Author Topic: Son harassed in school for being Buddhist  (Read 19362 times)

bambi

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Son harassed in school for being Buddhist
« on: February 02, 2014, 11:27:02 AM »
Now even schools and the teachers are giving bad examples. The teachers are supposed to be non bias and care for all despite their beliefs. How can one judge someone because of the religion? Its not like Buddhism is teaching followers to be bad or cruel. Such sensitive issues should not be publicized like this, instead the teachers and head should have just told the parents and let them move the children to another school.

The parents of a Buddhist student are joining forces with the American Civil Liberties Union to sue a public school board in north Louisiana, alleging their son was called "stupid" and given low marks for not adhering to Christian doctrine taught in his 6th grade science class.

Sharon and Scott Lane are the parents of three children enrolled in the Sabine Parish School System in rural northwest Louisiana. In a complaint filed Wednesday (Jan. 22) in U.S. District Court, the Lanes argue their son "C.C" became the "target of proselytization and harassment by faculty and administration" at Negreet High School when it became apparent he was not a Christian.

"All students, regardless of faith, should feel safe and welcome in our public schools," the court documents said. "But that is not the case in the Sabine Parish School District in Sabine Parish, Louisiana, where school officials actively inculcate Christianity and discriminate against minority-faith students."

The court case has already made national headlines, where pundits and legal scholars are noting the uniqueness of the case as it pertains to the question of a public school student's First Amendment rights.

"The school system recognizes the rights of all students to exercise the religion of their choice and will defend this lawsuit vigorously." -- Ebarb
Marjorie Esman, executive director of the ACLU of Louisiana, said suits brought against religious discrimination in public schools aren't unusual. But she thinks this case showcases a particularly extreme instance of religious harassment.

"This was not an instance where someone can say it was a well intentioned, but perhaps misguided, teacher, or a principal, that wanted to make sure kids 'got saved,'" Esman said Wednesday (Jan. 29). "(In this case) the teacher, principal and superintendent are all complicit in religious indoctrination to the point that they engaged in public humiliation of a student of a different faith."

C.C., who is of Thai descent, and his legal parent Sharon are both Buddhists. Named as defendants on the suit are the Sabine Parish School Board, Superintendent Sara Ebarb, Negreet High School Principal Gene Wright and Rita Roark, C.C.'s 6th grade science teacher.

During less than a month at the school in August and September of last year, the lawsuit claims C.C. was told those who didn't believe in God were "stupid" and was given low marks on tests when he didn't answer questions pertaining to religious doctrine.

One particular question was a fill-in-the-blank statement: “ISN’T IT AMAZING WHAT THE _____________ HAS MADE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

When C.C. left the blank empty, Roark wrote in "LORD" in large red letters and marked the answer wrong. The Lanes said students in Roark's class, in which their daughter "S.L." is also a member, get extra points for citing Scripture at the bottom of tests. They allege Roark also skipped over the chapters in the textbook that discuss evolution.

When the Lanes wrote a complaint letter to Principal Wright, they said he read it out loud over the school loudspeaker. Superintendent Ebarb, before reminding the Lanes they were "in the Bible Belt," suggested they transfer C.C. to another school that has "more Asians," the court documents said.

This is what the Lanes did, taking C.C. out of Negreet and enrolling him at Many High School. Their other two children remain at Negreet, where Christian paraphernalia can be found in the entryway, hallways and classrooms, and where the Lanes said students are required to attend compulsory assemblies that feature official school prayers.

The school's motto, once "We believe that God exists," has now been removed from the website and replaced with a statement that says, "Our students are more than just a number...they are family."

The Lanes are asking for a declaratory judgement that declares the actions of the defendants unconstitutional, a preliminary injunction ordering them to cease teaching Christian doctrine and harassing non-Christian students in the school, as well as monetary damages.

In response, Ebarb issued a statement saying the school board had only recently become aware of the suit.

"A lawsuit only represents one side's allegations, and the Board is disappointed that the ACLU chose to file suit without even contacting it regarding the facts. The school system recognizes the rights of all students to exercise the religion of their choice and will defend this lawsuit vigorously."

Walter Lee, who was recently indicted on federal theft charges, represents the state school board for the area. He said he hopes the parties can handle the issue outside of court.

"I just regret that it's a question or a concern, and would hope that the school officials and the parents can resolve it in a way that's acceptable to both sides," Lee said Wednesday. "It would be better if they can resolve it outside the court system so that the legal system does not have to get involved."

The ACLU has also asked the U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Department of Justice to investigate the school, a request Dena Iverson of the DOJ's civil rights division said is being reviewed.

cookie

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Re: Son harassed in school for being Buddhist
« Reply #1 on: February 02, 2014, 11:59:50 AM »
Schools set up by Christian missionaries which uses Christian teachings and phrases as their school motto is very common. I have spent  12 years of my life in 3 of such schools, ie junior school, high school and college of Catholic base. They have taught me well both academically as well as the principles of life. But never once have they discriminated me for having a different faith. It was never a problem for me to be a Buddhist in all of these schools. How strange that such "backward and discriminatory" thinking still exists. I am sure the school do not have a choice but to apologize to CC and his family and change their attitude and school system to accomodate students of all faiths .

Tenzin K

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Re: Son harassed in school for being Buddhist
« Reply #2 on: February 02, 2014, 03:21:21 PM »
School is where the young one get their education from, is where the children get expose to the world of education, friends, sports and many more....

Discrimination should not exists as if the school were to have religious emphasis then it should show more care, compassion and love to all students from different background.

Make it fair here if the school were to just accept the same religious students then set it as a entry requirement so no confusion and difficuties found for both parties and everyone can benefited from all aspect.

Personally to me religious should be harmony and not discrimination. Religous is to teach to love, to care and to be compassion to all and not to just look for differential and criticise them. Education for children is very important as what you educate them from young is what they will be when they become adult. Is a huge responsibility to make them to be a good person to be able to benefit others or society so why create more issue between religious because we are not living alone in this world. Our fingers will have long different length why not people with different believe but we can work together to move forward and benefit each other.

Q

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Re: Son harassed in school for being Buddhist
« Reply #3 on: February 02, 2014, 05:14:37 PM »
Probably a Mormon school lol...

Well... the LORD must be really proud of them for bullying an innocent young boy that have no choice over his religious belief anyways. I always believe, if you want to win someone over to your belief (which I don't see a need to...) then be compassionate and show them the right way to live life virtuously. They don't seem to do that... probably belong to some kind of cult or extremist group... We've all heard of Rev Jim Jones from the People's Temple right, maybe the teachers belong to something like that.

I'm not surprised when they reported that the teacher intentionally skipped the chapter or evolution. I read somewhere (can't remember) where they did a survey and quite a huge percentage of Americans believed humans are the decedents of Adam and Eve... LOL! No wonder half of America's fortune is held by 400 of America's most successful people. (I bet those 400 agrees with evolution)

RedLantern

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Re: Son harassed in school for being Buddhist
« Reply #4 on: February 02, 2014, 05:30:51 PM »
I believe in the freedom of religion,not just the freedom to practice my own religion and to try and coerce children forcibly into following my own beliefs.This is really a sad lesson.
When  we stand by silently and allow this to happen to other children, can we be upset or surprised when it happens to our own?

Manisha Kudo

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Re: Son harassed in school for being Buddhist
« Reply #5 on: February 02, 2014, 08:53:53 PM »
I believe in religious freedom and it works both ways. For believers of different faiths to live together in harmony, there must firstly be honest sharing, understanding and acceptance. Or else what we have is "I say, he says, I am correct and you are wrong, my God is better than your God." Buddhist or not, we must be vigilant and respectful first of what others practise. It always starts with you.  ;D

Kim Hyun Jae

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Re: Son harassed in school for being Buddhist
« Reply #6 on: February 04, 2014, 02:45:41 AM »
Religion teaches us to respect and be tolerant of other's practice, and not to criticize others for being different, whether we are black, white, yellow or otherwise. Ignorance in our minds made us view things differently from others but that does not make anyone bad or unequal. These obscuration clouds our perception and hence discrimination arises, thinking what we say and do is right.

There is really no right or wrong. There is only differences of opinion and we need to learn that and not discriminate.



Big Uncle

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Re: Son harassed in school for being Buddhist
« Reply #7 on: February 04, 2014, 07:33:32 PM »
I am sorry but I am not surprise with this as Christians are traditionally aggressive and aggression in the name of God is condone and holy wars are part of such archaic religious history and doctrine. Its incredible how Christianity is often used as a means to suppress others. It would come to a point one day that those believing in such a backward faith in God would become an impediment in society towards achieving real harmony, peace and social progress. Perhaps, I would dare say that such archaic fear-inducing God would be rendered obsolete as new religions would arise that would be closer to Buddhism or towards greater understanding of the mind and the true nature of reality.

bambi

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Re: Son harassed in school for being Buddhist
« Reply #8 on: February 05, 2014, 04:25:26 PM »
I went to a catholic school from young till I graduated yet nothing of this was 'forced' onto us. Its just sad to see that religion is abused this way and very unprofessional. No religious freedom to practice what we believe in.
Its just the same as the ban! Just because that 'someone' said Dorje Shugden is a demon and we should not practice Him... Really?
What happened to reading and finding information instead of blind faith? Just because 'someone' said so.  :(

maricisun

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Re: Son harassed in school for being Buddhist
« Reply #9 on: March 01, 2014, 04:04:35 PM »
Most of the older generation went to Catholic schools those days but that doesn't means we have to be a Christian to be able to enrol in that particular school.
If we can have freedom of religion back then why the discrimination now? People have the right to choose their own faith and religion. All religion teaches us to be compassion so why is it being a Buddhist is any different?

Matibhadra

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Re: Son harassed in school for being Buddhist
« Reply #10 on: March 02, 2014, 03:06:54 AM »
Quote
I am sorry but I am not surprise with this as Christians are traditionally aggressive and aggression in the name of God is condone and holy wars are part of such archaic religious history and doctrine.


So true. A recent example of Christian intolerance and fanaticism was the brutal destruction by Christian mobsters of a statue of the ancestral god of the Slavic people, Dazbog, in Hola Prystan, Ukraine, just a few days after its erection, in 2001.

Dazbog is the Slavic god of fertility and sunlight, and its very name means ”the giver of good fortune” (dati + bhaga). Therefore, he is akin to the Buddhist Marici (although the god himself is male, the sun is also female for Slavic people, as it is for Buddhists).

At the time, more than 100 Christian priests signed a document demanding the destruction of the statue ”to establish the rejection of religious cult idols of pagan times and forbid people to worship them”.

Intolerance of other faiths and gods is the very nature, root, and essence of the Abrahamic (Jewish, Christian and Muslim) ideologies. Veneration of any god apart from the cruel, envious, bloodthirsty Jewish ”god” is seen as ”blasphemous”, and strictly forbidden by such ideologies, as commanded by the very first of both the so-called 7 Noahide laws and 10 Mosaic commandments, with words such as ”thou shall have no other gods before me”.

Now, within Tibetan culture a similar phenomenon takes place, as gruesome genocidal politicians (such as the evil 5th, 13th, and 14th dalais) claiming to be ”Chenrezig” (a novelty started with the 5th evil dalai) furiously want to destroy the deity they see as a rival (Dorje Shugden), his symbols, and his followers.

http://telegraf.by/2011/07/v-hersonskoi-oblasti-posle-protesta-svyaschennikov-demontirovali-skulpturu-yazicheskogo-boga

Matibhadra

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Re: Son harassed in school for being Buddhist
« Reply #11 on: March 02, 2014, 03:53:37 AM »
As a complement to the previous post, here follows a picture of a statue of the god Perun, destroyed by ”unknown” (obviously Christian) mobsters on Kiev, Ukraine, in 2012.

Perun, the Slavic god of the sky, is arguably akin to (and similar-sounding with) the Greek Uranus (god of the sky), and the Vedic Varuna (god of the celestial ocean). He holds implements familiar to many Hindu and Buddhist deities, such as the axe, the hammer, the arrow, and so forth.

And so what? This is to show how delusional is the idea that Christian culture became ”less intolerant” now than what it ever was in the past. It simply has less power, thanks to the separation of church and state.

And the same must happen within Buddhist culture, stripping greedy politicians such as the evil dalai from any spiritual power, and stripping pseudo-spiritual theocrats such as the evil dalai from any temporal power.

In other words, criminals such as the evil dalai have no place either as political or spiritual leaders. They do have a place, however, in the garbage bin of history.

metta girl

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Re: Son harassed in school for being Buddhist
« Reply #12 on: March 07, 2014, 11:43:59 AM »
I am proud to be a  Buddhist.I have  Muslims, HIndus & Christians  friends because I studied in a Catholic school where there is no discrimination on racial or religious issue. We are all allowed to  practice our own religion freely.i learned to respect others and their religion.Every religion if you practice correctly will not discriminate or criticise others.Children are sent to school  to learn from the elders  and following their good examples and not by forcing them  into accepting something unwillingly.

Matibhadra

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Re: Son harassed in school for being Buddhist
« Reply #13 on: March 08, 2014, 02:04:00 AM »
Quote
Every religion if you practice correctly will not discriminate or criticise others.

Unfortunately not true. Abrahamic ideologies (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) enjoin discriminating and even fully destroying religions together with their followers, which do not accept and venerate their cruel, envious, bloodthirsty, monomaniac ”god”.

These are the only so-called ”religions” which set commandments not only for their own followers, but for others as well. Jews in particular, seeing themselves as the ”elected people”, discriminate against non-Jews, which their Talmud equates to animals.

vajrastorm

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Re: Son harassed in school for being Buddhist
« Reply #14 on: March 08, 2014, 10:10:39 AM »
It is sad that in this day and time, there is still religious discrimination in schools in the US.
In this particular case , there appears to be an underlying racial/cultural discrimination, as well. The young Buddhist student was told by his teacher  that if he still insisted on remaining a Buddhist, he should switch to a school with "Asians", who practice Buddhism.


Yes, peace begins with harmony. Harmony comes from zero discrimination along whatever lines. HH Dalai Lama has said before (as head of Tibetan Buddhism) that his religion is "kindness".  The hallmark of any faith is kindness and love. So discrimination and religious intolerance is the exact opposite of the spirit and nature of any faith or religion.

Any religion's purpose should be to present a path of practice that will bring an individual practitioner to greater inner and outer peace and harmony with self and others and their environment. So a true practitioner, regardless of faith, will manifest this quality of peace and harmony and an essential kindness to all beings. 

Hopefully, there will be a peaceful and amicable settlement of this issue out of court.