h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

everyone has a right to free speech it's just that some are more right than others there are states in the USA where it is illegal to teach anything about creation except what is in the bible. That worries me ..whole generations not knowing about science or diversity of the human population.

I thought this came under 'freedom of speech' as per constitution.
Pupils should get together and challenge these schools as they are infringing their constitutional rights.

Alji

Oh, and Re: the dissapearance of Josh and Caleb...

I think their main internet access was at school, and I think that American schools have ended for the summer. So it doesn't look like they'll be around for a while

Ste

Oh, that's alright then. Better than them having given up on being welcomed into thee Wyde Worlde, rather.
here be Dragons...

On the subject of fundamentalist Christains (damn that typo is funny, I'm leaving it in), a self-proclaimed Christian fundamentalist *evangelical minister* has just joined h2g2: U195767.

Call me old fashioned but those people scare me to death. He has already claimed that Catholics are "not Christians" ().

That's all I think.

Ste

nope, I'll be calling them old fashioned. Did the Reformation bypass them?

It is worrying that fundamentalist, so called christians, dismiss anything that does not completely agree with thier views or interpretations as being wrong or a "dodgy" sect!

On a slightly different note - did anyone pick up the news item that a group of scientists in the states have decided following a study that homophobia is not really a phobia in the medical sense but much more akin to racism etc.

Whilst I do not think that this intellectually makes a blind bit of difference, I do think in terms of dealing with hatred of/ discrimination towards homosexuals it really doesnt help.

hi Ross the university where I work has just done a study on students who suffer discrimination because of their sexual preferences. 87% suffered verbal abuse,and nearly 50% physical assault...I was shocked by it and the fact that a lot goes unreported. Some local students said they just accepted it was a fact of life for them.....can you imagine how much worse it would be in a state where Fundamentalists have a hold? frighthening.

Tabitca - the figures you report are very worrying - which country is your uni in?

My own experience of younger people, particularly those from the educated middle classes, is that they are significantly more tolerant of sexuality/sexual preference than my generation was and is.

What does worry me at the moment is that with right wing governments in the US and many European states (I include the UK as New Labour is a centre/right party these days) identifying oneself as different singles one out for attack. This is always the way with the right particularly - conform to the majority image, dont argue with the authorities, dont stand out or stand up for anything different.

Not only does the current attitude in Europe and the US affect peoples of middle eastern and asian origins, but also those who declare themselves to be socialists, anarchists, anti-globalisation protestors, environmentalists, etc. etc..

1984 is coming, albeit a bit late (obviously it is being run by a combination of Railtrack, the UK Train Operating companies, BT and Air France).

i am in England in a red brick university...but i think the problems are the local population ..we had terrible problems with asylum seekers being beaten up etc. The local population has suffered high unemployment and so scapegoat anyone different.

Ah the great unwashed........................

That explains a lot.

hmm... I've found that the 'educated' (tho' ignorant) middle classes can be the worst snobs of the lot, with regard to anything.

I should point out that a lot of our students are from the local population and are not middle class but like all towns there a minority of people who have had employment difficulties and have to blame it on someone. They can't hit out at the government directly so target what they see as scapegoats or easy targets to blame..were this a few centuries earlier we would have witch burnings instead..I'd probably be first on the the pyre! mainly cos I can't keep my mouth shut I'm afraid all groups of society feel a need to take out their frustrations on someone and it is usually someone they see as different and an easy target in that there is not enough of them to seriuosly fight back.

Mandragora, certainly that may be true for the over 30's - though I do not see that in London.

The real key is education, irrespective of class, and I am talking about social education rather than academic.

Way back in the dim and distant past when I went to uni at Aberystwyth, there was a very vibrant gay society within the uni and very little trouble from the locals; perhaps this was because there were more students than locals or maybe it was a result of the liberal political traditions in west Wales.

Since then I have mostly lived in the South East of England and apart from the odd bout of verbals I have experienced no problems at all - perhaps I am lucky.

Just in case anyone is still interested in the original subject of this thread ...

Someone has kindly pointed me to a website which may be of interest.

Warning:- it's not pleasant, and it's not ironic. It's just nasty.

[Unsuitable link removed by Moderator]

Geoff

What was that link?

The Mods got to it before this Rocker got to see it!!!!!

It was a link to a website run by an American Church. They actively campaign against homosexuality, even to the point of picketing the funerals of gays & lesbians. They're sick and nasty, and have even got counters displaying how long certain dead homosexuals "have been in hell". The frightening part is that they really believe it. "God Hates Fags" is their proud slogan.

The mods obviously decided that the site was unsuitable for H2G2. Shame, because it shows up these narrow minded vicious bigots for what they really are.

Geoff there are sadly truly un-christian people like this all over.

In their zealous intrusion into other peoples lifes and interpretation of some fairly vague biblical references, they completely forget the basic tenets of christianity - love and tolerance of the sinner!!

As a gay man I of course do not consider homosexuality to be a sin - that is their interpretation - I do however think that they need to look at the way they interpret their sense and understanding of christianity.

Westboro Baptist Church is the place. Pastor Phelps, if memory serves.

Just as a point to the mods... these people are expressing their deeply held religious beliefs. They are an example of fundamentalist christianity in all its "glory". The site and its contents are relevant to the discussion in this thread, and I think the URL should be re-instated.


Geoff

no need... found it