On Thu, 13 Aug 2009 15:10:18 -0400, Daniel Bastos wrote:

>> I don't think so. School is not the appropriate forum to proselytize.
>> If you want to give out messages, that's fine, leave them in a public
>> area. Don't pass it to each individual. Not everyone will appreciate
>> it. If it were me, I would have taken the candy and chucked the card in
>> the bin without so much as looking at it...
> 
> [...]
> 
> In my school, I would not allow an adult to pass any flyers. But a kid
> can. Even if a kid from another school. I'm a believer in the idea that
> you learn to program by programing. You learn to live in society, by
> living in it. But you don't learn to play chess by always losing; that
> is, by always playing against someone a lot more malicious than you are;
> that's why I don't like the idea of adults playing society with kids.

If the adult has the right to be in the school and is not a school 
official (which is important in public schools - if a teacher were 
promoting a religion in a public school, I would have a problem with 
that, regardless of the religion, because public schools are part of "the 
state" and the first amendment prohibits the state sponsoring a 
religion), then there should be no problem with this, again, as long as 
they're not disruptive or inciting people to act against "those who are 
different".

> Now I want to question the framework of the discussion. Why is a (six
> year old?) kid interested in Jesus? Suppose you find an answer here by
> talking to his family. Then you go ``aha.'' And that is why I don't
> allow adults doing propaganda in my school. Home is just another school;
> only more important.

Where he got his interest is irrelevant.  We all learn from our families 
and our friends.  So what?  The reason the kid is exercising his free 
speech is not important.  He should be allowed to do so, as long as he's 
not disruptive or inciting people to harm others.

>>> But I think the parents of the kid who caused the whole thing probably
>>> would have a problem with an atheist distributing information.
>>> *That's* where the problem usually starts.
>>
>> Right...
> 
> Right. And chances are the problem has nothing to do with religion.

It has *everything* to do with religion.  My hypothesis that the kid's 
parents would be up in arms over an atheist distributing information 
about atheism was put forth because most people who take these kinds of 
actions seem to think "free speech" only applies to the things and ideals 
they hold, not to everyone.

So it becomes a matter of "those are not MY beliefs, so the speech should 
be suppressed" or even "those are not the beliefs of the majority, so the 
speech should be suppressed".

Jim

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