Children Are Not Walking Billboards

Apparently Wayne Sapp, a member of the Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Florida thinks that they are. On monday, sent his 10-year-old daughter to school wearing a shirt whose back reads "Islam is of the Devil." The Dove World Outreach Center is a New Testament Church whose pastor, and apparently its parishoners as well, have been vocal not only about their belief that the way of Jesus is the only true way (the Lord's way or the highway?) but also about their anti-Islamic views. Apparently Islam is especially anti-Jesus. Pastor Terry Jones wanted to have the "Islam is of the Devil" shirts printed in town but, according to Jones, no local printers "had the guts" to do it. So instead, Wayne Sapp had them printed online. Which brings us to Monday, when his 10-year-old daughter went to school wearing the shirt. And was sent home, rightfully I feel, for violating the school dress code by wearing something that had a distracting and hostile message on it.

Now, I'm all about free speech but I don't think an elementary school is an appropriate venue to parade your child around wearing clothes that shout a discriminatory and volatile message. (In fact I don't think it's ever appropriate to dress up your child as any sort of hateful or discriminatory political or religious sign.) Wear it yourself. It's still hateful and inflamatory and offensive and you're still teaching your children that it's alright, and in fact preferable, to hate people who are different from them, but at least you're not forcing them to convey that message on their person.

Sapp's 15-year-old daughter also wore the shirt to school on Monday and said that she made the decision to wear the shirt, not her parents, despite the fact that it was her father who had the shirts made. And it is not unlikely then that her younger sister wanted to wear it as well, since it was something "cool" that her older sibling was doing. But it's not cool. Hate and bigotry are never cool. Unfortunately, that's not the message that the Dove World Outreach Center is sharing with their young members. And Pastor Jones believes that spreading the church's message is "even more important than education itself." That's pretty disturbing.

This is not the first time that the Dove World Outreach Center has caused an anti-Islam ruckus. It has been boldly displaying its anti-Islam sentiments on the grass in front of the church with signs that read, like the t-shirts, "Islam is of the Devil," in addition to signs that aim to paraphrase the Quran and read "Kill the misbelievers wherever you find them." Pastor Jones said that the "Islam is of the Devil" sign was " an act of saying there is only one way and that is actually what Christianity is about. It's about pointing people in the right direction, and that right direction is Jesus and only Jesus."

Well, snap. He's got it all figured out.