I actually do see what you are saying Bovinity, and I actually do agree there is a difference. I was only trying to point out that the thrust of Rugen's argument seemed to be that what I said on my Facebook shouldn't matter, whether or not the Facebook website was public, private, or anywhere in between. If that is the case, then whether or not I allowed students in to my website wouldn't matter.
Austriana, I certainly didn't intend to belittle anyone, except perhaps people who choose to be deliberately ignorant. In this case, despite the *fact* that this custom has nothing to do with worshipping anyone, these parents allow themselves to get upset over it. If these families ever go visit anywhere where this is an actual custom, they are going to shit a brick. Three years, and it's happened three times. Two of the three times, after a brief conversation with the parents explaining where it was coming from (and letting them borrow a DVD of the Karate Kid!
) the parent backed off and saw it for what it was-- just a little harmless fun. The third set decided that it still was worshipping me, and that if they do this anywhere in the world then all those people were heading straight to hell for violating the 10 commandments. Am I belittling them? Probably a little. But I have to be honest-- I don't really feel bad about that.
In a way, the fact that I keep doing it despite the yearly calls from parents shows a little bit of Rugen in me. Somewhere I have to draw the line, and to take a harmless cultural symbol and turn it into some sort of malevalent evil foisted on innocent children seems to be a good place for me to draw it. If they don't like it, that's unfortunate for them.
And let me tell you, I definitely have said my fair share of dangerous statements, despite knowing the possible consequences. Yesterday I know I said something controversial, for example. I had the inaguration ceremoney on in my classroom during lunch today, and 10-15 band students were watching it. I spoke up and pointed out that whatever your political leanings, today was a huge day in American history. People are still alive today that participated (or ran from) lynchings. I'm sure there are people alive today that believed that we would never see a black president in their lifetime.
None of that was particularly controversial. But they began a discussion about just how big this event may or may not be. The students didn't seem in my mind to grasp how different things were just 50-75 years ago. Now, I knew that I live in a very (morally) conservative district and that I often hear an undercurrent of general homophobia within their conversations. So, to try to give them a small sense of the cultural change it required for a black man to become president, I asked them to imagine what it would take in our country for an openly gay person to become president. Then, during the predictable discomfort in the room, I pointed out that I would look forward to the day that this would be just as acceptable to them as Obama's election was today.
Now that, in my particular district, was a gutsy, controversial thing to say. I haven't gotten any yet, but it's certainly possible someone will complain, if the students talk about that conversation to their parents. Is this non-conforming enough for you, Rugen?
Sorry about the long story, btw. That story took up more space than I expected to tell. But there definitely times when I am willing to say and act in ways that could get me into trouble. But overall, it's still very important that I am very careful about what I do in town, or what I talk about on my Facebook.