Texting For Dummies

If you're thirty years of age or younger, you're in danger of becoming a "texting dummy".

I admit I am not a heavy texter. I find it annoying and a potential source for face-paced emotionally packed misunderstandings between two plugged in iDroids.

Yet what irks me the most is the grammar and spelling errors that accompany those two liners that appear on the screen of our iPhones and Droids.  Here are some examples: "What's" has become "wuts." "When" is now spelled "wen." Punctuation marks are a thing of the past.  "To" is now a number.

Then there are the codes of which I know very little: AAP - Always a pleasure; AAK - Asleep at keyboard; BBS - Be back soon; ACK- Acknowledge; BOYF - Boyfriend; DF- Don't even go there; BIH- Burn in hell; BAY- Back at ya.

Recently I came across an article entitled "Uptight Texter"  by Ventura County Star columnist Starshine Roshell. Ms. Roshell is a journalism professor, magazine writer and an award-winning contributor.  I enjoyed Sunday's column since it "hit the spot" on one of my pet peeves:  texting illiteracy.  

I'm no stickler for rules — at least, not most of them. I've always favored whimsy, irreverence, and originality over propriety, decorum, and tradition. I'm the mom who lets my kids run naked in the front yard, sneaks massive snack sacks into movie theaters under my shirt, and is proud to demonstrate my belching skills at the dinner table. As I type this, I'm staring at a recent moving-violation ticket for rolling through a stop sign (I'm sorry, but some rules just beg to be broken). 

Why, then, do I find myself stiffly — stubbornly — adhering to fusty old spelling and grammar rules when I'm texting my tech-savvy 8th grader? 

I can't fire off a "Heads up: I'm running a few minutes late," or bang out a "How did you do on today's geometry test?" without spelling out every word in its inconvenient entirety, and punctuating each trivial missive impeccably.

Regardless of the rush I'm in — or my hair-tearing frustration over the diabolically obscured tilde and discriminatory lack of an em dash on my phone's treacherously tiny keypad — I'm incapable of embracing the medium's abbreviated style and typing "c u @home in 10".
Not to my son.

For one thing, I don't want to be perceived as trying to co-opt "his" lingo. Every generation needs its own nearly inscrutable vernacular and parents who try to clamber aboard by lauding their kids' new Vans as "sick kicks" or texting "ikr dont b a h8r g2g ttyl" only embarrass the rest of us. To me, Textese is like one of those damned pashminas that's supposed to look effortlessly twisted and tossed about the neck and shoulders; I just don't wear it well.

But the main reason for my reverent texting is plain fear. With the amount of time my kid spends communicating in abridged, thumb-pecked snippets, I'm afraid he might forget what true written English looks like. 

As a writing instructor myself — who once had a student type "lol" in an essay for my class — I can't run the risk that my son might one day offer up "2b r not 2b" on a literary response.

My inner rule-thwarter has to wonder: Why should it matter? Why cling to old-fashioned practices in a modern age? If technology is rapidly evolving for the better, why can't we let language follow suit, slipping and sliding down the wide and inviting slope of casual convenience?

As a parent, I'm hoping to impart some life lessons to my son by modeling proper English in my texts. I want to squelch laziness and encourage attention to detail. I want to remind him that it's important to adjust one's communication style to one's audience — just as he ought not try to fist-bump grandma or test out fart jokes on his junior-high principal.

If I'm being honest, though, I must admit that my persnickety texting is a passionate if pathetic attempt to push back against society's increasing carelessness with the written word. On Facebook and Twitter, in emails and ads, no one seems to recall the distinction between there, their, and they're. Why else would my son's school have invited parents (I wish I were kidding) to Back to School Nite?

At the very event in question, I stealthily took a Sharpie to some anti-bullying posters in the halls that were sorely missing a semicolon; my child was mortified.

But don't you see? I don't have a choice! I may be the last holdout, the only person left unwilling to trade "Don't be late for dinner" for "dont b L8 4dnr." If I give up, who'll teach the next generation how to spell and punctuate? What happens then?

I'll tell you what: we r scrood

Texting For Dummies

Pastor Rob Bell Turns Christian "Rock Star"

From Christianity Today I learned author and pastor Rob Bell is stepping down from the pulpit of the church he founded, Mars Hill Bible Church in Grandville, Michigan.  The best selling author is moving his family to the brighter lights of Los Angeles, CA.

Pastor Bell is joining the ranks of other Christian rock stars who hit the evangelical circuit with their driving metal guitars of false theology and adoring clueless fans.  Rock on, Pastor Rob!

Having been a pastor in Los Angeles for over twenty six years, I can safely say Bell may either sink or swim in So Cal as he tries to broaden his audience with his controversial beliefs.

Remember . . . Bell is the pastor that ignited a hot debate over the existence of heaven and hell.  But that's not all.  He questions the meaning of salvation, the whereabouts of heaven and the entry fee to gain access to eternal life. After reading Love Wins I called StubHub and managed to scalp two tickets in the Loge section of the New Jerusalem Section 104, Row G, Seats 3-4.

Since LA is an eclectic playground for the likes of Rob Bell, he'll most likely fit in and then slowly fade away after he's spent a few years spraying the bullets of his drive-by false theology throughout Southern California.

According to CT Bell:

  . . .  will launch his "Fit to Smash Ice Tour" in Canada in November and continue the tour in the U.S. "We serve a big God and none of this is shocking to him,” WZZM reports Bell said during his sermon. “All we can do is embrace a future that is going to be brilliant."

One another bit of juicy evangelical gossip comes from CT:  David Vanderveen, editor of the Mars Hill Review announced the completion of the Love Wins companion study guide due from HarperOne in November.  So now the erroneous theology of Rob Bell will be propagated in more and more unsuspecting churches and among more and more clueless Christians as they study a book I call a "masterpiece of confusion and theological uncertainty."

Why should I even report on such an a potentially insignificant event as a pastor leaving a church?  I admit it. I was inspired by Pastor Rick Warren, author of The Purpose Driven Life.  Upon the news that Bell is departing his pulpit to take his show on the road, Pastor Rick tweeted:

 "Always less. No base 4credibility @LarsRood Do u think well-known pastors who leave their churches have more or less impact?" and "Speaking tours feed the ego=All  applause&no responsibility.It's an unreal world. A church gives accountability& validity" after tweeting "Bell resigns."

Thank you, Pastor Warren.  Now it all makes sense.  Without any accountability to a church board and without any need for validity from older and wiser Christians, Rob Bell can let his theology all hang out.

Rob Bell, the Christian rock star has arrived, tight leather pants and all.   I can see it now - speaking tours sprinkled across the U.S. as adoring fans scream for more theological junk from an ego driven former pastor from Mars Hill Bible Church.

The good news?  Once Bell leaves Mars Hill Church, perhaps they will hire a pastor who will help them put the word "Bible" back into the name of the church.

Pastor Rob Bell Turns Christian "Rock Star"

Nobel Peace Prize Winner Arafat Attempted to Free Murderer of RFK

In 1994 the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded jointly to Yasser Arafat, Shimon Peres and Yitzhak Rabin "for their efforts to create peace in the Middle East".  However, let me share a little known fact about the PLO leader that deeply affects our country.

On June 5, 1968 Palestinian Christian Sirhan Sirhan shot and ended the life of democratic presidential hopeful Senator Robert F. Kennedy in the ballroom at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, CA.

Sirhan, a 24-year-old Palestinian-born Jordanian, opened fire with a .22-caliber revolver. Kennedy was hit three times and five other people also were wounded.

Sirhan was sentenced to life imprisonment and is currently serving his term in solitary confinement at Pleasant Valley State Prison in Coalinga, California.

Let it not be forgotten that Sirhan shot RFK during the one year anniversary of the Six Day War involving the Arab nations of Syria, Egypt, Jordan and Iraq against the nation of Israel. Due to his hatred of Israel and RFK's strong support of Israel, many historians have concluded Sirhan's motives are found in his anti-Israel sentiments.

What's most astounding is that according to Mel Ayton's book The Forgotten Terrorist, he records that in 1973 Palestine Liberation Organization chairman Yasser Arafat and soon to be named Nobel Peace Prize winner, ordered the kidnapping of three American diplomats.  Arafat offered them in exchange for Sirhan, the murderer of a potential American president!

When President Nixon refused the offer, according to Ayton, the PLO leader ordered the diplomats be tortured and then murdered. During a private dinner with Romanian President Nicolai Ceausescu, Arafat took credit for the slayings of the three U.S. diplomats.

One cannot ignore Arafat's response to the cold blooded murder of pro-Israel presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, was to free the murderer. When his offer for a prisoner exchanged was refused by an American president, this "man of peace" murdered three of our diplomats.

The stance of the Palestinian Authority today has not changed since the days of Yassar Arafat.  Their stated goal is to deny the legitimacy and destruction of the Jewish state and to reject any diplomat's efforts to persuade the Palestinian governing authority to recognize the state of Israel.

As Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas plead this week before the U.N. for the acceptance of Palestinian statehood without the Palestinian recognition of the legitimacy of Israel, I could not erase the memory of the bloody roots of this would-be nation; a nation founded by a gun-toting terrorist, Yassar Arafat, and presently ruled in part by the terrorist regime of Israel-hating Hamas.

Nobel Peace Prize Winner Arafat Attempted to Free Murderer of RFK

Introducing Scripture Solutions

People have asked where they can obtain copies of my sermons, links to articles and updated information on projects I am involved in.  To fulfill these requests, ScriptureSolutions.com is a new website I am launching today.

ScriptureSolutions.com contains many of the messages I have given over the past years. These are sermons that are biblically based and centered on giving the listener wise and easy-to-follow responses to God's word.

I have a strong convictions the Word of God is being neglected in many pulpits today and too much erroneous theology is being taught by individuals who dare to call themselves teachers of the scriptures.  In the name of progressive theological thought the Bible is taking a beating by those who are subjecting the biblical text to their own thinking rather than place their own thinking in submission to the precious Word of the Lord.

As a result of errant teaching Christians are hearing messages that question the basic tenets of the faith regarding the authority of the Scriptures, salvation, the person of Christ, Jesus' second coming and the relationship of Christianity to other religions.  The church is suffering from the poor teaching of a new generation of Christian "intellectuals" who question conservative Christianity in favor of a more progressive, emergent brand of the faith.

Young, biblically uneducated followers of Jesus are being duped by the teaching of today's misguided Christian intelligentsia and I am deeply concerned.  Hence, the need for ScriptureSolutions.com.

In addition to my commitment to the expository teaching of the Scriptures, I provide a strong emphasis on the Jewish background of the Scriptures in my messages.  Many passages in the New Testament have been wrongly interpreted by well-meaning biblical scholars due to their lack of sensitivity to the first century Jewish influence on the New Testament.  Let us not forget the majority of the New Testament was penned by Jewish followers of Jesus who remained committed to their Jewish roots and customs.

Currently, a strong opposition to the preeminence of Israel exists in the teaching of both evangelical traditional and left leaning progressive theologians.  The list of theologians who fail to see God has a present-day plan for the Jewish people is growing.

A need exists to take a stand on the biblical importance of Israel from both the Jewish Scriptures and the New Testament. Apart from any political commitment to Israel or due to the fact Israel is America's only democratic ally in the Middle East, the Bible is clear on God's unending commitment and covenants He has made with Israel.

Furthermore, since I have earned two master degrees in Old Testament and Semitic Languages, I am devoted to focusing on the continuity of the Jewish Scriptures with the New Testament.  Too many teachers of God's word either omit preaching from the Old Testament, use the Old Testament merely as a resource to prove the Messiahship of Jesus or fail to see the value of the Jewish biblical text as profitable for today's Christians.

It is my conviction the Old Testament text must be understood first as though there is no New Testament. With that deep comprehension of the Jewish text,  the expositor needs to bring New Testament truth as a light to bear on the older covenant.

One cannot start with the New Testament and work backwards to interpret the Old Testament.  Instead, the Old Testament principles must be understood first before interpreting the New Covenant.

Replacement theologians who believe the church has superceded Israel and all the promises God made to Israel has been fulfilled in the Church are commonly deficient in Old Testament theology. These biblical academicians ignore Old Testament passages that contradict their erroneous view of Israel evidenced through the blurry lens through which they interpret the New Testament.

In a strong sense, Scripturesolutions.com is also an apologetics website - a messianic research institute of biblical theology.  Please feel free to re-post the blogs you find to be helpful in defending the faith to others.  Suggestions for additional articles are always welcome.

ScriptureSolutions.com will grow as I add more sermons, write more resources, share new projects and grow in my own understanding of the messianic faith.

My goal is to shape ScriptureSolutions.com into a refuge for an individual to utilize where they can be sure they will be hearing messages based on the centrality of the biblical text and not religious gimmicks or contemporary, unbiblical trends that sweep through the church like a tornado leaving the wreckage of innocent lives in its path.

ScriptureSolutions.com should be a haven for individuals who are not committed to Christianity, but are searching and asking questions.

If churches or groups want to invite me to come speak or present a series on a contemporary topic, ScriptureSolutions will provide an avenue to contact me.

I close with the mission statement of ScriptureSolutions.com with the hope you'll visit the site over and over, read the blogs, download the messages and share your comments:

Recognizing the lack of a biblical focus in many churches and ministries throughout the United States, Scripture Solutions is dedicated to an expository perspective on the Word of God as communicated through the sermons and printed materials of Louis Lapides.

 In addition, Scripture Solutions has set its sights on shedding light on much of the questionable teaching in today’s congregations and seeks to enlighten believers about false doctrine permeating Christianity both on an individual and corporate level.

Introducing Scripture Solutions

Major League Adball

I love baseball but I despise anything that takes away from the purity of the game.  Steroids. Gambling. Scandals. Strikes. You name it.

During this past Sunday's afternoon game between the cellar-hugging Houston Astros and the barely surviving Los Angeles Dodgers, I was excited to witness three home runs slugged into the stands by several Dodgers. One of those home run champs was Bellflower native Justin Sellers, whose contract with the Dodgers was just purchased this week. What a joy to witness a young rookie hit his first career home run.  Now that's baseball purity at its finest.

Yet when centerfielder Matt Kemp shot his 28th homer out of Dodger Stadium, I noticed an impurity take place inside the stadium.  Amidst the usual home run fanfare with dazzling lights and loud music, the center field scoreboard started flashing the words, "State Farm."  I was confused.  I thought Matt Kemp hit the ball out of the park not State Farm.

Dodger Stadium 8/14/11 iPhone Photo

Then on the cascade that runs around the stadium below the Loge seats, the following bright letters were flashing alternately to the delight of the fans:  "Home Run - State Farm  Matt Kemp -  State Farm."

I wondered to myself, "Is State Farm on the Dodger roster? Does manager Don Mattingly know this? Who is State Farm?  Why is his name being flashed on the main scoreboard along with Matt Kemp's?

And one other thought. I don't want to be thinking about auto insurance while watching Matt Kemp run around the bases.

The only conclusion I can come to is that State Farm Insurance wants the fans to associate their company with a home run.  Their thinking must be:  "As you enjoy this four bagger hit by a member of your home town team, remember State Farm insurance is the home run of all the insurance companies. Hit one out of the park by calling State Farm as you leave Dodger Stadium today."

I was resentful, and on top of everything . . .  I have State Farm for my car insurance!

Major League Adball is going too far by brazenly ruining memorable baseball moments by pushing products in our faces while we're trying to soak in the game.  Who wants to be bombarded with ads for pistachio nuts or Wetzel's Pretzels after the third baseman makes a diving catch and manages to throw out the runner heading into first base?

My suggestion is to only play the ads in between innings just like they run ads in between segments during TV shows.

I don't want to watch no-hitters or perfect games peppered with commercials for upcoming movies. I'd rather enjoy the tensions associated with with the game of professional baseball.

Sorry to say this, State Farm, if I didn't already own your product, I would intentionally avoid buying it because you ruin home run moments.  I'm just too lazy to switch insurance companies and I happen to like my agent.

As the baseball season is starting to wind down my prediction for the World Series involves  two of the following four teams:  American League: Boston Red Sox or the  New York Yankees. National League:  San Francisco Giants or the Philadelphia Phillies. Regardless of who wins, I surely don't want to see a State Farm ad being flashed on the stadium scoreboard when the World Series team is finally crowned.

Major League Adball

McInerney Trial Reveals What's Wrong with America's Culture Part 2

There's a lot wrong with America right now. From the moral failures of politicians, religious leaders, educators to blue collar workers, we are witnessing an unprecedented disintegration of values affecting every aspect of life in the good 'ole USA.

The McInerney trial unfolding in a courtroom in Chatsworth, CA is a prime example of America's moral breakdown.

In my last blog I discussed the failure of O. E. Green Middle School officials to step in and do their job when they witnessed acts of unwanted sexual advances by 14-year-old gay student Larry King towards15-year-old heterosexual male student Brandon McInerney.

Whether or not King's actions led to his fatal shooting by fellow classmate McInerney, we'll never know. King's flamboyant homosexual behavior and  feminine clothing may have nothing to do with his tragic death.  However, we cannot squelch the fact that school officials knew a volatile tension was building in the school between King and other students.  In step with the breakdown of values in this country, the O. E. Green school staff did nothing to intervene.

Fingers are pointing at Assistant Vice Principal Joy Epstein for not doing her job of enforcing the California educational code regarding sexual harassment in the case of Larry King.  Epstein, a lesbian, was more concerned with gay rights than she was in the safety of O. C. Green Middle School student. With Epstein the gay rights agenda took precedence over the greater value of protecting a student who was crossing the line with his display of sexuality. Epstein did nothing to enforce the school dress code in the case of the gay student though King's teacher's complained about the student's outlandish behavior.

According to  Brandon's history teacher, Arthur Saenz, the day before King was shot, Brandon displayed a lot of anger and rage in his conversation with his friends. It might have been due to the fact King had asked Brandon to be his valentine, and McInerney's friends were making fun of him.

While McInerney was raging to his friends on the school grounds,  Assistant Principal Epstein surveyed the scene, and according to Saenz, Epstein wagged two fingers at Brandon and said something about "rights." Was she supporting King in his unwanted sexual advances towards McInerney?  Would she have done the same thing if a heterosexual girl was being sexually taunted by one of the boys?  Furthermore, what does sexual harassment by a gay student have to do with "gay rights"? As you can see, Epstein's favoritism towards King is very explosive as well as another example of our moral breakdown.

Saenz was asked in the Chatsworth courtroom if he thought King was sexually harassing Brandon, why did he fail to report it as required by state law.  "I thought Ms. Epstein was handling that. She's an administrator and it is  her job to handle that situation, not mine," said Seanz.

Not all fingers should point at O. C. Green Middle School.  A dark deep shadow is also cast over the McInerney family and their failure to protect Brandon.

According to the August 4th edition of the Ventura County Star, Brandon's half brother James Bing testified that Brandon was sexually abused as a child by a cousin.

Billy McInerney, Brandon' step-father, now deceased, expressed his belief after the shooting that his son shot King because of the abuse.

Unfortunately, the abuse Brandon McInerney experienced did not stop with his cousin taking sexual advantage of the boy. Bing also detailed instances of physical abuse that Billy McInerney would level on his stepsons, including putting Tabasco sauce in their mouths while they slept and beating them with a bar of soap inside a sock.

When Brandon's half brother was asked by Maeve Fox, Ventura County senor deputy district attorney, why nobody ever called police over the sexual abuse, he responded, "He's still family."

The commitment to protect the family unit was more important than protecting Brandon from a sexually perverse relative.  Hence, another example of the breakdown of values in America. but now in the family unit.

Assistant Vice Principal Dawn Epstein and James Bing are guilty of the same failure to protect the innocent in order to support another set of personal priorities - gay rights or family reputation.

On Thursday August 5th Brandon's aunt Megan Csorba, sister of Billy McInerney testified her brother would sit on his son until he couldn't breathe, pull his thumb back until he screamed and punch him in the face.

Brandon's aunt added that the boy's step father would verbally abuse his son, berating him and calling him names. Billy McInerney, according to his sister, was often smoking pot and popping pills.  The abuse of his son would grow worse when he was on drugs. Csorba also testified that Kendra, Brandon's mother smoked crystal methamphetamine when she was pregnant with Brandon.

The real kicker came when when Fox asked Csorba if she ever called the authorities after witnessing the abusive craziness at the house. "No," the aunt commented. "I was going through my own abuse, and I was not going to do that to my brother." Another adult who failed to act in a mature, responsible fashion and report abuse that was happening to a minor.  She'd rather protect the abuser and ignore the victim.

If you put this all together, it's clear that a group of adults were passing the buck, protecting themselves and making decisions out of total self interest.

Teachers failed to report King's overtly gay dress because they were concerned about their tenure and being politically correct about their views on homosexuality.  These teachers had no problems giving special treatment to Larry King because he was gay. The same treatment was not offered to heterosexual students when they broke school dress code rules.

Finally, we witness family members who dropped the ball on reporting both physical and sexual abuse taking place to one of their family members.  Instead, they chose to protect the abuser out of  a need to protect the reputation of a seriously dysfunctional and amoral family.

Is there something wrong with values in America?  If you look hard enough into the details of the McInerney case, you can't help but notice this trial is a microcosm of the loss of values in America.

McInerney Trial Reveals What's Wrong with America's Culture Part 2

McInerney Trial Reveals What's Wrong with America's Culture Part 1

Chatsworth Courthouse

I can't stop reading about the McInerney trial currently being tried in Chatsworth, CA. This case is so important as a commentary on our culture of tolerance.

Brandon McInerney, 17 is charged with murder and a hate crime in connection with the death of gay student Larry King.  Both boys attended O.C. Green Middle School three years ago at the time of the murder.

As the trial unfolds in its fifth week, more data is being disclosed about the McInerney family, the behavior of Larry King and the poor oversight exercised by the E.O. Green Middle School staff.  Most significant is the more we learn about the players in this senseless crime, the more we are faced with the  lack of values in our society and how it has hurt us.

Special Privileges Given to Minority Groups Have Backfired
Larry King, according to Susan Crowley, King's seventh-grade special education teacher, "desperately wanted to be liked, but he didn't have the social skills to get along with his peers."  King showed up to her class wearing a pink scarf. When he was told to remove it, he defiantly came to school the next day wearing jewelry and makeup.

Crowley surmised King's flamboyant clothing was designed "to draw negative attention to himself."  She remarked that former Assistant Principal Joy Epstein was not being truthful when she claimed King's behavior was being adequately addressed by the school staff and  according to Epstein "only a small minority of people were bothered by King's clothing". We find out from additional testimony that Epstein's perspective is sadly skewed.

E. O. Green Middle School is a California public school -  not a place to display or "test case" one's sexual orientation.  Larry King did not come to school for the education but to educate others about gay rights in the way he behaved.

During Monday's trial, Crowley was asked if she thought Assistant Principal Epstein, a lesbian, empowered King.  Crowley answered yes.

Since King's  feminine dress was well known among teacher and administrators, it's evident Epstein ignored the complaints about the disruptive behavior King was causing.  Why?  She provided special privileges to a child that was of her same sexual persuasion.

E. O. Green's Assistant Principal was acting out of self interest as a gay person, She was more concerned with the issue of "gay rights" than performing her job as an educator and administrator.

Another teacher, Shirley Brown, a seventh grade instructor, argued in court Epstein was not addressing the issue of King's behavior and its impact on students.

Epstein put her gay lifestyle first.  How tragic that she could not see King as a human being crying out for help.

To make matters worse, Jill Ekman, King's seventh=grade English teacher tried to get King to not call so much attention to himself. When she saw King wearing makeup in the eight grade, she told him to remove it.

To no avail, King came to class the next day wearing more makeup. King claimed Assistant Principal Epstein had given him permission to wear the makeup.  She told him it was within his constitutional rights to do so.

Face it, Larry King was pushing his homosexual identity in the faces of  his fellow student and a lesbian Assistant Vice Principal was backing him up.

An email was also sent out from the school office instructing teachers that Larry King's attire was allowed. The email directed E. O. Green teachers to instruct their students to become more tolerant. This did not stop King from disrupting other students.

What if a heterosexual girl came to school exposing herself and trying to grab attention. She'd be disciplined.

Gay rights within the context of a school or working environment stop at the door where certain rules are ignored to make one's homosexuality the central focus. This is not homophobic, but an observation of the behavior of Larry King and the failure of the school to treat him like  any other student.

Sexual Harassment Even by A Gay Person is Not to be Tolerated
Larry King took his sexual orientation another step further than just his clothing.

Jill Ekman told the court that the boys in the Middle School were having problems with King.  The boys who had any connection with King were being called gay.  At a time in the life of a young man when masculine identity is important being called gay can be devastating.  Like it or not, this is how it is in Middle School. No amount of taxpayer financed, state supported classes in the public school about homosexuality are going to change that,.Boys will be boys.

In another incident Ekman explained there was a rumor going around the school that King asked McInerney to be his valentine.  She also pointed out boys complained to her that King was chasing them into the bathroom.  King laughed when the teacher warned him that his behavior was inappropriate. Emboldened by the Assistant Vice Principal,  King felt his behavior was acceptable.

Ekman went to Epstein to complain about King's advances towards other boys [aka sexual harassment], but Epstein closed the door on her informing the teacher there was nothing she could do about it.

Regardless of Epstein's personal sexuality, she has a duty to take any reports of sexual harassments or unwanted sexual advances among the students seriously.

This is how far our culture has come with the issue of gay rights. People are afraid to comment when a person's rights turn into privileges that break rules everyone else must adhere to. Even in a case where a gay student is sexually harassing his peers is being ignored.

No one will ever know how much the special treatment afforded to Larry King was a contributing factor leading to his tragic shooting.

McInerney Trial Reveals What's Wrong with America's Culture Part 1