Jet Moses Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewCulture.asp?Page=/Culture/archive/200803/CUL20080310a.html Parents in Deerfield, Ill., are upset that a local high school is using books in advanced English classes this spring that they say are laced with graphic sexual content, pervasive expletives and mockery of religion. Worse, the books - "Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes (Parts 1 & 2)" - are required reading for advanced placement English students at Deerfield High School, but a parents' group wants them removed. "Who would have ever thought that we would be handing out pornography in public schools?" asked Lora Sue Hauser, executive director of North Shore Student Advocacy, and a Deerfield parent. "The fact that this was required is even more astonishing," she told Cybercast News Service. Hauser cites numerous examples of offensive passages from the text, including the following: Man: What do you want? Louis: I want you to f*** me, hurt me, make me bleed. Man: I want to. Louis: Yeah? Man: I want to hurt you. Louis: F*** me. Man: Yeah. Louis: Hard? Man: Yeah. You been a bad boy? (They begin to f***.) (Louis slips his hand down the front of Joe's pants. They embrace more tightly. Louis pulls his hand out, smells and tastes his fingers, and then holds them for Joe to smell ... they kiss again.) Hauser said her group formally challenged the use of the books in school, and a school district committee reviewed their challenge. "It was quite a lengthy process," Hauser told Cybercast News Service. "They spent five or six weeks deciding whether this book should be removed. Their final answer was it would be taken off the required reading list and put on an 'optional title' list. Peter LaBarbera, with Americans for Truth About Homosexuality, a conservative group, said the two books are simply parts 1 and 2 of a 10-year-old play on the topic of AIDS - one that has been heralded as "one of the great American plays of the 20th century." In fact, playwright Tony Kushner won the Pulitzer Prize, and "Angels in America" won two Tony Awards. An HBO adaptation for television was nominated for an Emmy. "It is defended as a literary work that shows forgiveness, kindness and compassion," LaBarbera said. "Of course, the first question that comes to my mind is, how many classical works of literature are there that show these virtues without delving into graphic homosexual sodomy?" Parents like Hauser said the work, which even mocks the Catholic nun Mother Teresa, is porn - not literature - and offers bad messages: Man: I think it broke. The rubber. You want me to keep going? (Little pause) Pull out? Should I -- Louis: Keep going. Infect me. I don't care. I don't care. "There's no other way to describe this," Hauser said. "It is so egregious and so vulgar. I've been doing advocacy in schools a long time - and this is the worst thing I've seen." She added: "It's an example of what I call 'the competition of edginess.' High schools across the country have this 'thing' going, where they choose literature or they choose programming or curricula that pushes the envelope, and keeps pushing the envelope - and now after years and years of it, this is what we've ended up with - clearly pornographic materials." While the books may be pornographic, they aren't legally prosecutable as obscenity, as the parents' group soon found out. "The first route we went down was the criminal, because we saw this as distributing material that is harmful to minors," Hauser said. "But basically you can't prosecute schools and libraries, because all they have to do is say there is some educational purpose for these materials." Pat Trueman, who ran the U.S. Justice Department's obscenity enforcement unit from 1988 through 1992, confirmed what the group found out is true. "Federal obscenity law says that material can be prosecuted as obscene if it appeals to a prurient interest - that is, a shameful or morbid interest in sex - and if it is patently offensive, and if it doesn't have any literary, artistic, scientific or philosophical value. That's the situation you run into if it doesn't have pictures and is just the written word," Trueman told Cybercast News Service. The fact that pornographic books can be protected from prosecution if they have "serious literary value" doesn't surprise parents, but it is disappointing. "These laws need to be changed," Hauser said. Hauser noted that this isn't the first time that Deerfield High School and the school district have come at cross-purposes to parents. The district ordered 14-year-old freshmen to take a seminar that amounted to homosexual indoctrination, she said, and had them sign a confidentiality agreement promising not to tell their parents. Matt Barber, policy director for cultural issues at Concerned Women for America, a conservative group, is stunned by the actions. "It's not enough that students at Deerfield High are being exposed to improper and offensive material relative to unhealthy and high-risk homosexual behavior, but they've essentially been told by teachers to lie to their parents about it," Barber said. Calls to Deerfield school superintendent George Fornero and other administrators were referred to the district's communications director, who did not respond to interview requests prior to press time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bitonti Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 eww Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 eww I agree, but I'll need something more reliable than "Cybercast News Service" to convince me that it's true. From Sourcewatch: Cybercast News Service (CNS) is a subsidiary of the conservative news monitoring group, the Media Research Center (MRC). Originally calling itself the "Conservative News Service," CNS changed its name to Cybercast in 2000. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerryK Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 I agree, but I'll need something more reliable than "Cybercast News Service" to convince me that it's true. From Sourcewatch: http://americansfortruth.com/news/deerfield-high-school-accused-of-promoting-homosexuality.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterNorth09 Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 The real question is whether Jetmoses is a Deerfield School Teacher. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 The real question is whether Jetmoses is a Deerfield School Teacher. I can say with absolute certainty that he is not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jet Moses Posted March 10, 2008 Author Share Posted March 10, 2008 I agree, but I'll need something more reliable than "Cybercast News Service" to convince me that it's true. From Sourcewatch: The Chicago Trib's link was down. Man: What do you want? Peter North: I want you to f*** me, hurt me, make me bleed. Man: I want to. Peter North: Yeah? Man: I want to hurt you. Peter North: F*** me. Man: Yeah. Peter North: Hard? Man: Yeah. You been a bad boy? (They begin to f***.) (Peter North slips his hand down the front of Joe's pants. They embrace more tightly. Peter North pulls his hand out, smells and tastes his fingers, and then holds them for Joe to smell ... they kiss again.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afosomf Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 The Chicago Trib's link was down. Man: What do you want? Peter North: I want you to f*** me, hurt me, make me bleed. Man: I want to. Peter North: Yeah? Man: I want to hurt you. Peter North: F*** me. Man: Yeah. Peter North: Hard? Man: Yeah. You been a bad boy? (They begin to f***.) (Peter North slips his hand down the front of Joe's pants. They embrace more tightly. Peter North pulls his hand out, smells and tastes his fingers, and then holds them for Joe to smell ... they kiss again.) Good reading for the JN Moderator Lounge I take, the waiting list will be longer than Divinci Code Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sperm Edwards Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 The Chicago Trib's link was down. Man: What do you want? Peter North: I want you to f*** me, hurt me, make me bleed. Man: I want to. Peter North: Yeah? Man: I want to hurt you. Peter North: F*** me. Man: Yeah. Peter North: Hard? Man: Yeah. You been a bad boy? (They begin to f***.) (Peter North slips his hand down the front of Joe's pants. They embrace more tightly. Peter North pulls his hand out, smells and tastes his fingers, and then holds them for Joe to smell ... they kiss again.) If you had changed "Joe" to "Kellen" you'd be looking at a weekly nomination. Swing and a miss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterNorth09 Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 The Chicago Trib's link was down. Man: What do you want? Peter North: I want you to f*** me, hurt me, make me bleed. Man: I want to. Peter North: Yeah? Man: I want to hurt you. Peter North: F*** me. Man: Yeah. Peter North: Hard? Man: Yeah. You been a bad boy? (They begin to f***.) (Peter North slips his hand down the front of Joe's pants. They embrace more tightly. Peter North pulls his hand out, smells and tastes his fingers, and then holds them for Joe to smell ... they kiss again.) Can you please stop fantasizing about me Jetmoses. Go find a televangelist or Senator to fantasize about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jet Moses Posted March 11, 2008 Author Share Posted March 11, 2008 If you had changed "Joe" to "Kellen" you'd be looking at a weekly nomination. Swing and a miss. Or Marcus McNeil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panzer Division Marduk Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 The Chicago Trib's link was down. Man: What do you want? Peter North: I want you to f*** me, hurt me, make me bleed. Man: I want to. Peter North: Yeah? Man: I want to hurt you. Peter North: F*** me. Man: Yeah. Peter North: Hard? Man: Yeah. You been a bad boy? (They begin to f***.) (Peter North slips his hand down the front of Joe's pants. They embrace more tightly. Peter North pulls his hand out, smells and tastes his fingers, and then holds them for Joe to smell ... they kiss again.) Can you please stop fantasizing about me Jetmoses. Go find a televangelist or Senator to fantasize about. He's just trying to make Kotite jealous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jet Moses Posted March 11, 2008 Author Share Posted March 11, 2008 This is NOT photoshopped: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InstantClassic Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 I had to read that book in college! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jet Moses Posted March 11, 2008 Author Share Posted March 11, 2008 I had to read that book in college! I guess Shakespeare is just old hat! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 This is NOT photoshopped: You sure about that, Mo? I guess Illinois gets their signs from the New Hampshire Department of Transportation, then. Look at the bottom right of the top sign. You've gotta stop buying the bull**** on those fascist websites, man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dickkotite Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 i cant believe a book like that would be allowed in the school Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 Actual New Hampshire sign: Actual Illinois sign: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterNorth09 Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 Actual New Hampshire sign: Actual Illinois sign: Why would Jetmoses be concerned with something like the truth? Don't you know there is an army of degenerates out there trying to convert out kids into gay vegetarians? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jet Moses Posted March 11, 2008 Author Share Posted March 11, 2008 You sure about that, Mo? I guess Illinois gets their signs from the New Hampshire Department of Transportation, then. Look at the bottom right of the top sign. You've gotta stop buying the bull**** on those fascist websites, man. You're right, that is whack! Compromised integrity big time. I'm emailing that dude. i cant believe a book like that would be allowed in the school I can't either. It was originally linked to Chicago tribune but access has been denied. This link looks legit: http://cbs2chicago.com/local/deerfield.censorship.debate.2.671746.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jet Moses Posted March 11, 2008 Author Share Posted March 11, 2008 Why would Jetmoses be concerned with something like the truth? Don't you know there is an army of degenerates out there trying to convert out kids into gay vegetarians? "Our kids"? You're twenty years old and you live with your mother. The sign was BS but this story is true: Group: Literature Assigned In School 'Child Abuse' 'Heads Should Roll' For Assigning 'Obscene' Pulitzer Prize-Winning Play; High School To Continue To Offer 'Angels In America' DEERFIELD, Ill. (Lake County News-Sun) ― Deerfield High School is again under fire by a North Shore Christian group because the school offers the Pulitzer Prize-winning drama "Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes" to college-bound seniors. North Shore Student Advocacy called for School District 113 Superintendent George Fornero, Deerfield High School Principal Sue Hobson and all involved teachers to resign or be fired by the School Board. The group claimed a victory when, after its complaints, the school district made "Angels" an "opt in" book rather than required reading in the Advanced Placement English literature course. Parents and students have to opt in to read that book as well as "The Plague." Last year, "Angels in America" author Tony Kushner talked to the class about the play, how he wrote it and produced it. The story is about two couples whose relationships are disintegrating. It is set in the United States in the 1980s against a backdrop of greed, conservatism, sexual politics and the discovery of AIDS. Matt Barber, director of cultural issues with Concerned Women for America, said his jaw dropped when he read the book. "This isn't a First Amendment issue. This is about school officials betraying the community trust. Heads need to roll here. Assigning this racist, pornographic smut to high school kids is nothing short of child abuse," Barber said. Lora Sue Hauser, executive director of NSSA, complained that the book is replete with profanity, overt racism, an explicit description of a sex act involving Mother Teresa and vivid depictions of sodomy. "After almost 15 years of school advocacy and reviewing many objectionable books and curricula, I have never seen anything this vulgar and harmful to students," Hauser said. She said NSSA also talked to the Lake County state's attorney's office and claimed that office concurred that the play violated the state's obscenity statute prohibiting adults from "distributing harmful material to minors." State's Attorney Michael Waller disputed that claim, saying it did not violate any criminal statute. Carol Votsmier, school spokeswoman, said there was a problem with NSSA extracting passages of the play out to illustrate vulgarity. The book and the class curricula were approved by the Advanced Placement College Board, she added. The students who "opted in" for the class will not be reading it until April. The class is limited to seniors, and 51 signed up to take it, but not all have made their choice of one or both books. Votsmier said the play also has been taught in Highland Park High School. The school district and NSSA clashed last year over a freshman orientation session where students talked about bullying and other issues and included gay students relating their experience in high school. Votsmier said no one has been asked to resign, and there have been no voluntary resignations. She said the teacher of the course feels the students have the maturity and thoughtfulness to read this book and learn from it. By Frank Abderholden / Lake County News-Sun (CBS 2 and the Lake County News-Sun are news partners covering stories in the north suburbs. Send story tips to tips@cbs2chicago.com. ( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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