The leader of an influential charter advocacy group in Pennsylvania’s wrote on Facebook that the people protesting the murder of George Floyd “disgust me.”
Ana Meyers, head of the Pennsylvania Coalition of Public Charter Schools, posted — and then deleted — a statement on her personal Facebook page in which she called the protests spurred by the killing of George Floyd “not okay.”
Maybe she didn’t know that people were protesting racism and police brutality. Very likely the students in charter schools and their families were among those who “disgusted” her.
Whatever. She deleted her post.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
In January of this year, Cision PR Newswire quoted Ana Luiza Meyers who was promoting a scheduled school choice coalition rally. The rally was organized by…Pennsylvania Catholic Conference…Americans for Prosperity (Koch network) …
It’s not the first time the AFP and state Catholic Conferences have joined in concert to sponsor privatization.
The linked article in the above post concludes with a statement about the desire for “systemic change”. Systemic change to privatization was first proposed by racist Georgia Gov. Talmadge when he wanted to avoid integration.
I infer from Meyers’ excuse that she believes her Facebook post was a reactive response to protect the blue wall, her husband’s tribe. It’s a mindset that afflicts some.
ALL: Heeeerre’s Linda again: cherry-picking the right-wing of Catholic Church action. CBK
I’ve decided, CBK, that every time Linda posts one of these things from now on, I’m going to post something from the Catholic Christian left. LOL.
Bob It’s there. I was going to post an article about another priest who spoke out against Trump, but thought it would only fuel the fire.
CBK
Linda and I have had very different experiences, clearly, of this. I taught in a Catholic school, years ago, with nuns who were loving and compassionate, and this colors my view. I do understand that there are terribly reactionary persons within the Church and terribly reactionary organizations affiliated with it, and I read stories of the Church opposing measures like distributing birth control in the Third World and educating people on its use, and I am horrified and angered. And, to be completely frank about this, I’m not a Christian in the same way that I am not a believer in Thor or the Papuan Pig Goddess, though I admire much in the teachings of this character Yeshua of Nazareth. The stories of Jesus being born to a virgin, of his raising a dead man to life, of a cracker, uh cookie, uh wafer literally turning into his body, and so on seem to me to have precisely the same level of plausibility as do those of Zeus turning into a swan and raping Leda, the drinking horn that can never be emptied, and the spider dropping the calabash full of stories that then spread around the world. It frankly shocks me that grownups in the 21st century continue to believe these things, which are ludicrous, prima facie. But all that said, our mythologies, including Hebrew and Christian mythologies, have things to teach us, and the universe is doubtless a lot weirder than we imagine it to be: https://bobshepherdonline.wordpress.com/2014/03/27/the-vast-unseen-and-the-vast-unseeable-2/
Good Morning Bob Glad to see your thoughtful note.
We could fill ages of libraries with the rich, thoughtful, and spiritually-insightful commentaries that are “out there” and that concern the meaning of both religion (all of them) and mythology; and from every stripe of academic, secular, institutionalized religious orders, and from outliers in every arena of history and human living.
In my view, we can belong to a “religion” without being dogmatic or ideological and still keep our questions about our own spirituality alive. I found this out as I went through college after I turned 30 and my life changed accordingly.
With that as background, discussions on blogs or similar venues about such things ALONE is tantamount to taking one’s life guidance from bumper-stickers. Though, as you well-know, depending on the reader, poetic meaning sometimes can cover a lot a heretofore-buried territory.
That said, to your thoughtful note about “literal” meaning, religion, and myth, I would add one word: metaphor; and a thought about its capacity for mediation as an indication of spirit in history. I always enjoy your posts. CBK
Beautifully said, CBK!
You are right, CBK, that the Catholic community is not monolithic. It’s extremely important to bear that in mind.
Bob-
If the left wing factions of the church had had the political wins that the right wing has had, this blog thread discussion would not be occurring. My experience or absence of experience with religion is immaterial.
My opinion about religious beliefs is also immaterial.
One important area that left wing Catholic activists could get involved in, is the protection of the postal system. It is part of a safety net for the elderly. Theocracies want the dismantling of safety nets to make people more reliant on religious connections because they provide more opportunity for control and propagandizing.
https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2020-04/pope-letter-popular-movements-universal-basic-wage.html
https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/501237-pope-thanked-texas-priest-who-took-a-knee-at-protest-to-pray
Bob,
I want to thank you if you’ve contacted directors of state Catholic Conferences, the Knights of Columbus headquarters, management at Catholic Vote and Catholic League, the organizations that Tim Busch funds, Bishop Dolan of the USCCB, the Catholic Universities that created campus, trickle down economic centers, Crisis Management- “the Voice of the Faithful Catholic Laity”, who wrote, “The Catholic Position on the Electoral College”.
I’d like to thank you If you’ve asked Face the Nation to interview, instead of Bishop Dolan, Bishop Anthony or, one of the sisters who signed the letter opposing the NYC bishop for praising Trump’s leadership.
I have done all of the above respectfully and received one reply.
If you have talked with a priest expressing a preference for the church to stand for civil rights, common goods, separation of church and state, and democracy, to stand against the wealthy plutocrats, like Rex Sinquefield, Melinda Gates and Charles Koch, thank you.
It does get a bit tiring of being labeled “monolithic” by some on this issue. Let’s try one more time. Not all Catholics follow the tenets of it’s leadership or indeed, it’s 1%. A majority may not, perhaps likely not. But a persistent minority, ideological and doctrinaire to pre-John XXIII thinking exists. It is the loudest and most influential faction. It would be good if the majority of Catholics would call them out and work hard to reform the Church from within. It would be nice for them to not cherry-pick the reforms that Francis is trying–not too successfully from what I have been able to gather–to implement. It would be nice for them to call out bigoted Catholics who do not attend mass but fall back on these justifications to vote against their economic, social and personal interests. It would be nice for them to call out charlatans like Steve Scalise, who drives much of the Republican House agenda and then falls back on, “but I’m a good Catholic, how dare you?” arguments when his hypocrisy is exposed. I would claim that it’s “monolithic” to ignore those realities and attack people who make good faith arguments pointing these hypocrisies out. I would call this logical and consistent. For example, one of the fringe, extremist influences is EWTN. Granted, not mainstream, but influential poses this loaded question in its Catholic Voter’s Guide: “If I think that a pro-abortion candidate will, on balance, do much more for the culture of life than a pro-life candidate, why may I not vote for the pro-abortion candidate?” and begins it’s long-winded hypocritical answer with, “If a political candidate supported abortion, or any other moral evil, such as assisted suicide and euthanasia, for that matter, it would not be morally permissible for you to vote for that person. This is because, in voting for such a person, you would become an accomplice in the moral evil at issue.” Is this the position of the majority of Catholics? No, of course not. Is the a position that moves working class Catholics in, for example, Mahoning County, Ohio, which is one of the swing sections that hold the key to Ohio presidential votes? Yes, it is. Does more need to be done to absolve them of their bigotry cloaked in–and Linda disagrees with me here–single issue voting? Yes, it does. Do most Catholics in Ohio agree with this? No, they don’t. Are they an important constituency that help elect a fascist? Yes, they are. Does this discussion make those of us who point it out monolithic? Or does it argue that Catholics are monolithic? No, it doesn’t. Yet that seems to be the consistent comeback we get.
Linda: I have a friend in Europe who wonders how I can live in such a a violent place as the USA. Of course, if you live here in the US, you know how the violence that hits the news in Europe, though true in a similarly-violent abstraction, is an extremely small chip of our experience of living here. To my friend, however, the violence is all there is because he cannot see the much more complex, bigger, and quite different context.
Your din about what is bad about Catholic political forces here is like my European friend’s view of the USA. And it has the residual effect of making Diane’s blog look somewhat like an anti-Catholic scribe.
And as Bob’s link to the Pope’s letter suggests, your posts are abstractions tailored to fit your bias rather than reality. Also, again, your view of Catholics as such is of lockstep followers . . . not only an abstraction but so terribly wrong. It makes me wonder what a person does with their fear and hate when the historical tide changes, as it may soon in many camps associated with Trump.
As Bob’s link to the Pope’s letter and his life also shows (and much more), there is also a quite different politics of faith in the Church than the right-wing stuff you keep pushing.
Very few in the Church still think in tribe-speak or in pre-enlightenment prose, as apparently you would have us all think. CBK
My response to this is in moderation and will likely not get out of it. But this is interesting, check out the first nine words. Takes me back to the early 90s: https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/06/abortion-opponents-protest-covid-19-vaccines-use-fetal-cells when Focus on the Family and the Concerned Women of America used to lobby me on the same issue.
Thanks, CBK! Your first paragraph above gave me the biggest belly laugh I’ve had in a while! Better than Monty Python!
Greg-
My comment in another thread never got out of moderation.
All inclusive censorship, next?
Alleged censorship does not apply to the private sector and Diane’s blog belongs to her, not the government. The U.S. Constitution protects us from censorship by our government, not by private citizens, private businesses, and corporations.
It is apparent that the malignant, deadly virus called Donald Trump masquerading as a human wants to change that so the Orange Virus can censor anything he wants.
Lloyd
Total agreement that Diane can post or delete whatever she wants at her blog. I am very grateful for the person she is, the work she does and her championing of democracy. I am very grateful for the contribution that her blog commenters make in advancing the cause of democracy, including but not limited to you, Bob, Greg, Laura, Chiara, retired teacher, left coast teacher, Markexistential, Ciede, Threatened Out West,…
Solely for clarification purposes- my comment in moderation did not “pick on” a select commenter and did not insult the host.
The definition that I used for “censorship” is from the Merriam-Webster Dictionary.
Instant gratification is an epidemic and a serious flaw. When I post a comment, I never go back and check to see if it appeared or not.
However, I advise learning some patience before accusing someone of “legal” censorship. Next time a comment doesn’t appear in seconds or minutes, wait a day or two and go back and check. Then if it didn’t appear, post it again because WordPress is not perfect and sometimes stuff gets lost.
Several things are true:
WordPress puts comments into moderation, sometimes even people who comment regularly.
I put people into moderation if they insult me or cross the line of decency, as I define decency.
I would like to emphasize that I do not allow comments that insult me.
Adding, Susan and NYC Parent.
Yes, Linda, we are mischaracterized and accused of being “monolithic” but cannot defend or explain ourselves. Oh well. C’est la vie.
I guess posting a papal letter about universal wages absolves everyone who professes to be part of the club, whether they agree with it or not.
Very interesting, what say you?: https://www.catholicworldreport.com/2020/04/17/paschal-plea-what-did-pope-francis-really-say-about-a-universal-basic-income/
Or about this?:
https://www.catholic.org/news/business/story.php?id=84683
And how does it jibe with this?:
https://www.catholicnews.com/services/englishnews/2020/pandemic-is-time-to-consider-universal-basic-wage-pope-says.cfm
Didn’t want to comment on above, lest I be accused of things I neither said nor believe.
Lloyd-
Agree.
If a blog host wants to ponder a comment, I support the decision for him or her to delay its posting (and, I understand, with humility, that I have no standing to offer my opinion especially when a person works as hard as Diane does to host this blog). The praise that Diane deserves is incalculable.
When a comment doesn’t appear after a couple of days – like when it is my defensive response in a thread that has commenters taking umbrage, I will assume, in the future, that WordPress ate it.
I admit that I am sensitive to a particular response of “picking on” a commenter when I believe the record disputes it. I do my best to depersonalize comment. I hope that in my responses to you, you would agree, e.g. your comparison of me to Rush Limbaugh and your implied judgement that I require instant gratification.
that comparison alleged you might be … it didn’t say you were.
Greg,
Your comment at 8:02 should find its way to pulpits.
Thanks, Linda. You inspired me. I relate to a character in Ionescu’s play Rhinoceros, “The fact that I despise religion doesn’t mean I don’t esteem it highly.” I’m guessing that resonates with you too.
Greg
Thanks for adding the quote to the thread.
Some may have not have a handle on the significance of Mark Esper at a church while Trump brandishes a Bible. GLAAD has posts about the history of Esper relating to LBGTQ. Trump’s first appointee to Secretary of the Army withdrew his nomination after reports of his offensive comments about transgender people.
If Presidential appointees to the highest echelons of the military are from right wing religions, the least concern is that it doesn’t reflect American diversity and, the worst is the possibility of an affinity for authoritarian instead of democratic U.S. government. Barr denies that he ordered Army helicopters with Red Cross markings to buzz protesters, a tactic used against foreign enemies. Media report it was Ryan McCarthy, Secretary of the Army who issued the order.
btw- Bethree asked you a question 6-6, 10:37 in the thread to the post citing Robert Kuttner, 6-3
Bob –
The one reply I received back after the contacts mentioned above was from the director of a state Catholic Conference in one the middle states in the country. He wrote that the Manhattan Declaration was “great”.
Interesting selective Catholic media reporting (Catholic News Agency) about Nebraska’s Ben Sasse, who championed the Knights of Columbus in Senate hearings The reporting describes Ben Sasse’s (GOP) condemnation of Trump at the Episcopalian church. Mum’s the word about the photo op at the John Paul shrine.
What disgusts me is the way Pennsylvania overpays for charter schools, particularly cyber charters that perform much worse than public schools. I am disgusted that many charters schools are non-profit in name only. I am also repulsed by the endless profiteering by members of the Pennsylvania legislature. In February Governor Wolf called some charters ““little more than fronts for private management companies, and the only innovations they’re coming up with involve finding new ways to take money out of the pockets of property taxpayers, like setting up sham online schools or exploiting a loophole in special education funding.” If Wolf can revamp the crooked charter laws, it will be a new day in Pennsylvania. https://www.forbes.com/sites/petergreene/2020/02/08/pennsylvania-governor-sets-out-to-fix-worst-charter-school-laws-in-nation/#1df97b996037
Diane This reminds me of the recently-stated idea that police actually protecting demonstrators is just another example of their being “politically correct.”
In fact, considering documented police action over the years, similar to what happened to George Floyd, it’s really an example of a much- needed personal, cultural and political CORRECTION that’s going on. . . . long in coming. CBK
Peaceful protests are protected by our rights to peaceful assembly and free speech. America was founded on protests, both legal and illegal like the Boston Tea Party.
retired teacher If you were responding to my note about political correctness–your note reflects what I meant in mine: It’s not political correctness but rather “. . .a much-needed personal, cultural and political CORRECTION that’s going on. . . . long in coming.”
It’s a correction precisely because police protection of demonstrators is not merely the price bias pays to civility in the language we use, but an actual lived statement (and recovery for some) of the principles that our Country is formed on. CBK
I read a story today that reminded of the 2nd best basketball player I’ve ever seen play live in my life (1 is Pistol Pete Maravich), when he was Chris Jackson and played in high school in Mississippi and later at LSU. He overcame Tourette’s syndrome to become a gifted, humble, grounded athlete. With all the just acclaim Colin Kaepernick is receiving, Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf deserves just as much, if not more praise and thanks. I hope everyone out there learns a bit more about him:
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/protest-mahmoud-abdul-rauf-nba-flag_n_5eda77a0c5b619004bd7876d
Here’s another one that made me smile today. L.A. Galaxy cuts Serbian player after wife makes disgusting comments:
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2020/jun/05/aleksandar-katai-wife-racist-social-media
D-Day: Anti-fascist demonstration circa 1945
oops. 1944, ofc
Political scientists have done a lot of studies showing that people who identify as conservatives are also extremely fearful and obsessed with order and maintaining routines. They are cowards who fear change and novelty and the Other and hide behind official violence. Private Bone Spurs is a prime example of this. He’s the swaggering bully who adores foreign strongmen and becomes a simpering lapdog in their presence.
A tangential wrinkle of interest- the Swiss prefer order and they are a mixed bag of liberal and conservative-it can be complex to distinguish.
I, too, like to have the space around me orderly. I’m a pretty obsessive straightener and cleaner, but no one, I think, would call me a conservative, unless they were using the term sanely to refer to conserving out environment, conserving our democracy, conserving the lives of poor people, conserving the principle of equal protection under the law, conserving the freedoms of adults to sleep with and whatever other adults they wish to and to put whatever they choose into their bodies and do do ordinary activities like birdwatching while black. Gee. Maybe I’m a conservative. LMAO!!!!
Lovely, just lovely.
Deleting that post does not change her thinking. The odds are that she was warned after the post went up to take it down to avoid a backlash.
This isn’t surprising at all.
Charter CEOs and their paid promoters who come up with all kinds of reasons why a “successful” charter would suspend as many as 20% of the very youngest students in a charter elementary school have something in common with the police and their rabid supporters who always justify why the police had to aggressively arrest (or shoot) a person who supposedly acted or appeared dangerous.
In both cases, the people labeled “dangerous” and “violent” — whether they are kindergarten and first grade charter school students or teenagers or adults — were almost never white. They were frequently African American and those who insisted that those very young charter school children “deserved” their harsh punishment and the victims of police brutality “deserved” the brutal treatment use similar arguments to justify their actions.
They claim “we are’t racists, we just want to curb all the bad behavior” and don’t even realize how much their own racism affects their judgement about who is “bad” or who looks “bad”. Or maybe it isn’t their own racism — they just counted on the public’s racism to get away with it because they knew their outrageous innuendoes about children and adults who are often African American would not be questioned by the compliant white media. “I’m sure he did something to cause it” — wasn’t that the pervasive belief that let charters get away with suspending Kindergarten children so often? The few times there was incontrovertible evidence that the charter student or victim of police brutality had done nothing to “cause” his harsh treatment – like videos – those charter leaders or police claimed it was just a “bad apple”, and the system that allowed that so-called “bad apple” charter teacher or police officer to thrive and advance was never mentioned. Despite much evidence that those “bad apples” seemed to be highly valued in the system and everyone within the system who questioned their actions being marginalized, encouraged to leave, or fired.
I don’t think it is a coincidence that a charter network whose CEO famously endorsed Betsy DeVos and defends high suspension rates for her very youngest students as necessary behaves the way police departments often react whenever their very aggressive policing actions are challenged.
Remember Success Academy releasing the private records of a child (always presenting that child in the most negative way) to “prove” that their harsh treatment of that child – and all the other young children that they “needed” to suspend — is justified?
It is exactly what those police departments did — in Buffalo they smeared the 70+ year old man who got shoved as an “agitator”. In Minneapolis, the police union tried to paint George Floyd as a “violent criminal”. If there was no video, they could have gotten away with it. And even when there was video, they often got away it — by suspending a charter teacher or policeman for a while until the public stopped paying attention.
For many years, this has been a successful strategy with the white media quickly losing interest.
And oversight agencies like the SUNY Charter Institute kept acting like the real problem was the parents complaining and their supposedly violent children even as they absolutely embraced as perfectly reasonable a charter saying that huge numbers of the kindergarten children who won their lottery just acted out so violently that the harshest discipline was necessary. Does anyone think all those white SUNY Charter Institute board members would have been so certain that all those young kindergarten children deserved the harsh punishment they received if all those kindergarten children being labeled as reprehensibly violent had been middle class white 5 year olds and not African American?
Clueless, ignorant Americans like her, make me gag.