching the same rebellion against secular authority that in some cases will build up the individual's self-confidence to stand up to the JWs themselves.
This is totally unacceptable. The law could not be clearer. There will be serious consequences. This is a litigate/settle scenario. To be frank, when I was a college student, there was a pocket in NJ that still forced school prayer. The local ACLU was not pressing the matter. It was a very geographically remote area, full of bigotry. The executive director explained the culture. Although I grew up in NJ, I felt as though I would faint when I heard details. They were afraid of murder. I suspect there were other issues that he was not revealing.
I was going to go South to do voter registration while I was in college. Other pressing circumstances prevented me. A large group of outside college students descended on the town and a local student was murdered. Freedom requires vigilance.
Hopefully, this family is not so separated from mainstream culture. Of course, my mom and several other family members who were climbing up the social ladder through public school were summarily expelled before the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision. These individuals lived with the trauma for their lives.
The age of the child makes the action even more reprehensible. My mom would have loved to salute the flag. If she did, however, she would face execution from my gm at home. I had fascist, bully teachers, particularly during the Red Scare days of the 1950s. Teachers would pick on Italian immigrant kids and mock them. Once a new student, only a few days in the States, had to practice getting the swagger out of his step. I wanted to kill the teacher.
Besides legal action, I hope this kid gets appropriate treatment for the trauma. This makes my own experience seem like paradise.
Welcome to the 'new' conservative America - a Norman Rockwell picture of middle class, white, patriotic, religious, small town, apple pie, Santa Claus and football.
JW's kids aren't the only minority getting the 'persecution'.
They stand beside the Muslim, Hispanic, Somali, gay and lesbian kids.
ginger
Officials said teacher Anne Daigle-McDonald twice placed the student's hand over his heart when the class recited the pledge.
