Lexington C.A.R.E.S.Your coverage of the David Parker episode was thorough, fair, and balanced, and I wish to commend you for solid reporting. This is why I was so disappointed to find the following statement in the article by Bethan L. Jones on our visitors from the WBC: "The Estabrook School was picketed by the WBC after the arrest of kindergarten parent David Parker over the teaching of 'homosexual material' in school made national headlines," (p. 23).
The critical issue here is that none of the kindergarten teachers at Estabrook was teaching "homosexual material." They were using a book that depicted various images of family life to illustrate the variety of family forms that exist in our community. We don't describe the pictures of children with a male and a female as teaching "heterosexual material." This is because these pictures are not about sexuality or sexual behavior, they are about family life which, as we see in our community, takes many forms.
The Channel 5 reporter covering the events used similar language in saying that the WBC would be picketing at Estabrook the following day to protest "teaching about homosexuality and gay marriage."
The problem with this language is that it is divisive and a distortion of the events that occurred in classrooms at Estabrook. I hope that in the future you will find words to report upon family issues in the classroom that support all of our families, rather than words that raise fears and polarize the community making us ripe for visitors who thrive on such conditions.
Steven Luz-Alterman
Nichols Road
I have to take issue with a statement made in your article on local response to the presence of the members of the Westboro Baptist Church. You state "The Estabrook School was picketed by the WBC after the arrest of kindergarten parent David Parker over the teaching of homosexual material..." This careless and unfortunate formulation could lead people not intimately familiar with the event to some to incorrect conclusions.
First, it implies that David Parker was arrested for his views - that he is somehow a victim in this affair. He was arrested for trespassing. Mr Parker's disagreement with the Estabrook curriculum notwithstanding, he had no imperative, moral or other, to defy the request to vacate the school. His arrest was voluntary and a provocation, and it was orchestrated into the media, perhaps with groups such as the WBC as the intended audience.
Second, and more crucial, the material to which Mr. Parker objected was not "homosexual material" by any reasonable interpretation. Labeling it so further clouds the debate. As numerous press articles relate, and the presence of the WBC demonstrates, there is a growing national movement of intolerance which attempts to assimilate a whole host of issues to a "homosexual agenda" (whatever that might be). Half-truths, misrepresentation and specious argumentation are this movement's stock and trade. A newspaper, and in particular a local newspaper which has all the means to have facts at hand, needs to be particularly vigilant in its reporting. Lexington residents deserve an informed and accurate debate.
Josh Cochin
Paddock Lane
The recent uproar over the Estabrook book bags sent this concerned parent scurrying to my own elementary school library to check for nefarious "message books," hiding under the guise of quality children's literature. Imagine my surprise to uncover many disturbing examples of literary characters exhibiting morally objectionable behavior. The following list highlights just a few choice examples.
Where The Wild Things Are, by Maurice Sendak - A little boy travels to a world entirely populated by unclothed monsters, apparently living in some sort of single-sex commune. An unbridled orgy is heralded by the announcement, "Let the wild rumpus begin!"
The Frog and Toad series by Arnold Lobel - Two male amphibians exhibit a strong, and some might say, unnatural, emotional attachment to one another and engage in various intimate activities, including swimming, gardening and kite flying.
The Story of Ferdinand, by Munro Leaf - A bull who is "different" from his friends and prefers smelling flowers to other, more traditional boy-ungulate pursuits.
Stuart Little, by E.B. White - Any responsible parent would have to assume that the arrival of a mouse-child hints at potentially unusual marital relations.
Curious George, by H.A. Rey - In what would appear to be a striking resemblance to a contemporary and on-going celebrity trial, a much older man lures a young innocent to his home and allows him to engage in highly suspect activities. And what, exactly, is the man hiding under that big, yellow hat?
In short, we, as parents, must be ever vigilant and aware of the many fictional dangers that surround our impressionable children. If this requires the banning of Beatrix Potter and her entire ethnically diverse crew of flopsy bunnies, bad mice and puddle-ducks, the price will be a small one to pay.
Susan Harari
Carmel Circle