If you want to get an idea of just how removed from reality the religious right is, I offer as an example a guest who appeared on Linda Harvey's radio show this past weekend. Ira Thomas, a teacher in South Carolina, attended last week's NEA convention and was none too pleased with its decision to support more gay-inclusive curricula. He told Harvey that such material opens the door to any number of horrors, such as witchcraft and child molestation. People for the American Way got a clip.
Thomas: There was another item about showing a video and I can’t remember what video but it was something dealing with the gay and lesbian [sic], but after sitting through several of those I decided it was time to let the voice be heard instead of sitting by and saying nothing.
Harvey: So what did you eventually say?
Thomas: In short I told them as a person I do not have a right to discriminate, but by the same token they do not have a right to disseminate what I consider to be harmful material to children. I do not have a right to tell them what to choose but they also do not have a right to choose a curriculum for me that I feel is biblically wrong. It’s like with prayer, it’s not right for me to put my Christian beliefs on anybody, it is right for me to share the Gospel, but even Christ gave us the choice. If we’re going to go there then the next thing we know we’re going to have everybody forcing things on us in school that we don’t believe in from witchcraft to even the molestation from children.
Thomas even went as far to say that allowing a gay-friendly curriculum is akin to the Jerry Sandusky scandal. Just like at Penn State, he said, "so many people knew what was going wrong but no one spoke out for whatever reason." For those who think Harvey batted an eyelash at this, remember this is the same woman who claimed
gays don't meet the 14th Amendment definition of "persons."
Believe it or not, Thomas was actually doubling down on comments he made a few days earlier on Sandy Rios' show. He wrung his hands over claims that gay "indoctrination" was like teaching kids to smoke crack. Um, Ira? If you say something that idiotic, you deserve to get slammed.
I haven't been able to find out where in South Carolina this yayhoo is, but suffice to say I wouldn't want to be in any classes with him as the teacher.