ReThinking Patient Safety

More Strange Events in Texas: Honor Student Diane Tran and Justice of the Peace Lanny Moriarty

First Lakay Roberts

Now Diane Tran

What is going on in  Texas? 

With the jailing of Texas honor student, Diane Tran (see new links below), by Houston Justice of the Peace Lanny Moriarty ( http://judgepedia.org/index.php/Lanny_Moriarty, http://www.mctx.org/courts/justices_of_the_peace/justice_of_the_peace_pct_1/index.html  ), the Texas educational system continues to generate controversy. Last month, I blogged on, and began organizing for,  Lakay Roberts, a brave five year old girl with severe cerebral palsy in New Caney, Texas. Since March, she has not been allowed to use her walker by the very educators who should be celebrating her achievement. (http://www.rethinkingpatientsafety.com/my-blog/2012/04/let-lakay-walk.html and https://www.facebook.com/groups/letlakaywalk/) 

In an  unusual ruling being followed by international media, Houston Justice of the Peace  Lanny Moriarty had Diane Tran handcuffed and arrested in court. He sent her to jail. Despite the publicity for "No Child Left Behind," Texas seems determined to leave some children behind. 

Jailed: Honor Student Working 2 Jobs to Support Sibilings 

A straight-A honors student at Willis High School carrying a heavy academic workload, junior Diane Tran also works two jobs to support two siblings. Her parents divorced and disappeared. Diane courageously assumed responsibility for supporting the children her parents left behind. Sometimes staying up until 7 AM completing homework assignments, Diane Tran has sometimes missed school as a result. When the school reported her absences, she was brought before Justice of the Peace, Lanny Moriarty. According to news reports, he warned her not to miss any more school. When she did, he jailed her for contempt of court creating a criminal record that could haunt her for the rest of her life.

Lanny Moriarty: "Make an Example"

According to many news sources, Lanny Moriarty explained that he was making an example of her. KHOU News quotes the judge offered this reasoning in support of his decision to jail Diane Tran:  

          "If you let one run loose, what are you going to do with the rest of them? Let them go, too?" 

(See http://www.khou.com/home/Honor-Student-Jailed-for-Absences-153847275.html )

International Headlines

The story has gone international with articles appearing in Canada ( http://www.torontosun.com/2012/05/30/honour-student-jailed-for-missing-class ),

Australia ( http://www.news.com.au/world/honour-student-diane-tran-sent-to-jail-for-school-absence-under-harsh-texas-law/story-e6frfkyi-1226369371401 ),

Vietnam ( http://kenh14.vn/c4/20120530120822211/cong-dong-mang-my-quyen-gop-50000-usd-cho-nu-sinh-goc-viet.chn )  and

Great Britain ( http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2150123/Exhausted-honour-student-shown-mercy-jailed-truancy--Works-jobs-support-family.html?ito=feeds-newsxml ).  An online fund has raised $100,000 in less than a week with donations from 50 states and 16 countries. With this press coverage, it seems likely that in the short run Diane Tran will receive the support she needs. The underlying problems need to be addressed. There are many community resources in the Houston area. Why were those supports not made available to this child? 

Diane Tran - An Impressive Role Model

Diane Tran is a remarkable role model for any of us. When her parents abandoned their children and their responsibilities, Diane stepped up. Determined that her siblings would be cared for, she worked two jobs to support them. She maintained an A average carrying a  difficult load of advanced courses. Few who read about her could have shouldered this burden.  She did this after her support system, her parents, disappeared. Her resilience has been remarkable. One is reminded of John Kennedy's description of courage as "grace under pressure." 

Lanny Moriarty, Justice of the Peace, jailed her. After he had warned her not to miss any more days of school, she did. Apparently, she was too tired one morning to get to school on time. For that, he jailed her. He explained that he intended to make her an example. Why? If anything, she deserved a standing ovation, an award, a celebration of her resilience under difficult circumstances. Instead, he jailed her. 

Why?

One struggles to understand his motivation. Searching the internet for clues, one might trip across this web page apparently maintained by teacher Donna Moriarty https://sites.google.com/a/misd.org/dmoriarty/ .

"I have been working in the teaching field since 1991, most of my career has been teaching kindergarten at Montgomery Elementary School.  I am a graduate of Sam Houston State University with a Bachelors Degree in Elementary Education, a minor in Early Childhood and a Masters Degree in Mid-Management Administration.  I am married to Lanny Moriarty."

I have not been able to determine if this is the same Lanny Moriarty, but if it is, one has to wonder.  Moriarty admitted that he was trying to send a message. He did not base his decision on what was fair for this unbelievably hard working child. He was sending a message. To whom? To the students in his jurisdiction? To the teachers in the district? To the administrators?  

We wonder about his motives. Was his decision influenced by his wife's employment with one of the local school districts? Every time Lanny Moriarty emphasized his intent to "send a message,"  he was suggesting that his goal was not trying to be fair to Diane Tran but to impress someone. 

Lanny Moriarty should have recused himself from this case. Hopefully, an attorney for Diane Tran will file a motion to preclude any future involvement by Lanny Moriarty. 

What Happened when Lanny Moriarty Broke the Rules?

Further searches for information about Lanny Moriarty suggest another reason for his harsh focus on Diane Tran's failure to comply with the rules. Lanny Moriarty has been embarrassed in recent years with his own failure to follow rules. In early 2009, the Texas Ethics Commission issued an eleven page order identifying numerous violations of election law.  http://montgomerytx.countymonitor.com/files/2009/05/tec_moriarty_reso.pdf 

http://montgomerytx.countymonitor.com/2009/05/11/justice-of-the-peace-lanny-moriarty-tec-resolution-2800-civil-fine/   

In August of that year, it was reported that his court had more than 23,000 of the 1.7 million outstanding warrants in the Houston area. 

http://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2009/08/houston-swamped-with-warrants-for-petty.html. Apparently, the failure to comply with rules has been rampamt in Houston.  

 Lanny Moriarty failed to appreciate Diane Tran's courage and resilience. He could not understand what all his critics see so clearly: Diane Tran is a remarkably resilient and courageous young citizen. She deserves celebration, not punishment.  Where was Lanny Moriarty's sense of compassion and justice? Why couldn't he understand that her parents had left and she was working two jobs in addition to attending school to support her siblings? Don't we expect judicial decisions to consider these factors? 

Instead, Lanny Moriarty needed to "make an example" of Diane Tran and humiliate her by jailing her overnight? Why?

When he failed to follow the rules, the Texas Ethics Commission publicly chastised him. When the Houston courts failed to enforce 1.7 million warrants against Houston area citizens, the media raised embarrassing questions.  http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/1-7-million-warrants-out-in-Houston-area-1736210.php.

Given this background, it certainly is curious that Lanny Moriarty chooses this girl who tries to fill her parents shoes and support her siblings as the one he wants to use to "make an example."  With all the resources available to him, he fails to follow election law. His court develops a backlog of 23,000 warrants. 

And then he chooses to "make an example" of Dianne Tran? 

What should have happened? 

Both the schools and the courts should have mobilized Houston's network of social agencies to support these children. A few phone calls should have been made to try to find support for this brave young woman. I hope to supplement this blog piece shortly with some additional information in that regard. 

What can we do now? 

1. The first goal is to persuade Lanny Moriarty to remove his finding of her in contempt of court from Diane Tran's record. His contact information can be found  here.  http://www.mctx.org/courts/justices_of_the_peace/justice_of_the_peace_pct_1/index.html  The fax numbers listed are  (936) 788-8399 and  (936) 788-8379 . Here are some of the applicable standards of judicial conduct.http://scjc.texas.gov/ 

http://scjc.texas.gov/pdf/txcodeofjudicialconduct.pdf 

2. Al Hoang, a member of Houston City Council, has taken up the cause. Expressing your support of Diane Tran to Councilman Hoang may help his advocacy on her behalf. ( Al Hoang website:   http://www.houstontx.gov/council/f/index.html  See this news article about Al Hoang's comments on this issue. http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/05/30/group-raises-more-than-70g-for-texas-honor-student-jailed-for-truancy/?test=latestnews     Phone: 832.393.3002    E-Mail: districtf@houstontx.gov )

3. Diane Tran's courage should be celebrated. Can she be nominated for any awards? What groups in the Houston area  give awards to students? Do any local organizations give awards for character or courage?  

Can you suggest any awards? 

4. You may want to support Diane Tran and her family with a donation or some supportive comments.  See http://www.helpdianetran.com/  and  https://www.facebook.com/HelpDianeTran. 

5. Share with us your ideas about how we can make sure that this does not happen again, in Houston or elsewhere? Should some person in each state department of education be assigned the responsibility of ensuring that social services available in the community be accessible to staff at each school? Should someone in the legal system be assigned a similar responsibility?  Is there a better solution? What do you think? What suggestions do you have? Share them.  

We have to wonder how something like this could happen. How could it happen in America and in a large city like Houston with so many charities and great resources?  Why weren't those resources directed towards Diane Tran until her jailing provoked an  outcry?  Likely, this is not the only case in which such circumstances exist. Can we both rally to the support of Diane Tran and try to think about how to prevent circumstances from evolving as they have in this, and similar cases?  I hope to collect and share suggestions in future blog items on this subject. 

Thanks

 

News reports on

Justice of the Peace Lanny Moriarty

jailing honor student Diane Tran. 

http://dailycaller.com/2012/05/27/diane-tran-and-americas-overcriminalization-problem/

http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/325561

http://houston.cbslocal.com/2012/05/25/honor-student-supporting-siblings-arrested-for-being-too-exhausted-for-

http://jjie.org/honor-student-jailed-for-truancy-texas/87135

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/8474007/us-student-jailed-for-missing-school

http://rt.com/usa/news/texas-judge-jail-tran-532/

http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/now/fair-or-harsh-teen-goes-to-jail-for-missing-school

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/world/jail-for-straighta-truant-who-worked-two-jobs-to-help-family-20120530-1zhxn.html

http://www.cbsatlanta.com/story/18626605/texas-honors-student-jailed-for-excessive-truancy

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2150123/Exhausted-honour-student-shown-mercy-jailed-truancy--Works-

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2150123/Exhausted-honour-student-shown-mercy-jailed-truancy--Works-jobs-support-family.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2012/05/29/do-agree-with-texas-judge-decision-to-jail-truant-honor-student/

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/united-states/120527/diane-tran-us-honor-student-

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/united-states/120527/diane-tran-us-honor-student-texas-truancy-jail

http://www.khou.com/news/local/Honor-Student-Jailed-for-Absences-153847275.html

http://www.khou.com/news/local/People-across-the-country-offer-help-to-honor-student-jailed-for-truancy-

http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-texas-honor-student-20120529

http://www.news.com.au/world/honour-student-diane-tran-sent-to-jail-for-school-absence-under-harsh-texas-law/story-e6frfkyi-1226369371401

http://www.nj.com/parenting/index.ssf/2012/05/17_year-old_honor_student_jail.html

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/texas-honor-student-thrown-jail-missing-school-article-1.1085027

http://www.smh.com.au/world/jail-for-straighta-truant-who-worked-two-jobs-to-help-family-20120530-1zhxn.html

http://www.torontosun.com/2012/05/30/honour-student-jailed-for-missing-class

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2012/05/27/UPI-NewsTrack-TopNews/UPI-

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2012/05/27/UPI-NewsTrack-TopNews/UPI-13921338152400/

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/may/28/texas-judge-punishing-overachiever/

http://www.wfaa.com/news/texas-news/155456645.html

 

Links from body of essay:

http://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2009/08/houston-swamped-with-warrants-for-petty.html

http://judgepedia.org/index.php/Lanny_Moriarty

http://kenh14.vn/c4/20120530120822211/cong-dong-mang-my-quyen-gop-50000-usd-cho-nu-sinh-goc-viet.chn

http://montgomerytx.countymonitor.com/2009/05/11/justice-of-the-peace-lanny-moriarty-tec-resolution-2800-civil-fine/

http://montgomerytx.countymonitor.com/files/2009/05/tec_moriarty_reso.pdf

http://scjc.texas.gov/

http://scjc.texas.gov/pdf/txcodeofjudicialconduct.pdf

http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/1-7-million-warrants-out-in-Houston-area-1736210.php.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2150123/Exhausted-honour-student-shown-mercy-jailed-truancy--Works-jobs-support-family.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/05/30/group-raises-more-than-70g-for-texas-honor-student-jailed-for-truancy/?test=latestnews

http://www.helpdianetran.com/

http://www.houstontx.gov/council/f/index.html

http://www.khou.com/home/Honor-Student-Jailed-for-Absences-153847275.html

http://www.mctx.org/courts/justices_of_the_peace/justice_of_the_peace_pct_1/index.html

http://www.news.com.au/world/honour-student-diane-tran-sent-to-jail-for-school-absence-under-harsh-texas-law/story-e6frfkyi-1226369371401

http://www.torontosun.com/2012/05/30/honour-student-jailed-for-missing-class

https://sites.google.com/a/misd.org/dmoriarty/

https://www.facebook.com/HelpDianeTran.

 

Who Is The Judge Rotenberg Educational Center ?

 

The Judge Rotenberg Educational Center

This post http://bit.ly/JvF3aZ

Video:  http://bit.ly/Jc9L90

Last week's post - History:   http://bit.ly/IQdzq6

One of the issues addressed last week was the mistreatment, indeed, what many consider torture, of children with disabilities at the Judge Rotenberg Educational Center near Boston. ( Look at the link to the news video above.)  If you are unfamiliar with the mistreatment of disabled youth at the Judge Rotenberg Educational Center near Boston, you might want to review last week's post (see link above) or some of the following: 

  http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2007/08/school-shock

http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/shock-therapy-massachussetts-school/story?id=11047334   

 http://canton.patch.com/articles/letter-to-the-editor-a-former-judge-rotenberg-center-worker-speaks-out 

http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/shock-therapy-massachussetts-school/story?id=11047334#.T6VtnetDwpW

Sign Whistleblower Greg Miller's petition: 

http://www.change.org/petitions/judge-rotenberg-educational-center-please-stop-painful-electric-shocks-on-your-students

 

_____

 

Action

Goal: stopping the torture

Question: Who has the power to stop the torture? 

How do we persuade someone with that power to stop the torture? 

 

Many have appealed to many authorities to stop the torture, unsuccessfully so far. My understanding is that there have been media exposes, appeals the the United Nations, he US Department of Justice, the State of Massachusetts, and others. There are many reasonable strategies. Many authorities could intervene. Apparently, none have. There are many reasonable points of attack. I am going to begin my effort with the corporation that runs the center. 

Thinking out loud: Not a proposal for action, yet. 

Who could stop the torture? 

Who are all the individuals who have any power over the center? Who are all the individuals who might be able to stop the torture? Yesterday, I asked someone experienced on this issue if we might be able to get the electricity turned off. I was told that these devices were powered from some kind of battery. I raise this not because that is a good or realistic strategy. I raise it because after all this effort by so many people, it is now time to leave no stone unturned. What are all the possibilities? 

 

One person questioned the propriety of identifying the board members and trying to persuade them to stop the torture. I was advised that we needed a more general approach involving changes in the law at a broader level. 

 

I would also prefer a general approach involving changes in institutions. However, many have been trying that approach for years. The torture continues. Mother Jones published an expose five years ago. A UN representative was interviewed on Nighline after appealing to the US government two years ago. A broad coalition of groups at the national level approached Congress and an investigation continues, apparently. 

 

It is now time for the mistreatment and  torture to stop. Now. Enough. Those directly responsible for this torture need to either stop it, or step up to the plate and take responsibility for it. It is time to at least consider talking to the board members and officers of the corporation. Who are they? Do they know?

 

A  history of present and past board members and officers of this corporation may help find a strategy to stop the electroshocks. Some former board members may share objections to the treatment. They may know leverage points and the internal politics of the board.

 

Those on the board can make decisions. They have professional and personal ties. Their professional associations may have taken positions on these issues. Two that I have looked up so far, Malott and Van Houten, appear to be members of the psychology department at Western Michigan in Kalamazoo.  We can look up their publications and credentials. If so, that opens up leverage points. This information may be helpful.

 

You are invited to select a director, and post whatever helpful information you can find that will assist in devising a strategy to stop the torture of students at the center. http://bit.ly/Ky3uma

 

 

What you can do

Find and post the following information  about one of the  directors: 

 

Phone numbers,

Fax numbers, 

E mail addresses,

Resumes or CV's, 

Prof Associations, 

Publications, 

Web pages, 

Co Authors and Collaborators, and/or

any information that may help devise a strategy to persuade these directors to stop the torture.

 

http://corp.sec.state.ma.us/corp/corpsearch/CorpSearchSummary.asp?ReadFromDB=True&UpdateAllowed=&FEIN=042489805

   

 

 

 

Here is an attempt to compile the board members for the Rotenberg Center for the years that Annual reports are available. Please let me know of any errors. 

 

 

 

 

Here is a recent record from Massachusetts about the Judge Rotenberg Center: 

 

The name and address of the Resident Agent:

MICHAEL P. FLAMMIA, ESQ.

 

TWO INTERNATIONAL PLACE, 16TH FLOOR

 

C/O     

ECKERT SEAMANS CHERIN & MELLOTT, LLC

 

BOSTON

 

MA

 

Zip: 02110 Country: USA

The officers and all of the directors of the corporation:

http://bit.ly/Ky3uma

http://corp.sec.state.ma.us/corp/corpsearch/CorpSearchSummary.asp?ReadFromDB=True&UpdateAllowed=&FEIN=042489805%20

 

PRESIDENT GLENDA P. CROOKES    240 TURNPIKE ST.

CANTON, MA 00000 USA

TREASURER ANN-MARIE LASIMONE    240 TURNPIKE ST.

CANTON, MA 00000 USA

CLERK ANN-MARIE LASIMONE    240 TURNPIKE ST.

CANTON, MA 00000 USA

DIRECTOR RICHARD MALOTT    8971 W. KL AVENUE

KALAMAZOO, MI 49009 USA

DIRECTOR MARGARET VAUGHAN    207 SOUTH ROAD

CHEBEAGUE ISLAND, ME 04017 USA

DIRECTOR RON VAN HOUTEN    1021 HOL HI DR.

KALAMAZOO, MI 49008 USA

DIRECTOR JOSEPH WYATT    1 JOHN MARSHALL DR.

HUNTINTON, WV 25755 USA

DIRECTOR BERTRAND J. DAVIS    330 N. FULLER AVE.

LOS ANGELES, CA 90036 USA

DIRECTOR HENRY SLUCKI    1467 S. OAKHURST DR.

LOS ANGELES, CA 90036 USA

DIRECTOR PAUL W. SULLIVAN    7800 BAY SKIES CT.

HARBOR SPRINGS, MI 49740 USA

_______________________________________________

There is a Richard Malott in  Western Michigan’s Psych Dept.

http://www.wmich.edu/~psych/faculty/malott.html

http://www.dickmalott.com/

There is also a Ron Van Houten in that Dept.

http://www.wmich.edu/~psych/faculty/van-houten.html

http://web.mac.com/tornado7/Behavior_Analysis_Applied_Science_Lab/Ron_Van_Houten_files/Ron%20Van%20Houten%20CV%20Mar%2006.pdf

http://www.wmich.edu/psychology/faculty.html

 

 

A Dream of Persuasion - The Extreme Example

Learning from Dreams

Consensus, the goal of much public discussion, has become more elusive than at any time in memory. Public debates quickly degenerate into attacks, blaming and name calling generating conflict, but no solutions.  Sadly, we have become unable and unwilling to listen to each other and seek common ground. We cannot even agree on any facts.  The cost is staggering. Energies that should be directed towards solving our problems are used to attack our fellow citizens. Resources and energies are wasted. People become disgusted with the process and participation declines. Problems fester. 

What are the lessons of history? Are there examples of our having overcome sharp political divisions? How was this accomplished? Can we learn?

While significant racial division remains, our country has made remarkable progress on civil rights since the 1950’s. Consensus was achieved to eliminate segregation and discrimination in many important areas of public life. Among many factors that can be cited for that progress is the famous speech delivered from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during the August 1963 March on Washington.  

Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech remains the most celebrated  speech of modern times. For instance, in 1999, researchers at the University of Wisconsin and Texas A&M University ranked American speeches based on the opinions of 137 scholars of American public address. (1.) What can we learn from that speech? How can we apply it to our conflicts today? To what kinds of conflict can the lessons be applied? How can we use those lessons in everyday life?

For instance, could those lessons be used to address some of the problems discussed here in recent weeks? Can those lessons be used to persuade the New Caney school administrators to use her walker? Can we use the lessons to persuade churches to stop allowing their pulpits to be used for hate speech urging violence be directed towards children? Can we stop the electrochock torture of children with disabilities in Massachusetts? What are the lessons?  

I believe King’s speech, and its having been replayed countless times, have been central in forging a national consensus on civil rights. Over time, it enabled many to do one of the most difficult of human tasks: to rethink and change our positions on a subject to which we had already given great thought.  

Real progress in civil rights would require a national consensus. Racism, segregation in many areas, and unequal education were but a few of the obstacles. How did this speech help make progress towards a national consensus on the sensitive and personal issue of race?
.

Blog in Progress.  Stay Tuned. More coming. 

______________________________________________________________________

Note: This is being posted, initially, on the birthday of my best friend forever, Rick Wetmore.  What makes it especially appropriate to devote this essay to Rick is that we have disagreed about so many things in our lives, but never let that disagrement interfere with our friendship. I like to think that the  hallmark of our friendship has been the willingness to openly discuss our disagreements. I have learned much from our conversations.  

Jadon Higganbothan Mattered, That's Why. Look him in the eyes, Sean Harris.

 

Would Jesus Give Jadon Higganbothan a Good Punch?

 

Would Jesus Kill Jadon Higganbothan?

 

 

 

Introduction

 

Sean “Give Them A Good Punch” Harris, pastor of the of the Berean Baptist Church of Fayetteville, North Carolina, is enjoying his fifteen minutes of fame. Last week he urged parents whose children showed signs of being gay, including  limp wrists to “Give them a good punch.” The message provoked a strong, negative reaction, prompting the pastor to  issue a retraction. Later, Sean Harris claimed his comment was a joke.  Do the retraction and explanation resolve all concerns regarding this matter?

Could Sean Harris’ Words Provoke Violence?

 

Sean Harris is a preacher.  He preaches words. He preaches words to impact his audience. That’s the whole point of preaching. Preachers' livelihoods depend on impacting others with words. When their words urge violence towards children, how can they be unaware of the impact?  Words urging violence towards children create a risk of violence towards children. Sometimes words cause violence, and even death.  Unbalanced individuals who hear the words can be affected. 

Was Sean Harris Aware of the Risk?

Did Sean Harris know that hate speech directed at young children could lead to violence, or worse? How could we help him appreciate this fact?  Targets of hate speech can become targets of audience members.  Violent hate speech can produce violent behavior.  One would expect that Sean Harris and his congregation would change course if only they could understand the risk. 

The most persuasive reasoning I have found is a comparison of  Sean Harris’ statements to children playing with matches. No responsible adult lets children play with matches because of the risk of harm. If Sean Harris understood that risk,  one would expect that he would change course. No one lets children play with matches.  No one could be indifferent to the risk that an unbalanced individual might harm a child.

Did they know about Jadon Higganbothan?

Jadon Higganbothan. A four year old child. Look in his eyes. Look at his face. His murderer did. His murderer looked at him. Then the murderer  killed young Jadon. Why?

 


His murderer believed Jadon was gay. The evidence? Four year old Jadon patted another child on the bottom. According to the news accounts, that patting led his murderer to conclude that four year old Jadon was gay. Gayness is intolerable to the Lord. Jadon was different from the rest of us. Four year old Jadon must die.

Describing Jadon’s killer as unbalanced seems an understatement. How many similarly unbalanced individuals might be in the audience of Berean Baptist Church sermons? How many people in America have heard about Sean Harris’ advice for parents of gay children: "Give them a good punch."?  How many can and will still access that sermon on the internet? How many are unbalanced enough to follow the advice? 

 

What shows that children are gay?  

Limp Wrists? Bottom Patting?

Is the childhood behavior really this diagnostic of sexual orientation? The memories of my youth are faded. I strongly suspect that all of us played, fought and occasionally hugged and kissed. Kids do that. Sometimes, we might even spank or pat each other’s bottoms maybe to inflict pain or to be funny.  If Jadon Higganbothan's murderer is correct, and bottom patting proves that a child is gay, then all kids would be gay at least two or three times during their childhoods.    

 

Sean Harris says to  beat limp wristed boys because it means they are gay.

"Dads, the second you see your son dropping the limp wrist, you walk over there and crack that wrist. Man up! Give them a good punch OK. You're not going to act like that. You were made by God to be a male and you're going to be a male."  

Sean Harris instruction to dads to punch sons with limp wrists to prevent gayness is strange. I fear that at some time in my life, either because of exhaustion or some other reason, I may have failed to keep my wrists in a sufficiently flexed posture to pass Sean Harris’ heterosexuality test. 

Are limp wrists really the hallmark of gayness? I cannot think of any gay friends who are limp wristed. Many of them frequent gyms to stay in shape.  I can think of a few heterosexual males with underdeveloped forearm muscles and limp wrists. My personal experience is inconsistent with Sean Harris' claims. Perhpas my experience is atypical.  

Limp Wrists Prove What?

What exactly is it that Sean Harris is saying about limp wristedness? Is it

1. a sign of possible homosexuality,
2. a sign of likely homosexuality,
3. conclusive proof of homosexuality, or
4. proof of the subcategory of homosexuality that can be beaten out of children?  

What is the evidence that if we can beat limp wristed children so that they no longer allow their wrists to be limp, that has any impact on their romantic feelings others?

A search of Pubmed, the motherlode of medical articles indexed and maintained by the National Library of Medicine, would seem to be in order. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed  Included in the millions of articles are 23,000 articles identified by a search for “homosexual” http://1.usa.gov/Jae6Ej,  an impressive body of scientific data.  What does that literature indicate about the correlation between limp wrists and homosexuality? What results when we add "limp wrists" to the search strategy? Let's plug this into the search box:

("limp wrists" OR "limp wrist") (gay OR homosexual)

Results:  http://1.usa.gov/JaePVW  Nothing. Not one article. Where is the connection between limp wristedness and homosexuality in modern scientific literature? There is no literature. Sean Harris urges violence against children based on  . . . . .   nothing? An illusion from a comic book?

To Sean Harris supporters I suggest: don’t believe me. Search it yourself. If I am in error, tell me what mistake I made in trying to locate the evidence in the medical literature. 

 

Can Beating Limp Wristed People Convert Homosexuals to Heterosexuals?

 

There seems to be no literature correlating gayness to limp wristedness. How is it possible to reduce the frequency of a nonexistent correlation?  If there is no correlation, how can beatings, or anything else, reduce the frequency? 

There are over 500 articles on homophobia.  http://1.usa.gov/Jaese5.  Maybe we should share these articles with Sean Harris and his flock.  

 

What Behavior of Children Proves They Are Gay?
Hugging and Kissing?
Patting and Spanking?
Holding hands?

 

Jadon did something we all did when we were four or five or six or seven.  He patted another child’s bottom.  Four year old children occasionally pat, hug and even kiss other children just as they would hug and kiss their parents and siblings of both sexes. Simple expressions of affection.  If Jadon's killer is correct that bottom patting is conclusive proof of gayness requiring execution, how many NFL and NBA players would be affected?  

When, as a child,  I kissed my dad, was that an expression of homosexuality? When I was four? How about when he came home after being arrested as a part of his Civil Rights activities. I feared, my family feared, he might be killed and that we would never see him again. When I hugged him upon his return from Mississippi, should I have been beaten?  I can imagine that contrary to the expectations of Sean Harris and his band, that I might have ignorantly kissed his cheek to express relief that he had not been killed or beaten. If I had, should I have to be killed or beaten? 

  
If you believe the behavior made me gay, you can stop reading now. Nothing I say can reach or help you. I recommend that you find an island.

As humans, we sometimes express non-romantic affection physically. Handshakes do not mean businessmen are gay.  Hugs, kisses on the cheek, pats on the back, and other physical gestures are normal behavior that express ordinary human affection. Movies and television shows confirm that they are common customs for expressing good feelings.  Basing decisions to beat or kill children for imitating customary, traditional gestures of good will defies rationality. 

 

Whether discussing Jadon's bottom patting, or the limp wristedness on which Sean Harris focuses, the homophobic critics of these behaviors cause are so profoundly uncomfortable that they advance two absurd propositions:

The behavior is proof of homosexuality, and

Actors that display the behavior deserve violence or worse. 

What was the evidence that four year old Jadon was gay and that execution was approrpiate? As a four year old, he patted another boy’s bottom, a common behavior of four year olds, NFL players, NBA players, and many other professional athletes. Does it require a beating?  Does it justify inflaming unbalanced individuals to act, against children? 

 

 Sean Harris' Comments, in Context

Look at this child. Look at his face. Think about what it would take for someone to look at him and kill him. It took someone to do what Sean Harris said: Beat the gayness out of children.




It is now time to put Sean Harris' comments "Give them a good punch."  into perspective. When and where was Jadon Higganbothan murdered in relation to Sean Harris' comments?  

Jadon Higganbothan was murdered in Durham, North Carolina. Durham is 88 miles from Fayetteville, North Carolina where Sean Harris has his Berean Baptist Church.  Eighty eight miles away. http://g.co/maps/dk884   

And when did it become common knowledge in North Carolna that this beautiful four year old boy was murdered because  a mentally unstable person concluded violence was the appropriate way to deal with gays? June and July 2011, less than a year ago.  

 

NBC 17  Full Coverage   http://www2.nbc17.com/news/2011/apr/11/14/full-coverage-jadon-higganbothan-antoinetta-mckoy-ar-938481/   20  stories total   

WRAL  http://www.wral.com/search/?q=jadon+higganbothan&x=0&y=0&jump=1   ORhttp://bit.ly/J1VLZ8   31 stories 

blog      inurl:fayetteville "jadon higganbothan"    http://bit.ly/IRkx2x                            

Durham's Herald Sun    (inurl:heraldsun.com    AND "jadon higganbothan")  http://bit.ly/IRmsnN

http://www.factnet.org/search/node/jadon%20higganbothan     3


Anyone reading the North Carolina newspapers throught 2011 would have read about four year old Jadon Higganbothan being murdered by a mentally unstable adult. That adult believed that Jadon's patting another boy on the bottom proved his gayness.  It mandated his execution.

That is the context of Sean “Give Them A Good Punch” Harris’speech. Hate speech kills. News outlets in the area have covered the Jadon Higganbothan story repeatedly in the past year.

I cannot prove that Sean Harris was consciously aware of Jadon Higganbothan when he urged listeners with gay children to “Give Them A Good Punch.”  I wonder how he could not have known.  

I did search the church’s website for references to Jadon Higganbothan. I found no reference to the murder. http://bit.ly/J3Nx98  Should the church be as outraged about the murder of Jadon Higganbothan as it is about limp wrists? Should the church want to prevent future murders of children believed to be gay? Which should be of greater concern:

                    a child exhibiting  so called "gay behavior," or

                    a child being murdered?  

 

Let’s call them. Let’s fax them. Let’s mail them and e mail them. I want to help Sean Harris, and his parishoners, understand.  We can no longer look Jadon Higganbothan in the eyes. Someone else acted on Sean Harris' principle that being gay is against God's will.  

 

Someone else practiced what Sean Harris preached.  

I will be supplementing this essay in the coming days and weeks. 

"Never Again," Extreme Examples , & the torture of disabled children. Here. In America.

Video showing the electroshock torture of

children with disabilities in America. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAj9W0ntUMI

___

link here  http://bit.ly/IQdzq6

 

Electroshock. Nazis electroshocked Jews.   http://bit.ly/J2s7WY,    http://bit.ly/KKWwag, and   http://bit.ly/KKWOxS   Electroshock was a part of the Nazi rule of Germany, commonly viewed as the most evil episode in history. The historic details have been studied, and recommendations made. If mankind has learned any lesson, hopefully it would be that those horrors should never happen again. When events veer in that direction, they must be stopped. Immediately. Sadly, we have not learned that lesson. 

 

Welcome to the Rotenberg Educational Center in Chatham, Massachusetts. In 2007, five years ago, Mother Jones ran an expose . http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2007/08/school-shock  In 2010, 2 years ago, a U.N representative asked the U.S. government to act. http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/shock-therapy-massachussetts-school/story?id=11047334  A former employee authored a disturbing description of the facility. http://canton.patch.com/articles/letter-to-the-editor-a-former-judge-rotenberg-center-worker-speaks-out A horrifying videotape has emerged.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAj9W0ntUMI   Yet, it continues. How is this even possible? 

 

Extreme Examples

Extreme examples are instructive because they clarify conceptual boundares. Much can be learned by studying this one. If we cannot stop this obviously outrageous and evil behavior, then we should not be surprised that progress in other areas is  so difficult. 

 

Seventy years after it happened at the hands of the Nazis, it is happening again. I am asking for your help researching and thinking about this problem. We have  failed these children. We have failed ourselves. What can we learn about patient safety, and the inertia of medical institutions and the government agencies that regulate them, from this example? More important, what can we learn about our human species and our resistance to learning from mistakes? 

Never Again?

 

Electroshocks intentionally administered to children. 

Electroshocks intentionally administered to children with disabilities. 

Electroshocks intentionally administered to children with disabilities in America.

Electroshocks intentionally administered to children with disabilities in America  at an "educational / medical" institution. 

Electroshocks intentionally administered to children with disabilities in America at an "educational / medical" institution that kill. 

Licensed institutions and licensed professionals intentionally administering electroshocks   to children with disabilities in America at an "educational / medical" institution after a child dies.

A United Nations representative criticizes this practice. Still it does not stop. It continues. For years. 

Can our species learn anything?

This cannot be dismissed as the acts of a few misguided souls in Massachusetts. Had we learned the lessons of Hitler and the Nazis, the problem would have been solved within a week after it first became public. Some authorities somewhere would have found a way to have stopped this practice. 

Here we are, several years and hundreds of news articles later. Local news, national news, international news. It gets worse. Nearly two years ago, the UN spoke up. 

To be frank, I was shocked when I was reading the report," said Manfred Nowak, the UN's Special Rapporteur on Torture. "What I did, on the 11th of May, was to send an urgent appeal to the U.S. government asking them to investigate."

http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/shock-therapy-massachussetts-school/story?id=11047334#.T6VtnetDwpW

A lawsuit for damages was settled, but it failed to stop the practice .

http://www.science20.com/countering_tackling_woo/judge_rotenberg_trial_ends_settlement_nothing_changes_jrc_though-89394

 

What next for us?

 

Why can't we learn from our worst mistakes?  If we cannot learn from our worst mistakes, it should not surprise us that we cannot learn from lesser ones.  We need to understand this extreme example.  Please help me figure this one out.   Much is at stake. If we can understand the failure to correct this, perhaps we can understand the failure to correct the other mistakes in medicine. 

 

Link to gratify impulse to take some kind of immediate action by adding your name to Change.org petition.   http://chn.ge/StopElectroshockTortureOfDisabledKids Sign it and share. 

Feel free to copy and use  my tweet. 

"  Never again" to electric "therapy" that kills children @ Rotenberg Cntr - Change.org petition http://chn.ge/StopElectroshockTortureOfDisabledKids  "

REQUEST: Please add links and your recommendations for any action below. Help. 

http://www.disabilityrightsintl.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/USReportandUrgentAppeal.pdf

Worse than Playing with Matches: Sean Harris' Hate Speech from the Pulpit "Give them a good punch"

<Note: Sean Harris' hate speech and the mistreatment of Lakay Roberts demand comment, even if outside the scope of "patient safety." >                                 

 Hate Speech from the Pulpit 

to Parents of Gay Children

Sean  "Give them a good punch" Harris

"Dads. the second you see your son dropping

 the limp wrist, you walk over there and

crack that wrist.  Man up!  Give  them  a

good punch. OK. You're not going to act like

that. You were made by God to be a male

and you're going to be a male."  

 

Sean Harris'  "Give them a good punch" Pulpit

You shouldn't urge people to beat up others just because they are different.

You shouldn't urge people to beat up others just because they are different

1. in a church,

2. from the pulpit as the leader of the church,

3. as a part of the weekly church service,

4. during the sermon,

5. using the platform of a loving God and claiming the authority of a holy book,

6. to be recorded and placed on the internet to be broadcast to millions,

7. so that it might persuade hundreds of unstable listeners to act, and

8. put untold numbers of others deemed different at risk of being harmed or killed.

 

Sean Harris: "Dads ...  Give them a good punch"

Worse than playing with matches

 

When kids play with matches around flammable materials, you take the matches away. You don't care what the intent is. The danger of injury or death is too great. Just take the matches away.

 

Sean Harris' hateful words were more powerful than matches. Sean Harris consciously and intentionally provoked violence. He knew the power of those words. He chose to say them anyway.

The Decision Sean Harris Made 

 "Give them a good punch"

Sean Harris knew his hate speech urging violence would be broadcast to millions online. He knew that his words from the pulpit have an impact. He knew that some unstable listeners might act on them. He knew that some against whom he urged violence might be hurt or killed. He knew all this. He decided to shout his hateful words anyway. Whatever his real agenda, he decided it was more important than anything else, including  the legal right of millions of citizens to be left alone. His real agenda was more important than the safety of the targets of his verbal hatred. His real agenda was more important than acting responsibly.  His real agenda was more important than the loving God he claims to worship, the Ten Commandments, the teachings of Jesus, the Bible, his responsibility to his parishoners.

 

Sean Harris decided on that Sunday morning that his real agenda was more important than every principle he claims to stand for.  Knowing that, he chose to shout his hate speech urging violence anyway. He chose some short term agenda over long term values. 

The Decision Berean Baptist Church Must Make

Will church elders embrace the message:  "Give them a good punch"

 

Sean Harris' church, the Berean Baptist Church, witnessed all this. They heard. They knew the risks then and they know them now.

 

They know that Sean Harris behaves from the pulpit like a child with a matchbox. They know it is only matter of time before he exercises such bad judgment again.

 

If the Berean Baptist Church wants to behave like a group of responsible adults, then it needs to take away Sean Harris opportunity to provoke violence from the pulpit they provide him.

The  "Give them a good punch"  Pulpit?

Everyone would expect, indeed insist, that a parent to take the matches away from a child. The Berean Baptist Church's pulpit is now Sean Harris' matchbox for provoking violence. Let's tell the church to behave like responsible adults and take away the pulpit he uses as a matchbox. Tell the church what you think.

 

I plan to add to this page links to sites with information for expressing your views to the church.  Let's tell the church they must act responsibly. They must take away the pulpit from which Sean Harris shouts his hate speech urging listeners to violence. 

 ______________________________________________________________

ACTION ? 

 

What do you think will convince this church to do the right thing?  

Look at the church's web pages.

See how other groups are addressing this misconduct.

Write a letter to the editor of a paper.

Share your ideas here. 

 According to its web page,the church's number is  910 868 5156 /868.2511 after hours

Mailing address:

Berean Baptist Church
517 Glensford Drive
Fayetteville, NC 28314

Fax Number: (910) 868-9609   If  the  fax  number is still  hooked up, you can send a free one page  as easily as sending an e mail at  http://faxzero.com

More links for telling the church what you think.

http://www.bbcfnc.org/     http://www.bereanbaptistchurch.org/

Contacts   http://bit.ly/KwWeTt   *****   e mail addresses for 28  people affiliated with church.

Ministry Leaders    http://bit.ly/J7tPHo  Call them at the church, or by getting contact information from one of the internet search engines for finding people. 

                     Zabasearch.com, Pipl.com  Spokeo.com

Outreach officer Bill Sturm  http://bit.ly/KwWrGr

Maybe others whose names grace the church's web pages should speak up against this hate speech.  http://www.bbcfnc.org/greattheologybooks.php

Its Global Partners   http://www.bbcfnc.org/globalpartners.php 

Interesting  -  Volunteers are expected to model responsible behavior http://bit.ly/KwWKkk

 

Please share your ideas and links. Together, we can have a bigger impact. 

_________________________________________________

 

Thankfully, most of the rest of the world disagrees with Sean Harris. Here is a great piece of performance art made today in Michigan by some of my friends.