Another pissed off gay teacher
Ever since gay people started teaching teachers started coming out of the closet, school boards have had to defend themselves against the ACLU and lawsuits from the angry Madonna-loving men who get fired and decide to blame it on discrimination. Though, in all fairness, they’re usually right.
Today, we go instead to a bitter obnoxious lesbian (not that there’s any other kind) who got fired from her job teaching for a Catholic school because her and her lesbian lover were going to have a child.
Music teacher Lisa Reimer was teaching at a fully private Catholic school in Vancouver (pretty much the Seattle of Canada) when she requested maternity leave as her and her partner were going to be having a baby (yeah, they let them do that here.) The school, who had opted to not fire her when she announced her homosexuality despite their legal right to do so, said that their hands were tied and decided to pay her out until the end of the year, and just wouldn’t renew her contract.
Whether or not you agree with the tenet of Catholicism frowning upon same-sex relationships is another issue entirely. Reimer signed a “Catholicity Contract” vowing to promote and live by “Catholic” values (I’m unsure at this point whether touching young boys was forbidden or not.) Furthermore, private schools should be able to hire or fire whomever they want. When I blogged a little while back about Constance McMillen, the lesbian who was forbidden from going to her prom, I expressed the belief that because that was a public school, the school didn’t have the right to forbid her from attending — and the other shenanigans that followed were just as bad. With this case, however, the government isn’t involved. It’s a private school, a business, and the teacher has made two major breaches in her contract, ignoring the good grace of the school to give her full pay for another two months.
On the upside, at least she gets full salary for sitting at home watching Ellen now. I’m so jealous.
Tags: Catholicism, Education, Homosexuality, Judeo-Christian Values, Private School, Public School
May 4th, 2010 at 4:40 am
Er… What bigoted moron wrote this article? Please don’t embarrass yourself, this was painful to read.
May 4th, 2010 at 4:41 am
Aw, always nice to meet a fan Sarah!
May 4th, 2010 at 4:45 am
Don’t mind “Sarah” Andrew. My guess is that she’s an overly frustrated biker dyke who is just pissed off that she has to shave her armpits for the first time this year.
May 4th, 2010 at 7:07 am
I honestly can’t believe the stupidity I’m seeing here, and the fact that I’m wasting my time and effort here in the first place. The article itself is laughable, not only in the choice of language you use, but just the extremely childish stance you take on the situation in general. It’s really depressing that this sort of bigotry and narrow-minded idiocy is given a platform. I’ll leave you guys to your little hate-parade, but I’m comforted by the fact that this type of backwards neanderthal thinking is outdated, and finally being seen as the horrendously bigoted and moronic type of thinking that’s only really serving to make us as a society look bad.
May 4th, 2010 at 7:14 am
which part doesn’t make sense to you sarah? do you think that kids should ahve the gave agenda forced down their throats? or instead do you think that the government should tell private business who they can and can’t employ? the language is strong here but it illustrates the greater point which clearly you don’t get. so, cast aside the name calling for a second and try and prove the author wrong…. unless you don’t have an actual informed opinion but just wanted to bitch.
May 4th, 2010 at 7:30 am
It’s really tempting to give you a lesson in basic grammar instead of actually putting a point forward. Actually, private businesses should be allowed to “fire whoever they want,” but only within reason. This is why laws are put in place to prevent firings based on discriminating views.
This argument actually reminds me of a case we had here in Britain, where a gay couple was refused entry at a private b&b, and while the owners were entitled to their private religious beliefs, it is still against the law to refuse service based on sexual orientation.
While I agree that there is a (somewhat) valid argument here, it’s very hard to find it amidst the author’s immature ‘quips’ and stupid one-liners.
May 4th, 2010 at 10:22 am
Annnnnd we’re back to virulent homophobia. We had a good run there, after the whole Constance debacle, and I thought that maybe, just maybe, you weren’t a COMPLETE raving lunatic – but here I stand corrected. Or maybe I’m misinterpreting which side of the argument you’re intending to place yourself on, since – from what I understand – you’re quite the Madonna fan yourself, and this blog seems to indicate that you have quite a lot of anger. So that would make you an angry Madonna-loving man, no? Maybe there is hope after all… Oh, wait, “Today, we go instead to a bitter obnoxious lesbian (not that there’s any other kind)” – nope. Definitely a raving lunatic. So it goes.
May 4th, 2010 at 10:28 am
I was hoping my favorite pinko commie bastard would make an appearance on this post! Guilty: I enjoy Madonna as much as the next Glee-loving ex-actor male. Though in my defense (I think) I only know the lyrics to one of her songs…and that was a remake.
May 4th, 2010 at 10:36 am
Though, in the interests of bipartisanship, I will attempt to clarify my position. Hateful bigoted language aside, I disagree in private schools with teachers having the right to reject the principles that they are supposed to be teaching.
I would expect a Christian to be hired in a Jewish school; nor do I expect a Muslim to be hired in a Christian school. If a non-Christian were hired for a Christian school and specifically signed a pledge to uphold certain values and then didn’t do so, they have a right to be fired.
Public schools: it’s all fair game. Homosexual teachers are fine (many of our readers will disagree, but I can’t in good conscience say that that’s “not okay” in a public setting.)
May 4th, 2010 at 11:20 am
Thanks for clarifying. I think this is always going to be one of those tricky subjects which people can’t agree on… you’re right about people having to respect the private institution that they work for, but I think the line here is a little blurred because it seems to be an infringement of rights, whether it goes against the teachings of the school or not. I think we’ll see more of these sorts of cases before any sort of real conclusion is made.
I shouldn’t have responded with guns blazing at the beginning, I misunderstood your tone and went on the defense!
May 4th, 2010 at 2:27 pm
You’re nothing more than a homophobic bigot.
May 5th, 2010 at 4:55 am
If the woman signed a contract which included a clause about upholding certain values, something which a close friend of mine says is quite standard for Christian schools, then the instant this woman broke her side of the contract, the school was fully within its rights to fire her.
Morality contracts are fairly common in certain jobs, and the onus is on both parties to uphold their sides. The school was paying her to act within a certain way within their walls, she was expected to uphold their values within their walls. She obviously couldnt be bothered, and her breaking a legal contract bit her on the ass. If she didnt like the terms and conditions of the contract, she didnt have to sign it. Got no pity or time for wannabe victims like her, she should be happy that they’re upholding their side of the deal and paying her out.
December 22nd, 2010 at 7:11 am
I don’t always agree with your posts, but this was dead on, way to go!