Fascist winter games
School principle is fine with this, as long as it is said so by the Catholic Church which, according to the ingenuity of the Catechetical Office, has the right to choose a (religion) teacher
Author: Vladimir Colakovic
It is classroom in elementary school “Matija Gubec” in Zagreb, it is time for religion. Religion teacher Kresimir Bagaric talks to his students about how Croatian politicians should be killed, how their heads should be impaled on stacks and talks affirmative about crimes of convicted war criminal Ratko Mladic.
We know this because one of Bagaric’s students filmed his class and gave that video to news web portal Index.hr. According to Index.hr this is not first lecture of this kind given by Bagaric.
In published video you can see Bagaricć, clearly in fascination, unambiguously calling for killing of former Croatian president Stipe Mesic and Vesna Pusic, former foreign secretary of Croatia. Condemning them as “traitors of Croatian people”, teacher is saying to this children how Pusic and Mesic should be convicted in a short “one bullet in the head” procedure and “be thrown in to a septic pit”.
This kind of teacher’s behavior became public thanks to a bravery of one 8th grade student, while school staff, who’s duty is to track teacher’s work, wasn’t aware of anything. Maybe they know, but are not saying anything – they can not or do not want to. The question is: how long would, man like this, continue teaching children and what horrors would he, as an authority, keep saying during religion class? Now, the public is in fear of what other 3000 religion teachers are saying to their children, what are children in Croatia forced to listen to, what kind of values and ideals are impanted in heads of these young people?
DISMISSAL TO TEACHER, BUT NOT TO FASCISM
From a ethic’s point of view, everyone who knew about this kind of behavior are accomplices. Accomplices in indoctrination of new generations and creating haters, future people who will think that is justified to kill everyone who thinks differently. In this crime accomplices have to be searched for in schools, state department for education, but in whole system that allows this kind of things. They allow it and, maybe even, encourage it. We don’t know and will never know until one brave kid shows up and denies to suffer this kind of terror over reason and basic values of human rights.
It is worrying that this school’s principle’s first reaction after the incident was to indicate on Vatican’s contracts according to which the election of religion teachers is in ingenuity of the Catechetical Office, meaning Catholic Church and that school has no role in it. So, her conscience is clear.According to her, it’s just fine for a teacher to teach children to hate, prosecute and kill in school that she manages. It’s just fine – if Catholic Church says so!
However, this principle questions her conscience after secretary of education, Blazenka Divjak, reacted and publicly said that she is shocked and that “there is no place in one school for this kind of person”, meaning religion teacher Bagarić. After that she ordered the principle of this school to implement an extraordinary dismissal to Bagaric.
Bagaric, as an individual, was given a dismissal, but dismissal to whole idea of fascism in education is still not considered. It seems that secretary thinks that her job is done by this act of individual dismissing, not even trying to reassess other religion teacher, together with all teachers across Croatia.
THOMPSON TEACHES RELIGION, TOO
That there is a reason to be worried and to reassess shows series of connected events lately. Boris Dezulovic writes that just a few months ago an international blogging network “Global voice” warned about “open hate speech”in Croatian religious programs, stating that religion for 8th grade is thought using textbook “S Kristom u ivot” (With Christ through life) in which are statements like “without God and against God are raised people like those who made Auschwitz”, and “atheism grows stronger when man is to fascinated by his knowledge”. For all of those who think that they didn’t read well about religion teachers saying that is disastrous to be fascinated by knowledge – by knowledge! in schools! – read again: “Atheism grows stronger when man is to fascinated by his knowledge”.
After all of this, unusual thing happened at the end of November when Marko Perkovic Thompson held the lecture in religion to students in Catholic student centers n Zagreb, high school student. During that lecture, this “performer of patriotic, love and religious songs” spontaneously recollected his days on war front and was talking to high school students about war experiences. People from education department didn’t find problematic the fact that man, whose concerts are forbidden in several countries across Europe because of hate speech and fascism, gives lecture in religion to high school students.
FASCISM AS (UN)WANTED FUTURE
Besides the fact that this sort of things are acceptable to teaching staff and Department of education, fascism in classrooms is acceptable to parents, too. Lack of loud response is says enough.
Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world – said Nelson Mandela and it seems that this line is well remembered by those who create educational system in Croatia. Recent events show that changing world through education is something they do well. But, what kind of world is waiting for us in future if we teach our children methods like “bullet in the head” and “heads on stack”?
This question is addressed to Croatian Department of science and education.
Editorial staff from web portal perspectiva.plus sent this text to cabinet of secretary Blazenka Divjak.
