Barry Neufeld is being bullied

Dear editor: I would like to offer dubious congratulations to the Chilliwack School Board, the BC Ministry of Education and all the various groups opposing Barry Neufeld. You collectively have given us as perfect an example of bullying as could ever be imagined.

I hope the kids are not watching. But if they are, I hope they have the maturity to support Neufeld’s right to express his opinion. Is that not what we are trying to teach our youth?

Yet because some disagree with him, he is ostracized and asked to resign. Bullied. Neufeld has the right and the responsibility to express his belief. And we have the responsibility to listen with respect.

Furthermore, while I may not agree with every point Neufeld made, I strongly support his opposition to SOGI 123 (Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity) being taught in schools. This is part of a curriculum which does not belong there.

Furthermore, sex education of any kind should not be taught in school but at home. Sex education needs to be taught by loving parents, where morality, including the importance of abstinence before marriage, can be taught as well. This is a topic that is the responsibility of the family, not a public forum and definitely not in our school system.

Now, if you actually read this far, please allow me to say one more thing. I believe we should be teaching love, and respect and kindness in our schools and in our society. Rather than “anti-bullying” we should be teaching our youth how to seek and find the beautiful character traits of every person on this earth. No matter if we disagree with a person, we still need to respect them and learn to love them.

Otherwise we too easily become bullies ourselves.

John Abelseth Kelowna