Strong Convictions

While I often shake my head at some of the religious bollocks that emanates from the US, I would do well to remember that here in the Netherlands we have many examples of our own.

The latest is of a Dutch school having to pulp 3,000 diaries printed for the pupils because some parents are convinced that they contain a sign of Satan. And what’s the sign, you ask? It’s the Peace sign. You know, the one designed by Gerald Holtom in 1958.

School board chairman Johan van Puten is reported to have said:

‘The conviction of the parents that the symbol was unacceptable was so strong that I knew a rigorous approach was the only solution’

Someone should point out to him that strong convictions do not necessarily equate to them being correct. And in this instance, it’s clearly the parents who need education as much as, if not more than, their children.