11-22-2003, 07:52 AM
Just read this article and thought readers of this section might enjoy, or at least understand what it's getting at. This is in no ways another Christian-bashing post, but just another report from the culture war that seems to be brewing in the US.
Link to article
Gay student's expulsion not compassionate
By Frank Cerabino, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Friday, November 14, 2003
I feel sorry for Rich Grimm.
Grimm runs the Jupiter Christian School, a frontline outpost in what he calls "the current culture war."
It's not easy being in the trenches, and by that I mean, marshaling your holy army to expel an unrepentant sinner within the learned gates.
"The battle is not over," Grimm told parents this week, in an address that was published online so the whole world might glimpse the courage of this bloodied, but unbowed, gladiator. "The struggle will continue for some time. But for as long as it takes, please know that we will stand up for our beliefs with courage, conviction and Christ-like compassion."
Grimm's courageous and compassionate act was to expel Jeffrey Woodard, 18, for having the nerve both to admit to other students that he is gay and to refuse to undergo some sort of prayerful straightening procedure to rid him of his sinful "lifestyle."
I firmly support a religious school's right to display courage and compassion in this manner. In a world where religious extremism has produced such a bounty of unnecessary suffering and grief, it's instructive to get a dose of it in our own back yards.
"So when kids make bad choices, or when they engage in conduct that does not meet the expectations and standards of the school, or when, in this case, they advocate a lifestyle that is not condoned by the school, what do we do?" Grimm said.
Drive the gay kid away.
For making the bad choice to be born gay. For engaging in the conduct of honesty. And for not feeling a shame that leads to self-enforced silence.
Woodard could have saved himself. He could have pretended to be straight. Or he could have acknowledged being gay, then quickly added that it made him depressed, or, better yet, suicidal. That would have been more comforting for the school.
If only the boy had talked about hating himself to Grimm, then the compassionate crusader might have recruited him into the heterosexual lifestyle, thereby altering his "sexual preference" -- like some corporeal equivalent of switching from AT&T to Sprint.
But no. The boy wanted to be both openly religious and gay.
"In the end, we never denied Jeffrey his right to proclaim his homosexuality, or his right to proclaim that he saw no problem with homosexuality and Christianity," Grimm explained. "In the end, we simply denied Jeffrey Woodard access to make those claims on our campus."
Free speech is a cancer, particularly at a religious school trying to invoke another aspect of that same constitutional amendment by discriminating according to its own beliefs.
This is why I feel sorry for Grimm.
He's in a tough position. He has had to cast himself as a heroic figure in the vortex of a great fight while defending what was essentially a mean bit of business on a lone teenager.
The school's purification act resulted in a lawsuit that will become expensive, and in the end, other students' parents will have to pay to keep the good fight going.
"Now is the time to begin making donations," Grimm told parents. "Please join us in this fight. Our children's futures depend on it."
The hero is leading his troops, charging into the 19th century, and confident that the creator of the universe is right there at his side.
"This action and what we are facing does not surprise God, even if it does sadden and frustrate us," he said.
Take courage, Mr. Grimm. And if you need any lessons on it, talk to the kid you just expelled.
frank_cerabino@pbpost.com
Link to article
Gay student's expulsion not compassionate
By Frank Cerabino, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Friday, November 14, 2003
I feel sorry for Rich Grimm.
Grimm runs the Jupiter Christian School, a frontline outpost in what he calls "the current culture war."
It's not easy being in the trenches, and by that I mean, marshaling your holy army to expel an unrepentant sinner within the learned gates.
"The battle is not over," Grimm told parents this week, in an address that was published online so the whole world might glimpse the courage of this bloodied, but unbowed, gladiator. "The struggle will continue for some time. But for as long as it takes, please know that we will stand up for our beliefs with courage, conviction and Christ-like compassion."
Grimm's courageous and compassionate act was to expel Jeffrey Woodard, 18, for having the nerve both to admit to other students that he is gay and to refuse to undergo some sort of prayerful straightening procedure to rid him of his sinful "lifestyle."
I firmly support a religious school's right to display courage and compassion in this manner. In a world where religious extremism has produced such a bounty of unnecessary suffering and grief, it's instructive to get a dose of it in our own back yards.
"So when kids make bad choices, or when they engage in conduct that does not meet the expectations and standards of the school, or when, in this case, they advocate a lifestyle that is not condoned by the school, what do we do?" Grimm said.
Drive the gay kid away.
For making the bad choice to be born gay. For engaging in the conduct of honesty. And for not feeling a shame that leads to self-enforced silence.
Woodard could have saved himself. He could have pretended to be straight. Or he could have acknowledged being gay, then quickly added that it made him depressed, or, better yet, suicidal. That would have been more comforting for the school.
If only the boy had talked about hating himself to Grimm, then the compassionate crusader might have recruited him into the heterosexual lifestyle, thereby altering his "sexual preference" -- like some corporeal equivalent of switching from AT&T to Sprint.
But no. The boy wanted to be both openly religious and gay.
"In the end, we never denied Jeffrey his right to proclaim his homosexuality, or his right to proclaim that he saw no problem with homosexuality and Christianity," Grimm explained. "In the end, we simply denied Jeffrey Woodard access to make those claims on our campus."
Free speech is a cancer, particularly at a religious school trying to invoke another aspect of that same constitutional amendment by discriminating according to its own beliefs.
This is why I feel sorry for Grimm.
He's in a tough position. He has had to cast himself as a heroic figure in the vortex of a great fight while defending what was essentially a mean bit of business on a lone teenager.
The school's purification act resulted in a lawsuit that will become expensive, and in the end, other students' parents will have to pay to keep the good fight going.
"Now is the time to begin making donations," Grimm told parents. "Please join us in this fight. Our children's futures depend on it."
The hero is leading his troops, charging into the 19th century, and confident that the creator of the universe is right there at his side.
"This action and what we are facing does not surprise God, even if it does sadden and frustrate us," he said.
Take courage, Mr. Grimm. And if you need any lessons on it, talk to the kid you just expelled.
frank_cerabino@pbpost.com
