Six Degrees Of Right-Wing Nuttiness

( h/t to Comments From Left Field )

Anyone remember the film Footloose? Here's the real-life version.

The religious-right, and those that identify with them, can take things just a little too far at times. And when you're at a "Christian" school, their rules can be quite draconian. But this is just over-the-top:

A student at a fundamentalist Baptist school that forbids dancing, rock music, hand-holding and kissing will be suspended if he takes his girlfriend to her public high school prom, his principal said.

Despite the warning, 17-year-old Tyler Frost, who has never been to a dance before, said he plans to attend Findlay High School’s prom Saturday.

Frost, a senior at Heritage Christian School in northwest Ohio, agreed to the school’s rules when he signed a statement of cooperation at the beginning of the year, principal Tim England said.

This is an outside-of-school activity and they are wanting to deny this kid from getting his diploma.

Even though those of us free-thinking souls that realize that Rock-N-Roll doesn't make us do the things that the fundamentalist nut-jobs believe it does, this sort of irrational and illogical behavior toward a student who is engaging in an activity off school property is not a random occurance. They honestly believe that their reach extends well beyond their represive walls.

The first thing that popped in my head when I read this was "why the hell would anyone want to attend this school?" Do they have a great basketball team and this kid wanted to play? Are they looked at favorably by certain colleges and he had the chance to get a scholarship?

More to the point, though - what business is it of any school, Christian or other, to have so much control over their students that they think they can tell them what is acceptable at home, where they work, or even attending events at another school.

I'm certain that Tyler's desire to attend school at the overly watchful Heritage Christian reflects on his character. I'm going to assume that he wasn't going to daterape his girlfriend after the prom. Most "Christian kids" I grew up around tend to not dive off the deep end until people like the administration at Heritage deside they have the right to control every aspect off the lives of those that attend their school.

And it should be pointed out that Heritage, as well as principal Tim England, are part and parcel of the school of thought that brought us the out-pf-wedlock-teenage-pregnancy of Bristol Palin.