Classroom Politics

Whangarei’s  Pompallier catholic College has created a rumpus for a  recent newsletter article “Keeping Marriage Sacred”. The NZ Secondary Teachers’ Union, the PPTA, is “in discussion” with the Principal and  the school’s Board of Trustees.

So Richard Stanton, Principal of Whangarei’s Pompallier catholic College, is in hot water for his recent newsletter article “Keeping Marriage Sacred” (1), and for the 29^th August  suspension of science teacher Nigel Studdart.. This of course was  at the time of the heated Parliamentary debate about the homosexual “marriage” bill.

Studdart had taken issue with the Principal’s contention that “Gay parents would be lesser parents”. Also, he had supported some students in the wearing of rainbow wristbands as a protest against the Principal’s opposing stance on the issue. (2)

I found this news disturbing but also fascinating, coming as it did only hours after I had read from a lengthy article by Bill Lind, a U.S. specialist on the topic of  Political Correctness, A few sobering but highly relevant quotes :-

            “For the first time in our history, Americans [read New Zealanders] have to be careful of what they say,  of what they write, and of what they think. They have to be afraid of using the wrong word…..a word denounced as offensive, or insensitive, or racist, sexist, or homophobic…..

            “This situation….we call it ‘Political Correctness’ [PC] – it’s deadly serious….it is cultural Marxism – Marxism translated from economic into cultural terms…..

            “Both are totalitarian ideologies….The totalitarian nature of PC is revealed nowhere more clearly than on college campuses, where the student or faculty member who dares to cross any of the lines set up by the gender feminist or the homosexual-rights activists (etc) or any of the other sainted ‘victims’ groups that PC revolves around, quickly find themselves in judicial trouble.

            “In the cultural Marxism of Political Correctness certain groups are good – feminist women (only feminist women, non-feminist women are deemed not to exist), blacks, Hispanics, homosexuals….(they) are  determined to be victims and therefore automatically good, regardless of what any of them do. Similarly, white males are determined automatically to be evil…”(3)

Now back to the Pompallier College controversy. Just as Bill Lind points out in that article,  College Principal Richard Stanton, has committed the grave error of expressing non-politically correct thoughts, and has invited the wrath of various “forces”,  but  perhaps unsurprisingly,  most criticism is simply ineffectual, such as :-

            *College students writing on a Facebook page, and supporting teacher Studdart.

            *Neil Lambess, clearly a local homosexual political activist, who has run “anti-homophobia” workshops….he believes the Principal “was acting on blind faith” etc.

            *The NZ PPTA, represented by Junior Vice President Angela Roberts, quoted thus : “The Union is in discussion with the school and its Board of Trustees” etc and this: “The union hoped the passage of the ‘marriage equality bill’ would go some way towards ending the marginalisation of gay teenagers in schools.” (2)

While such barefaced PPTA politicking for the homosexual cause may surprise some, it really was entirely predictable, given certain facts. Apparently keeping a low profile in this lamentable charade is PPTA President Robin Duff, who has over 30 years experience as a homosexual political activist.

In 1977, as a Christchurch Secondary School teacher,  he helped establish the (then) NZ National Gay Rights Coalition (NGRC) . It helped to distribute to some  Secondary School students a pamphlet “On Being Homosexual”, which even listed eight “advantages” of being homosexual – a far cry from today’s “victimhood” stance.(4)

The pamphlet also contained this attack on marriage, the absolute converse of the present day fanatical  cry for “marriage equality” :-

            “Marriage, apart from restricting your emotional and sexual experience with other people, can also be very destructive for the two people involved.” etc.

Also, back then the NGRC was promoting the message that “you can choose to be gay!” So Robin Duff and the homosexual political movement has  now come full circle, presumably from detesting marriage to demanding it for homosexuals; also from holding that one can choose to be homosexual – that it is even an advantage (over heterosexuality) to holding that one is  always born that way. Thus one can play the “discrimination” card and condition young people who believe themselves to be homosexual into regarding themselves as victims of marginalisation and bullying etc.

No wonder Duff appears to be keeping a low profile on this highly contentious issue, and no wonder the PPTA will want to have Nigel Studdart reinstated at the College. Over recent years the Union  has been led by homosexual political activists, with lesbian Judie Alison preceding Duff, and handling awkward correspondence from people such as myself by simply ignoring it.

In 1999 Alison, Duff and  six others from the Gays, Lesbians Everywhere in Education group – GLEE – set up a “Safe Schools Task Force” which implied in its literature that there was no link between homosexuality and child sex abuse. On 30^th March 2001 I wrote in protest, but despite several letters all were ignored.

So the Pompallier College Principal and Board of Trustees would do well not to allow themselves  to be intimidated by the crusading ideologues of the PPTA.

I wish them well.

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References :-

1. On http://www.pompalliercollege.school.nz/newsletterc.php

2. Northern Advocate. 1^st September 2012. “Suspended teacher secures union    backing.” http://www.northernadvocate.co.nz Also in NZ Daily News, GayNZ.com where the Principal, Richard Stanton, is referred to five times, yet without naming him.

3. Bill Lind : “The Origins of Political Correctness”, in Accuracy in Academia, 5^th Feb. 2000. http://www.academia.org

4. See documentation for this in my blog’s Introduction.

5.  Ditto