The Simpsons seems to have once again predicted the future, but with very dire consequences, after a parental uproar in Florida resulted in the forced resignation of a charter school principal who flashed a picture of Michelangelo’s ‘David’ to children.
It is the latest in a series of real-world events predicted by Matt Groening’s cartoon, including the presidency of Donald Trump, the Disney-Fox merger, and murder hornets.
Over 30 years ago, in the ninth episode of the second season of the animated sitcom titled ‘Itchy & Scratchy & Marge,’ Marge Simpson is outraged and horrified by the violence depicted on the Itchy & Scratchy children’s television show.
After failing to convince the production company to tone down the violence, she forms an angry mob called SNUH (Springfieldians for Nonviolence, Understanding, and Helping) to join her in protesting against the show’s studio.
The Simpsons seems to have once again predicted the future, but with many dire consequences, after a parental uproar in Florida resulted in the forced resignation of a charter school principal who showed a picture of Michelangelo’s ‘David’ to children.
Hope Carrasquilla was expelled from the Tallahassee Classical School this week after three parents complained about the curriculum.
Meanwhile, Michelangelo’s David is sent on a tour of the United States, with an expected stop in the Simpsons’ town of Springfield, angering the members of SNUH.
They urge Marge to protest the famous sculpture, claiming it is offensive and inappropriate.
Marge, being an artist herself, insists that it is a masterpiece and is later pointed out for her hypocrisy in differentiating what art should be censored.
Marge finally agrees to give up her campaign against TV violence and Michelangelo’s David is brought into town with free speech prevailing.
Decades later, the events of the cartoon appear to have occurred in the city of Tallahassee.
Hope Carrasquilla, a Florida school principal, was apparently forced to resign after three parents complained their children were “upset” by images of Michelangelo’s David being shown in their sixth-grade history class. , according to reports from the local outlet Tallahassee Democrat.
One parent reportedly called the statue “pornographic” and said he wished he had been informed ahead of time that his children would be shown such images.
Created between 1501 and 1504, it is widely considered the largest sculpture in the world.
But the Tallahassee parents deemed it inappropriate due to David’s nudity.
They now demand that they be given an advance vote on any topic or lesson that could be considered ‘controversial’.
“Parental rights are paramount, and that means protecting the interests of all parents, whether one, 10, 20 or 50,” said school board president Barney Bishop.
She admitted to giving Carrasquilla an ultimatum, telling her that she had to resign or she would be fired.
Over 30 years ago, in the ninth episode of the second season of the animated sitcom titled ‘Itchy & Scratchy & Marge,’ Marge Simpson is outraged and horrified by the violence depicted on the Itchy & Scratchy children’s television show.
Marge, being an artist herself, insists that the statue of David is a masterpiece and then accepts her hypocrisy in differentiating between what art should or shouldn’t be censored.
But he said he disagrees that the image is ‘pornographic’ and that the reason for his dismissal was related to the procedure in which the image was shown to students.
‘The teacher mentioned that this was a non-pornographic image, No. 1., (also) the teacher said: ‘Don’t tell your parents’, No. 2. So the issue is not whether children should see these images or not.
My God, we are a classical school. Why wouldn’t we show Renaissance art to children?
‘Did the parents know in advance what the children were going to see, hear and learn? 98 percent of parents had no problem with it.
‘But that doesn’t matter, because we don’t follow a practice. We have a practice. Last year, the school sent advance notice about it. This year, we did not send that notice.
Bishop said the mistake was “egregious” and that being a public charter school comes with a certain focus on “civic and moral values.”
“We teach a traditional, Western civilization, classical liberal upbringing, and if there are controversial issues or topics, we let parents know ahead of time,” he said.
‘Let’s be sensitive to everyone at school.’
Carrasquilla told The Tallahassee Democrat that he was “sad” that his brief tenure at the school was coming to an end. She was only on the job for a year.
The incident marks another point of contention in the ongoing debate surrounding America’s schools.
Tallahassee Classical School is a charter school in the Florida Panhandle
On the one hand, public schools in Democratic cities are coming under fire for promoting liberal curricula without parental consent and advocating progressive policy changes for transgender children.
In the case of Tallahassee Classical, a handful of easily offended parents forced the firing of an experienced principal.
President of the school board Barney Bishop III
The news comes amid the state’s assault on public education, drag performances, abortion and trans medical intervention on minors.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is currently fighting to ban what he calls “wake indoctrination” from public schools.
Through its passed legislation, the state would review reading materials and limit classroom discussion about gender identity, and career books could be indefinitely or temporarily withdrawn from the curriculum.
Now, DeSantis will likely be former President Donald Trump’s Republican Party nominee rival in the 2024 election.
