The sincerity of Barry Neufeld’s earlier apology for comments he made about the education ministry’s SOGI program was pretty evident Tuesday evening.
But it never really was an apology. The Chilliwack school trustee was only sorry some people were offended by his contention that sexual orientation and gender identity educational resources were “weapons of propaganda.”
So we know what Neufeld’s against.
But what is he for?
On Tuesday evening he basked in support at a meeting organized by Culture Guard – the self-proclaimed defender of innocent and impressionable children who it says are being lured into a life of sexual deviance by “sex activists.”
It is a war, says the group’s founder Kari Simpson, and people like Trustee Neufeld are the foot soldiers.
And who is the enemy?
Simpson made that pretty clear, too. In a 17-page letter she sent earlier to Chilliwack trustees, she accuses Chilliwack school superintendent Evelyn Novak of complicity in this attack.
“Either your superintendent is gullible and unfit for her position, or she is deliberately mis-informing you, the parents, and other educational stakeholders you serve – and in doing so, exposing children to a destructive sectarian agenda,” she writes.
Calling Novak “clueless,” Simpson warns trustees, “she has devolved the role of public education into the pit of sexual practices, deviance and dysphoric dysfunction by her attempt to advance this insidious and provably harmful political agenda.”
So is this what Trustee Neufeld believes? That Chilliwack’s superintendent is part of the vast conspiracy of sex activists “who are using the classroom to engage students in a dangerous psychological game of social deconstuctionist (sic) politics.”
Either you have confidence in the ability and professionalism of your senior administrator or you don’t. Either you trust her education and experience, or you support the attacks and accusations from some fringe group with a notoriously homophonic bias and a clear political agenda.
As Neufeld shook hands with the Culture Guard militia Tuesday night, it should be clear where his allegiance lies.
What about the rest of the board?
Greg Knill, Chilliwack Progress
