The other day I posted a story about the conflict in the Whitehall city council about naming a Darwin Day to celebrate the 200th birthday of Charles Darwin, who developed the concept of Evolution. At a meeting on Tuesday, January 27th, the Darwin Day follies focused on actually naming a scientist to honor for the compromise “Science Month”. And then it got funnier.
According to a report in the Columbus Dispatch:
Councilwoman Jacquelyn Thompson originally suggested declaring Feb. 12 Darwin Day in honor of the 200th birthday of the man who conceived the theory of evolution. However, she watered it down to “Science Month” and added Galileo’s name in a compromise two weeks ago.
“The whole idea of this was to recognize the events,” she said at a council meeting yesterday. “I thought it was a great opportunity to show that we value science, we value inquiry and we encourage our students to open up to the world.”
A few council members replied with shouts of “Not my children!”
“Is it fair to the hundreds if not thousands of other scientists to not name them?” Councilman Jim Graham asked.
Council members suggested leaving a celebration of science to the schools and complained that it would compete with other February designations, such as Black History Month. However, the unspoken issue revolved around who believed in evolution versus creationism.
Yes, a few council members shouted “Not my children!”
WOW! What a bunch of kooks.
