Pubdate: Thu, 31 May 2007
Source: Boulder Weekly (CO)
Column: waynesword
Copyright: 2007 Boulder Weekly
Contact:  http://www.boulderweekly.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/57
Author: Wayne Laugesen
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/opinion.htm (Opinion)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?135 (Drug Education)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?225 (Students - United States)

CRIMINALLY OFFENSIVE

If District Attorney Mary Lacey wants to help children, she'll bring
felony charges against psychologist Joel Becker and haul him back to
Boulder.

I told Becker Tuesday it appears he violated Colorado law in April by
contributing to the delinquency of minors. I asked him if there was
any reason he shouldn't be charged, considering the fact he encouraged
hundreds of kids to use drugs - advice some of them certainly followed.

Becker: "One: My words were taken out of context. Two: I didn't mean 
to disrespect or offend anyone. And three: I think young people 
deserve open and honest information."

Me: "That's great, Dr. Becker, but why shouldn't you face criminal 
charges for contributing to the delinquency of minors? You said, 'use drugs.' "

Becker refused to answer and recited again his song and dance about
out-of-context remarks.

Becker was on a four-member panel that spoke to Boulder High School
students in April. Here, in unaltered context, are his introductory
remarks:

"Hi. My name is Joel Becker, and I'm a clinical psychologist. I'm
going to ducktail off a little bit of what Andee said, but I think I'm
going to go in a little bit of a different direction, because I'm
going to encourage you to have sex, and I'm going to encourage you to
use drugs appropriately (resounding applause from kids). And why I'm
going to take that position is because you're going to do it anyway.
So, my approach to this is to be realistic, and I think as a
psychologist and a health educator, it's more important to educate you
in a direction that you might actually stick to."

It's a slam-dunk, Ms. Lacey. Colorado law says any person "who
induces, aids or encourages a child to violate any federal or state
law, municipal or county ordinance, or court order" commits a felony.

This crime was recorded, and anyone can hear it online. Becker told an
entire student body of children to "use drugs." For any of them to
"use drugs" - even to "use drugs appropriately" - violates federal and
state law, and in some cases a court order. I personally know at least
one Boulder High teen who lives under a court order "not to use drugs"
as a result of using drugs and crashing a car. Telling him to "use
drugs" - whether or not he follows suit - is a felony.

Anyone who thinks Becker's remarks are "out of context" can read a
full transcript at: http://www.bvs watch.org/content/view/91/1/

After telling children to "have sex" and "use drugs," Becker
said:

"Now what is healthy sexual behavior? Well, I don't care if it's with
men and men, women and women, men and women, however, whatever
combination you would like to put together."

He wasn't speaking to men or women. He was speaking to girls and boys,
who are likely to suffer diseases or unwanted pregnancies should they
take his advice to experiment sexually.

Not to worry, however, because panelist Antonio Sacre told the
children all about condoms. Described as a "storyteller and performing
artist," Sacre told them:

"...the act of putting on a condom, for me at least, makes me lose my
erection almost every time. That's the thing they don't tell you about
condoms. If you're lucky enough to get them on, and you still stay
hard, it's hard to stay hard. And it doesn't feel as good. And
sometimes you hurt the woman because you can't feel her, because you
didn't know, when you were 16, that lubrication like KY helps you stay
hard and makes her feel better. And I know how hard it is to talk like
that to a girl. It's even hard now for me as an adult. So I don't know
how it is for you to be able to say so. So it's no surprise that me at
15 stopped using condoms when she said she was going on the pill, and
the next thing you know, something is leaking out of your penis, and
it hurts when you pee..."

Oh, and those teens not indulging in heterosexual or homosexual sex
should become serial masturbators.

"Masturbate. Please masturbate," Becker told the children.

If anyone says to keep your hands off your privates, Becker explained,
it's just the sound of your family's stupid religion, grounded in a
silly old Jewish law inspired by the story of Onan, who spilled his
seed.

The discussion was vile from start to finish. When a parent read the
transcript to the Boulder Valley School Board, she was asked to stop
because our elected officials were offended. Yet teachers and
administrators at Boulder High - adults in positions of trust - sat
idly by, none shutting down the discussion. All adults who did nothing
to halt this outrage should be reprimanded.

As for Becker, that's a different case. He's a renowned psychologist
who once served on the faculty at Harvard Medical School. He was paid,
as an expert, to give our kids advice on how to live. He instructed
them to use drugs. That makes him a criminal, who perpetrated against
children while in a position of trust. Prison is the proper response.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Richard Lake