Get ready for this one. From Human Events columnist Robert Spencer - and make sure you read all the way through to the end.
“Jamaan al-Harbash, a member of the Kuwaiti parliament, has called for Valentine’s Day celebrations to be banned. Another Kuwaiti MP, Waleed al-Tabtabai, chief of a committee in parliament that monitors ‘alien practices,’ said his committee will undertake a study this week on how to stop Valentine’s Day from initiating the ‘moral corruption’ of Kuwaiti youth.
“Over in Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, the notorious religious police who go by the name of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice have banned red roses. . . . Nothing new in that: in 2004, the Saudi fatwa committee forbade Saudis from celebrating (Valentine’s) day.”
No, that’s not the outrageous part. No one in America would be particularly surprised to learn that fundamentalist Muslim countries have banned Valentine’s Day.
But an American public school has joined them?
From yesterday’s Reno Gazette-Journal:
“Hold off on those Valentine’s Day cards, as one local school will not be celebrating the day of love today. Mount Rose Elementary School will be replacing Valentine’s Day with ‘Friendship Day.’ Classrooms will be holding parties but students are not allowed to exchange cards.”
“’The reason we wanted to get away from the cards is because many of our students can’t afford the cards so there were lots of hurt feelings,’ said Mount Rose Elementary School Principal Karen Wallis, who added ‘friendship day’ is a lot more appropriate for a school then the love and romance that Valentine’s Day comes with.”
To which resident Shirley Paxton replied in an email to Principal Wallis:
“You do not have to buy Valentine’s Cards!! How about a creative home-made card? You can even do it with pasted cutouts from magazines donated from the parents. There are a lot more creative things to do than to just wipe out years of tradition. You can have teams of 5 or 10 kids making a card to send to another team. It could even have a FRIENDLY ‘GREEN’ theme. It would/could/should be a learning experience.
“This is just another way to throw PC junk at our children. You should be ashamed of your decision to stop, no wait, rename a celebrated day that honors the exchange of friendly & loving sentiments. And lastly to remind you……..IT IS NOT FRIENDSHIP DAY, IT ‘IS’ VALENTINE’S DAY.”
I called the school this morning and asked the poor secretary who answered the phone if they’d cancelled St. Patrick’s Day yet. She was not amused.
If you’d like to share your own feelings about Principal Wallis’ decision to tell Cupid to drop dead at Mount Rose Elementary, you can e-mail her here: KWallis@washoe.k12.nv.us
Ms. Wallis’ phone number is: (775) 333-5030
Posted on February 15th, 2008 by Chuck Muth
Filed under: National
ATTBBOBSE!!!