counselor? “We did talk to a lawyer,”rnGoddard told me. “And we were informedrnthat unless we could show thatrnthe kids had been harmed, we were toldrnwe couldn’t sue.” Although million-dollarrnsuits now are filed for falling off a toiletrnseat, the legal establishment seems tornfeel that no harm is done by counselingrnsix-year-olds about transsexualism. Asrnfor dismissal, Goddard states that parentsrnsought disciplinary action againstrnSleeper and Stern but were receivedrncoldly by the school board. “We heardrnfrom other parents that the school nowrnconsidered us troublemakers,” Goddardrnsaid. Another parent commented thatrnthe principal’s message to them wasrnthat thev should “get over it.”rnThis was not quite the end. Eari” inrn1994, after a program about the case on arnlocal cable station, concerned parentsrnfound the transsexual in class the nextrnmorning interviewing the children forrntheir response. She was soliciting theirrnquestions and talking about the mediarncoverage. “This time Sleeper did ask herrnto leave the class,” Goddard reports.rn”But just for the day. Then we were informedrnthat she wanted the other kids tornrefer to her as “Ben’s daddy.” Sleeperrnwas “supporting this request but I refused,”rnGoddard sa”s, adding, “I askedrnhim if he would let a parent come intornschool and proselytize about religion.rnHe wouldn’t answer me.”rnWe know what the answer to thatrnquestion is. Praver and positive commentrnon Western religion is prohibitedrnby current transgendering of the establishmentrnclause. Multieulturalists arernintent that children learn the correctrnlessons about the oppressiveness of ourrnreligion, history, and gender roles. Nothingrnmust get in the way, not Europeanrnhistory, not even parental concernsrnabout transsexual tutors in first-gradernclassrooms.rnWe probably should not be surprisedrnby the little ruckus at the Runkle School.rnIt’s not unique. Fourth graders inrnAshland, Massachusetts, have been ledrnto role-play homosexual couples eagerrnto adopt a child. Seventh graders arernquizzed in “Health Ed” about the linkrnbetween penis size and sexual pleasure.rnHigh schoolers are taught 19 methods ofrnbirth control. (I’m told that abstinencernwas not mentioned). Self-styled AIDSrneducators present eighth graders withrncondom-puppet shows enacting safe sexrnfor ever’ type of intercourse. It’s a veritablernrainbow of options.rnThose who protest such curricula arerntermed homophobes. Robert Murphy,rnPresident of the Massachusetts TeachersrnUnion (MTA), recently labeled asrn”wacky” any parents who wish to be notifiedrnin advance of such agendas. Hernderided them as “members of the ChristianrnCoalition of Pat Robertson fame.”rnHe dismissed as “a bureaucratic boondoggle”rna bill in the state legislature thatrnwould require ten days’ advance noticernto parents before presenting studentsrnwith information on “homosexuality,rnbisexuality, transsexualism, drug use orrnsuicide.” Then Murphy concluded hisrndiatribe by claiming that he wanted “tornrebuild the trust between the schoolsrnand the community” I wrote to ask himrnwhether we could rebuild this trust byrncounseling six-year-olds about sexchangernoperations. There was no reply.rnIn the gay 90’s, trust is a curious thing.rnAnd so the story ends, losing itself inrnthe pathways of our culture. But as withrnall stories, there is a footnote. RunklernSchool’s sexual monster is still there severalrndays a week, giving the kids a livingrndemonstration of diversity. I told GoddardrnI was amazed that after all the commotionrnthe school had not required herrnto pursue other work. He made clearrnthat the problem is not just the administrators,rnthe principal, guidance counselor,rnand teachers’ union. “We werernrunning into a majority of very progressivernparents who even if thev had concernsrnwere bending over backward tornsupport this transsexual,” he told me.rn”When I complained, they labeled mernas Christian Coalition. That’s their standardrnaccusation,” he said.rnI asked Craig Goddard if he thoughtrnhe and the other concerned parentsrnhad gotten through to the school, if hernthought they would now desist or reflectrnon their attitudes. “I’m not convincedrnthey won’t do it again,” he replied.rn”If an issue like this slips by the coordinator,rnwhat happens with less bizarrernissues? They could be going on as wernspeak.”rnWhen I wrote about this stor- for myrnlocal daily paper, I was denounced as arnhomophobe at the college where I teach.rnLike feminism and homosexuality,rntranssexual advocacy is apparently beyondrnreproach.rnEugene Narrett is an assistant professorrnof English at Eramingham State Collegernand a columnist for the MiddlesexrnNews.rnLetter From Englandrnby Derrick TurnerrnThe British BuchananitesrnThe present long period of ConservativernParty rule in Britain, which has now enduredrnfor almost 16 ears, has fooledrnmany into believing that we live in arnright-wing, conseryatie country. Evenrnmoderate leftists sometimes declaimrnagainst the “Tory regime.” the fascisticrnconspiracy they bcliee deliberatchrnexcludes or discommodes their variousrnpet minorities. ‘Fhe white, middle-class,rnold PTonian, pinstripe-suited, club-goingrnmale who allegedly controls Britainrnis still Public iMiemy Number One, inrnmany people’s eyes, and is still someonerndefinitely worth hating.rnThe truth, of course, is rather different.rn’Phe old “ruling class” has long beenrneclipsed (although it persists in corners),rnand British unity and culture is stillrnthreatened. Many conservatives understandrnthis, and survey the smoking ruinsrnwith sadness and disgust, thinking, withrnthe hymn-writer, that “Change andrndecay in all around I see.” Just as in thernUnited States, a small minority of theserntruly conservative conseratives activelyrncampaign for a dispensation that mightrnafford greater protection to our heritage.rnThese assorted campaigners differ greatlyrnin kind, resources, and aims, and rarelyrnwork in tandem. But they have certainrnthings in common—an implicit or explicitrnbelief in the principles of hierarchyrnand historical legitimacy, romantic patriotism,rnand a sense that there is too muchrnliberalism in daily life, which they feelrnexacerbates crime, overinflates egos,rnrewards bad behavior, and lowers allrnkinds of generally accepted standards.rnIn Britain, according to J.R. Jones inrnThe European Right, “The task of thernRight has not been to formulate newrnprinciples or develop new political systems,rnbut to try to ensure that the ToryrnPart’ followed and practiced those it hadrninherited from the past, but which itsrnleaders tended to neglect or evade.”rnEven new right-wing ideas are usuallyrncouched in conservative language andrnlaunched from within conscryativcrngroupings—from Disraeli’s “On Nation”rnand Joseph Chamberlain’s “Imperialrn38/CHRONICLESrnrnrn