Cynthetiq

Should it make a difference? Does donating monies to a cause require full acceptance of it's belief system? Would it be just as good to donate to GMHC when one doesn't care for homosexuality but wants to help people who are ill?

I don't think it matters. A donation is a donation so long as there are no strings to that donation. Even if the Catholic Church decided to not accept it as I would image the GMHC scenario, I don't see any reason except to spite themselves.

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Jinn

What a shitty fucking atheist.

Bullshit I say. If it were about education, an intelligent atheist would donate the money to an ACTUAL institution of education. Catholic schools FTL.

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Carno

It's his money, he can do whatever he wants.

I'm sure the kids who get to go to the private school will get a much better education that if they stayed in public school. They may have to endure a bunch of religious bullshit, but big fucking deal. I had to endure a lot of religious BS and I still made my own choices.

I think the donation was great.

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The_Jazz

Seriously?

There are some fantastic Catholic schools out there. My brother went to one, and it's regarded as one of the top 5 schools in town. In Chicago, some of the best private schools are Catholic. Some of the worst private schools are Catholic, though. It's a case-by-case thing.

Condemning an entire school system because of the religious aspect seems pretty short-sighted to me. Did you go to one?

As for the actual topic at hand, so what? #1 - it's his money, and he didn't attach any strings to it. #2 - the schools need it.

Good for him for funding something that he thinks does good things, even if he doesn't personally subscribe to their beliefs. There should be more people like him.

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snowy

Bizarre, considering there are a number of secular educational systems not associated with public school systems--Montessori schools, Waldorf schools, other private schools not associated with religious orders or public school systems, charter schools, etc.

Why he chose to donate to the Catholic school system is beyond me. Of course, out here the largest Catholic school has a stadium that was largely paid for by Phil Knight, the founder of Nike. These people aren't hurting for money--far from it.

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The_Jazz

"Those people" have closed over 100 schools in Chicago in the past 5 years. In one of the largest Catholic cities in the country, and the 10th (or so) largest school system in the country, and they can't keep schools open because they don't have enough money.

Catholic schools are like any other school - they're hurting for money unless they've got a huge endowment, which is rare for ANY private school.

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"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - B. Franklin
"There ought to be limits to freedom." - George W. Bush
"We have met the enemy and he is us." - Pogo

Jinn

There are much better organizations to throw money at.

http://www.randi.org/jref/join.html

I totally agree that it's his money to throw away, but that doesn't stop me from thinking he's an absolute buffoon for supporting a group that doesn't have the same beliefs as him and actively discriminates against his group. It'd be like Martin Luther King donating to the KKK or a victim of molestation donating to NAMBLA.

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"I'm typing on a computer of science, which is being sent by science wires to a little science server where you can access it. I'm not typing on a computer of philosophy or religion or whatever other thing you think can be used to understand the universe because they're a poor substitute in the role of understanding the universe which exists independent from ourselves." - Willravel

pig

well...i'd really have to know more about the particular schools/school system he chose to donate to, but in general i say 'fuck him.' now, i don't say 'fuck him' because i'm mad that a non-believer gave to catholics, or that he's not perpetuating the atheistic viewpoint. i'm saying 'fuck him. fuck him right in the goddamn ear' because i'm sick of people shitting on the public school system. so popular. so neato. well, fuck you too. i'd like to see mr. robert 'grey poupon' wilson take his (presumably) cherry white ass down to harlem and get down to some teachin'! maybe stroll on over to queens and see if he likes a real live reinactment of some shitty movie with michelle pfeiffer, lewis gosset jr., and/or tom sizemore tryin' to clean things up! i don't give two bits of shit about the united teacher's federation, but seriously...what the fuck does he mean by 'higher quality?' i'll tell you what he means. they use paddles. the rest of it??? huh?

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kurty[B]

Who am I to judge who he donates to? If he feels good about it, so be it. Sure, we could all find better things to donate to. Every year there is a ski for a certain somebody day where I live. That somebody died because he was drunk driving. The money goes to a school in a completely different county and I couldn't find any stipulations on how it was to be spent (e.g. anti-drinking driving campaigns). I choose not to support that, but hundreds of others do.

If I could decid for people where to donate their funds I would start a relief fund for myself.

Willravel

I donate to the Catholic Church all the time. Vatican 2 is the most progressive Christian denomination by far, and if anyone is going to bridge the gap between the faithful and the reasonable, it's going to be the Catholic Church. My live and let live policy with religion can sometimes be replaced with resentment, and the Catholic Church's stances on things like condoms are antiquated, but ultimately I can see the good they do for people and I support that.

When I donated to the Catholic Church for Katrina, I knew that the overhead was only a small fraction of what others like the Red Cross were taking. No single organization does as much for the poor, victims of natural disasters, or the sick as the Catholic Church. I cannot equate that to the KKK or NAMBLA.

Yes, a few narrow minded Catholics would probably treat me like crap if they knew i was an atheist (not that I hide it, I just don't wear it on my sleeve), but that's a small minority. I've gotten a lot more guff from my Muslim friends than my Catholic or Jewish friends about being an atheist, anyway.

Carno

I think the problem with public schools goes deeper than the teachers.

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ironman

I went to a catholic school and a catholic university that are run by Jesuits (a catholic congregation, the soldiers of Christ), believe it or not, i was raised to be an atheist by this guys. They taught us not to believe just because but because there is hard proof evidence, they taught us to question everyone and everybody and that religion is a way to control masses. They taught me that adam and eve did not exist, that Darwin's theory of evolution is the most accurate way to describe how we came to be humans, that masturbation, sex, drinking, smoking, partying, etc... are not always sins and that giving to the poor, going to church, etc... are not always good things.
At this time in my life, I think I could not call myself a true catholic, maybe an agnostic, but something is sure, catholics helped me not to be an ignorant bastard, so, if i was to give away a shitload of money, damn sure i would give it to the catholic church.

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Infinite_Loser

It's his money so he can do with it as he pleases. I can't honestly believe that people would be mad because someone donated to education. Would you have rathered him not donate any money at all? It's such an odd world we live in.

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Jinn

"In an interview with the Associated Press in 2006, Wilson said he wants to give away 70 percent of his more than $500 million in assets before he dies."

Ahh, so that's the story. 80 year old man has got money to throw away. Ahh, well.. I can't fault him for this poor choice.

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"I'm typing on a computer of science, which is being sent by science wires to a little science server where you can access it. I'm not typing on a computer of philosophy or religion or whatever other thing you think can be used to understand the universe because they're a poor substitute in the role of understanding the universe which exists independent from ourselves." - Willravel

Bill O'Rights

Simple...

Clearly, there was a shortage of Catholic school girls. The more Catholic school girls that you have will naturally increase the likelyhood of some naughty Catholic school girls. Bless you, Robert Wilson...bless you.



What?

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flat5

When I was a kid, a very good friend of mine went to a Cathlic school because the public system would not have him.
Van Nuys, Ca ~1960.

He was Jewish and had an IQ in the lower 70's.
A good guy.

Cynthetiq

I went to an All boys school taught by the Brothers of the Holy Cross, and like the Jesuits, they taught the same curiousities and critical thinking. Religion was a subject as part of the curriculum and even if you were Muslim, Jew, Buddhist you were expected to participate in class, and even when we had school Mass and assembly you had to participate respectfully.

As far as the naughty catholic school girls. Oh yes, that's why my sophomore year we went co-ed and the first co-ed class to graduate. We had a good share of naughty catholic school girls. good times good times.

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I don't care if you are black, white, purple, green, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, hippie, cop, bum, admin, user, English, Irish, French, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, indian, cowboy, tall, short, fat, skinny, emo, punk, mod, rocker, straight, gay, lesbian, jock, nerd, geek, Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent, driver, pedestrian, or bicyclist, either you're an asshole or you're not.

lurkette

I don't know...I have a number of friends who went to Catholic school and they all came out agnostics. Sounds like a sound investment strategy for an atheist!

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Charlatan

My issue has little to do with religion. I am more frustrated that the public school system in the US is in a shambles. Supporting a private school does so at the expense of public schools.

Every kid that is removed from the public system means that there is less emphasis on fixing the existing problem.

When I look at the public school system here and the one in Canada I wonder why the US with it's very large population (and tax base) can't make it work.

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FoolThemAll

Right.

I'm just thankful that, growing up in Detroit, I went to a FAKE institution of education, because it prepared me much better than any of the local ACTUAL institutions of education would have. Public schools FTL, whatever the hell that means. You crazy kids and your two-second saving abbreviations.

It would seem to indicate that throwing money at the problem is a poor solution, which only makes me more confused about how the atheist's donation was flawed. In any way.

I'm encouraged by the news, because as you say, supporting a private school does so at the expense of public schools. Shitty shitty public schools. If a viable and struggling secular option existed, that might've been the better donation to make, but between Catholic and public it's still a no-brainer: pick the one with better results.

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Willravel

I like the idea of ending teacher tenure and extending the school year. I'd like to give tax breaks to students attending universities to teach, and raise salaries. Let the teacher have a chance to earn a better wage.

Ourcrazymodern?

I like the idea of money ceasing to be a basis.
Cat-holics no doubt have their reasons, though I doubt them.
Confuse the people with God, and you get what you play for.

will, I agree that teachers are most valuable. What they teach should comprise facts.

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jorgelito

No it odes not. It's not a like equation. If he did not donate to Catholic Schools, who's to say he would have donated to Public Schools?

Would donating money to Public Schools be money well spent? I think that's the more interesting questions. The public schools have plenty of money, they are mostly flushingit down the toilet for no reason. I used to live in LA Unified School District, the nation's richest (or second richest) public school district.For some reason, the district is extremely talented at losing money, throwung it away, flushing it down the toilet. Giving them more money would just ensure that the money will disappear in to a black hole or vacuum.