Supporting those who don't really deserve it

So, I came across two really interesting news stories in the past couple of days. One of them I'll just mention in passing at the bottom of the blog, as I want to spend a little bit of time talking about the other one. It presents an interesting conundrum for me, and has me thinking of those times when you'll see Republicans or Democrats supporting some type of legislation that seems so out of character for them. But I find myself with a new understanding of some of the things that might lead to that situation.

Anyone who knows me at all will know that I'm a very strong Agnostic. I'm also VERY much pro-Gay Rights. Many of my closest friends fall under the LGBT banner in one form or another. I support gay marriage, gay adoption, total and complete equality in every area. To me, it is simply ludicrous that we can call ourselves an advanced society, and yet be so paranoid about who loves one another.

All that makes my reaction to the news out of Michigan this week that much more shocking. I think the district court that ruled against Julea Ward this week completely blew it. For those of you who missed this news tidbit, a brief recap:

Julea Ward was a student at Eastern Michigan University in the counseling program. She was assigned a case in which the person was seeking advice regarding a homosexual relationship. Ms. Ward is very devout in her beliefs, and told her supervisors that due to her own moral and religious convictions, she couldn't adequately assist the client. Her supervisor told her to reassign the client. However, the University stepped in, and initiated disciplinary procedures against her for violating both school policy and the American Counseling Association code of ethics. She gets expelled for her beliefs, and appeals to the Dean of Education, who upholds the expulsion. So she files a lawsuit, and this week she lost.

Now, personally, I think Ms. Ward is exceedingly backward in her beliefs. She needs to do one of those Morgan Spurlock 30-Days documentaries where she's forced to live with the real-life equivalent of the Robin Williams-Nathan Lane couple from The Birdcage in South Beach. Realize that "gays are people too", and hopefully open her mind to something other than the narrow morality taught to her on Sundays.

However, those are her beliefs. She has every right to them, and shouldn't be punished for them any more than I should be punished for believing that the LGBT community should have equality. I believe with every fiber of my being that I'm right. But so does she, and she should have that right.

She didn't try to convince the client that they needed to become heterosexual in order to receive counseling. She didn't berate the client for their choices in life. In my eyes, she did nothing wrong, and everything right. She advised her supervisor that she was not the right person to be counseling this particular client, and tried to recuse herself from the case. For that, she has lost a chance to become a counselor. Wow, that's terrible.

Counseling is tricky enough as it is. I did relationship counseling through the U of O program a number of years ago. Same type of program that Ms. Ward was in. We had a couple of different people work with us. One of them, we meshed with very well. The other one we didn't mesh with at all. I have friends that have been to many different counselors, looking for one that they could really build a rapport with. It takes a while. They need to "get" you, and you have to feel comfortable opening up to them. The reason it works eventually is because everyone is a little bit different, and that allows you to find someone that meshes with you and your needs in a counselor.

Eastern Michigan University seems to be of the belief that all counselors need to be cut from the same cloth. That your individual beliefs as a counselor should not be allowed to surface. What a load of bullshit. Our personal beliefs are what make us who we are. And if we decide to become a counselor, our personal beliefs will play a part in the advice that we give to people. Ms. Ward should be applauded for being able to realize that she wasn't the right person to give advice to someone whose beliefs were so opposed to her own. How much better would the world be if we all had the common sense to recuse ourselves from situations where our judgement would be clouded?

So while I think Ms. Ward is a homophobe and a bigot, I think she got totally screwed by the Michigan legal and educational systems. I hope that some Christian university out there will swoop in for the free publicity and offer her a transfer to be surrounded by people who share her beliefs, wrong though they may be.

So yes, this Agnostic gay-rights supporter found himself this week horrified by the fact that a homophobic Christian lost a legal battle for having those beliefs. What an odd place to be.

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The other story that I just wanted to mention in brief:

Kudos to the 12-year old girl in New York who called 911 from the backseat of her mom's car, to report her mom as a drunk driver. The mom was arrested after blowing .18%, and faces up to a year in prison.

Let's hope that the mom uses the time to sober up and realize that her daughter did the right thing. (Yeah, I know, the girl is going to get the crap beat out of her; but in my little world of sunshine and rainbows, the mom sees the error of her ways).