I was with you until you wrote: "Religious families should not feel any more threatened by queer theory in schools than gay kids should feel by religious beliefs or studies." The goal of Queer Theory is to be subversive and overturn boundaries. Of course they don't teach Queer Theory as an actual 'subject', but ideas of Queer Theory are woven into the curriculum in a very sneaky way starting in Kindergarten. The guidance and materials that form SOGI curriculum have been passed to the education system from gender identity lobbyists and LGBTQ+ organizations. Many parents are shocked to learn that inappropriate child sexualizing and science-denying content has, for years now, been presented without parental knowledge or consent, based solely on political ideology that is not adequately vetted, is not backed by evidence, ignores reality, and often railroads children’s personal boundaries. The SOGI (Queer Theory) teachings are highly manipulative and seem almost engineered to manufacture gender dysphoria in children. Queer Theory is a political ideology and is not neutral. It has no place in the public school system.
I want to add that I support Sex Education taught to adolescents in an age-appropriate way. I am 58 years old and I remember that the Sex Ed I was taught was focused on human reproductive biology - how babies are made, how not to get pregnant, how to protect yourself from sexually transmitted disease. I favour a "back to basics" approach to Sex Ed. Also, back then teachers had appropriate professional boundaries and they never talked about their personal lives to students. I am mortified by teachers who feel the need to "come out" to their students, and it's even worse when they demand pronoun compliance (etc). They are using their captive audience of school children to extract validation for themselves. It's toxic, emotional vampirism. Completely grotesque.
And the one is celebrated. Can you think of a celebration at school of people being Christians? Not a school closure for the general public to celebrate a holy day/holiday, but a school-sponsored event or teacher affirmation of the person's identity?
The classical liberal marketplace of ideas may be fine, where people are given a presentation of different philosophies. But who can trust public school employees to carry this out with an even hand? Even after reading your article, a teacher is commenting below that they will continue teaching this theory as a lens through which to view literature.
Yes, I agree but in general Queer Theory isn't even being presented as one philosophy among many competing philosophies in a marketplace of ideas. If that were the case, I wouldn't object so much especially if the students were sufficiently mature to analyze and decide for themselves which philosophy was better on its merits (eg: high school students). In the present situation, Queer Theory was snuck in through the backdoor - it was woven into the curriculum at the earliest grades and is being taught as the one and only moral truth.
I teach high school literature, and in my domain, Queer Theory is just one of many lenses through which to look at literature. It certainly has nothing to do with science denial. I think you're mixing up terms here.
No, I'm not. If Postmodernism (poststructuralism) & Queer Theory had confined itself to just deconstructing literature, there would be no problem. Unfortunately, though, it escaped academia and became reified - ie: put to work in the real world to deconstruct 'social injustice'. Queer Theory presumes that oppression follows from categorization. Queer theory problematizes what is called “the binary opposition,” eg: Man/woman. Queer Theory argues that binary oppositions are inherently hierarchical, in that one term is privileged over the other as the primary, and the other term is merely its deviant. For instance, “man” is the default normal and its opposite (woman) is subordinate. Queer theory argues that we need to deconstruct all of these social binary oppositions. Thus categories of sex, gender and sexuality are seen as oppressive and QT's main objective is to examine, question and subvert them in order to break them down. In addition to the deconstruction of categories, QT is also characterized by a profound skepticism of science (as is postmodernism in general). Finally, QT asserts the theory of performativity - the idea that woman/girl is not a female person but is a performance. Queer Theory is a political project and its agenda is to challenge what is called "normativity" - the idea that some things are more common or regular to the human condition, thus more normative from a social perspective, than others. Queer Theory is deeply embedded in SOGI, with kids being taught there is no such thing as boys and girls, or that a boy who plays with dolls is a girl based on the performance of feminine stereotypes. This is how kids have been groomed to see themselves as the opposite sex and then pushed toward transition.
I have to agree. There is nothing neutral about it. It is activist brainwashing. "Deconstruct" does not mean analyze. It means destroy, as does their other favorite euphemism: "dismantle." The right and left are fighting tooth and claw to inject their preferred militant propaganda into the classroom. But while the right is fighting for censorship of all gay/queer voices, the left is fighting to redefine education into a totally meaningless endeavor. Ridiculous constructs like "equity math" promote self-indulgent naval gazing and rob (already far behind) American kids from the chance to learn. Teaching the fundamentals of reproductive biology is healthy, necessary--and empowering. When I was a kid, we were forced to listen to a Christian couple in our sex ed class discuss their sex lives and why they think we should "wait until marriage." For the 99% of us who did not share their values, they were a joke, because even 10th graders could tell the difference between ideology and propaganda versus truth. Gender identity is no different than a strict, puritanical religious ideology. It has no place in schools.
I would add that the term "Queer Theory" exemplifies poststructuralism's propensity to alter reality by manipulating language. Here it's the word "theory" that's being subverted. Slap the label "theory" on a set of subjective ideas that advance an ideology and - presto! - they become empirically derived scientific truths. If Judith Butler is a "theorist," then Donald J. Trump is a statesman.
Your response here is exactly why our education system has been on a downward spiral for decades. Self righteous nonsense emanating from entitled individuals, who have never worked outside of their groupthink environment. Schools are places of knowledge, not throwing around made up stuff which only confuses novice learners. If you can't stick to teaching kids properly, maybe it's time to retire. Good day.
Great post, Kate. All you rightly said is based on sound reason and requires a culture in which reasoning and moral laws are sound. Sadly, our culture has undergone a massive shift in the past 60+ years that has replaced sound reasoning with reasoning that favors the easiest road to immediate satisfaction.
That sought satisfaction may be the alleviation of fear, the silencing of uncomfortable opposition, or safety from a manufactured virus.
I believe the only way to implement your reasoning is to begin by changing our culture. Live the culture you desire. Always speak the truth, reject politicized 'science', climate, and medical fearmongering. Get government out of your children's education. Respect those you disagree with, but never give ground or compromise reality. Toughest of all, speak out against lies regardless of the consequences.
Most of us would like to think we have 'free speech' in America. The dismal reality is we do not. Speaking up can cause personal and financial harm, job loss, create enemies of neighbors and relatives. Yet speaking up is the only way to recast our culture and allow reason and truth to rule. It's a decision we all face.
In my view this is a sweet, kind, deeply well-meaning and ultimately ridiculous post.
Public schools should be rigorously secular in examining belief systems when appropriate for the curriculum. "Queer theory," which is academic bullshit, doesn't belong anywhere before university-level courses. But it would certainly be useful to give children the thinking skills to be able to recognize that all cults are the same; chaplains and queer theorists are representatives for cults. Explorations of gender ideology is like exploring the trinitarian nature of the Christian concept of God. Enough rabbit holes through which one can get more than sufficient of one's daily step target but otherwise of no practical purpose. You weren't visited by a trans man. You were visited by an unhappy woman trying to simulate a life of maleness. Emotional distress and mental illness are heavy burdens. We oughtn't make them heavier by being complicit in keeping people trapped in such unhealthy states of being.
Self-defense courses labeling themselves as serving buzzword buzzword are a determined perpetuation of silliness. BIPOC people? Say that out loud ten times and then go sit in the corner for a nice little time out.
The problem at the essence of these issues is the classification of LGBTQ+ individuals as a legitimate protected class for which I believe they do not qualify. A black person cannot lie and say they aren’t black, a woman in the naturally occurring universe cannot hide that she has 30% less muscle mass than a man and will forever be at their physical mercy whether she likes it or not. A blind person cannot ditch their guide dog and wander into the abyss, and the intellectually impaired cannot feign acts of genius. On the other hand, LGBTQ+ identities are precisely that, an identity that can be manipulated when push comes to shove. Does this mean they don’t deserve equal rights? No, they most certainly DO and are already entitled to equal rights, along with all other citizens under United States law.
Furthermore, please tell me when a religious parade celebrating Christianity or Islam will be a highly encouraged activity for students in 2023 and that, if students decline to attend, would face similar social condemnation. Oh, that’s right, that would never happen because somehow LGBTQ+ ideological leanings received favoritism far beyond what any other “protected class” receives favoritism which in and of itself signifies it lacks criteria as a protected class. As demonstrated by the removal of “one nation under God” from the pledge of allegiance in public schools (which by the way manifested with a majority Christian population.) In stark contrast, pride flags and signs freely hang in a variety of public institutions despite a lacking symbolic or historical significance to such institutions. Meanwhile the same institutions mandate or encourage employees to say “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas” all of which receives little to no scrutiny. This sort of foolishness will continue so long as physical, historical and biological realities are willfully ignored.
"... As demonstrated by the removal of 'one nation under God' from the pledge of allegiance in public schools..." WHAT?? No, I teach in a public school in the US and , unfortunately, this nonsense left over from the J Parnell Thomas/McCarthy Era is still very much IN the Pledge.
No one is required to participate anywhere-- SCOTUS decisionof long standing. Can you please tell me the source of your information on the Pledge being worded differently in different states?
Live and let live, yes. Agree to disagree, yes. Teach assorted ideologies in public schools? NO. Not unless you are going to examine it among an assortment of ideologies INCLUDING religions, and then leave any decision concerning right and wrong as the individual's clear Charter Right.
Can't wait to see the back end of this bizarre dictatorial government, so we can bring Canada back, a land where we were happier, wealthier, and safer than now.
Let me be clear: schools already have policies in place to report abuse in the home. So do doctors and hospitals. And they do. At what point does the reasoning become acceptable that schools, i.e. the State, become the warden of children over the parent? Because that worked so well for the residential school system right?
Schools are already welcoming to LGBTQ+ kids, in fact many teachers revere them. But what we’ve seen over the past 2 decades is this radical swing in priorities. Whereas they used to be places of learning, classrooms and school policy are awash with special interests. And our declining student achievement reflects that. The pursuit of knowledge has been replaced with social justice initiatives, many of which are intent on indoctrination with their groupthink mantra. We now have millions of dollars being spent on SOGI resources while more and more kids are graduating illiterate and innumerate.
The pursuit of knowledge is the only thing that our schools should be focusing on, and we have lost our way.
Absolutely spot on. Critical Pedagogy and Social Emotional Learning (SEL) approaches to education have wreaked havoc on generations of kids now. The system is broken and a return to the objectives you’ve outlined is long overdue.
Kate, this is first class. Exactly correct. I have written the OCDSB (and the new Director Buffone) to request that in public statements the board refrain from using inaccurate and prejudicial language to describe good faith protesting parents. Disagreement is not hate, despite activist attempts to conflate the two words/ideas. I have copied FAIR Ottawa on my comms to the OCDSB. How can I further help you? How can I get in touch with you directly? Thanks, Steven Lightfoot
Hi Steven: I sent you an email using the address we have on file for you through the Ontario chapter. In case it doesn't go through, I can be reached through the Ontario chapter email. I am glad my thoughts were helpful to you.
Cool thx. Basically in western liberal societies, all that is really required of a citizen (in this domain) is that they need to treat others with respect, and follow the law. No one has to agree with anyone else, and certainly never has to say things they don't believe or 'celebrate' anything. These new attempts by the state and related actors to impose some of these new norms on citizens is authoritarian in nature and troubling. We just have to co-exist and get along, people free to live their best lives as they see fit. As you say, agree to disagree and behave civilly. We need to re introduce these ideas to the Ontario school systems, to head off the increasing conflicts posed by identity politics and by certain cohorts trying to impose their views on others.
Queer theory and Queering which is meant to destabilize Society is entirely different from respecting a gay person’s rights. One of the most important points is age appropriate teaching nit teaching to “groom “ children.
I was hoping for a more practical solution to this issue, but I’m afraid “agreeing to disagree” won’t quite cut it for the time and place we’re living in the West. We are at an ideological, philosophical and moral impasse, where one side’s entire identity is based on their ability to act upon desires and inclinations that are deemed sinful and harmful by the other. The only solution I can see for public education is less state intervention and more parental choice. Unfortunately the Canadian government will never allow this, because relinquishing control of public education to that extent would impact multiple interests groups and remove hundreds of millions of dollars from the public sector. We can have a society where all people are respected but opinions and ideas aren’t people. How we instill morals and values in our children cannot and should not be up for negotiation. Agreeing to disagree is not a solution, it’s a concession.
I was with you until you wrote: "Religious families should not feel any more threatened by queer theory in schools than gay kids should feel by religious beliefs or studies." The goal of Queer Theory is to be subversive and overturn boundaries. Of course they don't teach Queer Theory as an actual 'subject', but ideas of Queer Theory are woven into the curriculum in a very sneaky way starting in Kindergarten. The guidance and materials that form SOGI curriculum have been passed to the education system from gender identity lobbyists and LGBTQ+ organizations. Many parents are shocked to learn that inappropriate child sexualizing and science-denying content has, for years now, been presented without parental knowledge or consent, based solely on political ideology that is not adequately vetted, is not backed by evidence, ignores reality, and often railroads children’s personal boundaries. The SOGI (Queer Theory) teachings are highly manipulative and seem almost engineered to manufacture gender dysphoria in children. Queer Theory is a political ideology and is not neutral. It has no place in the public school system.
Yes, I agree with you. I don't think that religion or queer theory belong in public school.
I want to add that I support Sex Education taught to adolescents in an age-appropriate way. I am 58 years old and I remember that the Sex Ed I was taught was focused on human reproductive biology - how babies are made, how not to get pregnant, how to protect yourself from sexually transmitted disease. I favour a "back to basics" approach to Sex Ed. Also, back then teachers had appropriate professional boundaries and they never talked about their personal lives to students. I am mortified by teachers who feel the need to "come out" to their students, and it's even worse when they demand pronoun compliance (etc). They are using their captive audience of school children to extract validation for themselves. It's toxic, emotional vampirism. Completely grotesque.
There’s so much waste in education budgets. Fix this by bringing in school nurses to teach sex Ed appropriately, and cut the crap.
Yes!
And the one is celebrated. Can you think of a celebration at school of people being Christians? Not a school closure for the general public to celebrate a holy day/holiday, but a school-sponsored event or teacher affirmation of the person's identity?
The classical liberal marketplace of ideas may be fine, where people are given a presentation of different philosophies. But who can trust public school employees to carry this out with an even hand? Even after reading your article, a teacher is commenting below that they will continue teaching this theory as a lens through which to view literature.
Yes, I agree but in general Queer Theory isn't even being presented as one philosophy among many competing philosophies in a marketplace of ideas. If that were the case, I wouldn't object so much especially if the students were sufficiently mature to analyze and decide for themselves which philosophy was better on its merits (eg: high school students). In the present situation, Queer Theory was snuck in through the backdoor - it was woven into the curriculum at the earliest grades and is being taught as the one and only moral truth.
Completely agree
Yep- depressing!
Great comments April.
I teach high school literature, and in my domain, Queer Theory is just one of many lenses through which to look at literature. It certainly has nothing to do with science denial. I think you're mixing up terms here.
No, I'm not. If Postmodernism (poststructuralism) & Queer Theory had confined itself to just deconstructing literature, there would be no problem. Unfortunately, though, it escaped academia and became reified - ie: put to work in the real world to deconstruct 'social injustice'. Queer Theory presumes that oppression follows from categorization. Queer theory problematizes what is called “the binary opposition,” eg: Man/woman. Queer Theory argues that binary oppositions are inherently hierarchical, in that one term is privileged over the other as the primary, and the other term is merely its deviant. For instance, “man” is the default normal and its opposite (woman) is subordinate. Queer theory argues that we need to deconstruct all of these social binary oppositions. Thus categories of sex, gender and sexuality are seen as oppressive and QT's main objective is to examine, question and subvert them in order to break them down. In addition to the deconstruction of categories, QT is also characterized by a profound skepticism of science (as is postmodernism in general). Finally, QT asserts the theory of performativity - the idea that woman/girl is not a female person but is a performance. Queer Theory is a political project and its agenda is to challenge what is called "normativity" - the idea that some things are more common or regular to the human condition, thus more normative from a social perspective, than others. Queer Theory is deeply embedded in SOGI, with kids being taught there is no such thing as boys and girls, or that a boy who plays with dolls is a girl based on the performance of feminine stereotypes. This is how kids have been groomed to see themselves as the opposite sex and then pushed toward transition.
I have to agree. There is nothing neutral about it. It is activist brainwashing. "Deconstruct" does not mean analyze. It means destroy, as does their other favorite euphemism: "dismantle." The right and left are fighting tooth and claw to inject their preferred militant propaganda into the classroom. But while the right is fighting for censorship of all gay/queer voices, the left is fighting to redefine education into a totally meaningless endeavor. Ridiculous constructs like "equity math" promote self-indulgent naval gazing and rob (already far behind) American kids from the chance to learn. Teaching the fundamentals of reproductive biology is healthy, necessary--and empowering. When I was a kid, we were forced to listen to a Christian couple in our sex ed class discuss their sex lives and why they think we should "wait until marriage." For the 99% of us who did not share their values, they were a joke, because even 10th graders could tell the difference between ideology and propaganda versus truth. Gender identity is no different than a strict, puritanical religious ideology. It has no place in schools.
Well said!
I would add that the term "Queer Theory" exemplifies poststructuralism's propensity to alter reality by manipulating language. Here it's the word "theory" that's being subverted. Slap the label "theory" on a set of subjective ideas that advance an ideology and - presto! - they become empirically derived scientific truths. If Judith Butler is a "theorist," then Donald J. Trump is a statesman.
Queer Theory is a construct. It absolutely has NO PLACE in a K-12 curriculum.
Why would a construct not have a place? I've been teaching for 40 years. What do you teach? How long have you been at it?
Your response here is exactly why our education system has been on a downward spiral for decades. Self righteous nonsense emanating from entitled individuals, who have never worked outside of their groupthink environment. Schools are places of knowledge, not throwing around made up stuff which only confuses novice learners. If you can't stick to teaching kids properly, maybe it's time to retire. Good day.
Things that belong together: phrenology, creationism, Lysenkoism and Queer Theory . . .
Great post, Kate. All you rightly said is based on sound reason and requires a culture in which reasoning and moral laws are sound. Sadly, our culture has undergone a massive shift in the past 60+ years that has replaced sound reasoning with reasoning that favors the easiest road to immediate satisfaction.
That sought satisfaction may be the alleviation of fear, the silencing of uncomfortable opposition, or safety from a manufactured virus.
I believe the only way to implement your reasoning is to begin by changing our culture. Live the culture you desire. Always speak the truth, reject politicized 'science', climate, and medical fearmongering. Get government out of your children's education. Respect those you disagree with, but never give ground or compromise reality. Toughest of all, speak out against lies regardless of the consequences.
Most of us would like to think we have 'free speech' in America. The dismal reality is we do not. Speaking up can cause personal and financial harm, job loss, create enemies of neighbors and relatives. Yet speaking up is the only way to recast our culture and allow reason and truth to rule. It's a decision we all face.
In my view this is a sweet, kind, deeply well-meaning and ultimately ridiculous post.
Public schools should be rigorously secular in examining belief systems when appropriate for the curriculum. "Queer theory," which is academic bullshit, doesn't belong anywhere before university-level courses. But it would certainly be useful to give children the thinking skills to be able to recognize that all cults are the same; chaplains and queer theorists are representatives for cults. Explorations of gender ideology is like exploring the trinitarian nature of the Christian concept of God. Enough rabbit holes through which one can get more than sufficient of one's daily step target but otherwise of no practical purpose. You weren't visited by a trans man. You were visited by an unhappy woman trying to simulate a life of maleness. Emotional distress and mental illness are heavy burdens. We oughtn't make them heavier by being complicit in keeping people trapped in such unhealthy states of being.
Self-defense courses labeling themselves as serving buzzword buzzword are a determined perpetuation of silliness. BIPOC people? Say that out loud ten times and then go sit in the corner for a nice little time out.
The problem at the essence of these issues is the classification of LGBTQ+ individuals as a legitimate protected class for which I believe they do not qualify. A black person cannot lie and say they aren’t black, a woman in the naturally occurring universe cannot hide that she has 30% less muscle mass than a man and will forever be at their physical mercy whether she likes it or not. A blind person cannot ditch their guide dog and wander into the abyss, and the intellectually impaired cannot feign acts of genius. On the other hand, LGBTQ+ identities are precisely that, an identity that can be manipulated when push comes to shove. Does this mean they don’t deserve equal rights? No, they most certainly DO and are already entitled to equal rights, along with all other citizens under United States law.
Furthermore, please tell me when a religious parade celebrating Christianity or Islam will be a highly encouraged activity for students in 2023 and that, if students decline to attend, would face similar social condemnation. Oh, that’s right, that would never happen because somehow LGBTQ+ ideological leanings received favoritism far beyond what any other “protected class” receives favoritism which in and of itself signifies it lacks criteria as a protected class. As demonstrated by the removal of “one nation under God” from the pledge of allegiance in public schools (which by the way manifested with a majority Christian population.) In stark contrast, pride flags and signs freely hang in a variety of public institutions despite a lacking symbolic or historical significance to such institutions. Meanwhile the same institutions mandate or encourage employees to say “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas” all of which receives little to no scrutiny. This sort of foolishness will continue so long as physical, historical and biological realities are willfully ignored.
"... As demonstrated by the removal of 'one nation under God' from the pledge of allegiance in public schools..." WHAT?? No, I teach in a public school in the US and , unfortunately, this nonsense left over from the J Parnell Thomas/McCarthy Era is still very much IN the Pledge.
It depends on the state you live in and in multiple states yky are not required to participate e
No one is required to participate anywhere-- SCOTUS decisionof long standing. Can you please tell me the source of your information on the Pledge being worded differently in different states?
Who we want to have sex with should be the least interesting thing about us.
Thank you for this well thought and sensitive article. If we had more people like Kate Johnson we'd have a lot less suffering.
Live and let live, yes. Agree to disagree, yes. Teach assorted ideologies in public schools? NO. Not unless you are going to examine it among an assortment of ideologies INCLUDING religions, and then leave any decision concerning right and wrong as the individual's clear Charter Right.
Can't wait to see the back end of this bizarre dictatorial government, so we can bring Canada back, a land where we were happier, wealthier, and safer than now.
Let me be clear: schools already have policies in place to report abuse in the home. So do doctors and hospitals. And they do. At what point does the reasoning become acceptable that schools, i.e. the State, become the warden of children over the parent? Because that worked so well for the residential school system right?
Schools are already welcoming to LGBTQ+ kids, in fact many teachers revere them. But what we’ve seen over the past 2 decades is this radical swing in priorities. Whereas they used to be places of learning, classrooms and school policy are awash with special interests. And our declining student achievement reflects that. The pursuit of knowledge has been replaced with social justice initiatives, many of which are intent on indoctrination with their groupthink mantra. We now have millions of dollars being spent on SOGI resources while more and more kids are graduating illiterate and innumerate.
The pursuit of knowledge is the only thing that our schools should be focusing on, and we have lost our way.
Absolutely spot on. Critical Pedagogy and Social Emotional Learning (SEL) approaches to education have wreaked havoc on generations of kids now. The system is broken and a return to the objectives you’ve outlined is long overdue.
Kate, this is first class. Exactly correct. I have written the OCDSB (and the new Director Buffone) to request that in public statements the board refrain from using inaccurate and prejudicial language to describe good faith protesting parents. Disagreement is not hate, despite activist attempts to conflate the two words/ideas. I have copied FAIR Ottawa on my comms to the OCDSB. How can I further help you? How can I get in touch with you directly? Thanks, Steven Lightfoot
Hi Steven: I sent you an email using the address we have on file for you through the Ontario chapter. In case it doesn't go through, I can be reached through the Ontario chapter email. I am glad my thoughts were helpful to you.
Cool thx. Basically in western liberal societies, all that is really required of a citizen (in this domain) is that they need to treat others with respect, and follow the law. No one has to agree with anyone else, and certainly never has to say things they don't believe or 'celebrate' anything. These new attempts by the state and related actors to impose some of these new norms on citizens is authoritarian in nature and troubling. We just have to co-exist and get along, people free to live their best lives as they see fit. As you say, agree to disagree and behave civilly. We need to re introduce these ideas to the Ontario school systems, to head off the increasing conflicts posed by identity politics and by certain cohorts trying to impose their views on others.
Queer theory and Queering which is meant to destabilize Society is entirely different from respecting a gay person’s rights. One of the most important points is age appropriate teaching nit teaching to “groom “ children.
A very reasonable solution that would have been embraced not that long ago. Today, however, trans rights come before all others.
Excellent article! Thank you for laying out your perspective in such a straightforward and respectful way!
Well done, Kate. Thank you for your thoughts and wisdom.
https://medium.com/@sensoriumunclouded/crying-wolf-social-control-the-medicalization-of-gender-and-the-monetization-of-american-68b259771499
I was hoping for a more practical solution to this issue, but I’m afraid “agreeing to disagree” won’t quite cut it for the time and place we’re living in the West. We are at an ideological, philosophical and moral impasse, where one side’s entire identity is based on their ability to act upon desires and inclinations that are deemed sinful and harmful by the other. The only solution I can see for public education is less state intervention and more parental choice. Unfortunately the Canadian government will never allow this, because relinquishing control of public education to that extent would impact multiple interests groups and remove hundreds of millions of dollars from the public sector. We can have a society where all people are respected but opinions and ideas aren’t people. How we instill morals and values in our children cannot and should not be up for negotiation. Agreeing to disagree is not a solution, it’s a concession.
Glad to see not everyone at Queen’s has lost their minds. I was somewhat perturbed by the undergrad Equity Admission Self-Identity page (https://www.queensu.ca/admission/equity-admission-self-identification).
Cha Gheill!