When one is practising tolerance, one is allowing the existence or occurrence of (something that one dislikes or disagrees with) without interference, and tolerance is the ability, willingness or capacity to tolerate something. Unfortunately, when it comes to several religions practiced in North American, there is a demonstrated hostility to anything having to do with the LGBTQ community and issues surrounding “sexual orientation”. June 1 marked the start of Pride Month in Canada, marking a number of activities associated with the celebration of LGBTQ rights and achievements, including several pride parades in many Canadian cities. In some cases, certain public school boards took it upon themselves to include information about the history and achievements of the LGBTQ community in their classrooms. Such was the case for the public Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB), in Ottawa, Ontario.
June 1, claiming that they were raising concerns about beliefs and practices pertaining to LGBTQ that they believe do not align with their own religious beliefs. They didn’t want their children to be educated about such things. Unfortunately, their actions meet the very definition associated with intolerance. OCDSB chair Lyra Evans believes that while parents have every right to keep their children home, they’re depriving them of an important learning opportunity. (Quote) “People who choose to opt out of human rights-related criteria are doing a disservice to their children because they’re not adequately allowing their child to be prepared for the realities of the world around them”. (Unquote)
The Muslim leaders in Ottawa argued that this form of “passive protest” was not intended to promote hate against the LGBTQ community, including those students affected within the schools. However, the occurrences of outside protests by such groups, including Muslims, has resulted in many students feeling unsafe within the school environment, especially those belonging to the LGBTQ community. What is even more surprising is that the protests came from the Muslim community which itself has faced increasing intolerance leading to recent hate crimes and discriminatory practices. You’d think that they would have a bit more empathy for a visible minority fighting for its human rights! No one is trying to indoctrinate our children in this context, but are simply providing information and increasing awareness about diversity issues within the environment of a modern progressive democratic society.
Canada is a diverse country, and has recognized the rights of LGBTQ individuals and couples through the legalization of gay marriages and inclusion of sexual orientation rights within human rights legislation. Such ingraining of these rights reflects the recognition of the country’s diversity and pursuit of equality and fairness for all groups, regardless of gender, race, religion or sexual orientation. In the public sphere, there are no grounds for intolerance and especially hate promotion, especially within our public educational institutions.
Call it what you want, but so-called “passive protest” simply demonstrates what is intolerant behaviour by its very definition. Be careful that one isn’t throwing stones at a glass house. For example, as part of her disagreement, Lyra Evans is also quoted in CBC Radio’s Ottawa Morning show: “If we had 70 percent of students opt out of Ramadan events, I think there would be the school board standing up to defend the rights of Muslim students and making sure that all of our students understand why this is culturally important”.. “I don’t think that we would see people just sort of passively accepting [it]. We would see outrage, and I think that outrage would be justified.” Interestingly, it should be noted that Lyra Evans is the first openly transgender school trustee in Canada.
FROLITICKS 