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As I’ve written several times, if you want to picture an “institutional paedophile”, forget priests — picture a teacher, instead. Almost certainly, a female teacher approaching or in the throes of middle-age.
That’s not to say that the churches don’t have a shameful record of past abuse and, worse, covering it up for decades. But, where the churches are concerned, the worst excesses are in the past. The churches and priests have been rightfully called to account. (Sure, only a fool would deny that abuse can and does still happen, but only an anti-Church demagogue would pretend that abuse is rampant in the churches.)
On the other hand, all too many people are in denial of the rampant abuse in schools, public schools especially. In the US, it’s been described as “epidemic” by law enforcement, and “likely 100 times worse than in churches” by a government-appointed investigator. Even worse, perhaps, than the denial, is the idiotic hooting of, “I wish it was me”, from too many men.
Worse even than that is the institutional denial of educational bureaucrats and the ideological derangement of the left, who are increasingly openly condoning paedophilia.
Like an English teacher in Texas, who was allegedly exposed by a secret video recording.
English teacher Amber Parker can be heard in the 15-second video clip saying to a student, “Stop calling them that [paedophiles] …We’re not going to call them that. We’re going to call them MAPs – Minor Attracted Persons. So don’t judge people just because they want to have sex with a five-year-old” […]
The incident occurred last week, and Parker was swiftly suspended. However, El Paso’s Independent School District board of trustees has since voted unanimously to fire her.
In Parker’s defence, some students are saying that the clip was taken out of context — that Parker was saying the opposite. In the segment posted online, she is supposedly mocking the common “MAPs” argument.
Ryann Ruvalcaba, a student at the school, told Fox17, “She [teacher] was expressing how it was ridiculous how we [society] might not be able to call people pedophiles. That we [society] will probably have to start calling them MAPs because it can be offensive to them [pedophiles]. The class agreed.”
Another person who initially defended Parker was board trustee Daniel Call, who said in a Facebook post that he didn’t think Parker was promoting or normalizing pedophilia, but instead pretending to advocate a position to challenge her students and prepare them to read the book, The Crucible, according to KFOX14.
Call has since changed his mind.
However, after the investigation, he has since changed his stance and voted in favor of Parker’s termination, stating, “Any reasonable person that heard what the seven trustees heard would’ve voted to terminate Amber Parker.”
Well, what did the trustees hear? Because if it was solely the online clip, it’s impossible to tell from her tone whether she was advocating or attacking the “MAPs” claim.
Jason Parker, Amber Parker’s husband, replied to Call’s Facebook post thanking him and saying,
“I happen to be the husband of the teacher in question. I can tell you that we were shaken to the core about these accusations. It is both scary and disturbing that an edited 18 second clip could destroy a 30 year career when taken completely out of context.
“She is exemplary as a teacher and truly cares about the students. Needless to say we have spent many sleepless nights because of this cruel release to social media of the 18 seconds. We pray that you and the rest of the board will see this for what it is and not allow and edited video destroy an innocent woman, her career and her family in the process.”
Parker will have the ability to appeal the decision.
“The process is just beginning. There are going to be hearings and so forth that become available to the teacher, and so we just await the process,” said Al Velarde, board president.
Well, if Parker is indeed innocent, then it’s imperative that her name is cleared.
Not just for natural justice, but because there are far too many in educational circles who truly believe what Parker may or may not have been lampooning.
There is a growing movement to destigmatize pedophilia, with proponents arguing that that the term pedophile is a judgemental and hurtful label. These activists prefer the term Minor Attracted Person. They push for pedophile-acceptance on the grounds that no one chooses to be attracted to minors, so therefore should not be judged for something they cannot control.
The Post-Millennial
It’s not a new argument. In the previous heyday of pro-paedophilia activism, people on the left made similar arguments. I vividly recall a teacher who was sacked after ringing a radio talkback program to argue for the abolition of the age of consent. It was at this time, too, that then-activist Gary Dowsett wrote notorious articles arguing for the acceptance of “loving” paedophile relationships. In later years, Dowsett became a prominent academic, in a university think-tank which was behind the notorious “Safe Schools” program, which was widely condemned for sexualising children, and indoctrinating them with transgender ideology. Even in recent years, Dowsett has advocated the abolition of age-of-consent laws and questioned whether “intergenerational sex” was even harmful
Notoriously, too, management at Australia’s national broadcaster sent a memo to journalists, advising them to adopt “MAPs” terminology, rather than the “stigmatising” paedophile.
Amber Parker may or may not be innocent. If she is, her name must be cleared.
But the people who really do believe this sleazy ideology must be kept a million miles away from kids.
