For those of you who do not live in Sydney, we have had a letter signed by the heads of 34 Anglican schools and published as an open letter in newspapers. It all relates to anti-discrimination laws being proposed. Current laws allow discrimination against LGBTI students and staff. The new laws would remove that discrimination.
The Anglican principals say they do not currently discriminate against gay students or gay teachers, but should be able to select students and staff who “…support the ethos of the school.”
Some of you might mistakenly think I am less than conservative. You would be wrong on this issue. I think this stand by the Anglican schools does not go far enough. If people pay good money (it would hardly be bad money paid to a religious institution) to send their offspring to a church-based school, then they should be able to get the right vibe. Soak up the ethos.
So what else should they do? Well, part of the ethos they want young Horatio to absorb is to be a pure, moral child. Surely the Anglicans should not be restricted from rejecting sinners as either students or teachers. There may be a few privacy issues around assessing the level of sin each prospective teacher or student has committed, but a few amendments to the law could work around that.
“So Professor, you have a
Going back to the LGBTI question, is there a blood test to check if someone tests positive? Perhaps the test could be exempted from discrimination legislation. Totally legal to ask for a gay blood test for new students.
“Good morning Mrs Jones. Good news. We have agreed to take young Mildred into kindergarten subject to a blood test. Don’t want to get any surprised down the track if you get my drift.”
But why stop at schools? What about churches? If a school has the “Anglo Ethos” the churches must have it too. Why not set up a table by the door where worshipers have to sign a declaration that they are practising heterosexuals. Have a Justice of the Peace to witness the document. Perhaps we could come up with some sort of physical demonstration to prove which side they bat for.
If the church wants to take on more of an inclusive approach they could hold separate services:
9.00 Anglicans without sin
10.00 Anglicans with a few sins
11.00 Anglicans who are murderers and rapists
12.00 Anglicans who are LGBTI
And what about the schools being able to discriminate against other religions? Do you have to be a certified Anglican to go to an Anglican school? You have to be vigilant for the card-carrying Catholics.
I do have some concerns about sin-free teachers and students. If they follow the Bible, it could be dangerous.
“Let him without sin throw the first stone!”
The playground could turn into a rock fight and we know what Trump said about throwing stones.
“We’re not going to put up with that. They want to throw rocks at our military, our military fights back,” he said. “I told them (troops) consider it (a rock) a rifle.”
The army could be called in and their will be blood.
It should not stop at schools. Anyone should be able to set their “ethos” and only deal with people who comply. If your ethos involves not wanting to deal with immigrants, go for it. If Aldi decide that they don’t want to serve immigrants than customers entering the store will have to provide their family tree. It might inconvenience me as I am a sixth generation immigrant so not sure if I would be allowed to shop, but that is the price we pay for freedom.
And if the LGBTI world decides to ban straight red-blooded Australians from watching the Gay Mardi Gras I guess it will be up to people to prove they are one of the permitted groups.
Returning to the issue of schools, I have heard rumours – unconfirmed at this stage – that some schools are thinking of specialising to capture a group of people who fit a certain profile. Not just Anglican or Catholic.
The rumour is that one school is only going to take people with blue eyes and blond hair. Another will cater for the offspring of plumbers. Yet another group, who support devil worship, will take the sons and daughters of witches and warlocks. No magic, no education.
It is time to stand up and say enough is never enough. Discrimination has been with us for years and is part of our constitutional right. If we let them stop discrimination in schools based on sexual orientation, where will it end?
Next they will want us to do away with same-sex schools. Can you imagine the chaos if Sydney Boys High School merged with Sydney Girls High School? What if a Muslim school allowed Baptists to attend. Where will it end? Time for conservatives to unite and fight for bigotory.