Did Bentonville Public Schools ask parents if they want this tea?
By Conduit News Editorial Board
Public schools continue their campaign of grooming and sexualizing our children. Under the euphemistic pretense of promoting “healthy relationships,” Bentonville High School faculty subjected students to content reducing sexual activity to drinking a cup of tea.
“If you’re still struggling with consent, just imagine instead of initiating sex, you’re making them a cup of tea.”
I’ve had tea many times in my life with many different people, sometimes many different people at the same time. I’ve had tea in public. I’ve paid for tea. I’ve had tea to be polite even when I’d rather not. None of these can I say for my sex life. To boil down the intimacy and exclusivity of a sexual relationship with another to a cup of tea communicates the wrong message to high schoolers on so many different levels.
“If you say, ‘Hey, would you like a cup of tea?’ and they’re like, ‘Um, I’m not really sure,’ then you can make them a cup of tea or not, but be aware that they might not drink it, and if they don’t drink it, then—and this is the important part—don’t make them drink it. Just because you made it, doesn’t mean you are entitled to watch them drink it.”
Gurgled backwash would make for a finer libation than this swill. What exactly does it mean to make a cup of tea or to watch someone drink a cup of tea in this scenario? Is the narrator implying that objectifying a person to the degree that you are inflaming your libido and imagining engaging in intercourse is acceptable, so long as you don’t make the person drink your tea?
As if comparing warming up your sex drive to boiling water, brewing tea, and adding milk weren’t bad enough, the metaphor now extends to forcing unwanted sex upon the unconscious.
“Some people change their mind in the time it takes them to boil that kettle, brew the tea, and add the milk. And it’s okay for people to change their mind, and you are still not entitled to watch them drink. And if they are unconscious, don’t make them tea.”
By introducing this example, Bentonville schools normalize contexts in which high school students would be found unconscious and hyped for sex. And no, they aren’t talking about taking naps. “Take the tea away and make sure they are safe,” the video continues.
After making light of sex, the video proceeds to make light of rape.
“If someone said, ‘Yes’ to tea around your house last Saturday, that doesn’t mean that they want you to make them tea all the time. They don’t want you to come around unexpectedly to their place and make them tea and force them to drink it going, ‘But you wanted tea last week,’ or to wake up to find you pouring tea down their throat going, ‘But you wanted tea last night.’”
The great irony of presenting content on consent is that Bentonville parents had no opportunity to consent to this content. The video was presented without awareness or transparency.
Did Bentonville Public Schools ask parents if they want this tea?
Parents have many reasons to object to this kind of content. The video makes several assumptions about sexual activity—that it is casual rather than serious, that it is open rather than exclusive, that it is merely about the physical act and not also about the desire of one’s mind—with which many parents may disagree. Bentonville Public Schools has usurped the right and responsibility of parents to convey these moral truths to their children.
“And on that note, I am going to make myself a cup of tea.”
Whether the narrator intends to pleasure himself or find a target willing to consume his tea, I say, “No, thank you!” Bentonville Public Schools has no right to peddle this content to our youth, much less without parental consent or awareness.
FULL TRANSCRIPT BELOW
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZwvrxVavnQ
“If you’re still struggling with consent, just imagine instead of initiating sex, you’re making them a cup of tea. You say, ‘Hey, would you like a cup of tea?’ and they go, ‘Oh my god, I would love a cup of tea! Thank you!’, then you know they want a cup of tea. If you say, ‘Hey, would you like a cup of tea?’ and they’re like, ‘Um, I’m not really sure,’ then you can make them a cup of tea or not, but be aware that they might not drink it, and if they don’t drink it, then—and this is the important part—don’t make them drink it. Just because you made it, doesn’t mean you are entitled to watch them drink it. And if they say, ‘No, thank you,’ then don’t make them tea. At all. Just don’t make them tea. Don’t make them drink tea. Don’t get annoyed at them for not wanting tea. They just don’t want tea, okay? They might say, ‘Yes, please, that’s kind of you,’ and then when the tea arrives, they actually don’t want the tea at all. Sure, that’s kind of annoying as you’ve gone to all the effort of making the tea, but they remain under no obligation to drink the tea. They did want the tea, now they don’t. Some people change their mind in the time it takes them to boil that kettle, brew the tea, and add the milk. And it’s okay for people to change their mind, and you are still not entitled to watch them drink. And if they are unconscious, don’t make them tea. Unconscious people don’t want tea and can’t answer the question, ‘Do you want tea?’ because they are unconscious. Okay, maybe they were conscious when you asked them if they wanted tea, and they said yes, but in the time it took you to boil that kettle, brew the tea, and add the milk, they are now unconscious. You should just put the tea down, make sure the unconscious person is safe, and—this is the important part again—don’t make them drink the tea. They said, ‘Yes’ then, sure, but unconscious people don’t want tea. If someone said, ‘Yes’ to tea, started drinking it, and then passed out before they’d finished it, don’t keep pouring it down their throat. Take the tea away and make sure they are safe. Because unconscious people don’t want tea. Trust me on this. If someone said, ‘Yes’ to tea around your house last Saturday, that doesn’t mean that they want you to make them tea all the time. They don’t want you to come around unexpectedly to their place and make them tea and force them to drink it going, ‘But you wanted tea last week,’ or to wake up to find you pouring tea down their throat going, ‘But you wanted tea last night.’ If you can understand how completely ludicrous it is to force people to have tea when they don’t want tea, and you are able to understand when people don’t want tea, then how hard is it to understand it when it comes to sex? Whether it’s tea or sex, consent is everything. And on that note, I am going to make myself a cup of tea.”
