The young son of a Massachusetts pro-family activist was physically assaulted by fellow elementary school students on the two-year anniversary of same-sex "marriage" in the state.
On May 17, first-grader Jacob Parker was beaten up by a group of eight to ten kids on the playground at Estabrook Elementary School in Lexington. Just weeks before the assault, his father and mother had filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the school.
Last year, David Parker was arrested and jailed for refusing to leave the school until officials agreed to grant him the right to opt his son out of classroom discussions on homosexuality. The Massachusetts father believes the assault was incited by parents who are upset with his opposition to homosexuality.
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The pro-family advocate suspects the physical attack on his son may have occurred because parents and school officials are angry over his stand for traditional marriage in Massachusetts and have allowed these feelings to influence kids who attend Estabrook Elementary. Also, he notes, back issues of the "biased" Lexington Minuteman newspaper were placed on a table in the school library for children to read the local coverage of the lawsuit.
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
Last Year: Father Arrested. This Year: Son Jumped
Last year a Massachusetts father was arrested for refusing to leave his son in a kindergarten class without the assurance that he'd be able to opt his child out of any pro-homosexual curriculum. This year the son has been beaten up at school, officials believe it may be in response to the parents filing a lawsuit against the school.
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2 comments:
David Parker admitted to The Boston Globe this week that the story spread in his name by MassResistance (a Massachusetts antigay group) is false.
There was no conspiracy to beat up his kid. The fight was over lunchroom seating, not his father's activism.
Parker is still upset at the community for not supporting his activism, but frankly, the community was lied about for a month by MassResistance -- and by other web sites that didn't take time to check the facts from reputable news sources (of which there were several).
I don't blame the parents and school officials of Lexington, Mass., for being upset that Parker allowed lies about the schoolyard fight to be spread for a month.
Sadly, Parker's paranoia created the very situation that he feared: He alienated an entire community through adversarial accusations, when cooperation, persuasion and charitable compromise might have earned him some support.
Mike, thanks for the link. I think Parker pretty well sums up my general thoughts concerning the situation here:
"Are parents and administrators telling little children to get [my son] on the playground because of his father's beliefs? No, I doubt it," Parker said, but added: "You have children being exposed to the notion that this guy, or this family, is wrong and maybe is a bad guy. That can influence their actions."
I never meant to imply that parents are giving their kids donuts to jump the boy, simply that kids do get picked on for the things their parents are involved in. And there is/ was a possiblity that this was the case, it may not be why the fight started, but you never know. The article didn't say exactly what the issue was with the seating. Know what I mean? Either way, thanks for the link.
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