Slob under fire for stance on homosexuality
A parliamentary debate on citizenship yesterday has put Arie Slob of the ChristenUnie in a dire position. The Minister of Education stated that schools may disapprove of homosexuality, but at the same time must ensure a 'safe climate' for students and staff. Those two things are irreconcilable, the AOb.
Picture: Livestream Tweede Kamer
Not Samuel Paty - the decapitated French teacher - but LGBTI was central to yesterday's parliamentary debate on citizenship education. Slob got into trouble because the majority of the MPs present do not see how Reformed schools can be obliged to focus on democratic, Western values, while at the same time requesting statements from parents in which they disapprove of homosexuality.
After five minutes, MP Paul van Meenen of D66 interrupted the contribution of Eppo Bruins - party member of ChristenUnie minister Arie Slob. Van Meenen pointed to a newspaper article Trouw from last Saturday in which young adults who were taught in their teens at a reformational high school are speaking. Their parents had signed a statement at the time in which they, among other things, disapproved of homosexuality.
Moral views
At the beginning of this year, the data journalism platform looked at Pointer the moral views of 137 Reformed schools. Of these, 20 percent are openly opposed to homosexuality. In the new Citizenship Act, three values are formulated to which citizenship lessons, but also the school culture, must meet: freedom, equality and solidarity. But according to D66, GroenLinks, the SP, the PvdA and the VVD, a number of statements of identity by reformational schools cannot be reconciled with safety, let alone equality, for LGBTI students.
Denouncing LGBT lives is no more an opinion than racism or anti-Semitism is. How would we like it if identity statements were made about that?
Own views
In his defence, Slob got no further than pointing out that in the Netherlands it is simply the case that schools are allowed to have 'own views' and that these may play a role in the vision of the school and the acceptance of pupils. He tried very hard to avoid the words homosexuality and sexual orientation. Member of Parliament Kirsten van den Hul (PvdA) reacted with dismay: "The minister says: because of the freedom of education, schools are free to teach according to their own value pattern. But being LGBT is not a value. Disapproving of LGBT lives is just as little a view as racism or anti-Semitism that is."
It seems like an impossible split. Slob wants to see citizenship education separate from Article 23 and the discussion that has been going on for some time about whether or not to accept pupils in special schools. The minister expects that the stricter Citizenship Education Act will soon offer opportunities to act. Slob: "That is why I have not only linked citizenship to the subject of social studies, but to the entire school culture." The inspectorate will soon be able to issue so-called repair orders and ultimately sanctions if schools do not meet the legal requirements.
Subsidized discrimination
Nevertheless, D66, GroenLinks, PvdA and SP already called the cabinet during the debate via a motion urgently to stop this type of identity declaration. Slob's position is also strongly disapproved on social media. #ARIESLOB_OUT was trending on Twitter yesterday and is still often shared today. The network Pink in blue The National Police receives requests to report discrimination against the minister, and states that this is possible.
Slob himself responded this afternoon at the ONGOING to the fuss by saying that statements asking parents to reject homosexuality go too far. It should be looked into what exactly those statements say, 'and if they conflict with a safe climate at school, then they should be adjusted appropriately'.
Tim Hofman, presenter of the BNN program Boos, among other things Instagram on 'neat!' sending emails to Minister Slob with 'experiences, feelings or legal substantiation' about what he calls subsidized discrimination. Hofman: 'Do it for every child who is oppressed by this system because his / her / his identity should not be there.' His call was liked more than 45.000 thousand times. Also the AOb believes that education should be accessible and safe for every student and all teaching staff, regardless of origin, sexuality or whatever. Chairman Eugenie Stolk: "This is therefore unacceptable and must be rectified quickly."
You never start a constructive conversation with Reformed with a rainbow flag in your hand
Incidentally, the young man presented in Trouw doubts whether a ban on these kinds of identity statements is the solution for Reformed schools. "That probably causes bad blood. You never start a constructive conversation with Reformed with a rainbow flag in your hand, you have to understand what their side means." He would, however, like to see the government talk to schools about what the negative attention to homosexuality does to a child.
Muslim extremism
Harmen Beertema of the PVV tried several times yesterday without success to turn the debate towards Muslim extremism. He denounced his colleagues who all cited the attack in France, but then mainly wanted to talk about the safety of LGBTI students and educational staff. “We will manage those few refo schools that we have a problem with. The urgency is in the big cities, where half the population is currently at war against our Dutch values. ” Beertema was not questioned about the fact of this claim.
Also read: I believe in our free society.
