Guest James Peterson Posted December 19, 2006 Report Share Posted December 19, 2006 Matt, I read the article about you from the NYT on newsvine.com and felt the need to tell you that it was a very brave thing that you did and the whole nation is proud of you (well, atleast a good 55 percent of us.) If you lost friends because of this matter, don't worry...they apparently weren't real friends anyways and are probably jealous of the attention you're getting for actually speaking up. God bless, and thanks for defending the Constitution. - James Peterson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest Posted December 19, 2006 Report Share Posted December 19, 2006 As difficult as this has been, it's best that you learn the world is full of small-minded, superstitious hicks, but there are rational humans around as well. Stay strong, keep fighting the good fight against primitive beliefs in non-existent entities. You have my utmost respect for your strength and determination! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Bryson Brown Posted December 19, 2006 Report Share Posted December 19, 2006 Hi Matt-- We really admire your strong stand--we desperately need people who have the courage to defend the rights of religious minorities, including especially the right of high school students not to be subjected to crude indoctrination and abuse in class. We're horrified that some people think their freedom of religion includes the right to tell a captive audience of young people that the non-evangelicals and non-Christians among them are going to hell. You're doing a great public service by revealing this teacher's ugly fanaticism for what it is. Bryson, Linde & Tessa. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest Posted December 19, 2006 Report Share Posted December 19, 2006 from faraway greece -- be proud of yourself and hang in there. you did the right thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Larry from North Carolina Posted December 19, 2006 Report Share Posted December 19, 2006 You're the man Matt! There's a world of folks beside you on this. Always stand up for yourself and what YOU believe in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest Posted December 19, 2006 Report Share Posted December 19, 2006 Matt, Keep fighting, you win. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest GSh Posted December 19, 2006 Report Share Posted December 19, 2006 Matt: The world needs more folks like you standing up to the religious nonsense floating around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Pierce R. Butler Posted December 19, 2006 Report Share Posted December 19, 2006 Bravo, Matthew LaClair! And best wishes also to David Paszkiewicz - in a future job at Bob Jones University, Jerry Falwell's school, McDonald's drive-thru, or anyplace other than a public institute of education. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Bob O'H Posted December 19, 2006 Report Share Posted December 19, 2006 Matt, count Finland in as another place doffing it's cap to you! I won't try and compete with the elegance of what others have written, but (as I guess you've realised), a lot of us support you for what you did. Oh, and it's also a pleasure to see that there are some real Christians left in the US, being nice to people! Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Don Posted December 19, 2006 Report Share Posted December 19, 2006 You did the right thing, school is no place for religious proselytizing... don't let anybody tell you that what you did was wrong. If it were a private, Christian school, sure.. but not a public school supported by the taxpayers and government... Remember separation of church and state? You and the rest of the country are seeing what religious fundamentalism is all about - it's dangerous and can easily lead to intolderance, hatred and violence - even from those who claim to believe in a loving god. http://www.channel4.com/culture/microsites...rootofevil.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ophelia Benson, 'Butterflies Posted December 19, 2006 Report Share Posted December 19, 2006 Well done, Matthew. No, all in all, taking a wide view, keeping an open mind, all things considered - no, I don't think a teacher of Consitutional history in a public school should be telling students that if they reject what JC said they belong in hell. That's my considered view. Actually my view is stronger than that, but I thought a little irony might be refreshing by now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest Posted December 19, 2006 Report Share Posted December 19, 2006 My fullest support and respect for your position and legitimate complaint. It's sad to see the "love of god" showing through some of these ad hominem attacks and threats. their actions show their hearts, and out of the abundance of the heart, their mouths speak... and it's filled with venom (save for a few). it takes guts to do what you're doing, and I and my family support you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tim Webster Posted December 19, 2006 Report Share Posted December 19, 2006 Gosh, when I think of how naive I was as a high school student, and compare my memory of how I was with the articulate and lucid person I just heard on WNYC radio, I am astonished. At Matthew's age, I was a conformist sheep, who was brought up to believe in the correctness of authority. Service in Vietnam changed that for me. One of the heroes of my life is the late Sen. Sam Ervin, Democrat from North Carolina, a conservative and Constitutional strict-constructionist, who was chairman of the Senate Select Committee on the Watergate in 1973, and one of several players in that crisis who helped preserve the rule of law and process in this country against the excesses of the Nixon administration. Ervin left behind observations on the Constitution that are relevant to the present atmosphere: "I believe in a wall between church and state so high that no one can climb over it. When religion controls government, political liberty dies; and when government controls religion, religious liberty perishes." Thank you, Matthew, for acting boldly to maintain the traditions that have made this country what it is (was?), a symbol of liberty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest AggroBoy Posted December 19, 2006 Report Share Posted December 19, 2006 Good work Matt. The way your teacher behaved was wrong, both morally and legally and no amount of personal attacks by your peers can change that fact. I can't imagine how hard this must have been on you; it's never easy to stand up and be counted, but you should know that it's worth it. Every little act of belief in what's right contributes to a wider change in attitudes. Keep it up. What I find impossible to understand is how the teacher in question has escaped without reprimand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest Posted December 19, 2006 Report Share Posted December 19, 2006 Hi Matthew, We have our share of fundamentalists here in Norway - and Europe as well, but are quite appalled at the situation you have to face over there. Don't let them get you, and know that you have a lot of friends supporting you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Congrats from Belgium Posted December 19, 2006 Report Share Posted December 19, 2006 Religion is the opposite of education and has nothing to do in a school. Congrats from Belgium. "Don't pray in my school, and I won't think in your church." (Unknown) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Steve Posted December 19, 2006 Report Share Posted December 19, 2006 Good job, Matt. You did the right thing. You're not alone in this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Patriot Posted December 19, 2006 Report Share Posted December 19, 2006 Matt,I just wanted to show my support for you. Do not be saddened by the negative response of some of your neighbors, extremeists are ironically hateful that way. Just know that you did the right thing, no one should be subjected to that, especially at school. I had a teacher tell me once that I was going to hell. It was a hateful thing to say, but you just have to brush it past. --Kirsten Berkeley, CA <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Berkeley, CA. ???? Now there's a bastion of radical-left Kool-aid drinkers and pot smokers. Your teacher told you you were going to hell ? And of course you did nothing to deserve that comment, right ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mark Posted December 19, 2006 Report Share Posted December 19, 2006 Matthew, Well done. I recognize how hard it is to speak up. I spoke up against religious indoctrination in public school when I was in the second grade. I never could have done it, but I had the Supreme Court behind me -- as do you. -Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest Posted December 19, 2006 Report Share Posted December 19, 2006 if yew dont like 'MERCA yew kin geeaat ouutt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest C L Heiny Posted December 19, 2006 Report Share Posted December 19, 2006 Thanks! Wish there were more folks willing to stand up against abuse of trust like you have done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest freethinker Posted December 19, 2006 Report Share Posted December 19, 2006 Matt you did right. Notice that the greatest hate comes from the religious folk. T here is an important lesson to take from that observation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Toronto Posted December 19, 2006 Report Share Posted December 19, 2006 Full support to you. You did the right thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jordan Oezer Posted December 19, 2006 Report Share Posted December 19, 2006 Matthew, I want to commend you for helping to champion the separation of Church and State. You will undoubtably recieve alot of criticism, not just because you have the strength of character to stand up against those who choose to attempt to destroy many of the principles of our Constitution and Bill of Rights, but because you also have the gall to question someone in a position of authority as well. I hope you know that you have support from many many Americans, as well as people around the world who believe that knowledge is power, and will not suffer the oppression and fear-mongering of religous idealogues. Thank you Matthew. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest marnita Posted December 19, 2006 Report Share Posted December 19, 2006 Matthew! Thanks so much for standing up for reason and the separation of church and state. I am just one of the many million proud members of the reality based community, who are out here wishing you all the best in the world! Continue on with your leadership! best, m! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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