News

These days, men and boys are in trouble.

Baptist pastor Murray Campbell recently wrote about one example close to his home. As he explained in the Eternity online newspaper, students at the co-ed Parkdale Secondary College were shocked by what happened a few weeks ago.

A female youth worker from the local city council had been invited to give a presentation as part of a “diversity and inclusion” program. According to eyewitness accounts, year 11 boys were “ordered to stand up in class”. What followed was anything but diverse and inclusive.

The Herald Sun reported that the boys were then “slammed by a council youth worker for being white, male and Christian ‘oppressors’”.

If the students were “white”, “male” and “Christian”, they were made to stand and face public humiliation as the youth worker “told them they were responsible for being ‘privileged’ and ‘oppressors’”.

A 16-year-old student said: “It was so messed up, we thought for a moment it was a joke, but then we realised it wasn’t and we were so upset and angry by it all.

“The youth worker basically said straight, white, Christian males were oppressors and they held all the power and privilege in society. The male students felt shamed and targeted.

“It was quite difficult to say anything because she was also talking about LGBTQI+. If you spoke out against that you feared you’d be called homophobic,” the student said.

Murray Campbell said such attitudes and ideas, deriding boys, heterosexuality and Christianity, are not new. “’Safe Schools and Healthy Relationships’ are now part of the curriculum in every Victorian government school and many private schools,” he said.

He could have added that parts of the Safe Schools program are still being taught in other states, including NSW and SA where it is officially banned.

Parkdale Secondary College is only the tip of the iceberg. There is a war against men being waged across the Western world, including Australia and the US, where the photo below was taken.

Feminist message above a mirror in a male bathroom

But social commentator Bettina Arndt has cited extensive research showing that in violent homes it’s not just the dad who is aggressive. Mothers are just as likely to be violent.

“Look at this important study from the Australian Institute of Criminology, which asked young people whether they’d ever witnessed their dads bashing their mums, or the other way around,” Bettina says.

“While the author, David Indermauer, trumpets the finding that almost a quarter of the kids had witnessed their fathers attack their mothers, he totally buries the most important result: almost the same percentage had seen their mothers attacking fathers.”

We are grateful to NSW Upper House MP Mark Latham, who has introduced a Parents’ Rights Bill to give parents a greater say in the moral values taught to their children. We believe all states should pass similar legislation.

And we also believe that Australian students deserve to know the truth – that neither women nor men are naturally peaceful and non-violent. Both sexes need self-control and respect for others.

As the Apostle Paul put it: “All have sinned.”

Peter Downie - National Director

FamilyVoice Australia