What, this fish?
Posted on 08/09/2005 7:05:40 PM PDT by Crackingham
Residents of a Westmont public housing complex for seniors said in a federal lawsuit filed Monday that they were coerced and harassed by management into practicing Christianity and pressured to attend Bible study classes. Five former and current residents of the complex, along with housing advocate Hope Fair Housing, are suing the complex and its property manager, saying they used "coercive, harassing and restrictive rules and regulations to impose their 'Christian' beliefs upon current residents."
Hope Fair Housing, based in Wheaton, also alleges the complex only invites low-income Chinese tenants and discriminates against any other potential residents.
The defendants in the case include the Illinois Chinese American Residence for the Elderly, 501 N. Cass Ave. in Westmont, Angela Yuan, president of the board of directors, and Providence Management and Development Company Inc.
Elderly non-Christian residents of the 60-unit complex said they live in a "religiously hostile and intimidating environment," where they are barred from using common rooms for anything non-Christian, including card playing, according to the lawsuit.
Plaintiffs Shen Tong Bea Tu, 87, and Yue Ru Lee, 86, who are non-Christian, say they hid in their apartment bathrooms with the lights off every Wednesday so they wouldn't be forced to attend Bible classes.
Other tenants claim in the lawsuit that Yuan visited them individually and demanded they kneel down with her and pray after she learned they had played Mah Jongg, a Chinese game similar to dominoes, in the building.
Maybe they should have read the fine print...
Fine print was too small for fine eyes.
So is evangelism illegal now?
I guess it's better than having your brains beat out in a Communist prison...
You've got a pretty weird definition of evangelism.
What was the penalty for being caught with a Harry Potter book?
God forbid. I'm sure reading the Bible took them away from their "How To Light a Crack Pipe" manuals.
No. I just think this story is one-sided, representing only the plantiffs. Of course I do not think anyone should be pressured into Christianity. I just know that Christians are lied about a lot. We can talk about it again when all the facts come out and both sides are told.
Guess no one ever told them about the miracle with the fish........
Both sides are told??? You're no fun! : P (Actually, I think you're right. There's more to this story.)
The story seems to concern elderly Asian people. Maybe they are drug addicts, but it sounds like they just want to play Mah-Jongg without interference.
Course, I'm just joking. I don't believe in forcing the Bible on anyone, but I do think that in the case of "faith based" charity, if you take the cheese, you gotta take the manna too (or some metaphor to that effect).
This is the WHOLE story????? Nobody can be forced to be a Christian, the individual must choose.
Ergo, I doubt it.
No opinion until I hear the rest of the story.
PS -- LS... you're naughty today!
How about, "If you want the cheese, ya gotta take the cheddar?"
LOL.
Smell-test Alert: low-income housing... but can afford a lawyer.
Dan
. . . and an agent, to get them on Oprah!~
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