The shirts that get you kicked out of school.

Oh boy.  I wasn't sure that I wanted to talk about this, but I don't think I can avoid it anymore.  Yes, it's the conundrum, the issue of the boy who wore a particular shirt to school in Nova Scotia.  If you aren't familiar with the story, I'll give you a minute to catch up.

This is the shirt in question.  How do I feel about it? I feel like I would look terrible in yellow, so I wouldn't wear it.  I also feel as though this is one of those things that isn't about this thing, but is about other things.  Confusing?  Okay, then I'll begin.

Often times, when my wife and I have a bit of a squabble over who left the commode seat in which orientation (which we never do, but to use an example), it's not really about that.  It's about other issues that may or may not be creeping up in our lives.  It's the same thing here.  I know I should never do it, but I perused the CBC comments page.  And those comments helped me to see what the real issue was all about.  The hearts and minds of people are a bit bent out of shape not about the shirt per se, but about a couple of other issues.  They are as follows.
1 - Teaching religion to children is tantamount to child abuse, and
2 - You are free to believe whatever you want to believe, as long as you don't 'cram it down anyone else's throat.'

I will address these points in turn.

Firstly, that teaching religion to children equals child abuse.  No,  I am not overstating the case.  That is literally what is being typed by a large number of people.
"The dad sounds like a raving nut job. There's probably a lot more going on here than meets the eye. Children's Aid should look into the home life of this child. It's likely that in addition to the psychological torture at the hands of this raving nutter, there's probably been a lot of physical abuse. If the boy is rescued in time, he can be de-programmed and taught to function like a normal human being."


"Don't pray in our schools and I won't think in you're church."


"This is all very one sided on the father's part. It was ok for his son to push his views on other students but once the school invites someone over to talk to students, the father takes the kid out of school. Sounds like the father has brainwashed the kid and doesn't want him to hear any other points of view"


"Put this sadly messed up and confused kid into a school established by his church; there he will find fertile ground for his preaching among like-minded brethren. And, perhaps there people will not look upon the brainwashing that has obviously been visited upon him as the child abuse it almost surely is."


"Religion has no place in school. Parents, stop brainwashing your children with the fanatical behaviour. Having religion as a strong part of your daily lives is fine, but know the line and don't cross it."


"another brainwashed kid ...
too bad parents are using their kid's virgin brain to put some kind of endoctrinate them"

"It's time we started treating early childhood religious indoctrination as child abuse."

There are plenty more of these comments, and if you want to read them all, be my guest.  Now, this is a bit of a thorny topic for me, because it  gets to something a little bigger than what was this child wearing or saying.  It talks about what he was taught.  And this is a bigger issue.  The reason this is a bigger issue is that critics of religion theoretically have to stand for free speech, but how can you both stand for freedom of speech, and yet hope to quell the spread of a religion that you find distasteful?  Well, the tactic used currently (and again, I am not trying to assert that all non-religious people believe this, only the ones who openly claim it) is to equate the teaching of religion to children, even and especially your own, with mental abuse.

"critics such as Christopher Hitchens and Richard Dawkins use the term child abuse to describe the harm that some religious upbringings inflict on children.^[61][62]They claim that children are especially vulnerable to mental harms related to religion, including:^{[citation needed]}

• Terrorized by threats of punishment, such as eternal damnation in a fiery hell
• Extreme guilt about normal, healthy sexual functions
• Trained to disrespect science and reason
• Indoctrinated into a particular religious faith, thus depriving the child of the opportunity to make their own free inquiry later, when they are mature"

                                                                                            -The ever accurate Wikipedia.

Aha.  The problem is not just that the child in question professes these beliefs, but that he has them in the first place. And where did he get them from?  From his parents.  His parents who, through a course of religious education, have mentally abused him to the level that he can no longer make sensible, tolerant decisions.  This makes schools into a battleground, one that is perhaps unlikely to be conquered any time soon.  The issue at question is an ideological one, one in which there are acceptable views, and unacceptable ones.  Which brings us to point number two.

You are free to believe whatever you want, as long as you don't cram it down anyone's throat.

"This sounds like more than a T-shirt. Unfortunately, the issue was tied to the T-shirt. Are kids at this school allowed to wear shirts professing their love for AC/DC? Mickey Mouse? The hockey team of their choice? If so, he should be able to wear one professing his love for Jesus. However, if he's thumping his religion, the kids have a right to freedom from harassment in the school. He can wear the shirt, but shut up about it. I'm a Christian, but for the society to function in peace, there needs to be room for everyone and there is a place and a time for everything."

"I am not religious but I have no problem with others having beliefs and wearing symbols of their belief (e.g, cross, star of David, turban, hijab, etc,). I do have a big problem with those who try to force their beliefs on others. There is a place for religion, but public school is not one of those places unless it is for discussion about comparative religions."

"If someone wants to believe in an imaginary being having final say in the value of their existence, that is entirely their own choice.

But when that person preaches and threatens others based on those beliefs its no longer a 'personal' belief and is infringing on other people's rights.

Please keep religion at home or at church where it belongs."

"If this family does not wish to participate in a secular society this is their right. Just keep your religion at home, do not inflict it on students at public school who do not share your beliefs or attend a private Christian school."

"To this extent, all religion must be kept out of public schools. True tolerance is NOT pushing ones religious beliefs on other, NOT accepting the religious beliefs of those who chose to have them. I view religion as a mental illness but I keep that to myself until somebody chooses to approach me and start spewing off about an old man in the sky. Pure insanity."

"I believe wholeheartedly in the personal freedoms that we enjoy in Canada. This kid and his father are both free to believe whatever they want and are free to worship how they want, but these freedoms are not limitless. 

When someone else's religious beliefs infringe on my freedom to be non-religious, it upsets me. 

Freedom of religion includes freedom from religion."

"Freedom of religion doesn't mean freedom to put down others' religious beliefs. This form of Christianity where anyone who doesn't believe exactly what you do is damned and needs to be converted is a bigger threat to true religious freedom than any atheists or agnostics will ever be."

"Keep religion out of schools please. And your pushy t shirts.

Children need to learn free of religious controversy."

Again, there are many more besides. The issue of 'shoving religion down people's throats' is one that I've been interested in for a while.  You see, in this case, it was a student, not a teacher, who was sharing what he believed.  And I have no idea what format it took, because I wasn't there.  I don't go to that school.  But I do get the idea these days that any mention of religion equates it to 'pushing it down someone's throat.'  That shirt, those words, however mild they may have been, probably amount in the minds of individuals to cramming it down their throats.  Freedom of religion includes freedom from religion, and there's a time and place for you to talk about God, and it's at home or at church.  Where most everyone agrees with you anyway.

I'll be the first to admit it, that when I saw Ricky Gervais at the Golden Globes, I thought he was pushing his atheism.  And he probably was.  When I saw the holy atheist open for Norm MacDonald at the Casino Regina, I thought he was pushing his atheism on me too.  And he was.  Because these individuals have worked out that if you think you've backed the right pony, and you think your view is the best way to happiness, delight, salvation, or whatever, and if you're convinced of that, then you want to tell people about it.  Norm MacDonald said some quite pro-Christian things during his show too, and I felt fine about them, though I'm sure there were many who were thinking "Norm, keep your Christianity out of the jokes, please.  Quit forcing your religion down my throat."

We like to hear what we agree with.  We dislike to hear what we disagree with.  I'm no different.  I wish I was, I wish I was very zen about this, but I'm not.  When I hear someone speak openly and passionately about stuff I disagree with, I get a little bit antsy.  But that's my problem, not theirs.  The 'disagree with what you say but defend your right to say it' thing actually only works with speech that you find to be offensive, that you disagree with, that you dislike.  As long as everything's legal, you may not care for his witnessing, but is it forbidden for him to do so?  The big question is why should the shirt be removed, and why should the student be suspended.  For bothering everyone?  Or is it the viewpoint itself that should not be expressed anywhere but inside a closed room under a blanket somewhere.  I do want to reiterate that I have no idea what format the 'preaching' took, but I know how uncomfortable I've been when people have preached to me.  And I've simply been able to tell them that I'm comfortable in what I believe, and thank them for their time.  I may not care for said preaching, religious or otherwise, but that's the cost of living in a world of free ideas, in which you can say what you please.  People may, and almost certainly will disagree with you, but speech isn't free as long as it's hidden or confined.

PJ.