Lexington C.A.R.E.S.As an elementary school parent and a member of the Lexington community, I am writing to express my feelings of dismay and anger over the recent events surrounding the Estabrook parent, his objection to optional classroom materials, and his wish to prevent spontaneous classroom discussions that reflect families that are different from his own.
With the support of the anti-gay group The Article 8 Alliance, the situation has now resulted in upcoming visits and protests by the Westboro Baptist Church, the rabid, anti-gay organization of Fred Phelps. Phelps is most famous for having picketed the funeral of Matthew Shepherd, the young man savagely murdered in Wyoming because he was gay.
Phelps and his gang plan to picket at a number of locations in town, displaying their hateful messages in our community. At Shepherd's funeral, the Phelps crew carried signs displaying such messages as "Matthew Shepherd burns in hell," which should give us a preview of what we have to look forward to in early June.
It saddens me that the children of our town will be exposed to Phelps' vile expressions of hatred as a result of the work of the Article 8 Alliance. Social and political movements with intolerance at their core may start out with subtlety, but it's a slippery slope that can quickly lead to violence and victimization. Such hatred and intolerance have no place in Lexington.
Ellen McCullough
Payson Street
We need to take into account the effects on the other children and families in the school system if David Parker's demands were met. The idea that families of a particular structure have to disappear or operate under a different set of rules when a certain child is present is very chilling. I do my share of in-classroom volunteer work, and I know how my child and I would feel if some other child left the room every time I was present or if we were under some sort of "gag order" that limited the subjects we could talk about. Do we really want to force a teacher to decide between full participation of the class in math games, computer lab, writing workshop, or any other academic activity that includes parent volunteers verses whether a particular parent can assist with those activities? Do we really want the child of that parent to be subject to ridicule because of the disruption that occurs whenever the parent is present?
The excellence we have come to expect in Lexington schools is in large part due to the safe, welcoming climate in the classroom that is so important to each child's self-esteem and their ability to learn. Do we want to put that in peril?
Although the majority of the children in our schools come from families with a white mom and dad, there are many other types of families in our schools. They are all allowed and must be allowed to participate fully, and no accommodation for a single family can disrupt that. I believe the correct decision was made in this case.
John J. Krawczyk
Outlook Drive
My parents moved to Lexington in the 1950's because of the quality of the schools and openness of the community. My husband and I have chosen to raise our family in Lexington for those same reasons. Over the years Lexington residents have had disagreements that were able to be resolved respectfully through dialog and without the interference of outside groups.
Mr. Parker's staged arrest and ongoing media campaign of misinformation has put Lexington on the national map and made our town the target of outside hate groups. The Estabrook principal has received over 700 hate e-mails from around the country and as far away as Germany. A couple of weeks ago one hate group planned to visit Lexington, and now a second group is coming in early June. I feel sad and outraged that one man's deliberate actions to hijack our public schools has made all of us the target of a national campaign of bigotry and hatred.
Pam Hoffman
Rangeway
In October 2004 I attended a seminar on diversity and tolerance at Diamond Middle School. The seminar leader was there to explain the application of state laws to teaching a multicultural and diverse student body. Of the 40 or so in attendance, there were two couples clearly there to harass the attendees and disrupt the meeting. One member of those couples was David Parker who bullied and harassed the seminar leader, at one point demanding to know "What gives you the right to tell me what my child needs to learn?"
I relate this incident because I believe it shows clearly that Parker and his gang, far from being a few aggrieved parents, actually have a specific agenda for disrupting the resolve of the town to welcome diversity. When these people get worked up about Lexington schools' "homosexual agenda" they need to be confronted with their own homophobic agenda.
Soheil Zendeh
Baker Avenue
I've been reading with shock some of the letters and comments asking what kind of "messages" the public schools are sending to our children about sexual orientation. These writers claim that they/we grew up in a time when we were "free" not to deal with "these issues." Have they developed some sort of idealized nostalgia for a previous era that not only silenced discussion but also turned a blind eye to bullying, name-calling, hatred and discrimination?
The "messages" we are sending to our children today are respect and zero tolerance for bigotry. Judging from the violence that has occurred in other places in the United States, that don't work actively to prevent heckling and vicious behavior, I am proud to live in Lexington, a town that promotes No Place for Hate.
Diane Juster
Brandon Street
Several years ago when we moved to Lexington, one of the reasons we chose this town was because we felt comfortable here. Growing up in the rural south, I was always acutely aware of the color of my skin. In Lexington it had always felt like a non-issue for me.
Recent events have made me reconsider this a bit. If this is a town where a minority of bigots, whose fear drives them to make same-sex couples feel unwelcome, can have an impact on town and school policies, then I begin to wonder who's next. Will a handful of racists make my son feel unwelcome in school? Will my skin color again become an issue? Sounds a little paranoid doesn't it?
Ask a few same-sex couples in town and I'll bet they once felt more comfortable here than they do now. We as a community need to work together to get back to a point where we embrace people for their differences and can disagree without hate, or my fears won't seem so paranoid after all.
Usha Thakrar
Tavern Lane