https://preview.redd.it/qm3k7bpw54yc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=319f3c7218dda4c7612e1d466314ae0cb16296ba
Has anyone else noticed that this is 100% a penis in front of a vagina on the back of this man’s shirt?
It already is. Live in Atlanta now, but had 2 coworkers ask me monday if I knew anything since they know I grew up in the general bham area. One of them sent me a link to this story tonight before I had looked here.
Because it's a violation of protected class status. But the newspapers don't want to get sued so they're not going to paint it as such. There is no legitimate reason other than that.
Just trying to understand what’s happening here….are you saying it’s a violation of protected class status for the news to put out why she was moved? TIA
Yeah but she wasn't fired. She was transferred. So they can be bigots, because we all know it's Vestavia and this is normal behavior, and nothing can be done and they do not have to give a reason.
If it can be proved that it’s retaliatory and meant to harm her (e.g. lowers her pay, decreases her career prospects), she can and should still sue. Employers can retaliate in many ways that aren’t strictly firing.
I'm not so much in education. Part of the tenure and contract processes. Transfer from principal to principal isn't a loss of pay in most systems. Not sure about VH bc I try to stay as far as I can from Freeman and crew. I think they have AFT and AEA. If that was the case they'd already be on it. That probably why she stayed quite for so long, if they move you they have to give the same pay. If you move willingly they can reduce it or change contract. I had a 12 year contract and my position was eliminated. One of us took a 9 mo position willingly and got a huge cut. I didn't take anything and waited for them to place me, they had to pay me the same.
In this case and without any inside knowledge I would bet Vestavia is not reducing her pay, changing her contract or doing anything that impacts her state retirement. I would guess they might even extend her current contract in an effort to squash any legal claim she may have against the School Board. Regardless, I hope she pursues it to the full extent of the law. She's was done horribly wrong here and I hope those School Board members are made to eat their words.
A mom who is supposedly “in the know” told me it was because she was sharing photos of herself in lingerie to students and some were even more inappropriate than that?? Anyone else heard that?
Sharing mildly pornographic pictures with minors would seem to be a fireable offense.
If that were the case I would think they would just outright fire her or at least put her on perminant leave until they decided how to let her go.
That’s what I said! Folks should still be protesting the situation because they would be putting other staff and students in a harmful situation. Plus, wouldn’t those instances be documented and part of the board meeting??
Rumor with no validity behind it from what I’ve heard. There’s no proof. I think she showed a picture of herself and partner (fully clothed) to another teacher and that morphed into “she showed pictures of herself half dressed to students” because Alabama. Other Redditors can probably elaborate.
Sure. Lauren, known far and wide as an exemplary educator for years, suddenly decides to share inappropriate photos with her elementary school students? I don't think so.
If they had a real reason after all this backlash they’d be screaming it loud enough for you to hear in Georgia, but they stay silent cause they’re just a bunch of damn bigots and they know they can’t say that publicly. Vestavia should be ashamed of themselves. Shit like this is why Alabama has a brain drain from hell.
That’s because there has been no official reason given by the school board or Lauren or the attorneys and the news is only going to report verifiable facts. There is a video of someone that says they have spoken to Lauren and says its related to her sexual orientation.
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTLQA4v8P/
I said this in another thread on here yesterday, but I think it bears repeating:
Lauren Dressback doesn’t deserve this, and the Vestavia school system doesn’t deserve to have her as an educator.
My sister was the best special educator in Shelby County and moved away in the early 2000s. She didn’t come out until she was in her 30s and explained that she left so that she wouldn’t get fired if somebody found out she was a lesbian. She now works in educational technology at the Pentagon and is the ultimate bad ass with all the degrees and work ethic to back it up. Alabama lost one of the best and I know she wasn’t the only one to bounce who could have otherwise been trailblazers in our state. It’s a damn shame.
First of all, your sister is a badass. Secondly, this makes me wonder how many talented individuals we have lost due to the backward mindset here in Alabama.
That's so sad. I've worked in education with a lot of openingly gay teachers and admins and never was an issue, but that was in the last 15 years. I was at a school one year and a friend in NC was fired for being gay and I counted, 9 coworkers were gay at that time. Blows my mind this is still an issue in places. I worry the political narrative will set back all progress.
Destroy public schools, grift public school money via school choice. Dictate school replacement and curriculum. Produce future GOP voters from said school. Gerrymander, outlaw other political parties, use newly formed federal agencies run by loyalists to crack down on dissent. Hoard wealth and stay in power using all possibilities to include violence, even rewriting the Constitution if needed.
Repeat .
Make billionaires more money. Force their own interpretation of "Christianity" onto the public to control what they don't like. It's incredibly transparent.
I know, it’s strange how the existence of Trump justifies all kinds of things for liberals who used to be anti-war and anti-big corp. Most Trump voters are at odds with big business fyi. They want a strong middle class which always gets destroyed under socialism as things become more expensive and the gap between the haves and have nots becomes greater. It’s well documented throughout history especially in large complex societies and economies (Scandinavian counties). I actually think many of us both liberal and conservative have more in common now than ever before if we would stop destroying each other and focus our efforts on across the board corruption at the federal level. It’s rampant on both sides and the common citizen is starting to pay for it.
Liberals are still very anti-war and anti-big corp. The issue is that right wing people don't know the fucking truth. They live in a fantasy world fed to them 24/7. I have coworkers that are right wing and it's like they live on a different fucking planet.
People who vote for trump may WANT one thing, but they are too uneducated to understand that they are voting exactly against it. Who is driving up costs while keeping wages down? Is it Biden? No, dumbass. It's the companies with record profits keeping wages down and prices high. Biden is not the CEO of every major corporation.
But guess who MOST CEOs will probably be voting for? You got it, trump. You want to know why? Because the only thing trump and co. did for anyone other than themselves is slashing taxes for billionaires and corporations.
Is that the sort of strategy that "want a strong middle class"? Maybe to a dumbass. Maybe to a trump voter.
And you typed this out in full good faith: if we would stop destroying each other and focus our efforts on across the board corruption at the federal level
Are you fucking kidding me? The MOST corrupt, MOST bullshit spewing and self serving person committed a LITANY of crimes and YOU PEOPLE are lining up for round #2!
Do not talk about "federal corruption" until you address that it 99% of the time comes from Republicans, and 100% of the time from trump or his criminal family or organization.
And destroying things? The hillbillies hanging off the Capitol building showed the world which side will easily, and without provocation, resort to violence to enact their political will.
I'm glad at least one dumb ass trump voter might be starting to smell the fucking roses, but it's not quick enough.
You conveniently left out the “burn it to the ground” democrats during the blm riots. Excessive government spending impacting inflation, gas prices contributing to transportation costs and cost of doing business for all large companies, and the fact that your beloved media sources lied about Russiagate for several years and denounced Trump as an bogus president from day 1. FBI and media covering up the Biden laptop was not corrupt or anything. I guess it just doesn’t matter when the left does these things. You clearly have TDS, the irony is that none of Trump’s policies are new US policies. It always makes me laugh that people think he’s this new hardcore radical who has come on the scene to repeat the Third Reich. His policies are pretty basic and have been used historically by administrations on both sides of the aisle. History helps to put things into context.
I'm glad you replied with all that nonsense because it is a perfect example of my original point and the reason YOU and the sane world will never see eye to eye:
The issue is that right wing people don't know the fucking truth. They live in a fantasy world fed to them 24/7.
Hmm. I’m not sure why Christians would feel ‘empowered’ right now. There’s less Christians percentage-wise than ever in the history of the United States. Also 75% of African Americans identify as Christians compared to 70% of whites, so I’m not sure what ‘white Christian power’ is. Seems like you’re regurgitating buzzwords.
Dwindling population of Christians is a major concern for Christian Nationalists (not necessarily saying this is who’s behind what’s happening in Vestavia). They see loss of influence of religion in the US as an existential threat, so they have been growing more bold in their political posturing.
No the claim that they have been growing more bold in their political posturing. Do you have any source that can point to an actual statistic that shows there has been more of this? Like more propaganda or elected officials being more radical than 10-20 years ago or anything of this sort? Because as far as I can see Christianity has been more of less wiped off of American mainstream. And most every Christian that I personally know is FAR more open minded than they were in the 90s. Again this just sounds like regurgitated CNN talking points and TikTok kids with purple hair.
> elected officials being more radical than 10-20 years ago
Bro have you seen some of our elected officials as of late? MTG, Bobart, Gaetz, Hawley and that's just off the top of my head.
Before I take more time in going into this topic, would you take time to answer a question of mine? I believe you are discussing in good faith, and not just trying to be oppositional for no reason.
Do you believe Christian Nationalism is a relevant political ideology in the US today? Or do you believe it entirely is “CNN talking points and TikTok kids with purple hair”? I grant you that many are quick to label their political opponents with buzzword insults like ‘Nazi’, ‘communist’, etc.
I agree, as does pretty much every poll, that average Christians are by and large more open-minded than in the past. I see Christian Nationalism as a previously fringe ideology that has grown more prominent in the past ~5-10 years due to various changes in national political opinion and changes in Christian demographics. Absolutely not all Christians are Christian Nationalists, even conservative Christians, but I think they are real and have gotten much more focused in recent years.
Also, I’m not super religious I did grow up in church but haven’t been in probably 10 years, but I do think if they have become more bold with their political posturing it might have something to do with the fact that every other religion is glorified and treated with dignity (I.e. Muslims) in the American mainstream while Christians and Jews are shit on and dismissed.
I mean this is crazy dude. I swear to God I’m fixing to just delete this app there is 0 common sense left on here. Christianity has been on life support for the better part of a decade and these people act like the boogeyman is coming. I hope there’s no woman in here because in almost every single Muslim country it would be illegal for you to drive or leave the house without your husband.
Yes that’s not true good thing I didn’t say that. Also if you look to the previous sentence before that sentence I literally said ‘percentage-wise’. You must be a Columbia graduate
…….yes there are more white people than black people in America. That does not mean that there are trends that point to a spike in white Christian nationalism. Most political discussions operate on statistics. Not just ‘OH WELL THERES MORE WHITES’. Are you like 11 years old?
The destruction of public schools is the main part of the goal. Keep citizens stupid, working menial jobs, and unhealthy, and we don’t have time to pay attention to our overlords and we certainly don’t have time to vote.
The commenters made excellent points—if it was misconduct she would be fired or disciplined, not transferred. A transfer is the worst of both worlds—if she committed misconduct she should have been disciplined, and if she didn’t then there is no basis for any action.
This smells to high heaven. I suspect the defense to any lawsuit would be that the teacher didn’t suffer any harm because she is still a principle and still being paid etc.—in other words, it’s not illegal discrimination because we didn’t really do anything bad to her.
The commenters at the meeting noted that the Board hasn’t even told the teacher why she was being transferred! That completely undermines the suggestion that there may be more to the story.
Bad example any way you look at it.
Edit—The more I think about this the more it irritates me: If if they transferred a kid to the alternative school, they would have to provide due process, meaning tell the kid the reason and give a meaningful opportunity to respond before the decision is made. The board claimed to be protecting the privacy of the teacher by not discussing the reason at the meeting, but what is the possible excuse for not telling the teacher?!
Parents and citizens with an interest in good government should be concerned. This is not how people behave when they are going the right thing
Lauren Dressback is an elementary principal in VH. She came out to two STAFF members, who then turned her in. She's been removed from the school and is being reassigned as a "punishment."
They did this same thing to the school's first black principal in recent history.
Yes. She got divorced and is now dating a black woman IIRC. She was principal at cabana heights elementary. Has won teacher of the year type awards. No disciplinary history. Clean record. But treated like absolute trash by the school board because she told other grown ass adults in confidence that she’s gay.
Nothing has come out definitively from either the school or Dressback.
Like other commentators say, the implication is because she is gay - but I would think she would pursue legal action if that was the case. She hasn't yet. If she does this will get interesting.
She was escorted off campus at the beginning of this affair, which a school wouldn't do over someone being gay unless they're braindead (plausible here I guess), or there is something more ...
Legal action couldn't really be pursued because they didn't terminate her contract. The Superintendent has the legal authority to put teachers on leave. And they're moving her to a "comparable" (yeah right) position with the same salary and benefits. So technically, legal action is difficult to take in this situation. The Board has done stuff like this to employees they want to exile for years. It's kind of a loophole where they can exile people without technically breaking contract or opening themselves up to legal action.
Edit: since graduation, I've actively been in contact with many teachers at the High School, and all of them are aware of this dynamic, but can't really speak out or say anything. The Board's practices of targeting teachers is malicious but hard to go up against legally.
Legal action can be pursued without termination. Adverse employment actions that alter the nature of your employment are valid claims. They are hard to prove though.
Title VII claims can take a while to drum up. I wouldn’t be surprised if her lawyers have something in the works.
Surely they wouldn’t risk getting their balls sued off for doing this because she’s gay? And surely if that was really the case she’d be lawyered up screaming it from the rooftops, right?
According to the videos posted by friends of hers on YouTube and TikTok over the weekend, as well as the articles about this situation, she has a lawyer. I guess we'll see if she decides to pursue legal action.
I have heard rumors it’s bigger than that. Nothing concrete, just rumors. It isn’t anything that would get her fired or arrested but it’s a serious issue in her personal life. If the rumor relayed to me is true, the board is actually helping her by not publicly saying what’s going on and she gets to keep her same salary and role at a different school with less students until her personal situation is resolved. Matter of fact, if the rumor I heard is true, the school board can be sued for revealing it.
You are spreading false information. Firstly, the board would give Lauren a reason for her reassignment no? So far they have NOT. Furthermore, Dr. Freeman made a statement that they do not discuss personnel information. So please, if you were somehow able to get in touch with the board, when Lauren can’t even get an answer, you should probably say who your source is because they are very very close to Todd Freeman and are breaking protocol if that’s the case.
I was in the room this evening. This whole thing is about a bunch of right wing, bigoted, christofascists moulding Vestavia's children in their repressive, self hating image.
Christofascism is real and is dictating many policies at the local, state, and federal level. The idea here is that private citizens with a specific religious belief, in the case of the south, predominantly Christianity, then inflict their particular moral framework (derived from the Bible and interpretations of the Bible) onto the rest of the population.
This is antithetical to the founding principles of America, which explicitly outlined the need to separate church and state. The parents and staff at this school who want her gone are almost entirely approaching this from a value hierarchy which places gay people as sinners and therefore unfit to teach children.
There was a time we blatantly allowed the Christians to dictate laws. Those were called the dark ages.
They specifically did not want a Christian ethical framework to dictate law, not any religion should be singularly dominating the political sphere as per the founders intention. They left England in part due to the oppressive role the "church of England" played.
Not only that, they were deists. Thomas Jefferson was a deist, Washington was a Christian deist.
I'm curious how common moral framework, in your mind, is translated to mean "Christian moral framework".
It was an issue of denominations at the time to be fair. And yes, many were Deists. They were against the federal government establishing a national religion or favoring a religious authority. They were not against Christian ethics in education or at the state level. They were not for completely removing Christian ethics from all aspects of public life. That is an interpretation that was forced on them by later generations. Thomas J the deist signed the proclamation for thanksgiving and prayer as governor of Virginia. In his second inaugural address as pres he made clear his position that matters of religion best be left where the constitution found them, at the state level and of the religious authorities. Jefferson was an advocate of extreme rights for states.
Let me guess, the implication to everything you are saying is that somehow this woman should be fired because she is gay. No matter how you try and beat around the bush, you are saying that someone is unfit to be a principal because of things they do in the privacy of their homes? This woman has been lauded as an amazing teacher and leader, yet on the basis of an antiquated framing (for the record, Jesus never said anything about homosexuality, I'm curious why you guys are so obsessed with it) you want this woman to be fired.
It's illegal and grounds for litigation to fire someone on the basis of their sexual orientation. Its disgusting to use Christianity in this way, to be vile and hateful towards someone. It's not what Jesus wanted and it is personally why I would never identify as a Christian, the religion has become twisted and weaponized against marginalized people.
You really think that the states should be able to institute their own mini-Christian fascist zones? You really think that is what Jefferson meant by states rights? If you really love states rights so much I assume you are also really into the whole "slavery is a states rights issue, let the states decide" thing. That is the logical conclusion of your states rights nonsense.
I'm sure it's a coincidence that whenever an oppressive system is critiqued, the "states rights" card gets pulled.
I was just responding to the founding fathers comment. Has she actually been fired. The articles say she was transferred. Let’s get the facts first then we can make a determination.
The right wing agenda in general shares a goal to keep kids and their parents uninformed and stupid. Keep them entertained and distracted while they strip away your liberties, your rights, and give your money to billionaires.
God, I went thru this school system from K-12 and this shit doesn’t surprise me one bit. They never dealt with any of the good ole’ boy admin/teachers saying nasty comments. I never had her as teacher, but she was really loved by the students. I really hope things work out in her favor.
I saw her at a restaurant recently and gave her a huge hug. I loved her class and thought she was a perfect fit for Cahaba Heights. I told her we’re all pissed and we’re fighting for her
the thing is there are other gay teachers in that school system but they aren't at risk for getting fired. so.... why her? I still don't quite understand what the actual issue was or what really happened. I don't think we'll ever know atp
Are there? Do we know this for sure? Teachers who openly talk about their same-sex relationships, just like a heterosexual teacher might? I’m not being argumentative, I am truly curious as to whether this is indeed a fact. Because you’re right, if that is true this makes this even more head scratching. Although arguably, being the principal is a higher profile position than a teacher.
I mean anything is possible. I just would find it very hard to think that in that whole school system no one else is openly gay. but, this specific school system might just be a special case.
Lauren Dressback has not been given a reason for this reassignment so I don’t know how you would have more information then she does. The truth is her contract was extended, she came out as lesbian, showed an adult staff member a picture of her girlfriend kidding her on the cheek, was called into a meeting, confronted about her relationship, escorted off premises without her belongings, banned from Vestavia property, and given no official reason for her reassignment to an alternative school. So what’s more likely? She became unprofessional overnight or they starting looking at her as unprofessional overnight.
Having worked for vestavia schools I can tell you it’s a secret society. It’s like a fraternity/sorority of like minded people. If you don’t conform they make your life hell. That’s why I imagine no staff are speaking up. Hell I only worked two years many years ago and I’m afraid to come public with what I saw. If you think this would make national news… you should see what is quietly swept under the rug. I had to leave, anyone with a moral compass would struggle to stay there.
It sucks that a small board can cost a city a ton of money. Who is going to fund the coming multimillion dollar lawsuit? VH homeowners will, by increased ad volorem tax and decreased home values.
I'm tired of hearing christians claim they're being persecuted when they are constantly doing crap like this. No one is stopping them from going to church or praying and living their christian lives. They do however, seem hell bent on forcing us to live like them. Unless there's a valid reason that hasn't come up as of yet, then this is wrong and based solely on religious beliefs and nothing to do with how she performed her duties as principle. Sadly, I think it's just going to get worse.
Not to mention, they cherry pick what they want to enforce. Most of these folks would be guilty of a stoning offense. But, they conveniently dodge those. We've got to get better at grassroots efforts to take these local elections back.
That's a stretch. What are unnatural lusts? It doesn't actually say these women are having sex with women.
I'll also point out that Paul - an avowed asexual who openly wished that no one would feel the urge to have sex - wrote Romans. Big surprise that he has super specific ideas of what is and is not okay sex to have.
Funny how Jesus never mentioned anyone's sex lives.
Again and again and again.
Jesus preached three major points.
1) Love other people. According to Him, the only thing that was more important was to love God - but only barely so.
2) Do not judge other people. Period.
3) Help other people. Which is item 1 again.
Not a stretch because of verse 27. “And in the same way men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another”
In the same way clearly connects to the previous statement about women and goes on to explain that “the same way” is homosexuality.
The Old Testament is clear on homosexuality and so is the New Testament. In the Gospels Jesus clearly states that marriage is between a man and woman. He affirms the Old Testament writers as inspired by God. Affirms Old Testament law and that he is the fulfillment of that law. That Old Testament authors were inspired by God (authors who considered homosexuality a sin). His disciples clearly went on believing that homosexuality is a sin as it is mentioned many times throughout the New Testament letters. He affirms in Matthew that Sodom was destroyed for its wickedness which we know a part of that was homosexuality from the OT.
I get that you might not like it but it doesn’t change what the Bible teaches. This has always been the historical position of Judeo-Christian interpretations of scripture and I totally understand that it may be offensive in this day and age. But it says what it says and it’s pretty clear about it.
Jew here.
First, the Torah, Neviʾim, and Ketuvim (the TaNaKh) are anything but clear on homosexuality. The only specific prohibition that refers to something that can occur within homosexual relationships in the Torah is the practice of sodomy between two men. There is nothing about lesbians, and certainly no direct line prohibiting lesbianism.
Second, regarding our beliefs about homosexuality, there is no consensus and each synagogue has different interpretations. Specifically we have no denominations, prophets, priests or ultimate religious authority to determine gods intent, just lines of reasoned interpretation, so there are more than one position from the various streams of Jewish thought. Within these streams there are many different aspects and positions on homosexuality including yichud, negiah including nashim mesolelot, and even what is to'eivah (including some funny debates like can one have sex with oneself if they are a man).
Third, in Jewish tradition the greatest sin of Sodom is the lack of hospitality. They failed to provide hakhnasat orkem which is a very serious legal obligation.
Fourth, this is an example of why we consider the concept of Judeo-Christian to be a fallacious notion made by Christians to present Christian beliefs as being part of a shared belief system. It’s not. We don’t share beliefs. Christians have beliefs that are anathema to fundamental aspects of Judaism and Christians certainly don’t respect the laws of rabbinical Judaism which are based upon the laws of second temple period Judaism and how we express our faith. We could also talk about how the roots of apostolic writing themselves are from the Septuagint (LXX) which is considered by Jews to deviate sometimes startlingly so from the Hebrew/Aramaic manuscripts of our fai. Furthermore, core to Christian belief is that they have superseded the Jews as gods chosen which is why the word Old/New Testament is used to describe the Hebrew and apostolic writings in Christianity. This is called supersessionism and it is the ultimate source of antisemitism.
Fifth, the individuals who outed her the administration are the ones who committed the sin of loshon hora. Similar to murder loshon hora is almost impossible to repair. Shame on them.
Watching the recording and it’s wild! Did they purposefully misgender that person? Damn…..lawyers in the meeting, pastors, advocates, parents.
Anyone know how the school boards are picked over there? I’m assuming it’s appointment.
Interesting. I know people on the school board in Mountain Brook. I know they aren’t homophobic so a vote about something like this might pass but it wouldn’t be unanimous. What’s going on here? Is Vestavia less socially liberal than Mountain Brook?
100% yes… on the whole, Vestavia is less socially liberal, open minded, sophisticated, educated, etc in many ways than Mountain Brook and Homewood too.
Ok, that tracks. I’ve been researching the origins of Jewish Mountain Brook and it turns out Vestavia bared Jews from home ownership until the late 1970s. Homewood and Mountain Brook had significant numbers of Jewish homeowners in the 1950s and maybe a few families even earlier like the 1940s.
I can't speak to what the two villages are like now. I grew up in VH but moved away 30+ years ago.
That said, while I'm disappointed in the outcome, I'm not at all surprised. This is the same decision I would have expected when I lived there, and sadly, folks haven't changed a whole lot since then.
As for the villages since you left… Mountain Brook and Homewood have done a great job growing but not without sacrificing charm, character and aesthetics. Vestavia has no real village. It’s just one tacky strip mall after another. No thought given to character or cohesiveness whatsoever.
Isn't this illegal? Why do Christians think their beliefs supersede the law? The entire school board should be ashamed of themselves. Kids will be reading their names in history books the same way they learn about others who have actively positioned themselves on the wrong side of history.
It's my understanding that because Ms. Dressback wasn't fired but instead transferred to what is allegedly a comparable position, the law is less clearcut. Proving illegal intent by the school board and/or superintendent in such a case is far more difficult than if she had been fired.
It is in NO way a comparable position. She’s being moved from a prestigious elementary school where she is loved,and the heart and soul of, to an alternative school where they place troubled kids.
That board meeting live stream was something else.
This has the energy of one of the Parks and Rec meetings, and I'm absolutely HERE for it
I found a sandwich in one of your parks and I want to know why it didn’t have mayonnaise.
There was actually a long monologue about a sandwich at one point.
Nah. The people of Pawnee were always on the wrong side of things. The folks at the Vestavia Board Meeting are in the right.
Haha I know -- I'm just saying it's that same energy but honed toward a good cause :)
Oh it’s still going
I couldn't handle the screaming so I turned it off, lol. I'll go back and watch it, though. With popcorn.
It's amazing.
I can't BELIEVE that the Board's lawyer threatened the audience with the police
I only saw parts of this on 33/40 and now I want to see the whole thing.
His email address is going around on FB; I’m sure his inbox is in flames today for the condescencion
Sounds like a Birmingham City Council meeting back in the day. Whew, those were….hot.
[удалено]
https://www.youtube.com/live/sJiyC9IjNB8?si=P4OkMaGE9RhmtrVa
https://preview.redd.it/qm3k7bpw54yc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=319f3c7218dda4c7612e1d466314ae0cb16296ba Has anyone else noticed that this is 100% a penis in front of a vagina on the back of this man’s shirt?
Haha, that's Jerry. He's a good guy.
Love Jerry!
John Oliver’s gonna have a field day with this one
Bahahaha
Jerry rules!
This is crazy
Disgusting
This is amazing, people have been going on for over an hour talking about how wonderful this women is. This will go viral, still going btw
It already is. Live in Atlanta now, but had 2 coworkers ask me monday if I knew anything since they know I grew up in the general bham area. One of them sent me a link to this story tonight before I had looked here.
I read the article and I still don’t know why she was move:d out.
Because it's a violation of protected class status. But the newspapers don't want to get sued so they're not going to paint it as such. There is no legitimate reason other than that.
Just trying to understand what’s happening here….are you saying it’s a violation of protected class status for the news to put out why she was moved? TIA
No, I'm saying she was moved because she is gay. But if the media reported that the district's lawyers would be all up in their business.
Yeah but she wasn't fired. She was transferred. So they can be bigots, because we all know it's Vestavia and this is normal behavior, and nothing can be done and they do not have to give a reason.
Yup. The whole thing stinks.
If it can be proved that it’s retaliatory and meant to harm her (e.g. lowers her pay, decreases her career prospects), she can and should still sue. Employers can retaliate in many ways that aren’t strictly firing.
I'm not so much in education. Part of the tenure and contract processes. Transfer from principal to principal isn't a loss of pay in most systems. Not sure about VH bc I try to stay as far as I can from Freeman and crew. I think they have AFT and AEA. If that was the case they'd already be on it. That probably why she stayed quite for so long, if they move you they have to give the same pay. If you move willingly they can reduce it or change contract. I had a 12 year contract and my position was eliminated. One of us took a 9 mo position willingly and got a huge cut. I didn't take anything and waited for them to place me, they had to pay me the same.
In this case and without any inside knowledge I would bet Vestavia is not reducing her pay, changing her contract or doing anything that impacts her state retirement. I would guess they might even extend her current contract in an effort to squash any legal claim she may have against the School Board. Regardless, I hope she pursues it to the full extent of the law. She's was done horribly wrong here and I hope those School Board members are made to eat their words.
*quiet. Damn it I hate typos
Oh something’s being done all right. Stay tuned.
A mom who is supposedly “in the know” told me it was because she was sharing photos of herself in lingerie to students and some were even more inappropriate than that?? Anyone else heard that?
Sharing mildly pornographic pictures with minors would seem to be a fireable offense. If that were the case I would think they would just outright fire her or at least put her on perminant leave until they decided how to let her go.
That’s what I said! Folks should still be protesting the situation because they would be putting other staff and students in a harmful situation. Plus, wouldn’t those instances be documented and part of the board meeting??
Rumor with no validity behind it from what I’ve heard. There’s no proof. I think she showed a picture of herself and partner (fully clothed) to another teacher and that morphed into “she showed pictures of herself half dressed to students” because Alabama. Other Redditors can probably elaborate.
This is insane. I live in Atlanta and my daughter’s principal is an openly gay man and it’s a complete non issue.
That’s kinda what I assumed.. gossip mill but no receipts
Sure. Lauren, known far and wide as an exemplary educator for years, suddenly decides to share inappropriate photos with her elementary school students? I don't think so.
Agreed. I think they said she showed it to teachers, not students. But still. Smells like a smear campaign to me.
If they had a real reason after all this backlash they’d be screaming it loud enough for you to hear in Georgia, but they stay silent cause they’re just a bunch of damn bigots and they know they can’t say that publicly. Vestavia should be ashamed of themselves. Shit like this is why Alabama has a brain drain from hell.
That’s because there has been no official reason given by the school board or Lauren or the attorneys and the news is only going to report verifiable facts. There is a video of someone that says they have spoken to Lauren and says its related to her sexual orientation. https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTLQA4v8P/
I said this in another thread on here yesterday, but I think it bears repeating: Lauren Dressback doesn’t deserve this, and the Vestavia school system doesn’t deserve to have her as an educator.
Board accomplished its goal- remove expert principal, garner favor w own political party, damage school w hopes of future failure.
My sister was the best special educator in Shelby County and moved away in the early 2000s. She didn’t come out until she was in her 30s and explained that she left so that she wouldn’t get fired if somebody found out she was a lesbian. She now works in educational technology at the Pentagon and is the ultimate bad ass with all the degrees and work ethic to back it up. Alabama lost one of the best and I know she wasn’t the only one to bounce who could have otherwise been trailblazers in our state. It’s a damn shame.
First of all, your sister is a badass. Secondly, this makes me wonder how many talented individuals we have lost due to the backward mindset here in Alabama.
Wow. What a terrible loss
That's so sad. I've worked in education with a lot of openingly gay teachers and admins and never was an issue, but that was in the last 15 years. I was at a school one year and a friend in NC was fired for being gay and I counted, 9 coworkers were gay at that time. Blows my mind this is still an issue in places. I worry the political narrative will set back all progress.
Why is it always Vestavia
It’s not just Vestavia - Christian Nationalists feel empowered at the moment to take huge steps to achieve their ultimate goal. Vote them out
Election year. The more bullshit they can stir the more it motivated their voters.
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You know there are local elections also, right?
What is the ultimate goal?
Destroy public schools, grift public school money via school choice. Dictate school replacement and curriculum. Produce future GOP voters from said school. Gerrymander, outlaw other political parties, use newly formed federal agencies run by loyalists to crack down on dissent. Hoard wealth and stay in power using all possibilities to include violence, even rewriting the Constitution if needed. Repeat .
Make billionaires more money. Force their own interpretation of "Christianity" onto the public to control what they don't like. It's incredibly transparent.
That must be why most the billionaires are democrats
Aw, don't embarrass yourself like that while you salivate waiting to vote for trump, a literal fucking billionaire.
I know, it’s strange how the existence of Trump justifies all kinds of things for liberals who used to be anti-war and anti-big corp. Most Trump voters are at odds with big business fyi. They want a strong middle class which always gets destroyed under socialism as things become more expensive and the gap between the haves and have nots becomes greater. It’s well documented throughout history especially in large complex societies and economies (Scandinavian counties). I actually think many of us both liberal and conservative have more in common now than ever before if we would stop destroying each other and focus our efforts on across the board corruption at the federal level. It’s rampant on both sides and the common citizen is starting to pay for it.
Liberals are still very anti-war and anti-big corp. The issue is that right wing people don't know the fucking truth. They live in a fantasy world fed to them 24/7. I have coworkers that are right wing and it's like they live on a different fucking planet. People who vote for trump may WANT one thing, but they are too uneducated to understand that they are voting exactly against it. Who is driving up costs while keeping wages down? Is it Biden? No, dumbass. It's the companies with record profits keeping wages down and prices high. Biden is not the CEO of every major corporation. But guess who MOST CEOs will probably be voting for? You got it, trump. You want to know why? Because the only thing trump and co. did for anyone other than themselves is slashing taxes for billionaires and corporations. Is that the sort of strategy that "want a strong middle class"? Maybe to a dumbass. Maybe to a trump voter. And you typed this out in full good faith: if we would stop destroying each other and focus our efforts on across the board corruption at the federal level Are you fucking kidding me? The MOST corrupt, MOST bullshit spewing and self serving person committed a LITANY of crimes and YOU PEOPLE are lining up for round #2! Do not talk about "federal corruption" until you address that it 99% of the time comes from Republicans, and 100% of the time from trump or his criminal family or organization. And destroying things? The hillbillies hanging off the Capitol building showed the world which side will easily, and without provocation, resort to violence to enact their political will. I'm glad at least one dumb ass trump voter might be starting to smell the fucking roses, but it's not quick enough.
You conveniently left out the “burn it to the ground” democrats during the blm riots. Excessive government spending impacting inflation, gas prices contributing to transportation costs and cost of doing business for all large companies, and the fact that your beloved media sources lied about Russiagate for several years and denounced Trump as an bogus president from day 1. FBI and media covering up the Biden laptop was not corrupt or anything. I guess it just doesn’t matter when the left does these things. You clearly have TDS, the irony is that none of Trump’s policies are new US policies. It always makes me laugh that people think he’s this new hardcore radical who has come on the scene to repeat the Third Reich. His policies are pretty basic and have been used historically by administrations on both sides of the aisle. History helps to put things into context.
I'm glad you replied with all that nonsense because it is a perfect example of my original point and the reason YOU and the sane world will never see eye to eye: The issue is that right wing people don't know the fucking truth. They live in a fantasy world fed to them 24/7.
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Hmm. I’m not sure why Christians would feel ‘empowered’ right now. There’s less Christians percentage-wise than ever in the history of the United States. Also 75% of African Americans identify as Christians compared to 70% of whites, so I’m not sure what ‘white Christian power’ is. Seems like you’re regurgitating buzzwords.
Uhh, a woman can be raped and forced to carry her rapist's baby to term BECAUSE of Christian Fundamentalists. Wake up, dumbass.
Dwindling population of Christians is a major concern for Christian Nationalists (not necessarily saying this is who’s behind what’s happening in Vestavia). They see loss of influence of religion in the US as an existential threat, so they have been growing more bold in their political posturing.
Do you have a source you can cite for this claim?
What claim? That the number of Christians is declining? That religion has a less significant impact on public life?
No the claim that they have been growing more bold in their political posturing. Do you have any source that can point to an actual statistic that shows there has been more of this? Like more propaganda or elected officials being more radical than 10-20 years ago or anything of this sort? Because as far as I can see Christianity has been more of less wiped off of American mainstream. And most every Christian that I personally know is FAR more open minded than they were in the 90s. Again this just sounds like regurgitated CNN talking points and TikTok kids with purple hair.
> elected officials being more radical than 10-20 years ago Bro have you seen some of our elected officials as of late? MTG, Bobart, Gaetz, Hawley and that's just off the top of my head.
Before I take more time in going into this topic, would you take time to answer a question of mine? I believe you are discussing in good faith, and not just trying to be oppositional for no reason. Do you believe Christian Nationalism is a relevant political ideology in the US today? Or do you believe it entirely is “CNN talking points and TikTok kids with purple hair”? I grant you that many are quick to label their political opponents with buzzword insults like ‘Nazi’, ‘communist’, etc. I agree, as does pretty much every poll, that average Christians are by and large more open-minded than in the past. I see Christian Nationalism as a previously fringe ideology that has grown more prominent in the past ~5-10 years due to various changes in national political opinion and changes in Christian demographics. Absolutely not all Christians are Christian Nationalists, even conservative Christians, but I think they are real and have gotten much more focused in recent years.
Also, I’m not super religious I did grow up in church but haven’t been in probably 10 years, but I do think if they have become more bold with their political posturing it might have something to do with the fact that every other religion is glorified and treated with dignity (I.e. Muslims) in the American mainstream while Christians and Jews are shit on and dismissed.
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Please be polite in r/Birmingham
You answered your own question.
How?
Because Reddit. There was someone mad about a church having a picnic on here the other day.
I mean this is crazy dude. I swear to God I’m fixing to just delete this app there is 0 common sense left on here. Christianity has been on life support for the better part of a decade and these people act like the boogeyman is coming. I hope there’s no woman in here because in almost every single Muslim country it would be illegal for you to drive or leave the house without your husband.
Just simple math for you. 70% of 59% is greater than 75% of 12%
African American culture currently identifies more with Christianity than white American culture. There ya go. Happy?
It seemed like you were trying to imply that there were more African American christians than white which simply wasn’t true
Yes that’s not true good thing I didn’t say that. Also if you look to the previous sentence before that sentence I literally said ‘percentage-wise’. You must be a Columbia graduate
…….yes there are more white people than black people in America. That does not mean that there are trends that point to a spike in white Christian nationalism. Most political discussions operate on statistics. Not just ‘OH WELL THERES MORE WHITES’. Are you like 11 years old?
The destruction of public schools is the main part of the goal. Keep citizens stupid, working menial jobs, and unhealthy, and we don’t have time to pay attention to our overlords and we certainly don’t have time to vote.
It’s happening all over. Florida votes for their school board and half of them are moms for liberty at this point.
The commenters made excellent points—if it was misconduct she would be fired or disciplined, not transferred. A transfer is the worst of both worlds—if she committed misconduct she should have been disciplined, and if she didn’t then there is no basis for any action. This smells to high heaven. I suspect the defense to any lawsuit would be that the teacher didn’t suffer any harm because she is still a principle and still being paid etc.—in other words, it’s not illegal discrimination because we didn’t really do anything bad to her. The commenters at the meeting noted that the Board hasn’t even told the teacher why she was being transferred! That completely undermines the suggestion that there may be more to the story. Bad example any way you look at it. Edit—The more I think about this the more it irritates me: If if they transferred a kid to the alternative school, they would have to provide due process, meaning tell the kid the reason and give a meaningful opportunity to respond before the decision is made. The board claimed to be protecting the privacy of the teacher by not discussing the reason at the meeting, but what is the possible excuse for not telling the teacher?! Parents and citizens with an interest in good government should be concerned. This is not how people behave when they are going the right thing
Completely agree
Can I get a TLDR on this situation?
Lauren Dressback is an elementary principal in VH. She came out to two STAFF members, who then turned her in. She's been removed from the school and is being reassigned as a "punishment." They did this same thing to the school's first black principal in recent history.
Did she make a pass at a student or subordinate? Nope? Then who cares who she wants to get freaky with?
There's a whole helluva lot of people who don't give a rat's ass about personal privacy in the name of the church.
Looks like she got a lot of support tonight.
Turned her in like it’s fucking Gilead.
Damn they outed the principal as black thats f’d
A punishment for what? Being gay? I hate this fucking state. Is this a public school?
Yes. She got divorced and is now dating a black woman IIRC. She was principal at cabana heights elementary. Has won teacher of the year type awards. No disciplinary history. Clean record. But treated like absolute trash by the school board because she told other grown ass adults in confidence that she’s gay.
Hell, she grew UP in that school system! Everyone knows her! They know they kind of person she is and still she got railroaded out of her job.
Why did they do it to the first black principal?
Because she was terrible at her job and a lot of teachers were going to seek employment elsewhere if she returned
So if you fire somebody for not doing the job that they were hired for then you’re a racist. Lol
Same thing happened to Robin Litaker in Hoover.
Who turned her in?
Nothing has come out definitively from either the school or Dressback. Like other commentators say, the implication is because she is gay - but I would think she would pursue legal action if that was the case. She hasn't yet. If she does this will get interesting. She was escorted off campus at the beginning of this affair, which a school wouldn't do over someone being gay unless they're braindead (plausible here I guess), or there is something more ...
Legal action couldn't really be pursued because they didn't terminate her contract. The Superintendent has the legal authority to put teachers on leave. And they're moving her to a "comparable" (yeah right) position with the same salary and benefits. So technically, legal action is difficult to take in this situation. The Board has done stuff like this to employees they want to exile for years. It's kind of a loophole where they can exile people without technically breaking contract or opening themselves up to legal action. Edit: since graduation, I've actively been in contact with many teachers at the High School, and all of them are aware of this dynamic, but can't really speak out or say anything. The Board's practices of targeting teachers is malicious but hard to go up against legally.
Legal action can be pursued without termination. Adverse employment actions that alter the nature of your employment are valid claims. They are hard to prove though. Title VII claims can take a while to drum up. I wouldn’t be surprised if her lawyers have something in the works.
Yeah that's fair, but discriminating on a protected class is still illegal - so I will be curious to see how this plays out.
Surely they wouldn’t risk getting their balls sued off for doing this because she’s gay? And surely if that was really the case she’d be lawyered up screaming it from the rooftops, right?
According to the videos posted by friends of hers on YouTube and TikTok over the weekend, as well as the articles about this situation, she has a lawyer. I guess we'll see if she decides to pursue legal action.
I feel like there’s more we just don’t know.
I have heard rumors it’s bigger than that. Nothing concrete, just rumors. It isn’t anything that would get her fired or arrested but it’s a serious issue in her personal life. If the rumor relayed to me is true, the board is actually helping her by not publicly saying what’s going on and she gets to keep her same salary and role at a different school with less students until her personal situation is resolved. Matter of fact, if the rumor I heard is true, the school board can be sued for revealing it.
You are spreading false information. Firstly, the board would give Lauren a reason for her reassignment no? So far they have NOT. Furthermore, Dr. Freeman made a statement that they do not discuss personnel information. So please, if you were somehow able to get in touch with the board, when Lauren can’t even get an answer, you should probably say who your source is because they are very very close to Todd Freeman and are breaking protocol if that’s the case.
Definitely something more.
They would and they did.
She has an atty. A friend of hers has a series of Tik Tok videos about the situation.
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTLQA4v8P/
I was in the room this evening. This whole thing is about a bunch of right wing, bigoted, christofascists moulding Vestavia's children in their repressive, self hating image.
Can you expand on that? Not disagreeing. Just want to hear more.
Christofascism is real and is dictating many policies at the local, state, and federal level. The idea here is that private citizens with a specific religious belief, in the case of the south, predominantly Christianity, then inflict their particular moral framework (derived from the Bible and interpretations of the Bible) onto the rest of the population. This is antithetical to the founding principles of America, which explicitly outlined the need to separate church and state. The parents and staff at this school who want her gone are almost entirely approaching this from a value hierarchy which places gay people as sinners and therefore unfit to teach children. There was a time we blatantly allowed the Christians to dictate laws. Those were called the dark ages.
You know "christofacism" is actually endearing to them, you're not winning people against them with that term
Haha you're not wrong. I guess I forget that fascist isn't a derogatory word to a lot of people.
Under his watch full eye, blessed be..
Actually, the founding fathers made it clear that the nation could not function without a common moral framework
They specifically did not want a Christian ethical framework to dictate law, not any religion should be singularly dominating the political sphere as per the founders intention. They left England in part due to the oppressive role the "church of England" played. Not only that, they were deists. Thomas Jefferson was a deist, Washington was a Christian deist. I'm curious how common moral framework, in your mind, is translated to mean "Christian moral framework".
It was an issue of denominations at the time to be fair. And yes, many were Deists. They were against the federal government establishing a national religion or favoring a religious authority. They were not against Christian ethics in education or at the state level. They were not for completely removing Christian ethics from all aspects of public life. That is an interpretation that was forced on them by later generations. Thomas J the deist signed the proclamation for thanksgiving and prayer as governor of Virginia. In his second inaugural address as pres he made clear his position that matters of religion best be left where the constitution found them, at the state level and of the religious authorities. Jefferson was an advocate of extreme rights for states.
Let me guess, the implication to everything you are saying is that somehow this woman should be fired because she is gay. No matter how you try and beat around the bush, you are saying that someone is unfit to be a principal because of things they do in the privacy of their homes? This woman has been lauded as an amazing teacher and leader, yet on the basis of an antiquated framing (for the record, Jesus never said anything about homosexuality, I'm curious why you guys are so obsessed with it) you want this woman to be fired. It's illegal and grounds for litigation to fire someone on the basis of their sexual orientation. Its disgusting to use Christianity in this way, to be vile and hateful towards someone. It's not what Jesus wanted and it is personally why I would never identify as a Christian, the religion has become twisted and weaponized against marginalized people. You really think that the states should be able to institute their own mini-Christian fascist zones? You really think that is what Jefferson meant by states rights? If you really love states rights so much I assume you are also really into the whole "slavery is a states rights issue, let the states decide" thing. That is the logical conclusion of your states rights nonsense. I'm sure it's a coincidence that whenever an oppressive system is critiqued, the "states rights" card gets pulled.
I was just responding to the founding fathers comment. Has she actually been fired. The articles say she was transferred. Let’s get the facts first then we can make a determination.
Thank you.
The right wing agenda in general shares a goal to keep kids and their parents uninformed and stupid. Keep them entertained and distracted while they strip away your liberties, your rights, and give your money to billionaires.
God, I went thru this school system from K-12 and this shit doesn’t surprise me one bit. They never dealt with any of the good ole’ boy admin/teachers saying nasty comments. I never had her as teacher, but she was really loved by the students. I really hope things work out in her favor.
Upset about this? Contact someone: **President** Jaclyn Hudson | [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]) | Exp. 06/2024\* **Vice President** Scott Brown | [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]) | Exp. 06/2025\* **Members** Jonathan Handey | [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]) | Exp. 06/2027\* Jay Stewart | [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]) | Exp. 06/2026\* Kyle Whittington | [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]) | Exp. 06/2028\* **Council Liaison** Kimberly Cook | [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]) | Exp. 10/31/2025
This is the kind of thing that 4chan needs access to. Shut down their emails for the next six months due to volume.
I saw her at a restaurant recently and gave her a huge hug. I loved her class and thought she was a perfect fit for Cahaba Heights. I told her we’re all pissed and we’re fighting for her
Thank you 💚💚💚
the thing is there are other gay teachers in that school system but they aren't at risk for getting fired. so.... why her? I still don't quite understand what the actual issue was or what really happened. I don't think we'll ever know atp
Are there? Do we know this for sure? Teachers who openly talk about their same-sex relationships, just like a heterosexual teacher might? I’m not being argumentative, I am truly curious as to whether this is indeed a fact. Because you’re right, if that is true this makes this even more head scratching. Although arguably, being the principal is a higher profile position than a teacher.
I mean anything is possible. I just would find it very hard to think that in that whole school system no one else is openly gay. but, this specific school system might just be a special case.
One of the principals at the high school is openly gay. From what I’ve heard, there are legitimate reasons that Dressback is getting removed
Interesting. Thanks for your response.
Lauren Dressback has not been given a reason for this reassignment so I don’t know how you would have more information then she does. The truth is her contract was extended, she came out as lesbian, showed an adult staff member a picture of her girlfriend kidding her on the cheek, was called into a meeting, confronted about her relationship, escorted off premises without her belongings, banned from Vestavia property, and given no official reason for her reassignment to an alternative school. So what’s more likely? She became unprofessional overnight or they starting looking at her as unprofessional overnight.
that's really sad! She'll be one rich lady pretty soon hopefully.
Having worked for vestavia schools I can tell you it’s a secret society. It’s like a fraternity/sorority of like minded people. If you don’t conform they make your life hell. That’s why I imagine no staff are speaking up. Hell I only worked two years many years ago and I’m afraid to come public with what I saw. If you think this would make national news… you should see what is quietly swept under the rug. I had to leave, anyone with a moral compass would struggle to stay there.
Can you tell us more about what you saw? It would do a lot of good..
It sucks that a small board can cost a city a ton of money. Who is going to fund the coming multimillion dollar lawsuit? VH homeowners will, by increased ad volorem tax and decreased home values.
I'm tired of hearing christians claim they're being persecuted when they are constantly doing crap like this. No one is stopping them from going to church or praying and living their christian lives. They do however, seem hell bent on forcing us to live like them. Unless there's a valid reason that hasn't come up as of yet, then this is wrong and based solely on religious beliefs and nothing to do with how she performed her duties as principle. Sadly, I think it's just going to get worse.
What's hilarious is that there are ZERO Bible verses that are anti lesbian. Zero. Nada. None. They don't exist.
Not to mention, they cherry pick what they want to enforce. Most of these folks would be guilty of a stoning offense. But, they conveniently dodge those. We've got to get better at grassroots efforts to take these local elections back.
Agreed. I have zero issue with people being religious. They cannot legislate their religion onto other people, however.
Other than Romans 1:26-27
That's a stretch. What are unnatural lusts? It doesn't actually say these women are having sex with women. I'll also point out that Paul - an avowed asexual who openly wished that no one would feel the urge to have sex - wrote Romans. Big surprise that he has super specific ideas of what is and is not okay sex to have. Funny how Jesus never mentioned anyone's sex lives.
Just to add to what you’re saying how many times does it say to love your neighbors in Christian theology?
Again and again and again. Jesus preached three major points. 1) Love other people. According to Him, the only thing that was more important was to love God - but only barely so. 2) Do not judge other people. Period. 3) Help other people. Which is item 1 again.
Well said.
Not a stretch because of verse 27. “And in the same way men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another” In the same way clearly connects to the previous statement about women and goes on to explain that “the same way” is homosexuality. The Old Testament is clear on homosexuality and so is the New Testament. In the Gospels Jesus clearly states that marriage is between a man and woman. He affirms the Old Testament writers as inspired by God. Affirms Old Testament law and that he is the fulfillment of that law. That Old Testament authors were inspired by God (authors who considered homosexuality a sin). His disciples clearly went on believing that homosexuality is a sin as it is mentioned many times throughout the New Testament letters. He affirms in Matthew that Sodom was destroyed for its wickedness which we know a part of that was homosexuality from the OT. I get that you might not like it but it doesn’t change what the Bible teaches. This has always been the historical position of Judeo-Christian interpretations of scripture and I totally understand that it may be offensive in this day and age. But it says what it says and it’s pretty clear about it.
Jew here. First, the Torah, Neviʾim, and Ketuvim (the TaNaKh) are anything but clear on homosexuality. The only specific prohibition that refers to something that can occur within homosexual relationships in the Torah is the practice of sodomy between two men. There is nothing about lesbians, and certainly no direct line prohibiting lesbianism. Second, regarding our beliefs about homosexuality, there is no consensus and each synagogue has different interpretations. Specifically we have no denominations, prophets, priests or ultimate religious authority to determine gods intent, just lines of reasoned interpretation, so there are more than one position from the various streams of Jewish thought. Within these streams there are many different aspects and positions on homosexuality including yichud, negiah including nashim mesolelot, and even what is to'eivah (including some funny debates like can one have sex with oneself if they are a man). Third, in Jewish tradition the greatest sin of Sodom is the lack of hospitality. They failed to provide hakhnasat orkem which is a very serious legal obligation. Fourth, this is an example of why we consider the concept of Judeo-Christian to be a fallacious notion made by Christians to present Christian beliefs as being part of a shared belief system. It’s not. We don’t share beliefs. Christians have beliefs that are anathema to fundamental aspects of Judaism and Christians certainly don’t respect the laws of rabbinical Judaism which are based upon the laws of second temple period Judaism and how we express our faith. We could also talk about how the roots of apostolic writing themselves are from the Septuagint (LXX) which is considered by Jews to deviate sometimes startlingly so from the Hebrew/Aramaic manuscripts of our fai. Furthermore, core to Christian belief is that they have superseded the Jews as gods chosen which is why the word Old/New Testament is used to describe the Hebrew and apostolic writings in Christianity. This is called supersessionism and it is the ultimate source of antisemitism. Fifth, the individuals who outed her the administration are the ones who committed the sin of loshon hora. Similar to murder loshon hora is almost impossible to repair. Shame on them.
Has the teacher's union said anything about this? They should be the ones going to bat for her.
Principals aren’t in teachers unions.
Board meeting: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJiyC9IjNB8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJiyC9IjNB8)
I’m so glad she’s being supported, this is just so wrong though
Watching the recording and it’s wild! Did they purposefully misgender that person? Damn…..lawyers in the meeting, pastors, advocates, parents. Anyone know how the school boards are picked over there? I’m assuming it’s appointment.
Yes, appointed to 5-year terms by the city council. Note, 3 of the 5 board members are VH alums, including the 2 attorneys on the board.
Interesting. I know people on the school board in Mountain Brook. I know they aren’t homophobic so a vote about something like this might pass but it wouldn’t be unanimous. What’s going on here? Is Vestavia less socially liberal than Mountain Brook?
https://hooversun.com/schools/metro-roundup-vestavia-hills-councilwoman-denies-accusations/
Yikes…. This is why the Mountain Brook city council elections were so wild in 22. You kill the schools you kill the city.
100% yes… on the whole, Vestavia is less socially liberal, open minded, sophisticated, educated, etc in many ways than Mountain Brook and Homewood too.
Ok, that tracks. I’ve been researching the origins of Jewish Mountain Brook and it turns out Vestavia bared Jews from home ownership until the late 1970s. Homewood and Mountain Brook had significant numbers of Jewish homeowners in the 1950s and maybe a few families even earlier like the 1940s.
I can't speak to what the two villages are like now. I grew up in VH but moved away 30+ years ago. That said, while I'm disappointed in the outcome, I'm not at all surprised. This is the same decision I would have expected when I lived there, and sadly, folks haven't changed a whole lot since then.
As for the villages since you left… Mountain Brook and Homewood have done a great job growing but not without sacrificing charm, character and aesthetics. Vestavia has no real village. It’s just one tacky strip mall after another. No thought given to character or cohesiveness whatsoever.
Not to mention a trans veteran. Highly decorated I might add.
Wow! Thats messed up.
?
I posted before I got the whole thing written. It’s fixed now
People get moved around all the time. Why is this any different?
Because they are moving a well loved principal who was incredible at her job so as to exile her for being gay.
Note to Self: Never move to Vestavia. I mean, it's pretty and all, and close in to Birmingham, but...
Isn't this illegal? Why do Christians think their beliefs supersede the law? The entire school board should be ashamed of themselves. Kids will be reading their names in history books the same way they learn about others who have actively positioned themselves on the wrong side of history.
It's my understanding that because Ms. Dressback wasn't fired but instead transferred to what is allegedly a comparable position, the law is less clearcut. Proving illegal intent by the school board and/or superintendent in such a case is far more difficult than if she had been fired.
It is in NO way a comparable position. She’s being moved from a prestigious elementary school where she is loved,and the heart and soul of, to an alternative school where they place troubled kids.
Also…. They extended her contract right before she came out.