NH parents object to book that refers to Jesus as a "wine-guzzling vagrant and precocious socialist"

[marmar]

NH parents object to book that calls Jesus vagrant


(AP) BEDFORD, N.H. - A New Hampshire couple told a school board Monday that their son’s civil rights were violated when he was assigned a book that refers Jesus Christ as a "wine-guzzling vagrant and precocious socialist."

The 2001 book, "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America," documents author Barbara Ehrenreich’s attempts to live on minimum wage as she critiques the nation’s economic system.

Aimee and Dennis Taylor complained about the book’s foul language, descriptions of drug use and characterization of Christianity when it was assigned to their son’s personal finance class at Bedford High School in the fall and later pulled him out of school at his request. On Monday, they asked the school board to remove the book from the curriculum and create a committee of parents to review and rate all other books used in the school, but the board held off on making a decision until it hears from its curriculum committee next month.

Dennis Taylor said school officials were either utterly careless in choosing the book or were "intentionally agreeing with Ehrenreich and taking the position that Jesus was a drunken bum."

"The administration and the people with the master’s degrees taking care of our children clearly in this case seemed to lack common sense, common decency and with regard to civil rights, an understanding of common law," he said. .............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://kaaltv.com/article/stories/S1880960.shtml?cat=10241

[socialist_n_TN]

1. Well, to use an appropriate phrase, JESUS CHRIST!..............

Even according to the Bible, he DID drink wine, he did NOT have a permanent address (vagrant) and his group pooled their material possessions (socialist). So what's the problem? Does the truth hurt that much?

[GreenPartyVoter]

4. Apparently, it really does hurt that much.

[pitohui]

2. oh! i thought they meant the bible!

that's what happens when you react before you read

seriously, one of my buddies down here in new orleans never hesitates to point out that the first miracle of christ was turning water into wine, christ had his priorities straight, immortal life and raising the dead Just Aint Worth It if there's no decent wine in the house
:-)

[Kaleva]

3. Well, Jesus was a vagrant and it was safer to drink wine then water.

[Eric J in MN]

5. It isn't a civil rights violation to assign books which expose student to multiple points-of-view

...I'm guessing there are other books in the course from a different POV than Barbara Ehrenreich’s.

[pscot]

6. Ripple or Mad Dog 20/20?

[Wilber_Stool]

15. Wild Irish Rose........n/t

[w4rma]

7. That sounds like an endorsement of Jesus, to me. (nt)

[Eric J in MN]

13. I think that Barbara Ehrenreich meant it as a compliment.

=======================
In a passage describing a tent revival meeting she attended, Ehrenreich writes about feeling troubled by its emphasis on Jesus’ crucifixion and wishing the preacher would focus more on his teachings of social and economic justice.

"Jesus makes his appearance here only as a corpse; the living man, the wine-guzzling vagrant and precocious socialist, is never once mentioned, nor anything he ever had to say," she wrote.

=======================

[bluestateguy]

8. Then put your son in a private school and please just go away

Where he can be sheltered from the real world at your heart's delight.

It annoys the hell out of me when public schools overhaul whole policies because one parent complains.

[Hello_Kitty]

9. The teacher using that book to teach finance RAWWWKS!! eom

[Newest Reality]

10. FSM forbid that their children learn to be

exposed to information and ideas that they don't agree with and be able to understand and relate to it while retaining, (if they so choose) their beliefs.

Oh, that's right, those beliefs are fragile an need reinforcement and shielding, perhaps?

I agree with that comment that, though the language may be harsh, the Jesus character was all three.

[virgogal]

11. When I read the header I thought the child was quite young, It's

high school for God's sake. Imagine what he may be reading that she doesn't even know about.

Get a life,lady,and let the kid grow up.

[NV Whino]

12. Good gawd!

They need to teach critical thinking in the schools if some little twit can be offended by that.

[teamster633]

14. Bedford is a very affluent suburb of our largest city, Manchester.

I'm sure the thought that Jesus was a socialist was more than their talibornagain hearts could bear. And at the holy feast of Consumption no less...