Thou shall not suffer a witch to live. ~ Exodus 22:18

Thou shall not suffer a witch to live. ~ Exodus 22:18. 

This verse is probably the first one used for the argument against anything Paranormal. It's not only reserved for Psychics, Sensitives or Fortune Tellers. The whole Paranormal Community is cast into the witch lot because some believe we are seeking "familiar spirits" by investigating a haunting. Sadly, many find themselves without a defense when faced with the words of God. Should we all just be burned at the stake?

My focus will be on The King James Version - New Testament only. The reason for that is most mainstream religions believe that when Jesus died on the cross, a New Covenant was formed making the old laws no longer valid. The Old Testament is full of paranormal occurrences and deserves it's own study. 

"Witchcraft" and "Sorcery" appears only three times in the New Testament:

Galatians 5:20

“Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,” 

Revelation 9:21

“Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.” 

Revelation 18:23

“And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived.” 

From Mediums seeing/hearing Spirits to Paranormal Investigators trying to communicate with them, it's an open and shut case. Looks like we are all guilty and going to hell! Well, maybe not all of us. If I'm going, it's not going to be for bad information!

Now the rest of the story....  

I highly recommend doing a little research into the history of The King James Bible if you haven't already. For today, I'll try to keep the history lesson as short as possible.

What would be The King James Bible began in 1604 and was completed in 1611. King James selected 47 scholars to translate the books. The New Testament sections were translated from the original Greek manuscripts into English. Some Christians believe the book to be infallible and will only use this version. Personally, I have learned too much about the history to share that opinion with the King James Only Movement.


Going back to the original Greek Text of the above-quoted verses, the original word being translated is pharmakeía.  Understanding the original wording is key in deciding if we are to be burned at the stake or not.

According to Thayer's Greek Lexicon, the root chain Pharmakeia-pharmakon-pharmakeus is defined as a drug, poison, poisoner (one who mixes the poison) or a Scapegoat Ritual. Wikipedia does a pretty good job of explaining the ritual if you are interested.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Pharmakos

A pharmakós (Greek: φαρμακός, plural pharmakoi) in Ancient Greek religion was the ritualistic sacrifice or exile of a human scapegoat or victim.

A slave, a cripple or a criminal was chosen and expelled from the community at times of disaster (famine, invasion or plague) or at times of calendrical crisis. It was believed that this would bring about purification. On the first day of the Thargelia, a festival of Apollo at Athens, two men, the Pharmakoi, were led out as if to be sacrificed as an expiation.

In context, the above verses appear to be referring to a poison/poisoner. I don't know of anyone involved in the paranormal who has poisoned anyone so I think we are mostly safe. We are spared the stake on this one but I did this translation mix-up happen?

Did the word meaning change over time? Did the writers of the original Greek Manuscripts actually mean Witchcraft or poison? There is an answer to this one....Plato.

Plato was a contemporary of Paul.They literally could have met face to face. Both were educated in the Torah and wrote in Greek. Living in the same general area, their word usage would be the same.

Works of Plato:

But there are others also of the greatest wickedness...being sorcerers (magoi) and poisoners (pharmakeutai)... 

Moses commands that poisoners (pharmakeutas) and sorceresses (pharmakidas) shall not be allowed to live... 

...but of those who plot against one secretly, and who disquise their attacks by the concealed approaches of poison (pharmakeia)... 

And again, besides this, he who openly slays a man with a sword...can only kill a few persons at a time; but if one mixes and compounds deadly poison (pharmakois) with food, may destroy innumerable companies at once... 

And I imagine that the lawgiver, having a regard to all these circumstances, would not permit the punishments due to poisoners (pharmakeuton) to be postponed... 

This may be sufficient to say on the present occasion concerning poisoners (pharmakeuton)... 

From: "The Works of Philo", chapter titled "The Special Laws 3", section 93-104.

"So this statement shall stand as the law about poisoning (pharmakeia): Whosoever shall poison (pharmakeu) any person... if the agent be a doctor, and if he be convicted of poisoning (pharmakon), he shall be punished by death."

Plato: Laws, Book 11. 933

There are other writers to compare from that time period as well. I personally have no doubt left that the original meaning was intended to be a poisoner. 

So, the 47 scholars who translated the King James Bible just goofed up one word, huh? It's bound to have happened because they didn't have the technology that we have today. Just an accident....

Scott Peterson was convicted on less circumstantial evidence than the case of this only being an accidental mistake.

The man with the agenda is none other than King James himself. Stripping away all of the other facts regarding the King James Bible being nothing more than a political move on his part we are left with knowing it served to further his causes. Strangely through mistranslations.

King James was a self-proclaimed expert on Witchcraft. In 1590, he was personally involved in the North Berwick witch trials. He published a book titled "Daemonologie". In 1604, he was appointed King and one of the first things he did was reprint his book for the masses. He also reformed the Witchcraft Laws in the same year to require death as the punishment. He was indeed a busy king in 1604. The 47 scholars still had a boss to answer to. Failure to make the king happy leaves you hanging by a short rope.

Believe as you wish, but I don't think it was an accidental translation error.

Shattering the Hands of Time

  

                           The spiritual path of Nyoka the Jungle Girl

It has been said that Nyoka was a difficult child. The same has been said about many children through the ages. She differed from the other children and she knew it.

About the time we enter 5^th grade, we stand knocking on the door of who we will become. No longer a “little” kid and not yet a defiant teenager with our finger poised over the bullshit button. Our teacher for the next few years will be life experiences more than anything else.

By the time Nyoka entered 5^th grade she had experienced more than most Americans will experience during their entire life. She was born to an “older” mother, fulfilling her longing of a daughter since the other children were boys, 13 and 16 years old when she was born.

Her early years were spent moving from one low class neighborhood to another in Dallas, Texas and she knew little of adult supervision. At 3 years of age, she would walk across the parking lot of Holiday Lodge, the hotel converted into apartments, to spend the day in the pool completely unattended. Looking back she realizes that the other children didn’t do this. Not even the children of the mother that went bat-shit crazy one day; chasing everyone at the complex with a butcher knife while trying to beat down the doors. That incident ended when the police arrived but not before Nyoka’s nose was pouring blood from being broken in the chaos.  

Before her mother moved her to Florida, she had witnessed the deepest darkness of the human soul. Shots fired at her during a robbery, a pistol cocked at her head during another was her “normal” life. The only thing that really changed in the move was the location and crime rate. She still did exactly what she wanted.

It’s not that she just didn’t “follow the rules”; she had no rules placed on her.  In Florida she ran the roads on dirt bikes and went to school if she felt like it. She had her bullshit button for a while by the time she entered 5^th grade.

All of this back story is to bring us to one small moment in Nyoka’s life that has haunted her since it occurred.

Nyoka’s Story:

I’m not even sure how I did it. Did I throw a ball or something in the house? Was I swinging the broom like a sword again? I wasn’t playing with anyone, no one else was there. However it happened.  I do know that I did it.

I’m not sure where it came from. A yard sale maybe? Did someone give it to my mother? Did she find it in a thrift store? It just appeared one day; hanging above the doorway in the room that used to be the back porch. It was only there a short time before the incident.

However it happened and wherever it came from no longer mattered at that point. I had broken the clock and all hell had broken loose! The clock was the old schoolhouse style and judging by the way my mother was reacting, it was the most cherished possession in the world. I had destroyed something that she “could never replace”. In the heat of it, my mouth shot off, “you can get another. They are all over the place!” When she asked, “Where?” and I responded “at the school”, her anger only increased.

How long did this go on? I don’t remember. I don’t remember leaving the room that day. I wasn’t handed down a punishment for my deed like some 5^th graders would have received. My punishment was in the form of manipulation, guilt and shame of destroying something my mother, in her words, “could never replace”. My deed was equal to taking one of her children from her.

We have never talked about the clock again. It hung over the door in its broken state until the house fire as far as I know. This clock has come to my mind often through the years. I don’t fully understand why this memory has haunted me. I have a collection of traumatic memories but this one has always seemed to be festering right under the skin and it “could never be replaced”.

Although I had no contact with my mother, the clock still haunted me. The spirit of the clock would stop in long enough to make sure I hadn’t forgotten and then would be gone again until the next visit. I was visited on December 22^nd and thought nothing unusual of it. It wasn’t something I put energy into when I thought of it. The memory would be there one minute and gone the next.

On Christmas Eve, I knew the stores would be full of stressed shoppers and closing early but I had agreed to take my girls to find a straight razor as a gift for their father. I do love that old stuff and can spend hours connecting to the people of our past through everyday items. The antique store would be closing in 20 minutes and we were having trouble finding a razor. Starting to feel the pressure, I had to focus on our mission. Navigating the maze-like layout, I took a right turn with my girls close behind.

Did my brain have time to understand what I was looking at before the tears started flowing? It didn’t seem like it as I stood in the middle of the antique store, face to face with a clock and sobbing in front of my children. This was the clock that “could never be replaced”.

Spirit performed a spontaneous Soul Retrieval on me when I was least expecting it. The part of me that remained locked in that moment was instantly released. Not only released but returned to me in a single beautiful instant. I don’t know if my mother remembers the clock incident or not and the truth of it is I don’t really care either way. If my mother does remember the clock incident, I’m sure she will swear this clock looks nothing like the original. All I can say is perception is personal and some refuse to leave the place of being offended for fear of the unknown. Spirit is requiring me to send the clock to her and seal the circle for myself. I will no longer remain in that time. I am not resonating at that frequency that I held on to for so long. Time is an illusion that we can choose to break. There is no past or future; there is only this moment that we exist in. The circle is completion, but sadly some will never close the circle. We can take and use of the world in any way that we choose but we have no right to be offended when the world takes and uses of us.

                                                            ~Nyoka the Jungle Girl

Nyoka has no desire to make amends on the human level. She is not “reaching out” with the clock. She is only preforming the alchemy that Spirit requires of her. She has no judgments of the past. These experiences were all required of her by Spirit or she wouldn’t have lived through many of them. By not forgiving, we are held hostage-not the one we can’t forgive.

Our great universe is balance. To be able to perceive the higher frequencies, we must also perceive the lower realm without judgment. Great things can be manifested through the lower energies. It’s alchemy, boys, and girls, and she wouldn’t change a thing in her life. Shamanism is to heal oneself. That is a lifelong task and you never know when or where Spirit will decide you have some clearing to do.

Nyoka has figured out that it’s easier to obey than to try to run from the demands of Spirit. Shamanism is not a religion; it is a way of life. Anyone can benefit from practicing shamanism. However, some are required by Spirit to practice. The shaman is a healer that has faced their own darkness within, and accepted the energies without personal judgments.

Without clearing and soul retrievals, we are unable to achieve higher states of awareness. We stay “stuck” resonating at the lower frequency. Most shamanic soul retrievals occur while in a journey trance. Entering non-ordinary reality allows us to seek out the parts of soul that we have disconnected from; or we may seek parts on behalf of someone else. As we clear and achieve higher levels of spiritual awareness, missing soul parts may come to us without us actively seeking them.

Reunited with the missing parts, we are able to release the locks on the prison that held that part of us. The emotions that seemed impossible to let go, now seem almost ridiculous to us when we think about them. The soul retrieval is nothing short of magical and I do believe in magic! 

WHAT IS SOUL RETRIEVAL AND SOUL LOSS?

Why do we need soul retrieval? When we suffer trauma, crushing disappointment or severe shock our soul, or a part of it, may leave our body in order to escape the experience. The result is what psychologists call dissociation and shamans call soul loss. It is a survival mechanism. If your soul can’t take any more of the pain it is experiencing it will go away in order to allow the physical body to survive. The part of you that wants to die, or may die, leaves and does not come back because it does not want to experience that same trauma again. When we are missing a part of our soul we can not only lose energy but our memory, identity, unique skills and life purpose. This is why we would need a soul retrieval.

Tyranny in a Small Town: Omro, Wisconsin

The problem with the small town mentality is, it is practically impossible to live a normal life. Everyone knows everyone else. Control of a few select citizens, enables control of the masses. No one wants to be labeled "The Trouble Maker" by speaking out against the general beliefs of the town, we have to see these people every day. We are told what we are to believe by the City Council, Police, etc. and their decisions are always for our best interest. It's a vicious cycle; control of the citizens by threat of public ridicule. We complain to each other but when will we make a stand, and say, enough is enough? Not soon enough, in my opinion.
Attention has been brought to our fair city recently when a Billboard magically appeared; located on State Road 21, east entrance to Omro. The bright yellow billboard reads:  "If you're planning to move your business to Omro stop! The city will not support you." 



A long time business, Stainless Unlimited, only wanted to re-pave the parking lot, allowing easier access to the building. The business owner had been appealing to Omro Area Development Corporation since spring. His plans included a larger paved area to allow ease of trucks entering the property. The City required the grassy area to remain as it had always been. He was allowed to re-pave but he didn't get the larger area needed to improve his business. Although, the business was paying for the improvements, the City would not allow him to make the changes needed to grow his revenue. The city's position is, "Things may have been done differently in the past but as we move forward we are trying to make things equitable. I just hope people realize that were trying our best to make our community work." Work for who? Not the business owner. It appears to me as nothing more than a show of power by the City of Omro. 

Some are of the opinion that the business owner could have resolved the issue without a billboard. Will those people please tell to me how to properly resolve a problem with the local officials? I would love to resolve the inaction by Omro School and Police Department in regards to threats of violence against our children. 

The City of Omro is abusing the power the citizens have entrusted them with, and the local police is treating concerned citizens as criminals. If you sit around complaining that there's nothing we can do, then you need to just get out of the way of the ones willing to be the "Trouble Makers".

Demons and our need to put a label on everything

Negative Spirits (and positive) are everywhere. Everything is Spirit.

Our society seems to wants to label everything demonic. I have to believe that it makes people people feel better if they can put a label on what they don't understand.

Negative Spirits is not necessarily "bad" and I doubt that a demon is attached to the doll your mom had. Demons as well as negative spirits are parasites. A parasite wants to feed and multiply. They can't eat if they are stuck in a doll and locked in a closet They want to be where the food is, in society. In my opinion, as humans we have created and fed many of the negative spirits around us.

Negative is not to be feared but all spirits should be respected. Without negative we would have no basis for positive, it does have a purpose but we don't have to keep it for a pet.

When you play with unseen forces, unseen forces will play back and Spirit didn't read the same set of rules that we read. Be careful of what you play with and may I suggest that if you don't understand the skill level of the opponent, you shouldn't even step on the field.

Angels & Demons Beside You

Free Audio Book by Joshua P. Warren. See:www.JoshuaPWarren.com CHAPTER ONE: The Physical CHAPTER TWO: Spiritual Natural Selection CHAPTER THREE: The Battle ...

YOUTUBE.COM

School and Police Department Endorses Threats of School Violence for 8th Grade Student

Please note: All student names have been changed to protect their identity.

October 8, 2014 Update - see bottom

We have all scanned over the stories of students being suspended and expelled from school for ridiculous reasons since the promoting of the Zero Tolerance Policy. You are probably familiar with the 5 year-old suspended for talking with her friends about playing with a Hello Kitty bubble gun. What about the 7 year-old in Maryland suspended for eating a Pop Tart? Or one of my personal favorites, the kindergartner suspended for crying. There is no shortage of stories where Zero Tolerance appears to have run amuck. We shake our heads in disbelief, but it has no impact on our lives; until it does...

This week allowed me to look into the eyes of Zero Tolerance's evil twin, the Anti-Bully Policy. Almost all of us have been on the receiving end of a bully at one time or another and no one is immune; short, tall, fat, skinny; it can be anything. Repeated exposure to this behavior can be emotionally damaging to a child. Schools strongly emphasize anti-bullying to students daily. The entire month of October is promoted as National Bully Prevention Month. The word "Bully" is no longer an act. It has taken on it's own identity with the purpose to invoke strong emotions within us. The bully scenario is an easy one to decipher to those not involved. The bully is provoking and causing emotional damage to the victim who was innocently minding his own business. We feel anger toward the bully and sympathy for the victim. It's cut and dry, and we go along with it, but is it the truth? Is the "victim" truly innocent or could he actually be the provoker? When do we decide that the victim has crossed the line from "just defending himself," to endangering our childrens' safety? The Anti-Bully twin is the twin that wants us to feel sorry for the victim who is making the threats to harm our children in school.

You can decide if this student deserves pity from you (we will call him Adam); he won't be getting any from me.

Omro Middle School is a small town school consisting of grades 6th - 8th; approximately 300 students attend daily. I have worked as a substitute many times and I'm always impressed with the respect and acceptance the students have of each other. Now I am not comfortable with my children attending the school.

Adam moved into town last year, enrolling in 7th grade. The other students say that Adam is a smart kid, but not very nice. It didn't take the other students long before his verbally abusive nature caused them to lose interest in the new student, and things would never be the same as before.

Adam wasn't friendly and by the end of last year, the 7th graders were growing up fast. He would randomly walk up to students to say, "I hate you. I don't know why I hate you but I do" and walk away. Adam started talking about his list and bombing the school to some. Many students became frightened of him. They were so afraid of Adam, some mentioned that didn't want him to see them at Jenny's house who lived near him. Everyone pretended the threats were never made and with summer vacation came a time to relax.

This school year began as all others; uneventful and easy to settle in to, until last Wednesday rolled around. Brad and a couple of friends were trying to play basketball during gym class but Adam continued to stand in the way of the game, despite the boys asking him to move. Finally Adam took the ball and threw it at Brad, hitting him the head with it. This led to words being exchanged, ending with Adam telling Brad, "Don't come to school Friday unless you want to die". Concerned over the comment, Brad reported the incident to the office.

My 8th grader was in the class when this happened, and informed me on Wednesday afternoon. Knowing that Adam had a history of comments being dismissed and needing to relieve my child's anxiety, I payed extra close attention as the events unfolded. The local Police Department was at the school on Thursday morning interviewing Adam and Brad, and they were released. Adam was back in his normal classes before lunch on Thursday as if nothing had happened. He was once again allowed to threaten the safety of the school without any perceived punishment while the other students worried about their safety.

With no information from the school and many questions unanswered, some parents decided on Thursday, to not send their children to school on Friday. Frustration grew, resulting in a Facebook post by a concerned parent:

Omro School Distric Families:
I am very confused. How is it an 8th grader in Omro Middle School is able to make threats/warnings to his peers about bombing the school and killing students has appeared to go unpunished? From my understanding, yesterday he was being searched and required to remain in the office but today he is back in class. This is not the first time he has talked about harming other students. He has told some of his "list" and has told individual students, "I hate you but I don't know why." Why do we read about students in other states being suspended for less? Do we just believe he's wanting attention and it would never happen here? These are our children! Even if there is no danger of bodily harm, they are thinking and stressing about this while the one making the threats is skipping down the hall untouched. A few parents are keeping their children home tomorrow but I think a better solution is for the parents to stay at the school all day. This is insane!

http://www.aacap.org/AACAP/Families_and_Youth/Facts_for_Families/Facts_for_Families_Pages/Childrens_Threats_When_Are_They_Serious_65.aspx

Children's Threats: When Are They Serious?

Every year there are tragedies in which children shoot and kill individuals after making threats. When this occurs, many people ask themselves, "How could this happen?" and "Why didn't we take the threat...

The post spread through the town quickly. Most parents had no knowledge of the incident, and the parents that did know had been told only by their children. A couple had called the school on Thursday morning and was told it was taken care of. Now, angry calls began flooding the local Police Department who explained the case was resolved: Adam received one day in-school suspension (Thursday, but he was observed attending regular classes that afternoon). He would return to regular classes on Friday and was not deemed a threat. It appears that, due to the calls the Police received on Thursday night, they decided to put a stop to the Facebook postings and arrived at a concerned parents home at 10:15pm, just because she had shared the post to her timeline. The Police told the parent that they had notified Adam's family that night that he should not come to school on Friday. The Police questioned why the parent was posting the information and wanted to know who originated it. She was made to feel guilty for informing other parents of the situation. Her posted comment after the police left her home:"It just makes you feel bad that you started false info and makes you question if you should in the future."

Friday morning, a Police Officer stood at each entrance of the school to address the concerns of the parents. The school said that an email would be sent out to all parents, and students would be having a discussion during Homeroom. It appears that the situation was finally being addressed, fears put to rest, and all would end well. That was not the case.

Although the Police, on their late-night visit to halt the Facebook posts, stated the situation had been resolved on Thursday, more student interviews were held on Friday morning. Adam wasn't seen at the school on Friday morning, and the police left before lunch. The discussion held for the students was nothing more than an anti-bully rally. The children were told that Adam had made the statements because they had bullied him, and he was only defending himself. The teacher stated that Adam had never said he would bomb the school, and when one child spoke up that she personally witnessed his comments, she was told to stop spreading lies and bullying Adam. Instead of relieving the fear and anxiety of the students, the talk left many frustrated as well. Adding insult to injury, after being told Adam wouldn't be at school on Friday, he was spotted looking out the detention room window that afternoon. 

As promised, the school sent out an email to address parents concerns. Many never received the email, despite having received prior correspondence from the school. 

Omro Parents/Guardians

The middle school had a student incident during gym class on Wednesday, September 24th, between four boys. One of the boys had thrown a ball at another during a basketball game. The situation escalated when one of the boys said words of, what is the cripple going to do about it. That student responded back with words to the effect of, sure if you are ready to die on Friday. The student then removed himself from the situation and reported to his teacher.

The situation then was investigated with each of the boys providing a statement. Police interviewed each of the boys. Parents came in. Consequences were issued. 

Late Thursday night, September 25th, I received information that parents were expressing concern of school safety through Face Book. This morning the parents of the boy who made the threat reported to and remained in the school office as additional assurance that the school is safe with his son kept at home. The executive committee was present at the middle school. We met with several parents who came in with concerns that they had gathered off of Face Book. Assurances were made of the efforts from the school, police, executive committee, and the boy's parents that the children of the school are safe.

This notice to you of the student incident is to offer out communication of this event. We wanted to make to each of you aware of the information and to share an understanding of what occurred. When acts of bullying, gossip, impulsive acts, and harassment occurs, kids and adults often begin to think about what could happen, what actually happened, what could be the truth, and how to act. 

Communication through social media, like Face Book, has it usefulness; however when fragments of information are expanded and shared within various social circles, people can reach conclusions that are far from what actually occurred. As adults we can teach children the importance of communicating with respect for each other, not being a part of gossip, to choose your words carefully, and to better choices in the telling of stories of others. As adults we can also make the adjustments within ourselves and what we are sharing to others. 

A challenge that schools work through is the timing of communication being sent home, as some situations can quickly escalate and other situations turn out to be words shared during times of anger and pain. Teens do act impulsively. Teens do say words without thinking. Teens also learn from their actions and work through situations that they have created. The middle school staff will be using the homeroom time to talk about situations of bullying, gossip, and harassment, to provide students with opportunities to share their stories and what they have learned, and to be coached about how to respond to those types of situations. 

If you should have any other concerns, please contact the school.

The Executive Committee



The account given in the email is not what the students in the class perceived. I do find it interesting that it was determined that Adam only made the threats in response to Brad bullying him. So, let's think about this....Brad bullied Adam? Adam hit Brad in the head with a ball, and Adam made the threats.  Brad then went to tell on Adam? Brad must not be a very good bully or he would have pounded Adam for hitting him with the ball, and told no one.....Never mind, We're supposed to think Brad=bully=evil/Adam=poor victim=only did what he had to, to defend himself. 

Now we are supposed to pretend it never happened. The facts do not add up, and until they do, 300 school children are in danger, in my opinion. My children don't feel any more safe today than they did Wednesday. To the students, it appears Adam received no punishment for his threats. Why would they report the next threat of violence, if it doesn't matter? When threats are not taken seriously, we become calloused to them, and may dismiss the very one we should have listened to. This is the safety and lives of our children. Do we just hope nothing will happen in our sleepy little town? If I let it go and anything did happen, I share in the responsibility. I refuse to do that. 

As parents, we only want our children to be safe. I have learned enough about bullying from the School to know it when I see it. The Police and School are shaming parents for expressing our concerns over the safety of our children. We are being made to feel like bad role models for spreading "gossip," and our children are being told that their parents could have made "better choices" than to seek more information.

School Officials didn't know "the importance of communication," so, as parents, we only got "fragments of information...expanded and shared through various social circles" of 8th graders with a genuine fear of potential violence at school. We are being bullied by the School and Police Department. Parents have stopped talking about it, and some have deleted comments out of embarrassment. What we should be ashamed of, is not standing up for ourselves and our children! Yes, I am a role model for my kids and I will show them that you stand for what you believe in.

There is a very real possibility that the safety of 300 6th-8th grade students is contingent on this message getting out. Only through awareness, working together, and demanding answers, can we know that no harm will come to the children. Don't say you are willing to give your life for your children if you allow bullies to shame you into silence.


Update: Attended City of Omro Council Meeting on October 7, 2014

We were not on the agenda so only able to give a statement to be addressed in a future meeting. The statement as presented:

Members of the Omro City Council:

The events of Sept 24th-26th, 2014 have left a lot of Omro citizens and parents of children attending Omro Middle School, shaking their heads and looking for answers.

On Wednesday, Sept 24th there was an incident at the school that has effectively been swept under the rug, involving death threats to some of the students, and potentially, yet another act of gun violence, this time at our local middle school. The school has tried to keep this quiet, failing to communicate with middle school parents about what might have been a credible threat to their children.

The school’s executive committee would have us believe that some of our children participated in a heinous act of bullying, that the child who was allegedly bullied is disadvantaged in some way, and that we were wrong to be concerned. They’ve taken great measures to impress on our kids, in the days that followed, their wrongdoing in the supposed bullying of a disabled child. Our kids have been taken to task repeatedly, while the student who made death threats received little more than a figurative slap on the wrist.

Let’s look at the facts:

• The student that made the threats assaulted another student, hitting him in the head with a ball. While the comments made by the assaulted student may or may not have been appropriate, he went and reported the incident, including the death threats made by his assailant.
• As parents, most learned of this incident on Thursday, through the fears of our children, of attending school on Friday. No communication was given through school channels; only the word of scared 8th graders.
• When parents started bringing this to one another’s attention on social media, local police paid one scared mom a late-night visit on Thursday to inquire as to the origin of this news, made her feel she was spreading mis-information, and asked her to stop. She was told the matter was settled already, having met no criteria for a credible threat.
• Friday morning, police guarded every entrance to the Middle School, and parents were given to understand that the student who made the threats wouldn’t be attending school that day.
• In subsequent days, children have been inundated with an anti-bully campaign, as a reactionary measure to their fears and their alleged conduct. One child (ours) was even essentially called a liar when she questioned the official story, having been witness to other threats this student had made previously.
• The Executive Committee finally sent out an email to the parents: a scathing criticism of their efforts to gather facts and protect the safety of their children through the only means available to them on such short notice, and a dressing-down of their concerns over the lack of action on the part of school officials.

In short, we were bullied. Bullied by the school, who, in their embarrassment, took exception to us being proactive, and bullied by the police, who forgot that their purpose is to protect our safety, and our rights, not trample on them by acting as the brute squad for other local officials.

We ask you, Omro City Council, what can be done about this? How can we mend this breach of accountability on the part of those with whom we’ve entrusted our safety, and the safety of our children? We ask you to look into how any child, in a school with a Zero Tolerance policy, can get away with death threats on our kids, and go largely unpunished, and we ask you to look into what was, at the very least, an ethics violation on the part of our local police department, and at worst, bullying by school and law enforcement officials. We await your answers.

Thank you.

Mayor, Robert R. Breu requested to talk with us after the meeting. He took our contact information, said he was informed last week this was no longer a concern by the Police Chief. I stated that many are still concerned but are now afraid to voice it due to how this was handled. Robert R. Breu stated he, and the Chief will be in contact with us in the next couple of day. I will post updates as the become available.