You can't win with the Catholics. They don't believe in birth control OR abortion, but if you choose not to use birth control and not to have an abortion, you are ostracized for being unwed and pregnant. (Though I assume that even if this girl was married, she still would have been treated in the same manner). I am miffed.
There are several things that anger me about the below story. Most notably, the fact that the guy who got this girl pregnant was permitted to attend graduation, while the girl he impregnated was to be excluded from the ceremony. What era is this??? Why is sexism still so prevalent in our world, especially in religious circles? And how can you expect to teach young adults not to use condoms and expect that none will become pregnant, punishing them when they do? It is the greatest catch 22 imagineable. And for some reason, some people think this shit makes sense.
MONTGOMERY, Alabama (AP) -- A pregnant student who was banned from graduation at her Roman Catholic high school announced her own name and walked across the stage anyway at the close of the program.Posted by Maria at May 19, 2005 05:36 PMAlysha Cosby's decision prompted cheers and applause Tuesday from many of her fellow seniors at St. Jude Educational Institute.
But her mother and aunt were escorted out of the church by police after Cosby headed back to her seat.
"I can't believe something like this is happening in 2005," said her mother, Sheila Cosby. "My daughter has been through a lot and I am proud of her. She deserved to walk, and she did."
The school's guidance counselor delivered Cosby's degree to her house earlier Tuesday, but she still wanted to participate.
"I worked hard throughout high school and I wanted to walk with my class," she said.
Cosby was told in March that she could no longer attend school because of safety concerns, and her name was not listed in the graduation program.
The father of Cosby's child, also a senior at the school, was allowed to participate in graduation.
Maria,
Religion is not the problem. God is not the problem. The problem is with little, petty, self-righteous "adults" who think that they can simply make rules and that young, pretty, self-absorbed "innocents" will simply follow them. This pretty black girl may have just wanted that boy - who, sexist pigs that the school admins are, was allowed to graduate - to love her. And so she gave sex to get love. Did it work? Who said that insanity is when you keep doing the same thing over and over and expecting to get a different result? Someone. So we are all insane and looking for love in all the wrong places. And now that sweet young girl gets to live with the consecuences of wanting to be loved. For the rest of her life. But is that God's fault? Or can we blame it on religion? God and the church teach chastity before marriage. That way marriage is a love thing. God and the church want babies to have a loving mom and dad who will help to raise them so they can make good choices. God and the church try to get young people to slow down and smell the roses and set themselves up for success and happiness. No, don't you blame God or the church!! Anyhow, that's how I see it.
Posted by: Grant at May 20, 2005 10:17 AMI don't blame "god." I blame the assholes who play "god." I blame choosing to instill ignorance over education in order to adhere to antiquated religious laws that no longer apply to the modern world, such as the Catholic church's continued ban on condoms and other forms of birth control despite the prevalence of unwanted pregnancy, STD's and AIDS. I blame allowing religion to stamp out reason.
I don't have the reverence for Catholicism that you have Grant. Sorry. I see it as a deeply backwards religion, like so many others. And I absolutely do blame them, most of all, for being a sexist and decidedly ignorant religion (like almost every religion).
Posted by: Maria at May 20, 2005 10:26 AMDefinitely G*d has n*thing to d* with *t. S*x is just *ne of th*se things that s**ms to get t*achers *ll r*led *p. R*ligious d*ctrines *ften l*ave o*t a l*t of imp*rtant inf*rmati*n, b*t s*nce we kn*w wh*t we w*nt to th*nk, the *nformat**n d*esn*t hav* t* b* c*mpl*t* *r acc*r*te f*r *s t* b*l*e*ve *t.
Posted by: Chas at May 21, 2005 12:24 AMI saw this, too. Kudos to the girl for being brave enough to walk anyway. It seems as if her Catholic education didn't brainwash her the same way it has brainwashed the adults in charge.
Posted by: Daedalus at May 21, 2005 04:54 PM