Thanks to reader Joel Herman for pointing out this important article about the real origins of the religious right.
It did not become organized because of the legalization of abortion by Roe v. Wade. When that decision was announced, evangelicals barely responded.
The issue that mobilized the religious right was segregation. Racism. Read the article.
John Merrow reminds his readers that bullying is illegal. It is not enough simply to react or to comfort students after the fact. Only in the era of Trump would this conversation take place. Just because the president does it, doesn’t make it either right or legal.
Merrow writes:
As schools reopen in the New Year and Donald Trump’s inauguration draws near, the reality of dramatic increases in hate speech and hate behavior cannot be ignored. Educators need to know that merely reacting to offenses will not be adequate. The adults in charge need to step up and be proactive. They must draw some very clear lines about what behavior will not be tolerated. It’s not enough to offer counseling and sympathetic hugs after the fact!
Why? Not just for the right reason–to support vulnerable students–but also to cover their own butts, because ‘after the fact’ actions, no matter how warm and supportive, are insufficient, inappropriate and almost certainly illegal.
The law is very much on the side of the victims, and school authorities ought to know that they are obligated under federal law to protect young people. I am not referring to anti-bullying legislation, which differs to state to state, but to Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, sometimes known as ‘That damned sports law.’ Title IX clearly prohibits sexual harassment, and, even when bullying is ostensibly directed against an individual’s race, ethnicity or religion, it almost invariably includes sexual references. Girls are called “sluts” and “hos,” boys are called “fags’ and other names. Sexual rumors and comments are frequent. And the above behavior violates the granddaddy of all laws in this area, Title IX.
Title IX also prohibits these behaviors outside the school, such as when personal computers are used, when the behavior is disruptive to learning or affects a student’s ability to partake of the opportunities for learning and in other opportunities provided by the school. In short, schools and school administrator, under Title IX, are obligated to stop sexual cyber-bullying. Moreover, they stand to lose federal funding if they do not. Some school districts have paid 6-figure settlements for their demonstrated failure to protect students from harassment and cyber-bullying.
Only this president is free to bully people and groups with impunity. You are not!
I posted a few minutes ago that New York Commissioner of Education MaryEllen Elia has been silent on the Carl Paladino issue.
But I just learned that she gave an interview and said she was waiting for his detractors to make a case against him.
It is not enough for Elia that Paladino made blatantly racist comments. She wants someone to explain to her why this is a problem.
This is what Paladino wrote to a local publication, ArtVoice, as his wishes for 2017. This was ArtVoice’s comment, followed by a statement from Paladino that the following remarks are not racist.
Carl’s remarks were in response to Artvoice queries: 1. “What would you most like to happen in 2017?” and 2. “What would you like to see go away in 2017?” Paladino’s answers were: 1. ” Obama catches mad cow disease after being caught having relations with a Herford. He dies before his trial and is buried in a cow pasture next to Valerie Jarret, who died weeks prior, after being convicted of sedition and treason, when a Jihady cell mate mistook her for being a nice person and decapitated her.” 2. “Michelle Obama. I’d like her to return to being a male and let loose in the outback of Zimbabwe where she lives comfortably in a cave with Maxie, the gorilla.”
Do you think those comments are racist?
Who will convince Elia that this is a problem? Paladino is a public official, not a private citizen.
Carl Paladino, a wealthy real estate developer in Buffalo, New York, posted a vile and racist comment about President Obama, his wife, and Valerie Jarrett on December 23. The Buffalo school board (which is majority black) asked for his resignation. He is sitting tight.
The only public official who can remove him is state commissioner of education MaryEllen Elia. So far, she has said nothing.
When will she act? If she doesn’t act, the New York Board of Regents should direct her to remove Paladino.
This is a national embarrassment.
As has been widely reported, real estate developer Carl Paladino released a racist attack on President Obama, Michelle Obama, and the President’s close advisor Valerie Jarrett. He said vile things about them. He is not a private citizen. He is a member of the Buffalo (NY) school board. He is also a major supporter of charter schools.
The Buffalo school board has called on him to resign. He won’t resign. The only person who can force his to step down is the State Commissioner of Education MaryEllen Elia. Will she do it? No one knows.
If she does not demand his resignation, the New York State Board of Regents should order her to do so. She is an employee of the Regents. The Regents should not permit this abusive and racist man to remain on a school board as a public official.
Activists in Buffalo have launched a boycott of Paladino’s businesses, which includes several charter schools.
Please contact the members of the New York Board of Regents and urge them to remove this man. Their emails are in the link.
Daniel Katz describes Carl Paladino’s many inappropriate remarks, crowned by his recent rant against President Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, and Obama advisor Valerie Jarrett. Paladino insists his remarks were not racist, but the only way to believe that is not to read the words he wrote.
He is a racist, by any definition of the term. He is also sexist and homophobic.
And he is an enthusiastic backer of charter schools, some of which rent space from his company.
Katz notes that none of the charter school cheerleaders have said peep about Paladino. He and his reputation make it hard to regurgitate the line that charter schools are “the civil rights issue of our time.”
The Buffalo School Board voted to demand Carl Paladino resign within 24 hours or they would ask the New York Commissioner of Education to remove him. Paladino was co-chair of the Trump campaign in New York.
The board was outraged by Paladino’s vile racist remarks directed at President Obama and his wife, published last week in a local journal.
“Words matter, Mr. Paladino,” said Barbara Seals Nevergold, the president of the board.
The words in question came in response to a survey about hopes for 2017, sent to members of the Buffalo community by Artvoice, a local weekly newspaper.
In it, Mr. Paladino said he wished Mr. Obama would die of mad cow disease. He also wished Ms. Obama would “return to being a male and let loose in the outback of Zimbabwe where she lives comfortably in a cave with Maxie, the gorilla.” Mr. Paladino, a wealthy builder and political ally of President-elect Donald J. Trump, ran for governor in 2010 as the Republican nominee.
Carl Paladino released a disgusting racist statement expressing his hopes for 2017.
The Buffalo school board, of which he is a member, passed a resolution calling on him to resign. Paladino has already declared that he won’t resign.
It now falls to MaryEllen Elia, the State Commissioner of Education, to remove him for conduct unbecoming a public official.
Here is the resolution:
Resolution Regarding the Conduct of Board Member Carl Paladino
December 29, 2016
Submitted by Board Member Hope Jay
Whereas, in a December 23, 2016 edition of the publication Artvoice, School Board Member Carl Paladino made the following statements in response to the questions of “What would you most like to happen in 2017?” and “What would you like to see go away in 2017?”:
1. Obama catches mad cow disease after being caught having relations with a Hereford. He dies before his trial and is buried in a cow pasture next to Valerie Jarret, who died weeks prior, after being convicted of sedition and treason, when a Jihady cell mate mistook her for being a nice person and decapitated her.
2. Michelle Obama. I’d like her to return to being a male and let loose in the outback of Zimbabwe where she lives comfortably in a cave with Maxie, the gorilla.” And,
Whereas, Mr. Paladino acknowledged that he made these statements; And, Mr. Paladino is an elected official charged with the responsibility to represent children and families in a district comprised of over 70% Black, Brown, Asian, Immigrant and other minority students and families; And, Mr. Paladino took an oath to ensure that students are afforded an environment which is free from fear and respects diversity within the school district and the community and is subject to all district policies;
And,
Whereas, These unambiguously racist, morally repugnant, flagrantly disrespectful, inflammatory and inexcusable comments by Mr. Paladino have garnered both local, national, and
international attention that reflects negatively on the Buffalo Board of Education, the City of Buffalo and its leadership and its citizens, the State of New York, and every decent human being in America and abroad who has been shocked and offended by his words;
And,
Whereas, Mr. Paladino’s behavior has irrevocably impacted the work of the Buffalo Board of Education by negatively impacting the Buffalo City School District in its goal of safeguarding
the rights of all students in promoting a safe and healthy environment in which students are treated respectfully, by everyone, And, the inalienable right, guaranteed by the New York State Constitution and the Dignity for All Students Act, afforded to the children of the City of Buffalo to be provided an education free of discrimination and harassment;
And,
Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Buffalo Board of Education demands that Mr. Paladino immediately resign within 24 hours from his position with the Board. In the event that Mr.
Paladino declines to resign within 24 hours, the Board resolves that it shall retain outside legal counsel to file a 306 Petition with NYS Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia to pursue Mr. Paladino’s removal from the Buffalo Board of Education. Recommendations for outside counsel shall be made by the General Counsel.
President Barbara A. Nevergold, Theresa Harris-Tigg, Paulette Woods, Sharon Belton-Cottman, Jennifer Mecozzi, Hope R. Jay
This is one of the most important–and frightening–articles I have read in a long while. If you care about the future of our democracy, I urge you to read it.
It is about the takeover of North Carolina by the Tea Party, their tactics, their voter suppression aimed at black voters, and their cynical manipulation of anti-gay sentiment. The article doesn’t mention the enactment of school privatization laws, which have been a central plank in the putsch. But it is a cautionary tale.
In North Carolina, Some Democrats See Their Grim Future – POLITICO
https://apple.news/ASZaPmPZ4T-Cz6sPNG5kncg
When Carl Paladino, a billionaire real estate executive in Buffalo, New York, and a close ally of Trump, made outrageously racist and offensive remarks about President Obama and his wife, the national media paid attention. The Paladino story went viral. The State Board of Regents is now reviewing whether and how he may be removed from his elected office. One lawyer suggested that “conduct unbecoming a school board officer” might be grounds enough.
Paladino was unapologetic for his remarks. He said he will not resign. He said that he didn’t know his comments would be published. He did not explain how his comments were sent to a local website that invited his answers to specific questions.
