
Playwright David Mamet has sparked outrage after claiming male teachers are 'inclined' to be paedophiles.
The Pulitzer Prize-winning writer appeared on Fox News yesterday (Sunday 10 April) where he waded into the subject of community control of education, after Florida passed a so-called 'Don't Say Gay' bill, which bans sexual orientation or gender from being taught to children under 10.
Watch here:
"We have to take back control," said American Buffalo writer Mamet.
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"If there's no community control of the schools, what we have is kids being not only indoctrinated but groomed in a very real sense by people who are, whether they know it or not, sexual predators."
The 75-year-old continued: "Are they abusing the kids physically? No, I don't think so. But they're abusing them mentally and using sex to do so.
"This has always been the problem with education. Teachers are inclined, particularly men because men are predators, to paedophilia."
He added that society 'needs to get pruned and we need to cut off the diseased parts and go back to individual control of our own destiny', and those in power are 'parasites'.
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He said: "People have gone nuts and people are frightened because there’s huge changes in society, that are brought about by the people in power.
"The people in power, as always, are to a large extent, parasites who are feeding off of the decaying flesh."
Naturally, his comments have sparked a backlash.
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One Twitter user wrote: "As a male teacher I'm offended & angry.
"I care about my students & support them academically, emotionally, & through the many) challenges of life.
"I AM NOT A PAEDOPHILE!"
Another added: "So we already grossly underpay teachers and now we're just openly saying they're inclined to be paedophiles."
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While a third said: "Someone explain to me how David Mamet stopped being David Mamet and became Madman on the Internet?"
Florida's controversial new bill states: "Classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur in kindergarten through grade 3 or in a manner that is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards."
Critics argue the law is designed to marginalise LGBTQI+ groups, but Governor Ron DeSantis said it should be up to parents to teach their children about such matters.
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Signing the bill into law at the end of March, he said: "We will make sure that parents can send their kids to school to get an education, not an indoctrination."
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Topics: US News