Kari Simpson's human-rights complaint targets Vancouver school board "slurs"
The fight over the Vancouver school board’s antibullying policy, which saw two trustees censured earlier this year, has reached the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal.
In a complaint filed with the quasi-judicial body on April 18, social-conservative radio host Kari Simpson charged that the board is "promoting hatred and contempt" through initiatives that utilize "made-up words" like "homophobia, homophobe, homophobic, and heterosexism".
Simpson, president of the group Culture Guard, zeroed in on the Out in Schools program used by the district to provide information to students. She claimed it encourages people to mock Christians and others for their religious and cultural beliefs about homosexuality.
"It’s exchanging one form of bullying for another," Simpson told the Straight in a phone interview. "If our goal is to make everybody safe and welcome in the schools…then you can’t target people because of their religious beliefs or their common-sense beliefs. Because anyone that says, ‘Wait a minute, let’s look at the fact that there’s billions of dollars of costs associated with anal sex,’ for instance, right—because we know through all the disease statistics and all the rest of it that’s just common knowledge, that’s a fact—well, suddenly you’re homophobic, you’re all this and all that."
Simpson continued: "And it’s designed to shut down the conversation the same way kids that want to participate in things at school that, you know, somebody would yell at them, you know, ‘You’re a fag, you’re gay,’ all those kinds of things, right? So we have to get the name-calling out of the discussion on all levels. Everybody should be treated with respect. Everybody’s opinion has a value. You don’t have to adopt or accept it. But we need important civil discourse to start happening, and you can’t do that when you legitimize one form of slur and say another isn’t appropriate."
School board chair Patti Bacchus, named as the complaint’s respondent, noted that the terms Simpson referred to "have a clear definition and an application".
"If someone suggests that homophobia isn’t still an important issue in our society and our public schools, I’m not sure what she likes it to be called," Bacchus told the Straight in a phone interview. "But we’re not really in the business of making up new language. We’re using accepted…words that explain a fear of people who are homosexual."
Bacchus also lamented that, with the filing of such a complaint, tax dollars that could be used for public education may have to be allocated by the board for legal fees.
In January, NPA school trustees Ken Denike and Sophia Woo were censured by their fellow Vision Vancouver and COPE trustees for what Bacchus described at the time as "misrepresentation" in videotaped comments of the district’s antibullying policy.
Comments
32 Comments
Common sense beliefs
Apr 18, 2012 at 6:01pm
Religion and common sense are so far apart along with the reality that a religion that promotes hatred on others isn't very godly at all but that is religion for you. Got a goat to scrafice or possiblity a virgin?
Amen
Apr 18, 2012 at 6:33pm
We have the right to practice a religion or two or three or more if we wish. What we do not have the right is to impose are religious beliefs on others. And boy there are many some say you will go to hell for sipping coffee and tea and the superstitions go on and on. As human being we have the right to live our life's loving who we wish without fear of hatred from those who choice to push their superstitions on others. Being hurt because you are discouraged from hurting others explains the whole doctrine of hatred.
Did you know the Caltholic church priests are the biggest offender of inchanging at young boys? What does that teach you about religion?
I know my young cousin didn't escape the hands of religion as the priest couldn't keep his hands out of little Jerry's pants.
ger
Apr 18, 2012 at 8:04pm
How did you not laugh while interviewing Kari Simpson? What a loon.
look after my soul
Apr 18, 2012 at 8:33pm
not my horny bottom
if churchs stayed out of bedrooms
and left priests in them things would change for the better
and let human rights look after hatred
its their job
and leave the bedrooms to god,
he has eyes in the back of his head
and can see in the dark
Chrisse
Apr 18, 2012 at 8:51pm
@Amen - it was homosexual males who entered the priesthood with full intent of ignoring the requirement for celibacy that were involved in the so-called "sexual abuse" of post-pubescent boys. Of course, heterosexual males in the secular teaching profession preying on post-pubescent school girls is socially acceptable. You are a religious bigot, you are a sexist bigot, and you don't give a damn about sexual abuse of children as you ignore the age of these boys and ignore the sexual predatory actions of heterosexual males preying on teenage girls.
Further, as males as encultured to fiddle with their penis from a young age, it seems rather ridiculous to then call out sexual abuse when they are 'just curious about their sexuality and their attraction to males'.
Wow, now wait for the faux outrage. Can't handle the truth when your own bigotry is exposed.
Christopher...
Apr 18, 2012 at 9:15pm
I wish the Georgia Straight would stop using a 20 year old photo of that woman. The only thing that looks the same is the dead eyes and vacant stare.
That woman needs to stop wasting my tax dollars with her bigotry. Here's the Merriam-Webster dictionary definition of "homophobe": http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/homophobe
everymandemocracy
Apr 18, 2012 at 9:23pm
Oh Please Bitch!!!! When did you ever hear a gay boy scream, "Stop hitting me you christian!"???? The woman needs to keep her zealot self inside her zealot bubble. And she wonders why people do not like her. It's not because you are Christian. It's because you are a manipulative bitch. Good luck with your zealot agenda.
Just another homo
Apr 18, 2012 at 9:47pm
Man, this Kari Simpson sure seems to know a lot about anal sex. What's with all these homophobes (oops, slur) knowing more about anal sex than half the gays out there? Why are they so preoccupied with sex?
I was at that meeting and she openly shouted at a teacher to 'keep [his] sex life out of the classroom' when he asked if he was supposed to honestly answer a student who questioned his orientation. Why such an obsession with intercourse, Kari? And the rest of the heterosexist (oops, another slur) opposition?
I apologise for all these slurs, i just can't seem to control my dirty little mouth. Must be all the disease-mongering i do with my homosexual sex and stuff.
bdubblut
Apr 18, 2012 at 10:18pm
I made a rather knee jerk but thoroughly funny (in my mind only I suppose) comment that has not/may not appear.
I do not feel it was any more offensive than than Kari Simpson implying LGBT is a cost to the system because some of us happen to engage in anal sex. Straight sex has cost statistics too. I won't even start ranting about her ability to freely throw slurs such as "You’re a fag, you’re gay."
That being said, I am not quite sure if she is holding out an olive branch or a stick.
Having said that I will now get on MY box and repeat (this being twice) and rinse:
"Wow, all she needs now is a box.
Oh right, she already has one."
amy semple
Apr 19, 2012 at 5:24am
anal sex has a cost? what about the costs of straight sex? unwanted pregnancies, disease etc. or is that okay because it is "normal"? I'm straight and grew up in the tolerant United Church of the 60's & 70's and so don't understand the big deal if you're LGBT straight or whatever it is YOUR business, not some foaming at the mouth lunatic who can't put together an intelligent argument.