Michigan Meltdown

Sometimes the biggest bullies in class are the ones teaching it. That was the unfortunate case in Howell, Michigan, where an out-of-control economics teacher booted two students from class after he provoked a discussion about homosexuality. Jay McDowell, who was suspended for a day by the school district, asked 16-year-old Daniel Glowacki if he “accepted gays.” Daniel replied that it was against his religion. According to student accounts, his response sent McDowell into a blind rage that included “yelling, slamming doors, name-calling” and kicking two Catholics from his class. When Howell Superintendent Ron Wilson met with McDowell, Jay threatened to take the issue to the national media if his teaching suspension wasn’t reversed. Wilson refused.

Since then, the school has been flooded with cameras and more than 1,000 emails, most of them hate-filled. The District was so inundated with negative press that it felt compelled to release the student witness accounts to the media. “It is ironic,” Wilson said, “that the very people who say they oppose violence and bullying are using these same tactics to intimidate our elected officials and staff.” He went on to make the point FRC has made since day one. “Jay McDowell himself bullied students who offered an opinion different than his own…” We oppose all bullying of young people–by their peers or by teachers–regardless of the reason. In this instance, Americans are starting to see the homosexual agenda for what it is: one-sided tolerance. “[McDowell] and his supporters,” said the Superintendent, “have succeeded in painting our schools as having bigoted, racist, and homophobic students, and the media has served as an unwitting partner.” As our friend Brent Bozell points out, it’s a partnership that is growing deeper by the day.

Tony Perkins heads the Family Research Council. This article is excerpted from the Washington Update that he compiles for the FRC.