I love when religious types get their signals crossed when it comes to their sacred cows. In this case, 8-year-old Chester Johnson had been assigned to make a Christmas drawing as part of a class project. Turns out the administration at his school in Taunton, Mass., didn't much care for his stick figure drawing of Jesus Christ on the cross. (See the figure to the right...)
They sent Chester home from school. But that wasn't the worst of their hypocritical stance: They ordered the boy to undergo a psychological evaluation.
Okay, let's see. You're an 8-year-old child who has, given the subject of Chester's drawing, attended a Christmas Mass or two in your few years on Earth. Not to mention almost every Sunday if you're part of a God-fearing Christian family and community. What would be the one enduring symbol of your religion? The one thing that would be burned into your head?
Oh, yeah.
That guy nailed to the boards, right up in front, over the head of the other guy in the robes warning you to be good or the guy stuck to the boards is going to get you.
Little Chester should be given a pass on this absurdity. What's more, it seems like the morons of Taunton are the ones that need to have their heads examined.
UPDATE: Thanks to reader Debbie Wolfe for pointing me to a recent press release issued by Taunton Public Schools in which they point out that a number of inaccuracies about this story have been punched up by the media. Check it out here.
Reminds me of when I was a kid--about eight-years-old--going to a Christian school. I was sent to the principal's office and punished for saying that I loved the devil because God teaches us to love everyone.
Posted by: Brendan Harris | December 16, 2009 at 09:06 AM
The school has a few issues with the media account: http://www.tauntonschools.org/news.cfm?story=2760&school=0
Posted by: Debbie Wolfe | December 16, 2009 at 09:14 AM
Nice post Marc,
When I was a kid at Catholc school we used to do these battle scene drawing with lots of blood and explosions. I would have been committed to the looney bin! Come to think of how things have worked out maybe that would have been better for me.
www.jefreyjena.wordpress.com
P.S. I still think your chef's hat looks like the headdress for a well known racist group, sorry!
Posted by: Jeff Jena | December 16, 2009 at 09:19 AM
Jeff, I can't help what your eyes see, man. It's a chef's hat. Specifically, taken from a photo of the head chef from the White House...
Posted by: hershco | December 16, 2009 at 10:41 AM