| Topic: |
Religions > Atheism |
| User: |
"Rob Wade" |
| Date: |
10 Nov 2005 10:41:11 PM |
| Object: |
Fistgate Teachers Knew They Were Violating Trust |
Fistgate Teachers Knew They Were Violating Trust
By Atty. J. Edward Pawlick
The teachers at Fistgate knew that the public would not approve what
they were teaching to the children about graphic homosexual sex, one of
the teachers revealed last week.
"[W]e flew sort of below the radar screen for a long time," Margot
Abels told Boston's homosexual newspaper, Bay Windows.
She taught them sex because she thought she knew better than the
parents what should be taught to the children. She says she had the
support of state officials during her seven years at the state
Department of Education.
"We always knew that we were working in an area that in certain
places was considered really controversial and we also knew that we
were doing cutting edge work and that there are plenty of people that
don't support doing work with gay kids. But I think that we flew sort
of below the radar screen for a long time and were able to, and had the
complete support of our agency. Maybe David Driscoll [Commissioner of
Education] didn't always know everything that we did, but certainly our
supervisors did," said Abels.
She added that she and Julie Netherland, another teacher at Fistgate,
always had the "absolute support" of their immediate supervisors.
This raises the question whether Governors Weld and Cellucci knew or
should have known and what Jane Swift knows now. Brian Camenker
believes they knew a lot because, as an activist, he told them many
times what was going on. It was only because they wouldn't listen
that he had Scott Whiteman make a tape at the annual conference in
March 2000 so that no one could deny it any longer.
Abels says that the Massachusetts schools were a "nationally
recognized model" for teaching teenagers about homosexual sex until
the scandal surfaced.
She claims the homosexual AIDS program has been largely dismantled as a
result of the fallout from Fistgate.
Tape Recordings Should be Released
Abels complained that the tape recording that has been distributed by
the Parents Rights Coalition and MassNews is a distortion because it is
only a small part of the 70-minute workshop. She claims that she was
teaching the teenagers about disease-control during the part that has
not been distributed.
However, the only reason the other portions have not been released is
because she and Julie Netherland have successfully persuaded a judge to
put a gag order on the tape.
If the judge were to remove the gag order, Camenker and Whiteman would
instantly release the entire 70-minutes of what occurred at Fistgate,
they tell MassNews. But they can't do so while the court has an Order
against them.
Abels continued to claim last week that the workshop was an educational
class. "The workshop was an incredibly successful experience for
young people," she told the homosexual newspaper. "We were mobbed
after this workshop with kids who had questions for us, and wanting
[us] to link them up to resources and connect with each other to get
information. The passion the kids had there around answering some of
the questions, [saying] 'I would never take that risk,' 'I would
never do that,' 'My life is too important,' things like that,
never made it on the tape." Abels continued, "Again, it never
occurred to me," she said, "that an experience like this shouldn't
happen for young people."
Whiteman, who was in attendance for the workshop, has disputed that any
of it was about disease. He says he will be very happy when Abels and
Netherland allow the public to hear the transcript of the entire
session.
Helping Children?
Abels still believes that the teaching of explicit sexual techniques to
teenagers was a positive influence on the children.
"I never thought, 'Ooh, did we do something wrong here?'" She
continued, "[I]t never occurred to me that an experience like this
shouldn't happen for young people."
She apparently does not realize that some people compare her to the
members of the North American Man/Boy Love Association (NAMBLA) who
believe that they are helping young boys when they have sex with them.
They honestly think that they are assisting these youths to mature.
Many wonder why this 40ish woman would get so much satisfaction out of
talking "dirty" with youngsters. It would indicate a perverted
mind, they believe. (To read some of what Abels said to these young
people at Fistgate, search the archives of MassNews for "western
suburbs.")
Abels believes that the act of sex is an integral part of being
homosexual. She told a group of teachers at Fistgate: "We always feel
like we are fighting against people who deny publicly, who say
privately, that being queer is not at all about sex... We believe
otherwise. We think that sex is central to every single one of us and
particularly queer youth." She and the other instructors at Fistgate
evaluated for the teachers a few of the "campaigns" that have been
used to demonstrate to queer youth how to "be safe" while still
enjoying homosexual sex.
She told the group of teachers that the campaign that she used,
"Respect yourself, protect yourself," was thought to be good in
getting the message to kids to use protection. But she and others were
concerned that it made the children who didn't protect themselves
feel bad. So it ultimately was a poor message, they thought. Another
teacher, Michael Goucher, pointed out that many children have older
partners (commonly known as pedophiles to most people). These
youngsters do not feel they can discuss using protection with these men
who are older than they. If Goucher taught this message, he believes it
would cause them to lose respect for themselves.
The campaign for abstinence, "No sex, no problem," was ridiculed,
because it assumed that children could opt not to have sex.
Additionally, it made those children who had already had sex feel bad,
or think they had a problem since they had had sex.
After reviewing a few of the campaigns they had tried, Abels described
for the teachers the project she had worked on, the "Gay/Straight
Alliance HIV Education Project." She traveled to five different
schools each year conducting up to eight "HIV prevention sessions"
in that school's gay club. She and the other teachers who had just
told a group of children how to properly position their hands for
"fisting" were telling this room full of educators that they would
visit their schools and teach the same thing to their students.
Not Official?
Abels continues to claim that she was not "officially representing"
the state at Fistgate even though not only was she listed on the
program as an employee of the state Department of Education, but she
also had approval from her supervisor to attend. She immediately sent
him a list of the questions that were asked by the students and she was
given 11 =BC hours compensatory time for her participation there.
Abels Sued to Get Job Back
Abels sued this past January to get her job back and also for money
damages against whistleblowers Camenker and Whiteman.
She was successful in getting her old job back last month after going
to union arbitration against the state. She thought this made her a
heroine but Camenker pointed out that he has always known she had the
approval of people very high in the administration.
"I believe Abels absolutely," he told MassNews when she first filed
this suit against him. (Julie Netherland had filed her suit last year
in May 2000.) Upon hearing of Abels' suit, Camenker said, "She is
being used as a scapegoat. There's no question about it. For them to
claim this was an isolated incident is completely disingenuous."
He now says, "Just because her superiors at the state approved her
talking 'dirty' with children is not to her credit in any way."
The suit that Abels filed is forcing the parents to defend themselves
in an additional court. The first suit against them was filed in a
Boston court by Netherland. The new suit has been filed in Cambridge.
"This suit is obviously not an attempt to seek justice in the
case," said Atty. Chester Darling, who represents the two parents.
"It is merely an attempt by the GLSEN crowd to harass Brian Camenker
and Scott Whiteman and to have them running all over the state
defending themselves."
The civil rights lawyer continued, "It is also blatant forum-shopping
because these people want to hold the trial in a town that has many
liberals. They hope it will be impossible for us to obtain a fair trial
there. The main defendant in the case is the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts whose offices are in Boston. My clients were included
only to harass them even more and to give credibility to the filing of
the suit in Cambridge."
The suit seeks: 1) Reinstatement of Abels to her job, 2) damages for
lost wages, 3) compensatory damages including those for emotional
distress, 4) punitive damages and 5) attorney fees.
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