OH School Board Fires Teacher For Branding Cross Into Students' Skin
By Logan Murphy Friday Jun 20, 2008 9:30am
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The school board of a small central Ohio community voted unanimously Friday to fire a teacher accused of preaching his Christian beliefs despite staff complaints and using a device to burn the image of a cross on students' arms.
School board members voted 5-0 to fire Mount Vernon Middle School science teacher John Freshwater. Board attorney David Millstone said Freshwater is entitled to a hearing to challenge the dismissal.
The report came a week after a family filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Columbus against Freshwater and the school district, saying Freshwater burned a cross on a child's arm that remained for three or four weeks.
Freshwater's friend Dave Daubenmire defended him. "With the exception of the cross-burning episode. ... I believe John Freshwater is teaching the values of the parents in the Mount Vernon school district," he told The Columbus Dispatch for a story published Friday. Read on...
Get this man to Jesus Camp, STAT! Freshwater says it was an "X" not a cross, but that sure looks like a cross to me. Kudos to the district for handing this guy his walking papers. It's one less extremist preaching faux science to children.
Login or Register to post comments.
Nice tat bro!!
First?
Which makes burning a child in your class acceptable. That's just the first aspect of it. He burned a child in his classroom.
The second aspect is the jesusy bullshit he's trying to push in his classroom.
Don't burn me, bro!
....Ackkkkk
I had an old bitty school marm teacher in the 5th grade who made us pray everyday in PUBLIC school, beat us all ferociously at the drop of a hat and almost killed me when she made me sit all day through her class while suffering from a burst appendicitis. Bad teachers can really do damage, and some of them shouldn't even be around kids. I hope this school gets sued for allowing such a monster access to children in the first place. Maybe they'll be a bit more discriminating when they hire this goon's replacement. And you all know this freaky evil man will get a job and be celebrated at some x-tian school somewhere.
MAJeff @ 2:
Ditto that.
“With the exception of the cross-burning episode. … I believe John Freshwater is teaching the values of the parents in the Mount Vernon school district”
Similar to comments overheard in many rural school districts in the South in the '50s and '60s, with the smell of leaded gasoline still hanging heavy in the room...
Way to go, O.Hi.O.
More Mcain flip flopping
Gotta put the Buybull in all the lesson plans to learn them kids everything they need to know here in the ninth century!
hmmmm, kinda like prison markings.
You know, as I was flying out of Bangkok day before yesterday there were huge protest going on to get and official to step down from office.
People here take that as just de rigueur, but the shit that goes on in US schools trumps that by far. Branding kids, I go down and beat the living crap out of that *sshole and brand him on his pecker.
The Law of Averages knows no bounds. There are whackos in every profession in this country. Crazies are standing next to you in the grocery store, they are looking in your car at red lights, they are pumping gas next to you. They are everywhere!
We could start a string of tales of whacky teachers, could we not? (Hopefully not to this degree.)
Good Lord, would Jesus say it's OK to burn anything on any child in any school?? I should think NOT !! Frankly, I grew up Catholic and practiced the high octane Pentecostal brand through high school and college, but even then I would have drawn the line at burning someone. This guy needs some therapy BAD !!
♠Bob In Chiang Mai♥ @ 9:
Crips for Christ?
Bible Bloods?
An Average Joe @ 10:
Indeed. I wonder what the percentages or ratios are between so called normal (don't torture small creatures, don't act super-weird when nobody is looking) and whack-jobs.
The numbers are probably pretty high.
He's dead. I don't think he'd have much to say.
fastfeat @ 12:
quick, start getting the patents on those bumper stickers. They will fly out the door.
The State needs to bring child abuse charges against this monster and charge the school district as accomplices for letting him get away with it for 11 years.
Don't look to any politician to change anything regarding religions. They all pretend to be "gawd fearin'" and prayin' folk. Makes ya gag.
"with the exception of the cross burning episode...."
Isn't that a bit like "other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you enjoy the play"???
THIS is the values of the parents in the Mount Vernon school district????? Right out of the 17th century. Where did this "science" teacher get his degree??? This is the kind of "science" that was used to burn witches in the 17th century.
I love how our 21st century sophistication is taking us straight back into the dark ages. Children being allowed to die of cureable ailments, and teachers burning crosses on children. Ignorance and stupidity abound.
Um, will someone tell me why this man has not been charged with assault? There aren't enough specifics in the article to detail why he was burning his students, but I can't think of any kind of circumstance that the law would view it as permissible.
Wow, glad I'm on a Lap-Top, there is one hell of an electrical storm going on here right now.
"This guy needs some therapy BAD !!"
More likely the HMO the school board popped for can prescribe some anti-psychotics. If he takes them. Sometimes they make Jesus go away, you know.
Indigowatcher @ 4:
Did anything happen to that teacher?
Glidwrith @ 19:
with the mindset of where they are maybe they should charge him with witchcraft.
Glidwrith @ 19:
Seriously. I would have filed criminal charges and had him arrested.
This fellow is a hypocrite.
When confronted with the cross he denied it, the cross, and called it an x.
Denying the cross is a sin isn't it? So this very religious man picked money, his job, over his God. That's not nice.
What is depressing is that this has been going on for years and it took an impending lawsuit to finally get the schoolboard to act.
Kids who had complained about the teacher were taunted and ostracized by the apparent majority of Jeebus believers.
Religious indoctrination is child abuse.
♠Bob In Chiang Mai♥ @ 20:
Yeah, I guess India got got pounded pretty bad by a cyclone. Looks like it might be heading your way Bob. Be safe.
and for the LOONYRIGHTWINGCHRISTOFACISTFUNDIEBONEHEAD who did this, needs to be in prison. Betcha, they find kiddie porn on his computer.
smchris @ 21:
I love it! Your right, they have pills that make jesus go away. They pass them out like candy in psych wards, Aripiprazole (marketed as Abilify); Clozapine (marketed as Clozaril); Olanzapine etc.
Um … criminal assault and battery anyone? Have any of the good people of Columbus filed anything against this shitbag? This guy needs to spend about 10 years in prison. This is precisely the sort of nonsense that Bush faith-based everything causes.
This reminds of that story about that crazy "pro-science" librul who burnt a picture of a brontosaurus on a kid.
i luv christian fanatics, especially when they act like they're in some kind of b-movie and
behave in kind of satanic controlling way, forcefully shoving their suicide vision of the "end of days" and proclaiming that jesus is working through them to save everyone and there is no other way. i can imagine that classroom with all sorts of cult rituals, some subtle and some not so subtle...(the burning of the cross in the boys flesh). i can only imagine the endorphins firing in the teachers brain as he fired up his branding mechanism.
certainly this only deserves a slap on the hand, he was after all trying to save the children's
souls. and so the would be prophet moves to another school district....
mudshark hussein @ 27:
no doubt. the world is full of weirdos, yesterday i saw a young crazy kid abusing himself in the garden of the Wat down the street. He was dragged away and I have no idea what they did to him. prolly stick him in some hell hole for a few days. They are not nice here when it comes to that stuff.
If I were this kid's dad, I would shoot me a hypo-christian. Only in Ohio, folks, land of the republican idiot.
This is assault. The parents should press charges. This guy belongs in jail.
Daubenmire is not Freshwater's friend he is leader of a local Christianist group that works to install Christianity and creationism in public schools. Daubenmire was fired from his job as a school teacher and football coach in London OH (i think) for leading christian prayers and teaching creationism.
♠Bob on holiday in Laos♥ @ 32:
ooppss I thought you were still in Thailand
Bush's king of guy. Blowing up frogs as a kid, graduating to torture kids and then burning millions in Iraq.
Vote for more AWOL, vacationing weasles who have nothing better to do than murder human beings and then cry me a river about abortion.
Burn in Hell, republicans. Burn.
foolme1ns @ 18:
@foolme1ns:
The guy, assuming he's the sort of Fundie that takes all his scripture out of the old testament, actually broke one of the Mitzvot that says "Thou shalt not get or give a tattoo." So, by his own logic, he's broken his own rules, and hence should be damned.
Yet, I hate to tell you this, but more people accept a flat Earth since the Internet arose than since the days of the pagan Greeks. Modern technology does not change the human mind. It simply makes the actions of it, whether good or bad more constructive or destructive. Technology is merely a tool, and technology is all that distinguishes the 21st Century AD from the 21st Century BC.
carefulwiththatAXEeugene @ 31:
If that sonofabitch did that to my kid, I'd not only staple his balls to his door, but then feed him to the dogs after dismembering him. I think most other parents, gay, bi, or straight, would emphatically agree.
mudshark @ 36:
nope, just a few miles away though. The Mekong tributaries are great for kayaking. but your correct, the storms are marching this way. I didn't get to dinner until just an hour ago, raining too heavy.
With that, I'm gonna get out of here and have a couple of toddies and then call it a night.
ciao,abbia un giorno piacevole
♠Bob on holiday in Laos♥ @ 23:
How about charging him with "child abuse"? I guess that is ok if you are a xtian.
As an Ohioan I am embarrass for my whole state. Those who think that science is evil and that the bible holds all the truths are growing in numbers. My neighbor believes that the earth is only 6000 years old and that evolution is not possible - after all no one was around 400 billion years ago that actually saw it happen. When I use that same logic on him about the bible’s version of creation he says I'm wrong because someone was around and wrote it down - he's nut and totally closed minded. When I tell him that almost all scientific minds think evolution is how we developed over billions of years he say that the only ones who have it right are the ones that started the Creationist Museum in Covington, Ky - you know the one that shows humans and dinosaurs living at the same time – to him that’s the perfect fit between science an the bible. What's really scary is that his
servantwife home schools 50 children between the ages of 8-18, which by the way is against "Man’s Law" (a phrase he likes to use). The only law he follows is "God's Law" - the only law we need follow. The problem with that theory is everyone’s definitions and beliefs are different and of course are viewed through the eyes of man - a point that is lost on him. Oh yeah – it’s only his view of religion and God’s law that’s right. Everyone else is misguide and not going to heaven. If you don’t see it his way you’re doomed to rot in hell. If I had to choose between his twisted view and hell – hell starts looking pretty good. If God intended for us to blindly follow – we wouldn’t have any need for our highly evolved brains. Being connected to ones spirituality is one thing – but blind obedience is another.Be afraid – Be very afraid.
14All @ 34:
I'm a solemn man, but if I were the dad of that kid, teach would have a permanent imprint of a fist on his face. I wouldn't put my kid in that situation anyways.
Eh. What's funny is how some people are missing the important words in the sentence:
He BURNED an ________ into the children's skin. Uh, I don't care what he burned into there. He's a child abuser and needs to be in jail. Where, I understand, child abusers are only one step above the fucking Untouchables in the prison caste system.
I'm just glad he didn't do it to my children. Glad for 2 reasons: #1, my children aren't scarred for life by an abusive monster. #2, my children won't have to visit their father in jail.
14All @ 34:
I agree.
Anyone else think, jeez, maybe this school is over a Hellmouth, and this guy is actually involved with training kids to fight evil and ...
Sorry. I miss Buffy.
OT--
22-year-old Miami arms dealer slapped with 71 count indictment:
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/miami_dade/story/578265.html
I spent four years in the sensory-deprivation tank called Mount Vernon, Ohio, and have been following this story since it first hit the Fishwrap (www.mountvernonnews.com). While the whole story doesn't surprise me at all, what's really of concern is the overwhelming amount of support that this fellow has received from the parents AND students in the community, having turned out in droves to school board meetings to support him and his teachings and his in-class actions. I find the emotional mindset of the community to be somewhat depressing, really - which is why I don't live there anymore. We still have friends there, but they're "outsiders," really, as we were. The bulk of the community still clings to guns and religion because...well, because they live in the middle of nowhere and don't know any better.
The parents of one of the "X-ed" students have indeed filed a lawsuit, but it's against the school board, for not taking action against Freshwater. I have absolutely no idea why assault charges weren't pursued, unless the notion of becoming an 8th-grade pariah entered into the consideration. Then again, in this burg, maybe nobody ever thought of it.
(Notes: Paul Lynde was born in Mount Vernon, Ohio.
Daniel Decatur Emmitt was born in Mount Vernon, Ohio. He wrote the music to "Dixie," as song about a guy wishing that he was somewhere else - nobody there understands irony.
One of the main intersections downtown is the corner of High and Gay - nobody there thinks that's the least bit funny.)
carefulwiththatAXEeugene @ 31:
"INVASION OF THE GOD PEOPLE!!!"
It's like a bad 50s scifi movie...
only without the science or the fiction.
"Freshwater used a science tool known as a high-frequency generator to burn images of a cross on students' arms in December, the report said. Freshwater told investigators he simply was trying to demonstrate the device on several students and described the images as an "X," not a cross. But pictures show a cross, the report said."
Freshwater deserves to have criminal charges brought against him. It makes no difference if its an X, a cross, a Z or what have you. If Freshwater wanted to demonstrate the device he would have done better to use it on himself. If that was my kid and I saw the burn markes on his/her arm afterwards, you can bet that Freshwater would have been burned by me a few minutes later.
the religious zealots who have remained beneath their rocks for eons have felt the strength of their champion in the white house and they have surfaced and have made themselves known. branding children, what's next. come on November. also IMPEACH NOW.
geazer @ 48:
I thought growing up in Xenia and living in Dayton was bad.
The reason, I'm sure, that no charges have been filed is because the police and prosecutors there also believe that the bilbe should be taught in the schools. I imagin they support him for what he did.
their are private schools he could have gone to
mike tysons @ 53:
So it's OK to burn children as long as its in a private school... Are you nuts
I don't care what the hell you burn into a child's arm. You don't do it in a classroom.
Supposed adults who still have imaginary friends are not fit to teach.
"Faith" should no longer be tolerated. It is dangerous and psychotic. I say we burn 666 on the arms of our local Christians. I mean, "but for" that I'm a really nice guy.
This asshole should be in prison for A&B. Had it been my kid, I'd sure be in jail.
According to reports this morning, this sack of crap that calls himself a 'Christian' is going to court to fight the district in order to get his job back....
This was assault and should have been prosecuted as such. The only reason it isn't (and I'm not sure this was the case) would be if he asked for "volunteers" for this experiment and explained to the students before-hand what the results of this "demonstration" would be. In that case the student entered into this on his own free will and assault charges would not stand in court. But that still doesn't make this right.
I think the school district is delusional. No way can this guy have been teaching the values of ALL parents in that district. I can't believe he was allowed to keep a Bible on his desk for years.
Please don't smack down all Christians because of this nut. I'm a Christian and I'm a teacher. I find no reason to keep a Bible on my desk even though my desk isn't in my classroom (I have an office adjoining my two classrooms). There is no reason for me to have a Bible at work at all. If this guy is really a Christian and wanted to teach as such, he would be a living example of his Christian beliefs, leave the Bible at home and keep his big mouth shut. I have never, ever told a student about my personal beliefs. That is crossing a professional line. I would no more do that than talk to them about any personal issues I would have such as my marriage, home life, medical problems or my family. Unfortunately too many teachers in this country seem to have missed those lectures about professionalism in their college coursework.
I'd say that burning crosses on children's skin is one step away from someone being a pedophile priest. Both are child abuse. Both are derived from the same deranged religious attitude. Both involve males with a twisted, sadistic view.
What would Jesus do?
I doubt that he'd burn children's skin. I doubt that he'd sexually prey on children.
Compassionate, empathetic liberals just don't do those kind of things, and Jesus, the Jewish liberal from Nazareth, the son of Joseph and Mary, was definitely compassionate and empathetic.
So, this guy burning children's skin, pedophile priests and the people who either enable or hide this type of sadistic, twisted behavior are hardly Christian.
The religious zealots would throw a shit fit and fall in it if a teacher of evolution were to burn a student. WTF is wrong with these people?
This guy reminded me of my 6th grade teacher way back in 1956. One day I wore the brass U.S. pin from my father's WWII Army uniform to class one day. When the teacher saw the pin he became enraged about me desecrating to soldiers who fought and died in the war. I wore it because I was proud that my father had served.
The teacher wrote a letter to my parents that backfired when my father escorted me to class one morning and told the teacher, who had not fought during the war, that I could wear any item from his uniform that I chose to and that he, my father, was happy that his son was proud of his service.
It is good for parents to be involed in their children's lives.
MarinatedInSmog @ 60:
That would be especially true if the teacher of evolution where to brand a student with a drawing of a fish with feet.
Scy @ 57:
Yeah? That's very nice, assume some 2 billion people are like the nut on TV. What's next? Saying all Muslims blow themselves up?
If you accept that there's an invisible being who is going to torture you for all eternity if you don't do what the invisisible being says, burning a child is not extreme in the least. Anyone who believes in such things should feel perfectly justified in doing so. Perhaps that act of branding will save that child from billions of years of torment.
Saint Augustine @ 61:
You know, even before I finished the first paragraph in your post I had already figured that your teacher probably had never served or never was in any armed conflict. I run into people like that all of the time and they are easily spotted. Hell, its so easy that you don't even have to ask them if they served or not because you already know.
yaybush @ 64:
The mindset the guy has is more like what his minority of fanatics presumes Satan's side has.
Yahweh, save us normal Christians from the kooks along with everyone else.
Umm...no, there aren't private schools, really, other than the church-sponsored ones. And in a one-horse town (Rolls-Royce, formerly Cooper Energy Services) like Mount Nowhere, there'd be a little issue called "tuition." The median income for Mount Vernon is around $30,000 - well below even the Ohio average. Your simplistic alternative is like saying that Mount Vernonians can get their news by reading the newspaper! (The Fishwrap is a Monday through Saturday rag, which about as much national and international news as Family Circus.)
I think assault charges would stand even if the child "volunteered" to be branded. The "age of consent" applies here. A teacher cannot ask for child/student volunteers for mutilation.
mountainman @ 68:
True. Which is why I said that still does not make it right. However, the "brand" was not a permanent mark - news reports say it was only visible for a couple of days. Therefore it would not be classified as "mutilation" under law. What could be questioned is the fact that the teacher inflicted the mark.
Most MS science classes do an activity that teaches students about blood type and the testing used for that determination. It calls for students to take samples of their own blood (finger stick) and type it. Students are told how this works and are offered an alternative exercise if they have any objection to the activity, no matter what that objection may be. Science teachers in my district say they have about 90% participation. The mark left by a 'stick' may be visible for a couple of days depending on the student. The difference between this and the Ohio case? Students do the blood sample themselves.
There are enough grey areas in this case that I'm guessing a prosecutor won't touch it, especially when you add in the fact this teacher has some parent support. Chances for conviction would be slim to none. They're probably figuring the firing was enough and, if the parents want to file a civil case against the teacher and/or district they are free to do so (and I believe they have already).
A science teacher that tells his students that carbon dating is unreliable? Does he doubt nuclear theory?
This asshole should have been fired years ago from the sounds of it, and it's appalling that this school board kept him around for over a decade, knowing he was teaching his students religious bullshit.
It's people like this that make me wish there was a hell - the thought of people like John Freshwater burning for all eternity makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
I find it interesting that the story doesn't mention the context of the marks, whether there was pain and/or whether the students went along with this. Reading the story, it seems the thing has been blown out of context. Yes, he should have been fired for improper procedure and being a nutbag in general - but I think calling this "branding" isn't quite accurate. This doesn't seem like some kind of punishment.
Beelzebud @ 70:
I alway get a kick of creationist and bible literalist claiming that dating using radioactive decay is unreliable. But have no problem following a book with not know author, with massive problems of continuity and which has been compromised because it is not only based on oral tradition but also on multiple translations (each altering its content.
The bible is the religious equivalent of "my cousin's best friend's cousin twice removed great grandfather's mother in law's baby sitter's great great son's girlfriend's aunt's daughter's best friend saw..."
joshdavis @ 72:
... this post my theory that no matter how egregious and stupid a person may be. There will be always some one trying to find an excuse for such stupidity.
Scy @ 57:
"Atheism" should no longer be tolerated. It is dangerous and psychotic. I say we burn a fish with legs on the arms of our local atheists. I mean, "but for" that I'm a really nice guy.
"Infidel interpretations of Allah," should no longer be tolerated. It is dangerous and psychotic. I say we brand the face of the Prophet Isa on those who join him with Allah. I mean "but for" that, I'm a nice guy.
"Popery" should no longer be tolerated. It is dangerous and psychotic. I say we burn a rosary on the arms of our local papists. I mean, "but for" that, I'm a nice guy.
See the danger of that statement with just a wee twisting of the words? Don't spew that bile and expect me not to show how this talk is identical to Fundie rhetoric.
Note: site-monitors, in post 75, I'm not advocating violence against any of those groups. I'm trying to expose the flaws in that sort of thinking. Please don't misinterpret what I'm trying to do.
[This monitor got it, General, but some times we step on each others toes. It should be up in all of it's unblemished snarkiness right now. Thanks. Site Monitor]
Oh, it's in the shape of an "X" - why couldn't you burn THAT into a student's skin?
I've said this elsewhere but, I don't give a shit whether or not it was a swastika, an inverted pentacle, a cross or "I love you" if some teacher burns something into my child's skin, they're going to be a fucking dead teacher. I don't give a rats ass whether the lawyer thinks they're 'teaching values of the community' or other such drivel.
It is NOT ok for a teacher to burn something into a child. EVER. This wackjob should be in fucking prison for child abuse and assault. Perhaps daily prison rapes will bring him closer to God.
This guy belongs in prison.
Hey you guys, site seems kinda screwed up.
[We're experiencing some tech difficulties. Thanks for the info, we're working on it.Site Monitor]
Interesting that the school board only fired him after a suit was brought against. For years and years the school board tolerated and condoned this guy. It brought the threat of monetary damages and personal liability to get the cowards on the Mt Vernon school board to do something. No cheers for those losers either.
Burning of Crosses dies hard in these regions...David Duke would feel right at home as would mot of Chimpys folks... Ooops..my bad..THEY ARE THE SAME PEOPLE!!!
Snig @ 46:
Or, this is part of a ritual where he will turn himself into a giant snake and devour the student body...
Mickxotic @ 8:
damn- whoever came up with that- buybull- deserves residuals on it, an award! Perfecto...
As a Christian, I have this to say:
I don't care if it's a friggin' smiley-face.
You don't burn students to make a point or for discipline, or for ANY reason.
Yeah, and with the exception of the Jew-burning thing, Hitler got the trains to run on time. Wow.
This is why I'm antitheist.
OK kids. Today we learn about how Jesus felt when the Romans tortured him.
Ohio's just the gift that keeps on giving.
Oh, my! From the AP link:
A former superintendent, Jeff Maley, said he tried to find another position for Freshwater but couldn't because he was certified only in science, the report said.
kinda wonder why the schoolboard didn't just pay off the family and sent the teacher to a different school or district? you hear stories about teachers being moved just because of things like this. much like the catholic church and it's priests
Just another kook that needed to be pulled from the system a long time ago!
Andy K Jong Il @ 89:
Teach the controversy
Here's my take on it:
Having a bible on your desk: gray area. I sometimes leave my personal reading laying around, and I suppose some of it might cause offense (I'm reading a book on the meat industry right now and it's not complementary of it, for example). Still, I don't teach it in class, it's just laying there.
Posting the 10 commandments in your classroom: over the line. Anything posted on your walls is for student consumption and reflects on your teaching style. The 10 commandments don't belong in a science classroom (a theology classroom might be a different matter).
Branding/tattooing a student with crosses, an X, daisies, My Little Pony, their mother's name or anything else: criminal. Not only should this teacher be fired immediately ("they're not crosses, they're X'es", are you freaking kidding me?), he should be brought up on both criminal and civil charges. Lawyering up at this point is not going to save him his job, it's only going to possibly lessen his sentence.
It's all part of God's beautiful pagreantry.
Bananaphone @ 93:
As a Christian, I have zero disagreement. As a religious person, zero disagreement. As a human being, I strongly applaud this statement.
[Deleted. Juan, it's a fine line, I know, but please don't advocate for violence at this site. I'm sure there's another way to share your perspective without such advocacy. Thank you. Site Monitor]
Don't despair, Mr. Freshwater. I'm sure you'll find another job. Maybe even President of the United States. As you may know, our current Decider Guy/Leader of the Free World converses with gawd and used to brand guys with a hot iron in a sadomasochistic ritual. Say, did you used to 'splod toads? Get on that resume!
Religulous should be fantastic, other than that, people like Dinesh DSouza talk about how wonderfull religion is, well here it is, a perfect example of how wonderfull it is, I mean I know Atheists are evil, and really if an Atheist had done this it would of been in english class trying to teach kids how to pronounce the letter T and I would be fine with that, because burning children is not child abuse if it's a lesson.
Also can we please leave the Christians alone, I mean they know not what they do.
this guy uses children to further his radical, pseudo-religious agenda . . . bet he'd fit right in at a taliban-run madrassa
It's never a good thing when your strongest supporter starts his defense of you with, "With the exception of the cross-burning..."
"The school board of a small central Ohio community voted unanimously"
We all know that most small towns school boards are make up entierly of Church goers right?
Well if that the case then this isn't about religion this is about a guy going nuts in a class room.
The man sounds about as sane as the teachers that have sex with their students.
I miss people who miss Buffy...
"an “X” not a cross"
What's the difference? An x can stand for a cross. Ever heard of x-mas?
Jesus please protect me from your followers.
jaramilr @ 103:
Uh oh. Wait 'til BillO hears about this. Further proof that the leftist War on Xmas has entered a new phase...
I usually try to walk a couple of paces in t'other fellers shoes but this one eludes me. WHY did he feel this was necessary? Do the students with the "X" get closer to The Holy Love of Jeeesus(tm)?
Ah, good ol' Leviticus, smiter of gay marriages and tattoed teens...
Fired? Fired? Fired?
That's bullshit! If he were in the military they would be presecuting him tor torture ... well, the army before January20, 2001. This was a chilD abuse crime. If not a crime, the man is mental and should be institutionalized as a danger to children.
That is some crazy messed up shit! Burning kids? Whio the hell hired this moron, and why wasn't he fired long before this happened?
I can gaurantee you, that this is NOT the first crazy-assed incident with this goon.
me thinks he watched Harry Potter one to many times and thinks Dolores Umbridge's pen was just niffty http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolores_Jane_Umbridge#Dolores_Umbridge
This in America?
What did the kid do wrong, suggest that ID is 'not science" ?
its called assualt
forget filing a lawsuit....if i was a parent, i would run down to the school and kick the shit out of the guy
MAJeff @ 2:
This guy should not be a teacher if he doesn't even know a cross from an X.
“The school board of a small central Ohio community voted unanimously”
We all know that most small towns school boards are made up entierly of Church goers right?
Well if that the case then this isn’t about religion this is about a guy going nuts in a class room.
The man isn't a Christian he's a loon.
Frankly this falls under the same catigory as the teachers that have sex with their students.
This has nothing to do with religion and everything to do with insanity.
South Park says it best, and I often quote it:
"Holy Shit, Dude."
Glad I went to Catholic School were all I faced was the back of a hand, a ruler, switch or paddle.
This incident, the history of this teacher, has a larger meaning. He's a fanatic and would not stop regardless of official admonitions. His actions, his persistence, is typical of the religious right: they do not, will not, stop. But they are by no means unique. Relentlessness is a trait of all fanatics, Christian, Jew, and Muslim. Thus the long term hope for peace in the middle east would appear bleak. The jihadist, like any self-respecting fanatic, will not stop, no matter how long it takes. Note that they are still fighting the Crusades!
I am pessimistic, very pessimistic.
Burn a cross on his pee-pee! (Just joshin'...he'd probably like that anyway.)
Sometimes I wonder if I see more "fanaticism" on this blog than I hear from the religious right!
Let's not deal in caricature, making more from one incident. It's hardly tolerant.
What a stupid fuck. He deserves to go to jail for child abuse.
If he wants to be a teacher forcing his religion on his students, he should go work for the evangelical equivalent of a madrassa.
The fact that this idiot is a science teacher makes me feel incredibly sorry for his students who are forced to believe: that the world was created in 7 days about 6000 years ago, that humankind derived from two fictional characters named Adam and Eve, that the spirituality-based idea of intelligent design has stronger weight than the THEORY of Evolution, and that the Rapture is nearly upon us. How many children's lives has he branded with sheer stupidity.
The current administration's support for bozos like this is why "our children isn't learning".
What a sorry state this country is in now - we can only hope that things begin to change in Nov 2008.
Why not a trial by fire? If the fire burns you, your evil, if it leaves no mark , you were protected by the magical being. I just read a story about child protective services being called because a childs teacher had been told by a fortune teller that the child was being abused, whats next?-CEO
Branding kids with an "X" is more acceptable? Say NO to branding students.
StirFry @ 30:
;)
um, fired? just...that's it, this guy only gets fired? if that were my child I'd be pressing charges. what the hell is wrong with people?
♠Bob on holiday in Laos♥ @ 32:
Ain't Laos grand? I love the place. Luang Prabang makes my heart sing.
Asians tend to be fairly strict with discipline. Here in Korea corporal punishment is very common still, even though officially it is not allowed any more. I intervened a few weeks ago when one boy was getting a severe beating. I was furious, and I spoke up immediately to the Vice Principal. Most see nothing wrong with it.
Someone should brand a swastika on Freshwater's forehead-
jake3988 @ 55:
Or anywhere, actually, but I get your point.
joshdavis @ 72:
So if he "just" scratched in in it would be OK? In my books, that's child mutilation. As a teacher myself, I wouldn't even write it on with a pen. I have never touched a student anywhere, for any reason. I don't have that right.
Terry @ 118:
We sound off. We don't burn crosses in people.
.
THROW THE BOOK AT HIM...
Physically assaulting a minor in one's custody is a criminal offense.
Let him spend five years+ behind bars as someones b!tch...
... That should give him plenty of reflection and prayer time.
He should be restricted from further contact with other children.
.
This post doesn't make clear that the kids volunteered to get the crosses burned, which I think must have been the case. Obviously he would be in jail if he was burning kids against their will. As long as the marks aren't permanent I could see that being a forgivable (albeit stupid) offense. The author of this post really should have been more clear.
Plastering the walls of a science class with religious doctrine, and using a bible as an authoritative source in a science class, however, is absolutely nuts.
Edwin Hussein @ 128:
Let's see...
Other fanatics that insist on leaving impressions in the skin...
NAZI'S?
Oh Terry,
It's the love of Christ that makes harming the children acceptable... NO?
After all, He did say, burn the children unto me... YES?
.
gwen @ 130:
Two words...
P A R E N T A L
P E R M I S S I O N!
So,
It's acceptable to con your kids into getting branded?
Or are you just brain dead?
.
“The school board of a small central Ohio community voted unanimously Friday to fire [the psycho]”
We all know that in America most small towns school boards are made up entierly of Church goers right?
Well if that the case then this isn’t about religion this is about a nut.
The man isn’t a Christian he’s a loony.
Frankly this falls under the same cat. as the teachers that have sex with their students.
This has nothing to do with religion and everything to do with insanity.
These christofascist are insane. What's next from one of these people.
Darsan54 @ 11:
Therapy and some time in the cooler for assault and child abuse.
mayhempix @ 49:
Ha! Ha! Good one!
gwen @ 130:
A child doesn't have the legal, mental capacity to give permission to an adult to abuse them.
These fanatics are dangerous.
FWIW, one of my old high school teachers (Ohio) used to xerox and hand out these crazy-ass conspiracy-theory 'NWO-is-coming' pamphlets -- as part of our class reading. Stuff that made Jack Chick look like Dickens. It was so laughably bad that it hurt, even at that age we knew this stuff was serious nutjob output.
And what class did he teach, do you ask? Government.
Hooray for Westerville public education!
File assault charges on the teacher and sue the school district for abuse.
Why isn't Mr. Freshwater teaching in a 'Christian School' where he belongs if he can't keep his religion to himself? He'd be wearing a big ass A with a couple orbitals around it on his forehead if he had done that to my kid.
SweetAtheist @ 141:
“The school board of a small central Ohio community voted unanimously Friday to fire [the psycho]”
We all know that in America most small towns school boards are made up entierly of Church goers right?
Well if that the case then this isn’t about religion this is about a nut.
The man isn’t a Christian he’s a grade A loony.
Frankly this falls under the same cat. as the teachers that have sex with their students.
This has nothing to do with religion and everything to do with insanity.
Just for the record, I am a Church-going Christian in the Mt. Vernon school district... and Freshwater sure as hell doesn't speak for my beliefs.
Rufus. T. Firefly @ 137:
Fair point. I'd just say by junior high you're old enough know that a burn hurts and whether or not you'd like to temporarily decorate your arm with one, but my main point was that the article was misleading. I got the initial impression that the guy was doing this as some kind of sadistic punishment, when in reality it seems more like an idiotic attempt at being cool. Obviously he should be fired, I'm just giving an explanation to those who are baffled that he's not in jail.
Dug @ 142:
Actually, it's about both.
foolme1ns @ 18:
Isn't it funny how many of these fundie zealots become science teachers when they don't even accept basic scientific theory? What, then, is their motive for becoming science teachers?
A Faux Scientist, teaching even shoddier religion.
John Freshwater can always find a new teaching job.I hear they love his type,in Louisiana.
Not that pagans would do this to kids, but if it had been any other religion other that Christian they s%$t would have hit the fan. When are we going to stop letting people like John Freshwater, Fred Phelps, Rod Parsley, all the Christofascists, off the hook? This branding incident is unconscionable no matter if it was a cross or an X.
MAJeff @ 14:
It's likely he never lived at all except allegorically, since the story of Christ has been told (under different names) thousands of years prior to when Jesus was supposed to have lived. Egyptian Mythology, anyone? ooops! I'm off topic. Sorry.
This story is yet another lesson that before we look outward to identify/fight the monsters (Taliban, Al Qaeda, etc.) we must first look within to make sure they aren't already among us.
Login or Register to post comments.