
I was trained for the culture wars in home school - madao
https://www.autostraddle.com/i-was-trained-for-the-culture-wars-in-home-school-awaiting-someone-like-mike-pence-as-a-messiah-367057/
======
arghimonmobile
I personally attended an ultra conservative school of about 70 pupils all
grades accounted for, based on the ACE system (see
[http://leavingfundamentalism.wordpress.com](http://leavingfundamentalism.wordpress.com)
for a decent introduction), and while I thankfully managed to escape that
scene many years ago (extremely lucky circumstances outside of my own doing),
I'm afraid I clearly recognise the vision the author describes. I desperately
hope that they are wrong, but I can imagine it being spot on all too well. :(
FWIW I too don't have contact with my parents mostly as a result of this, and
the level of mental gymnastics in otherwise intelligent and sincere folks is
jarring.

------
cconcepts
Very well written. Although this article is quite emotive and could be
considered an extreme point of view, I think it is important to read in order
to understand the multitude of voices wanting to be heard in the current
quagmire.

I disagree with some of the assumptions made but nonetheless think this is a
voice that should be heard.

As a follower of Jesus (I have to be careful how I say Christian because of
how loaded that term has become) I feel sad that the writer is marginalised as
if it is something Christ would have done.

That Jesus has been attached to a particular political agenda is particularly
heartbreaking.

Historically, when Christianity has gotten in bed with power it has been bad
news for the essence of Christ and the humbling power of His work - I would
argue this is because of the corruptibility of humans and not through
something inherently wrong with Christianity.

I'm sorry for some of the things being done in the name of Christianity but
this is an intelligent, thoughtful community - please find out for yourself
who Christ really said he was and don't assume that what some powerbrokers say
in Christ's name is true - their interests are vested.

I hope that HN continues its history of thoughtful, respectful discussion
rather than the vitriol I am seeing elsewhere.

EDIT: Spelling/grammar

~~~
bambax
> _this is an intelligent, thoughtful community_

I really, really don't think so. "Jesus" (who probably never even existed)
isn't the problem, though. Religions are.

That they should be "respected" as just a normal human behavior is the
problem. That superstition should be considered seriously instead of being
fought, esp. in young minds, is the problem.

That separate schools should exist in the name of superstition, that people
should be allowed to not even send their children to school but indoctrinate
them themselves, is the problem.

There is such a thing as too much freedom, and the result is catastrophic.

~~~
choko
I'm agnostic and have no strong feelings on religion, and I find your comments
very intolerant. Views like yours have no place in this community. It's not ok
for you to tell people how they should live their lives.

~~~
miketery
I disagree, the whole point of society is to work together and push each other
to be a certain way; to the betterment of the whole. It follows then that when
non conducive behaviors are found we should strive to get rid of them. In this
case thoughts (religion) not grounded in critical thinking which can lead to
things like glorifying death for nonsense causes.

~~~
WayneBro
Addressing religion as a whole is nonsense IMO. It doesn't exist by itself and
you certainly cannot attribute the same qualities to every single religion.

The major religions are a mix of philosophy + politics. Philosophy in general
is certainly grounded in critical thinking. These religions obviously serve as
a method to deliver the results to the masses.

Nationalism is just as bad if not worse than religion in terms of causing
death and war.

~~~
miketery
That's fair. However my point stands that it is ok to tell people how to live;
that's society.

Regarding religion, it is more conducive to non critical thought than other
thought frameworks that exist. At the very least by magnitude it has the most
impact in terms of contributing to non critical thought worldwide.

Weather nationalism is worse or not doesn't change the criticism on religion.

------
kartan
High-quality free state-run secular schools is one of the most important
social achievements. In that schools a new generation can grow and learn while
minimizing radicalization. That new generation meets people from different
cultures and religion since they are children and learn to accept the
differences. This doesn't solves all problems, is not a silver bulled, but it
improves society at large.

I never understood why in the USA parents are allowed to radicalize their
children out of society. Now I not just don't understand, but I see how
dangerous is the situation.

~~~
gambiting
I genuinely believe that home schooling shouldn't be allowed, except for kids
with disabilities which stop them from leaving home.

It just seems to me that Americans fear radical islam, while extremely radical
Christianity grows right under their noses. I agree that free state-run
secular schools are the way to go for modern society.

~~~
_petronius
Fun fact: here in Germany, home schooling is illegal. I'm with you -- I think
this is probably for the best. After all, how do you get kids to learn to
socialize and integrate with society at large (regardless of their
background), if they don't attend school and get out from under their parents?

But this is also the only basis on which Germans can typically sucessfully
claim asylum in the US, and have successfully in the past: the idea that they
are fleeing "religious or political persecution" for not being allowed to keep
their kids at home and teach them in an isolated environment.

~~~
bambax
I don't know much about Germany but if what you say is true, it's great for
the country: they are able to successfully expatriate the crazies out -- hey,
the crazies expatriate themselves, willfully! That's pure magic.

------
qubyte
I was raised and schooled as a Catholic in the UK, and while that's nowhere
near as malign as the religious groups mentioned in this article, the final
paragraph really resonated with me. It wasn't until university that anyone
questioned my beliefs. I patiently heard each argument out and responded with
logical gymnastics (I now classify myself as a theological noncognitivist). It
was only when a difficult event happened in my life that I began to really
question my beliefs and they crumbled (a traumatic experience in itself).

The author is spot on when they say that there's nothing you can do to
convince these people. The beliefs are so closely held that changing them has
to come from the believer.

------
angryredblock
Complete misrepresentation of homeschooling based on one person's anecdotal
experience.

"A single powerful person who is convinced of their own Rightness with no
thought of introspection is dangerous."

Indeed.

Perhaps we'd be better served to stop vilifying an entire subset of the
population and actually listen to the parents who have recognized that public
education is broken and who are taking other measures to educate their
children.

~~~
jhanschoo
It seemed pretty obvious to me that the author was referring to one particular
version (christofascist) of homeschooling.

For positive experiences with homeschooling, Astra Taylor's essays on it come
to mind [https://popularresistance.org/the-unschooled-life-astra-
tayl...](https://popularresistance.org/the-unschooled-life-astra-taylor-
story/),
[https://nplusonemag.com/issue-13/essays/unschooling/](https://nplusonemag.com/issue-13/essays/unschooling/).

It seems to me however, from armchair reasoning, lacking any motivation to
research this further, that the former version would dominate and be the more
public version of homeschooling, given that it co-opts into a popular American
agenda with a focused message and mission.

------
vedranm
There is a number of usual Left wing talking points which advocate violating
freedom of association and therefore don't fit the classical liberal or
libertarian world view [1]. Two more grave errors:

>They know Trump is easily manipulated and will change his mind with the wind
if it makes him feel more powerful and famous. Trump couldn’t care less about
policy, a fact he’s made quite obvious.

This is a very strong claim to make about someone whose every move in the
Office thus far has been promised and rehearsed during the campaign.

>The revolution has come and we are the resistance.

I find this claim funny given that the Left has overtook the universities, the
media, and Hollywood, and did so quite often using the tactics outlined in
Rules for Radicals by Saul Alinsky [2]. (Even Hillary Clinton wrote about
Alinsky in her thesis [3].) Only with the rise of the Internet could this
stranglehold of power be challenged, was challenged, and Trump won.

[1]
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6ln5bhcWcI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6ln5bhcWcI)

[2]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rules_for_Radicals](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rules_for_Radicals)

[3]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillary_Rodham_senior_thesis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillary_Rodham_senior_thesis)

------
TurlochOTierney
Just flagged this by mistake. Fat finger error.

------
bambax
Why exactly is this flagged? Is it not "interesting"?

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guard-of-terra
I think that Abrahamic religions is perhaps the worst thing that ever happened
to Homo Sapiens.

------
probably_wrong
So... are we going to see any kind of evidence for this? Who's the editor? Who
fact-checked the story? Or is a first person story by a political activist on
a political website what we call "news" now?

~~~
noelwelsh
Firstly, it's an opinion piece. It's not pretending to be news.

Secondly, the article has plenty of links you can follow to get more
information. You can follow them and make up your own mind.

Or you could crash into this thread demanding cites, one of the classic moves
of a troll.

