Albert Einstein's Prediction

Patterns of Toxic Masculinity

Boy Erased

Boy Erased, a recent Award-nominated, American drama film, tells the story of Jared (convincingly played by Lucas Hedges, who gives a stunning performance), the son of a fundamentalist Baptist pastor in a small American town, who is outed forcibly to his parents (Nicole Kidman and Russell Crowe) at age 19. Jared is faced with an ultimatum: attend a church-supported gay "conversion therapy" program – or be permanently exiled and shunned by his family, friends, and faith. A must-see, heart-breaking story! 
Opening on April 5th.

Politics at play when banning books

55% of Republicans think that texts with homosexual or transgender characters should be banned from elementary school libraries. This is Donald Trump's America.

The American Library Association is set to release its 2017 list of Top Ten Most Challenged Books, and a peek at last year’s lineup reveals a very distinct trend –  five of the ten books were disputed by parents, educators, and concerned citizens alike for their inclusion of LGBT characters. New data from YouGov Omnibus suggests that the trend will likely continue onto this year’s list.

The majority of Republicans (55%) feel that books with homosexual or transgender characters should be banned from all elementary school libraries, and 2 in 5 (21%) think that they shouldn’t be present in public libraries either. In comparison, a quarter of Democrats (26%) agree that this sort of literature should not be accessible to grade school students, while just 13% would consider public libraries an improper place to house LGBT-related reading materials.

Since Harry Potter and The Sorcerer’s Stone first appeared on bookshelves in 1997, it has stirred up intense controversy – and been regarded by some as “satanic,”  – for presenting children with themes related to “the dark arts.” Two decades after the popular novel was published, negative sentiment surrounding texts featuring witchcraft, wizardry, and magic remains. In fact, 41% of Republicans want books with these subjects banned from elementary school libraries, and over a quarter (28%) don’t think they belong in the hands of high schoolers. Comparatively, 24% of Democrats would keep occult literature out of elementary schools, while 17% would in high schools. However, 13% of both Republicans and Democrats don’t think public libraries should carry books related to magic.

Similarly, over half of Republicans (57%) want books which employ blasphemous language to be banned from elementary schools, in comparison to 38% of Democrats. The partisan split narrows, though, when it comes to public libraries, with 27% of Republicans and 21% of Democrats saying books which takes God’s name in vain should be kept out.

However, for the most part, party agreement on the appropriateness of certain elements in literature ends there. For example, the majority of Republicans (55%) believe it is inappropriate to exhibit books with sexually suggestive images on the cover in a public library, while just over a third of Democrats feel this way (35%). There is also a break between the sexes on this particular topic – 52% of women think it is inappropriate, but just 40% of men.

Autodisciplina desde la escuela

“Hay que recuperar la disciplina y la autoridad en la escuela”

La exasesora en educación del Gobierno sueco Inger Enkvist se posiciona en contra de las nuevas metodologías educativas. Por ANA TORRES MENÁRGUEZ, El País, 13 de julio de 2017

No es fácil encontrar una opinión como la de Inger Enkvist (Värmland, Suecia 1947). Mientras la mayoría de los gurús educativos abogan por terminar con las filas de pupitres, con los formatos de clase encorsetados y por dar más libertad a los alumnos dentro del aula, Envist, antigua asesora del Ministerio de Educación sueco, cree que ha que recuperar la disciplina y la autoridad de los docentes en las clases: "Los niños tienen que desarrollar hábitos sistemáticos de trabajo y para eso necesitan que un adulto les guíe. Aprender requiere esfuerzo y, si se deja a los alumnos elegir, esto simplemente no sucede."

La profesora y experta en educación Inger Enkvist en la Universidad de Lund. JONAS ANDERSSON

Catedrática de Español en la Universidad de Lund (Suecia), Enkvist comenzó su carrera educativa como profesora de Secundaria y durante más de treinta años se ha dedicado a estudiar y comparar los sistemas educativos de diferentes países del mundo. Además de la publicación de libros como La buena y la mala educación (Encuentro, 2011), ha publicado más de 250 artículos sobre educación.

Enkvist compareció el pasado marzo en la comisión de Educación del Congreso de los Diputados para aportar su visión sobre el modelo educativo en España, del que echa en falta motivación por parte del profesorado y una reformulación de los grados en Maestro en Educación Infantil y Primaria -nombre de la carrera de Magisterio tras el Plan Bolonia- para intentar captar a los mejores estudiantes. 

Pregunta. Las nuevas corrientes de innovación educativa reclaman un papel más activo por parte de los alumnos. Acabar con las clases magistrales y crear metodologías que impliquen acción por parte del estudiante. ¿Por qué se opone a ese modelo?

Respuesta. La nueva pedagogía promueve la antiescuela. Los colegios se crearon con el objetivo de que los alumnos aprendieran lo que la sociedad había decidido que era útil. ¿Cuál es el propósito de la escuela si el estudiante decide lo que quiere hacer? Estas corrientes quieren enfatizar al máximo la libertad del alumno, cuando éste lo que necesita es una enseñanza sistemática y muy estructurada, sobre todo si tenemos en cuenta los problemas de distracción de los niños. Si no se aprende en Primaria a ser ordenado y a aceptar la autoridad del maestro, es difícil que se haga más tarde. El alumno no siempre va a estar motivado para aprender. Hace falta esfuerzo.

P. En su libro cuestiona la creencia de que todos los niños quieren aprender y, por lo tanto, es una buena opción dejar que tomen la iniciativa y aprendan solos. ¿Cuáles son sus argumentos en contra?

R. Esto nunca ha sido así. Es una idea romántica que viene de Rousseau; dar por hecho que el ser humano es inocente, bien intencionado y bueno. Un niño puede concentrarse en una tarea por iniciativa propia, pero normalmente será en el juego. Aprender a leer y escribir o matemáticas básicas requiere trabajo y nadie se siente llamado a dedicar un esfuerzo tan grande a asimilar una materia tan complicada. Se necesita apoyo, estímulos y algún tipo de recompensa, como la sonrisa de un profesor o la felicitación de los padres. 

P. ¿Qué se debería recuperar del antiguo modelo de educación?

R. Tener claro que el profesor organiza el trabajo del aula. Si los alumnos planifican su propio trabajo se hace muy complicado que obtengan buenos resultados y eso desmotiva al profesor, que no quiere responsabilizarse de algo que no funciona. Estas metodologías están alejando de las aulas a los profesores más competentes. Ya no se considera beneficioso que el adulto transmita sus conocimientos a los alumnos y se fomenta que los jóvenes se interesen por las materias siguiendo su propio ritmo. En un ambiente así no es posible enseñar porque no existe la confianza necesaria en la figura del profesor. Vivir en lo inmediato sin exigencias es todo lo contrario a la buena educación. 

P. Usted ha calificado el autoaprendizaje como contraproducente. Pero una vez que finaliza la formación obligatoria y los estudiantes consiguen un trabajo, el mercado laboral cambia rápido y se pueden ver obligados a reciclarse y cambiar de profesión. ¿No cree que es buena idea enseñarles desde pequeños a tomar la iniciativa en el aprendizaje?

R. Esa es la gran falacia de la nueva pedagogía. Los niños tienen que aprender contenidos, y no el llamado aprender a aprender. Solo con decir a los alumnos que tomen decisiones no van a saber hacerlo. Pongo un ejemplo. El Gobierno sueco ofrece cursos de formación para adultos y su desesperación llega cuando solo se apuntan ciudadanos con un perfil educativo alto. Les interesa y lo encuentran útil y por eso tienen ánimos para empezar. Si uno aprende un contenido, piensa que es capaz y que en el futuro podrá volver a hacerlo. ¿Quién es más adaptable y más flexible al perder un trabajo? El que ya tiene una base de conocimientos, el que cuenta con más recursos interiores y eso lo proporciona la educación. Cuanta más autodisciplina, más posibilidades tienes por delante y menos desesperado te sentirás ante una situación límite.

P. Hay un gran debate en cuanto a la utilidad de los exámenes. Algunos expertos defienden que en la vida adulta no se dan ese tipo de pruebas y que lo importante es haber desarrollado habilidades para adaptarse a diferentes entornos.

R. Esa es la visión de alguien que no sabe cómo funciona el mundo de los niños. En la vida adulta, todos tenemos fechas tope, momentos de entregar un texto y esto se aprende en la escuela. Con los exámenes el niño aprende a responsabilizarse y entiende que no presentarse a una prueba tiene consecuencias; no lo repetirán para él. Si no cumplimos con nuestras obligaciones en la vida adulta, pronto nos veremos descartados de los ambientes profesionales. Los exámenes ayudan a desarrollar hábitos sistemáticos de trabajo. 

P. ¿Por qué cree que el modelo actual de escuela no permite que nadie destaque?

R. El colegio no es neutro, no todos van a aprender igual. En las aulas se dan unos desequilibrios enormes en un mismo grupo, puede haber hasta seis años de diferencia intelectual entre los alumnos. La escuela debería mantener a los niños con diferentes capacidades juntos hasta los once años y a partir de ahí ofrecer diferentes niveles para las asignaturas más complejas. En algunas escuelas públicas de Alemania se hace. Para los que no lo entiendan pongo un ejemplo. Imagina meter en una misma clase a 30 adultos con niveles socioculturales e intereses totalmente dispares y pretender que aprendan juntos. Eso es lo que estamos pidiendo a nuestros hijos. En menos de una semana habría una rebelión.

P. La escuela mata la creatividad, según el pedagogo británico Ken Robinson.

R. Lo más sencillo es pensar en un músico de jazz. Parece que está improvisando, jugando. ¿Cómo puede hacerlo? Sabe 500 melodías de memoria y usa trozos de esas piezas de forma elegante. Lo ha repetido tantas veces que parece que lo hace sin esfuerzo. La teoría es necesaria para que surja la creatividad. 

P. Si hablamos de los contenidos que se aprenden en la escuela. ¿Cree que habría que modernizarlos?

R. Una profesora española me contó que uno de sus alumnos le dijo en clase que para qué le serviría estudiar a Unamuno, que qué aplicación práctica podía tener. Necesitamos conocer la situación de nuestro país, saber de dónde venimos. Con Unamuno se aprende un modelo de reacción, que no tiene porqué adoptarse, pero conocerla te ayuda a elaborar tu propia forma de ver el mundo. 

La república de las aulas

Por VÍCTOR J VÁZQUEZ

Diario de Sevilla, 8 de junio de 2017

Émile-auguste Chartier, conocido por su seudónimo periodístico como Alain, fue ante todo un profesor de liceo y un republicano. En esta doble condición, la mayoría de su obra, compuesta por más de tres mil artículos en prensa, tuvo una clara obsesión que fue la de explicar el vínculo entre republicanismo y rebeldía, un vínculo que sólo se podría llegar a entender desde las aulas. Para Chartier la escuela era un lugar en el que se debía rendir culto a la verdad pero siempre sin olvidar que es precisamente la duda aquello que constituye la esencia de la virtud humana. Tan importante era así inculcar la desinteresada entrega al saber científico, desterrando todo atavismo de superstición, como instruir a los alumnos en la necesidad de mantener una conciencia alerta frente a la peor necedad, que es la que padece quien ha creído encontrar en lo que otro dice o en lo que él mismo cree, un parámetro inmutable y cierto para juzgar la bondad y belleza de las cosas. Este ideal de alumno del profesor Chartier se correspondía, sin duda, con el ideal de ciudadano de su heterónimo, el escritor Alain. Un ciudadano rebelde, radical frente a las desmesuras del poder, pero atento a la hora de no incurrir en la peor de las tentaciones que es la de la indulgencia correligionaria con los excesos de la propia revolución. El culto a la República requería el culto al sentido crítico y no a la propia facción, y era en este saber estar alerta ante las certezas que uno se representa donde Alain cifraba el sentido de la virtud ciudadana. No es casualidad que de las aulas del profesor Chartier surgiera buena parte de lo mejor que la cultura francesa dio en el pasado siglo; entre otras, las voces de Raymond Aron y de Simone Weil, cuyas biografías intelectuales, siempre en conmoción -de la militancia revolucionaria al anticomunismo, el primero; de la acción política a la acción mística cristiana, la segunda- dejaron, más allá de una muestra heroica de compromiso antifascista, esa huella indeleble del pensamiento rebelde.

Esa forma de estar alerta del hombre rebelde era también para otro hijo de la mejor tradición republicana, Albert Camus, aquella que, en último término, permite a los pueblos zafarse de los yugos que el Estado quiere imponer bajo el disfraz paternalista de la ortodoxia. Como nos explica en ese impagable texto autobiográfico que es El primer hombre, Camus aprendió a ejercer su libertad en las aulas de Argel de las manos de su querido profesor Germain. Allí supo también del valor de la generosidad en el magisterio, del esfuerzo desinteresado por conocer, y, sobre todo, y por experiencia propia, hasta qué punto las aulas son, en realidad, el único ámbito desde el que extirpar de raíz el mal atávico de la desigualdad.

La república de las aulas está en horas bajas. Si antes el pensamiento conservador veía en este ideal republicano una afrenta a ese derecho natural de padres e iglesias a educar a sus hijos en su propia ortodoxia, hoy es la idea mercantil de productividad la que se esgrime para desterrar todo aquello que se considera "un saber inútil", como los estudios clásicos o la filosofía, cercenando así, al mismo tiempo, la posibilidad de los alumnos de acercarse a esa virtud que, como nos recuerdan Steiner u Ordine, sólo se aprende en la desinteresada entrega al conocimiento, y que está detrás de buena parte de los grandes logros que ha dado la humanidad en todos los campos. En el pensamiento progresista, por su parte, se ha ido consolidando la falacia de que la cultura del esfuerzo y del mérito es una reliquia conservadora, cuando es ésta precisamente la que se encuentra en el corazón del igualitarismo republicano. No es sino a quien desde más abajo parte a quien más le interesa toparse con un profesor Germain que le obligue a cultivar su talento. El rechazo paranoico a todo tipo controles o reválidas a los alumnos es así, no solo exponente del callejón sin salida en el que se encuentra esta discusión para buena parte de la ortodoxia progresista, sino también de la propia, e infundada, desconfianza que se tiene en las capacidades de profesores y alumnos, desconfianza a menudo disimulada bajo la falsa disyuntiva entre la educación emocional y la búsqueda de la excelencia: como si los alumnos finlandeses fueran todos brillantes pero depresivos.

En estos tiempos donde avasallados por la información todos estamos más expuestos a la mentira, y cuando nuestra especie tiene ante sí el reto de determinar su propia evolución y destino, sólo una educación exigente puede librar a la ciudadanía de ser presa de mezquindades y vasallajes. Sólo a través de ella el narcisismo revolucionario y nihilista podrá ceder ante un heroísmo tan rebelde y discreto como el de aquel médico de Camus que cumplió con su deber durante la peste. Las aulas, antes que el Rey, deberían ser hoy la primera preocupación de aquellos que se dicen republicanos. Y no lo son.

El autor es profesor de Derecho Constitucional de la Universidad de Sevilla

Homophobia in Spanish Football

Jesús Tomillero at the Real Balompédica Linense stadium in La Línea (Cádiz).

Jesús Tomillero doesn't like soccer, yet he has been on a pitch for over a decade, a whistle always hanging around his neck. This 21-year-old from La Línea de la Concepción, in the Andalusian province of Cádiz, was the only registered referee in Spanish soccer who had publicly admitted to being gay. And “was” is the right tense, because Tomillero has just announced he is quitting. He can no longer deal with all the taunts and insults he has been getting since his sexual orientation became known. 

“I can’t take it any more. I was scared going into the matches, and that’s not right,” he says. “I don’t know what I’m going to do now, but I can’t keep doing this.”

The last straw was the second-division juvenile game that he refereed last Saturday. Back in the stands, one fan began yelling out abuse such as: “Aren’t you ashamed of blowing the whistle on that, you fucking fag?” or “They’re going to score that goal up your ass, you faggot!”

“You go into shock at times like that,” explains Tomillero. “You have trouble believing your ears. It’s a shame that these things should happen in the 21st century. And the worst part is not the insults themselves, but hearing everyone else laugh.”

“I started to get interested after going to my younger brother’s soccer practice. I started out refereeing friendly matches, and little by little I trained and started to love what I was doing,” he recalls. “Being a referee is my life, it’s in my blood, on my skin.”A waiter and member of the Popular Party’s youth group, Nuevas Generaciones, Tomillero got involved in the world of soccer almost by chance. And he shows off a leg tattoo depicting two cards and a whistle.

“I’ve been very happy these last few years, even this last year,” he says with pride, hoping that his example will help educate younger kids. But the fact is that the Saturday episode has been a recurring nightmare for the last 18 months. “Ever since I admitted that I was homosexual, every day has been worse than the one before. I’ve been insulted often on the pitch, even by six- and seven-year-old children.”

In March, Tomillero filed a complaint over another verbal aggression by a Peña Madridista kit manager. The Cádiz Competition Committee suspended the man for nine games and made him pay a €30 fine.

“I have received support from other referees, friends, relatives and people I don’t know at all,” he says, grateful at all the messages of support on the social media.

Even acting Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and Podemos leader Pablo Iglesias have sent him notes. “Good afternoon, Jesús. Our opinion on this is clear: we condemn all types of violence or discrimination. You have our support. Be strong and keep your spirits up. Affectionately,” wrote Rajoy. “Keep your spirit up, Jesús. I trust that sports authorities will not allow these things to happen again,” wrote Iglesias. El País in English, by Susana Urra.

SPOTLIGHT, Best Film of the Year

This masterpiece of investigative cinema is ultimately about the absolute supremacy of ethics over religion, whichever this may be. A must-see film.

Why do so many Spanish youngsters smoke?

A 15-year-old girl smokes alongside her 17-year-old friend in Madrid. / SAMUEL SÁNCHEZ

It’s 8.15am outside the Santa Bárbara high school in central Madrid and bitingly cold. A teenage boy and girl sit chatting and smoking as they wait for classes to begin. “We smoke a cigarette every morning when we get here, it helps with the stress of the first couple of hours,” says the girl, who prefers to use the fictitious name of Ana Pérez. She is aged 15, and says she tried her first cigarette when she was 13. Spanish Health Ministry figures from 2013 show that 12.5 percent of 14- to 18-year-olds smoke on a daily basis, a fall of just 0.02 percent since 2011, despite continued awareness campaigns about the dangers.

November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month and smoking is a first step toward contracting the disease. The Spanish Association for Lung Cancer Victims (AECaP) says that smoking is the number one cause of the illness, which affects 21,000 people each year in Spain. And that first step tends to be taken early: figures from 2010 collected by the National Statistics Institute (INE) show that young people generally start smoking between the ages of 13 and 14.

“You see all your friends smoking and so I decided to try it, and that’s how I started,” says the teenager huddled against the cold outside school. “It was pretty stupid really, just something that was fashionable,” adds her friend, who also prefers to remain anonymous, giving the name José Ramírez. He is aged 17, and started smoking when he was 13.

Both say their friends also smoke: more than 90 percent of school students say they know that smoking can damage their health, according to the Health Ministry. Aside from helping deal with stress, among the other reasons smoking continues to attract young people, says health psychologist José Elías, is that it “makes them feel older” and that they are “breaking the rules.”

The young man calling himself José Ramírez explains that his mother smoked for many years, and only gave up when she was told she would soon have to use a respirator. “I used to smoke a packet a day. I started to cut down because I realized I was smoking too much, and now I buy a packet every three days,” he says, adding that the rising cost of tobacco has helped decrease his consumption.“Smoking rates among young people in our country, and particularly among females, are very worrying,” says Dr Rosario García Campelo, a cancer specialist and member of SEOM, the Spanish Society for Medical Oncology. AECaP warns that the number of deaths in Europe from lung cancer this year will outnumber those from breast tumors for the first time.

There’s no hard evidence that younger lungs are more susceptible to cancer, but risk of the disease is certainly increased by the amount of time someone smokes over their lifetime. “The younger you start to smoke, the greater the likelihood” of contracting the disease, says Dr Bartomeu Massuti, head of the oncology department at Alicante’s main hospital.

Luis Fernández – another fictitious name – also knows something about the risks of smoking. At the age of 16 he is already an ex-smoker. He admits to having smoked around three cigarettes a day. “Especially at parties and during recess, although I had it pretty much under control,” he says. “I liked it, but this year I have felt bad physically, so I’ve stopped. I no longer cough, and have no pains, I’m much better.” He says his girlfriend introduced him to smoking.

Figures show that more than 43 percent of school students have smoked at least once in their lives, and this despite a ban on smoking in public places since 2006 and extensive media campaigns focused on discouraging young people from taking up the habit.

Ana Pérez and José Ramírez say they smoke around six cigarettes each a day. They both put out their first of the morning. It’s now 8.30am and their classes are about to begin and they make their way into school. Aside from the “obligatory” puff as soon as they leave their homes in the morning, they will light up at morning recess, have another at lunch time, and a final one before heading home for the day. 

By VIRGINIA MARTÍNEZ CRESPO, El País English Edition, November 18th 2015

Arguments Against Celibacy (The Tip of an Iceberg)

Suspected paedophile Granada priests acted like a sinister sect

The Catholic priests in Granada who are being investigated for sexual abuse after a letter sent to Pope Francis allegedly drew young boys into church activities before ruthlessly convincing them to engage in sexual activities, investigators have learned

Quoting sources from the criminal investigation underway, Spanish national daily El País has reported that the Granada Catholic circle — the group of priests in Granada accused of sexually abusing at last one child — behaved like a sinister sect, trapping young boys within their circle and grooming them for sex.

Of the 10 priests and two laypersons who have been accused by one alleged victim, with the possibility that more witnesses may come forward, the group is said to have had a leader, specifically one of the three priests suspended from their duties on Monday in light of the court investigation.

Investigators are focusing on a parish church in the Granada district of Zaidín, where, the newspaper explains, the group leader worked and boys were allegedly drawn into the paedophiles’ sphere of influence by being taken on as altar boys or assistants.    

According to the court sources, the priests would try to brainwash these children in secret meetings, at which sexual matters were discussed and the boys encouraged to perform sexual acts with the adults, who assured them that there was no sin in such encounters. The case notes also describe how the adult members of the group also engaged in sexual activity among themselves.

The religious group, known locally as Los Romanones, a reference to the name of their alleged leader, would transport the minors to luxury flats and a house in Granada, as well as several coastal properties, to carry out their alleged crimes. So far, three priests and a teacher of religion have been arrested: Román Martínez V, Francisco José C M, Manuel M M, and Sergio Q M.

The alleged victim who has reported the offenses is today a 24-year-old teacher who has conserved his religious beliefs. According to sources who have had access to his testimony, the victim says he was abused between the ages of 13 and 17.

The victim received several telephone calls from Pope Francis, who offered his support and asked for forgiveness for these crimes in the name of the Catholic faith. The pope has encouraged Catholic authorities around the world to take stronger action against the sexual abuse of children within the Church. In this case, the alleged victim wrote to Pope Francis to report his ordeal after the Granada church hierarchy had ignored his complaints.

Pope Francis is reported to consider the suspension of only three priests as an insufficient reaction and has called the archbishop of Granada, Francisco Javier Martínez, to Rome in order to discuss the scandal. The role of the seven priests who remain in their posts is said by investigation sources to have been lesser in terms of the sex abuse, but they could be guilty of covering up the crimes and helping the three paedophiles to procure their victims.   

According to the alleged victim’s testimony, at least one other boy suffered similar abuse, while he also mentions the use of a girl by the circle, possibly as bait to draw in male victims. 

Related articles:

¡Encubrir también es delito!

Vatican summons archbishop over alleged paedophile ring

Three priests arrested in Granada over pedophilia claims

El machismo que no cesa

Se creía que el machismo era cosa de un pasado patriarcal y los estereotipos de género, una rémora en fase de superación. Pero un estudio realizado por investigadores de la Universidad Complutense ha puesto de relieve que están muy vivos entre los adolescentes y, lo que es peor, creciendo.
El 10,5% de las chicas de 14 a 19 años reconocen que han sido maltratadas por sus novios, frente al 9,6% registrado por el mismo estudio en 2010. Pero la encuesta revela también que muchas chicas no identifican como maltrato conductas que evidentemente lo son. Así, un 6,2% de las chicas dicen haberse visto obligadas a prácticas sexuales que no deseaban, un 14,6% han sido amenazadas por sus parejas hasta sentir miedo y un 23,2% han sido insultadas y ridiculizadas.
Los estereotipos siguen también ahí, con una prevalencia que sorprende y que debería llevarnos a preguntarnos qué se está haciendo mal en la educación de los valores en España. Por ejemplo, un preocupante 36,3% de los adolescentes piensa que los celos son una expresión de amor, y el 11,7% de los chicos creen que está bien que los hombres salgan con muchas chicas, pero no al revés. En casi todos los apartados se observa un aumento respecto a 2010. Luego retrocedemos.
Y en ese retroceso, los nuevos machistas han encontrado en las nuevas tecnologías, que tanto nos facilitan la vida y la comunicación, una herramienta para ejercer su dominio. Una de cada cuatro chicas afirma que su novio la controla a través del móvil. Hay muchas formas de hacerlo, desde la sutil “envíame un WhatsApp cuando llegues”, a la muy intrusiva “hazme una videollamada” o “pon el localizador”, signo inequívoco de una obsesión por controlarla que puede pagar cara.
El estudio revela hasta qué punto las chicas siguen siendo víctimas de una idea romántica del amor que las lleva a confiar en su pareja hasta el punto de darle sus claves de acceso a las redes o enviarle fotos que, cuando la relación se tuerce, son utilizadas para martirizarlas.
Está claro que la prevención de la violencia de género debe empezar por la educación, pero no parece que la LOMCE la tenga como prioridad. Una asignatura que podría ser idónea para tratar esta cuestión, como Educación para la Ciudadanía, ha desaparecido.

El pánico español a hablar inglés

Como profesora de escuelas oficiales de idiomas, no puedo condonar que el nivel de inglés de nuestra comisión en la candidatura olímpica no estuviera a la altura de las circunstancias. Sin embargo, lo que más representa precisamente nuestro nivel de inglés es la escabechina a la que hemos sometido el discurso de Ana Botella. Decenas de fotos manipuladas, viñetas y chistes inundan nuestras redes sociales y teléfonos móviles desde apenas unos minutos después de que la alcaldesa finalizara su discurso. El ingenio español es rápido, no espera; y es cruel, no deja títere con cabeza.
Si leemos entre líneas, más allá de la vergüenza ajena está la vergüenza propia. Estoy harta de ver en mis aulas alumnos adultos que llevan toda la vida estudiando inglés y apenas pueden hilar un discurso.
Primero, cúlpese a un sistema educativo que nunca ha sabido responder a la demanda de una enseñanza en condiciones de la lengua extranjera. Pero, además, estos alumnos han desarrollado un sentido del ridículo exacerbado, un pánico a hablar inglés, debido a la ansiedad generada precisamente por la mofa con que los errores o la falta de competencia son recibidos en público. Apuesto a que los autores de los ingeniosos chistes no podrían tirar la primera piedra.— Patricia Plaza Arregui. Córdoba

Irish Pop Singer Sinead O'Connor on Child Abuse

A Brutal Version of Catholicism by Sinead O'Connor The Washington Post Sunday, March 28, 2010

When I was a child, Ireland was a Catholic theocracy. If a bishop came walking down the street, people would move to make a path for him. If a bishop attended a national sporting event, the team would kneel to kiss his ring. If someone made a mistake, instead of saying, "Nobody's perfect," we said, "Ah sure, it could happen to a bishop."

The expression was more accurate than we knew. This month, Pope Benedict XVI wrote a pastoral letter of apology -- of sorts -- to Ireland to atone for decades of sexual abuse of minors by priests whom those children were supposed to trust. To many people in my homeland, the pope's letter is an insult not only to our intelligence, but to our faith and to our country. To understand why, one must realize that we Irish endured a brutal brand of Catholicism that revolved around the humiliation of children.

I experienced this personally. When I was a young girl, my mother -- an abusive, less-than-perfect parent -- encouraged me to shoplift. After being caught once too often, I spent 18 months in An Grianán Training Centre, an institution in Dublin for girls with behavioral problems, at the recommendation of a social worker. An Grianán was one of the now-infamous church-sponsored "Magdalene laundries," which housed pregnant teenagers and uncooperative young women. We worked in the basement, washing priests' clothes in sinks with cold water and bars of soap. We studied math and typing. We had limited contact with our families. We earned no wages. One of the nuns, at least, was kind to me and gave me my first guitar.

An Grianán was a product of the Irish government's relationship with the Vatican -- the church had a "special position" codified in our constitution until 1972. As recently as 2007, 98 percent of Irish schools were run by the Catholic Church. But schools for troubled youth have been rife with barbaric corporal punishments, psychological abuse and sexual abuse. In October 2005, a report sponsored by the Irish government identified more than 100 allegations of sexual abuse by priests in Ferns, a small town 70 miles south of Dublin, between 1962 and 2002. Accused priests weren't investigated by police; they were deemed to be suffering a "moral" problem. In 2009, a similar report implicated Dublin archbishops in hiding sexual abuse scandals between 1975 and 2004.

Why was such criminal behavior tolerated? The "very prominent role which the Church has played in Irish life is the very reason why abuses by a minority of its members were allowed to go unchecked," the 2009 report said.

Despite the church's long entanglement with the Irish government, Pope Benedict's so-called apology takes no responsibility for the transgressions of Irish priests. His letter states that "the Church in Ireland must first acknowledge before the Lord and before others the serious sins committed against defenceless children." What about the Vatican's complicity in those sins?

Benedict's apology gives the impression that he heard about abuse only recently, and it presents him as a fellow victim: "I can only share in the dismay and the sense of betrayal that so many of you have experienced on learning of these sinful and criminal acts and the way Church authorities in Ireland dealt with them." But Benedict's infamous 2001 letter to bishops around the world ordered them to keep sexual abuse allegations secret under threat of excommunication -- updating a noxious church policy, expressed in a 1962 document, that both priests accused of sex crimes and their victims "observe the strictest secret" and be "restrained by a perpetual silence."

Benedict, then known as Joseph Ratzinger, was a cardinal when he wrote that letter. Now that he sits in Saint Peter's chair, are we to believe that his position has changed? And are we to take comfort in last week's revelations that, in 1996, he declined to defrock a priest who may have molested as many as 200 deaf boys in Wisconsin?

Benedict's apology states that his concern is "above all, to bring healing to the victims." Yet he denies them the one thing that might bring them healing -- a full confession from the Vatican that it has covered up abuse and is now trying to cover up the cover up. Astonishingly, he invites Catholics "to offer up your fasting, your prayer, your reading of Scripture and your works of mercy in order to obtain the grace of healing and renewal for the Church in Ireland." Even more astonishing, he suggests that Ireland's victims can find healing by getting closer to the church -- the same church that has demanded oaths of silence from molested children, as occurred in 1975 in the case of Father Brendan Smyth, an Irish priest later jailed for repeated sexual offenses. After we stopped laughing, many of us in Ireland recognized the idea that we needed the church to get closer to Jesus as blasphemy.

To Irish Catholics, Benedict's implication -- Irish sexual abuse is an Irish problem -- is both arrogant and blasphemous. The Vatican is acting as though it doesn't believe in a God who watches. The very people who say they are the keepers of the Holy Spirit are stamping all over everything the Holy Spirit truly is. Benedict criminally misrepresents the God we adore. We all know in our bones that the Holy Spirit is truth. That's how we can tell that Christ is not with these people who so frequently invoke Him.

Irish Catholics are in a dysfunctional relationship with an abusive organization. The pope must take responsibility for the actions of his subordinates. If Catholic priests are abusing children, it is Rome, not Dublin, that must answer for it with a full confession and in a criminal investigation. Until it does, all good Catholics -- even little old ladies who go to church every Sunday, not just protest singers like me whom the Vatican can easily ignore -- should avoid Mass. In Ireland, it is time we separated our God from our religion, and our faith from its alleged leaders.

Almost 18 years ago, I tore up a picture of Pope John Paul II on an episode of "Saturday Night Live." Many people did not understand the protest -- the next week, the show's guest host, actor Joe Pesci, commented that, had he been there, "I would have gave her such a smack." I knew my action would cause trouble, but I wanted to force a conversation where there was a need for one; that is part of being an artist. All I regretted was that people assumed I didn't believe in God. That's not the case at all. I'm Catholic by birth and culture and would be the first at the church door if the Vatican offered sincere reconciliation.

As Ireland withstands Rome's offensive apology while an Irish bishop resigns, I ask Americans to understand why an Irish Catholic woman who survived child abuse would want to rip up the pope's picture. And whether Irish Catholics, because we daren't say "we deserve better," should be treated as though we deserve less.

For a Spanish translation of this article, click here.

Endemic rape and abuse of Irish children in Catholic care

Beatings and humiliation by nuns and priests were common at institutions that held up to 30,000 children. Rape and sexual molestation were "endemic" in Irish Catholic church-run industrial schools and orphanages, a report revealed today.
The nine-year investigation found that Catholic priests and nuns for decades terrorised thousands of boys and girls in the Irish Republic, while government inspectors failed to stop the chronic beatings, rape and humiliation.
The high court judge Sean Ryan today unveiled the 2,600-page final report of Ireland's commission into child abuse, which drew on testimony from thousands of former inmates and officials from more than 250 church-run institutions. Police were called to the news conference amid angry scenes as victims were prevented from attending.
More than 30,000 children deemed to be petty thieves, truants or from dysfunctional families – a category that often included unmarried mothers – were sent to Ireland's austere network of industrial schools, reformatories, orphanages and hostels from the 1930s until the last facilities shut in the 1990s.
The findings prompted the new Archbishop of Westminster, the Most Rev Vincent Nichols, to say that it took "courage" for those clergy involved in child sex abuse to confront their actions. In an interview to be broadcast tonight on ITV News at Ten, he said: "I think of those in religious orders and some of the clergy in Dublin who have to face these facts from their past which instinctively and quite naturally they'd rather not look at. That takes courage, and also we shouldn't forget that this account today will also overshadow all of the good that they also did."
The Irish Survivors of Child Abuse (Isoca), an organisation set up to help victims, condemned the newly appointed head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales for his remarks.
"Rubbish is too kind of word for what the archbishop has said. I believe I have heard this kind of twaddle uttered by politicians in Ireland like Bertie Ahern, the former prime minister. It is the verbiage of un-reason and it leaves me cold. What the Archbishop really has to do is take a long hard look at the character and nature of the people he is talking about and ask himself if they are capable of being good," said Patrick Walsh.
The report found that molestation and rape were "endemic" in boys' facilities, chiefly run by the Christian Brothers order, and supervisors pursued policies that increased the danger. Girls supervised by orders of nuns, chiefly the Sisters of Mercy, suffered much less sexual abuse but instead endured frequent assaults and humiliation designed to make them feel worthless.
"In some schools a high level of ritualised beating was routine ... Girls were struck with implements designed to maximise pain and were struck on all parts of the body," the report said. "Personal and family denigration was widespread."
The report concluded that when confronted with evidence of sex abuse, religious authorities responded by transferring offenders to another location, where in many instances they were free to abuse again.
"There was evidence that such men took up teaching positions sometimes within days of receiving dispensations because of serious allegations or admissions of sexual abuse," the report said. "The safety of children in general was not a consideration."
The Catholic church had been steeling itself for the report, which was repeatedly delayed by church lawsuits, missing documentation and alleged government obstruction. The Christian Brothers delayed the investigation for more than a year with a lawsuit that successfully defended their members' right to anonymity in all references in the report, even in cases in which individual Christian Brothers had been convicted of sexual and physical attacks on children.
The church had already been under fire over the sexual misbehaviour of several priests in various Irish parishes. The commission's experts have sought to produce a comprehensive portrait of sexual, physical and emotional damage inflicted on the child victims. The thousands of survivors said they had no safe way to tell their stories until the investigation began because much of Irish Catholic society regarded them as liars.
Isoca today said it was now up to the Vatican to investigate its religious orders in the republic. John Kelly, the Isoca co-ordinator in Dublin, said: "Now that the Ryan [Laffoy] commission is finished, we call upon ... Pope Benedict XVI to convene a special consistory court to fully investigate the activities of the Catholic religious orders in Ireland.
"Amongst other things, such a court could establish the whereabouts of Irish state assets that were misappropriated over many years by the religious orders and make restitution to the Irish state exchequer."
During the commission's investigations, oral evidence was collected from more than 1,000 people, mainly aged from their 50s to 70s. Several hundred travelled back to Ireland from the US and Australia to describe their childhood of terror and intimidation.
One victim, John Walsh, of Isoca, called the report a hatchet job that left open wounds gaping. "The little comfort we have is the knowledge that it vindicated the victims who were raped and sexually abused," he said.
"I'm very angry, very bitter, and feel cheated and deceived. I would have never opened my wounds if I'd known this was going to be the end result. It has devastated me and will devastate most victims because there is no criminal proceedings and no accountability whatsoever."
The commission's original judge, Mary Laffoy, resigned from her post in 2003 over claims that the Irish department of education – which was in charge of inspecting the orphanages and industrial schools – was refusing to hand over documents to her.
The Guardian, Henry McDonald, Ireland correspondent guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 20 May 2009

The Lancet rebukes Pope Benedict

Britain's best-known medical journal, The Lancet, has launched an unprecedented attack on Pope Benedict. The editorial in its current edition accuses the pope of 'distorting scientific evidence' to promote Catholic teaching on the use of condoms. The Lancet editorial is titled "Redemption for the Pope?" Here's the full text: 'The Vatican felt the heat from an unprecedented amount of international condemnation last week after Pope Benedict XVI made an outrageous and wildly inaccurate statement about HIV/AIDS. On his first visit to Africa, the Pope told journalists that the continent's fight against the disease is a problem that "cannot be overcome by the distribution of condoms: on the contrary, they increase it".'
'The Catholic Church's ethical opposition to birth control and support of marital fidelity and abstinence in HIV prevention is well known. But, by saying that condoms exacerbate the problem of HIV/AIDS, the Pope has publicly distorted scientific evidence to promote Catholic doctrine on this issue.'
'The international community was quick to condemn the comment. The governments of Germany, France, and Belgium released statements criticising the Pope's views. Julio Montaner, president of the International AIDS Society, called the comment "irresponsible and dangerous". UNAIDS, the UN Population Fund, and WHO released an updated position statement on HIV prevention and condoms, which said that "the male latex condom is the single, most efficient, available technology to reduce the sexual transmission of HIV". Amidst the fury, even the Vatican tried to alter the pontiff's wording. On the Holy See's website, the Vatican's head of media, Father Federico Lombari, quoted the Pope as having said that there was a "risk that condoms...might increase the problem".'

'Whether the Pope's error was due to ignorance or a deliberate attempt to manipulate science to support Catholic ideology is unclear. But the comment still stands and the Vatican's attempts to tweak the Pope's words, further tampering with the truth, is not the way forward. When any influential person, be it a religious or political leader, makes a false scientific statement that could be devastating to the health of millions of people, they should retract or correct the public record. Anything less from Pope Benedict would be an immense disservice to the public and health advocates, including many thousands of Catholics, who work tirelessly to try and prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS worldwide.'