By John Jalsevac
LEXINGTON, MA, June 15, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Following yesterday’s revelation that pro-family activist David Parker’s seven-year-old son was attacked by his fellow classmates on the two-year anniversary of the legalization of same-sex marriage in Massachusetts, the superintendent of the school said he was not aware of the incident and would inquire about it.
LifeSiteNews.com readers may recall that David Parker was arrested last year for “trespassing” on school property, after refusing to leave until school officials assured him that they would notify him when discussions pertaining to homosexuality and other sexual issues arose in his son Jacob’s kindergarten class. State law mandates that parents are to be informed of such discussions and may remove their children during those times.
According to the local newspaper, the Lexington Minuteman, Superintendent Paul Ash, who is listed as one of the defendants in Parker’s recently filed lawsuit against the school, denied any previous knowledge of the attack. He indicated that he would be conducting an investigation into the matter along with the principal of Estabrook school, Joni Jay.
Ash’s secretary told LifeSiteNews.com this morning that Ash would not be speaking to any more media and that a media statement would most likely be forthcoming once Ash had had an opportunity to investigate the incident.
The incident itself occurred on May 17 of this year, although the family only went public yesterday.
Brian Camenker the President of MassResistance, a pro-family group that has worked with Parker to have the rights of parents in Massachusetts respected told LifeSitenews.com”[The Family] wanted to wait and see what the school was going to do about it. And then the school didn’t do anything. And this really concerned and worried them.”
Parker himself, however, told LifeSiteNews.com that he was pleased with and thankful for the initial response from Jacobs’ first-grade teacher. “The first grade teacher called us immediately after it happened,” said Parker, adding that she was so concerned about the incident that she spent the afternoon talking to Jacob’s fellow classmates about it. “She was concerned about the number of children and that they had taken him out of view [to perform the attack],” he said.
Parker added that though he was “reticent” to go public with the incident, he ultimately decided to do so in the hopes that “the school will be a little introspective on how they talk about this…and treat it more carefully with the children in mind.”
The Minuteman also reported remarks by Parker’s attorney, Neil Tassel, who is quoted saying, “It was a regrettable incident…but no one was seriously hurt.” He added that Jacob was “shaken up” by the incident. Parker himself requested LifeSiteNews.com to make it clear that Jacob suffered no long-term physical marks or pain, and that the most painful part of the incident for his seven-year-old child was that the young boy’s feelings were quite hurt.
Speaking to LifeSiteNews.com, Parker noted that his conflict with the school over homosexuality is well known among the students, and that Jacob has previously andÂrepeatedlyÂencountered his fellow students speaking ill of his father, or repeating their parents’ opinions about Parker’s beliefs. On one occasion Jacob relates that he overheard his fellow classmates ruminating that perhaps their current principal—who has resigned her position to take up a job elsewhere—was leaving the job because of Jacob’s father.
On another occasion Jacob told his parents that one of his friends had told him that “I can’t come over and play with you because my parents don’t like what your parents are doing. Can you tell your parents to stop so I can come over?”
Parker noted that after he wasÂarrested for “trespassing”, his son wasÂso pestered at school with questions about his father’s arrest that he came home in tears. “It’s another example of going over the line,” said Parker. “It’s not unreasonable that a child would ask [Jacob about the arrest]. But fifty orÂmore times is going over the line.”
“What we and my wife are concerned about,” said Parker, “is not necessarily any individual incident, but the overall atmosphere that is being created. You can take a good kid, and put them in a certain environment, and it can become a Lord of the Flies situation if you don’t create a good environment.
“Even the kid that did this [performed the actual assault], you should understand, him and Jake, they’ve been friends. This isn’t some kid that he doesn’t know, that he doesn’t interact with, some huge bully in the school. This is the concerning part of it.
”[My wife] and I, we’re sensitive that kids do roughhouse. But there was something to this issue, with regard to taking him out of the sight of the aides, and with a large crowd there observing and not doing anything. These kids are supposed to be trained to get help or stop it, or not to do it in the first place. In my mind that’s what these anti-bullying measures in the school are supposed to do. They should have precluded this incident.”
About the fact that the attack took place on the two-year anniversary of the legalization of same-sex “marriage” in Massachusetts, Parker said “it is at the very least an astounding coincidence that it would happen to my son in this situation at Estabrook on that very day.”
In the past members of the Lexington community have organized public demonstrations specifically against Parker, in which their children have taken part. One of these demonstrations is pictured on the right. (photos courtesy of MassResistance.com) While prominently displayed in the student library are the back issues of the Lexington Minuteman that specifically deal with Parker’s case, for the children to read, says Parker.
“It’s heinous that adults would include their children in anti-David Parker demonstrations,” concluded Camenker, adding that the incident has increased fears amongst other traditional families in the community. “This could happen to me, this could happen to my kids, this could happen to anybody’s kids. This is a real wake up call to the way things are going in the public schools.”
To express your concern to Estabrook school contact:
Estabrook School
117 Grove Street
Lexington, MA
02420 USA
Email Principal Joni Jay: [email protected]
Phone: (781)861-2520Â
Fax: (781)862-5610Â
See related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:
Seven-Year-Old Beaten at School For Father’s Stand Against Homosexual Activism
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/jun/06061410.html
Father of 6-Year-Old Arrested Over Objection to Homosexual Curriculum in Kindergarten Class
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2005/apr/05042910.html
Parents Sue Massachusetts School for Promoting Homosexuality to Young Children
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/apr/06042802.html
Charges Dropped Against Father Who Objected to Promotion of Homosexuality in School
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2005/oct/05102106.html