Tuesday, March 01, 2016

Speak Now

In a local case, we get the headline "Anti-Gay Stickers At High School In Indio Touch Off Debate: Hate Speech Or Free Speech?" No matter how many times I see this in the media, I'm still shocked.  "Hate speech," whatever that means, is a form of free speech.  It's like asking "syrup: sugar or carbohydrates?"

The story goes on:

The increasing number of the stickers caused an outcry at the school among students and faculty. Many called it hate speech. Shadow Hills senior and vice president of the Gay Straight Alliance Michelle Bachman [!] said on Twitter that the stickers were “definitely hate speech, but legally, we can’t do anything until these students start to physically harass us, which I believe is an injustice.”

If I'm reading this correctly (it's poorly phrased), Bachman is frustrated she's not allowed to punish people for stating what they believe.  At least she recognizes that "hate speech" is protected, even as she curses such freedom.

The school discussed the issue with legal counsel and decided (because, after all, it is the law) that "students have the right to display the stickers, just as pro-LGBT students would."

However, they're on the lookout.

“Every person can have an opinion, but if there’s harassment or bullying then it does cross the line,” DSUSD Assistant Superintendent Laura Fisher told KESQ.

“If at any point students are interrupting class time to express their beliefs, they are to be sent to the discipline office with a referral for disruption,” the school district’s Wednesday email said. “We all have a right to freedom of speech, but students also have a right to be educated without fear. This has always been our policy, and we will continue to enforce it.”

Okay, but how often, exactly, do students interrupt class time to express their beliefs?  Are they asked to solve a problem on the blackboard and write "2x+1=I don't support same-sex marriage"?

It's good to know students have a right to be educated without fear. (You could have fooled me.) So I guess this means the faculty and administration will see to it that either side in this issue will be made to feel just as welcome in expressing themselves as the other.

8 Comments:

Anonymous Denver Guy said...

I am in fear goingto my (largely cerimonial) caucus tonight in Colorado. Actually, this is the one State besides Texas where Trumnp does not have a large lead, so I may be able to say a word for Rubio without getting trashed. I'll have my Ronald Reagan button on, so maybe that will act as a shield.

9:28 AM, March 01, 2016  
Blogger ColumbusGuy said...

Does it count if I trash you now?

11:00 AM, March 01, 2016  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ronald Reagan is part of the establishment they're fighting against.

1:44 PM, March 01, 2016  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ronald was a RINO- Reagan In Name Only

5:51 PM, March 01, 2016  
Blogger LAGuy said...

Denver Guy, please explain to me how the Colorado GOP screwed up their caucus so bad that it doesn't matter?

8:34 PM, March 01, 2016  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The Colorado GOP did what it was supposed to- follow the rest of the party and commit sappukku

6:12 AM, March 02, 2016  
Anonymous Denver Guy said...

Colorado was desperate to be part of Super Tuesday to get more attention. 4 years ago that worked well - we had our usual caucus (I think they have done these since like 1990). But the delegates selected were not bound to vote as they were elected to do. The actual "primary" is in April, and the delegates elected at the caucuses vote for final delegates to go to the national convention. Of course, between early March and later April, candidates drop out, so the caucus delegates were free to change their votes (which pissed off a lot of Ron Paul voters 4 years ago).

The Republican party in CO has been in turmoil since 2010, when in a Republican year they couldn't get a decent candidate to run against a vulnerable candidate Hickenlooper (following a failed one-year term for Dem. Gov. Bill Ritter).

The best choice was former Congressman Scott McInnis, but he had a skeleton in his closet (even though it wasn't so bad - he got paid to author a paper that he largely leased out to someone else to write).

Then the party leaders settled on an unknown and, as it turned out, unvetted young Republican type (Dan Maes), who had huge skeletons in his closet. The party split as Tom Tancredo said he would run as an independent if the Republicans didn't withdraw Maes when the mess was revealed. (Tancredo would be Trump's running mate if he had risen to prominance a few years later). The CO-GOP wouldn't back down, Tom ran, and Hickenlooper won in a three way travesty.

They also let Joe Coors (about 80 years old) run for the Senate seat held by a fill-in, Ritter appointee, Michael Bennett. Bennett is vulnerable this year, having done nothing in the position except back Obama lock step.

Two years ago Hickenlooper was up again, and they decided to run another old guard, former Congressman who looked like he didn't even want to be there (Bob Beauprez). He lost even though Hickenlooper had driven out gun manufacturers from CO, and had refused to allow the execution of the Chucky Cheese murderer. He didn't commute his sentence or pardon him. He just refused to allow the Dept. of Corrections to act. leaving the situation in limbo. Hickenlooper was elected as a fairly conservative Democrat, but reversed numerous pledges from his campaign.

So last year the party revolted and elected a new Chairman. He has some fire in the belly, but not a lot of experience or knowledge of how things work. When the RNC decided that pre- March 15th delegates would have to be bound to vote per the results of their primaries/caucuses, the new party leaders thought that would be stupid, because so many things can change after Super Tuesday. So they eliminated the vote for president all together, not realizing, I guess, that that would make Super Tuesday meaningless in Colorado for Republicans.

Thus 8 people came to my caucus in a Presidential year! And half of them were pissed off that they were not going to be able to vote for President!

You asked.

10:03 AM, March 03, 2016  
Blogger LAGuy said...

Thanks. I guess that clears it up.

1:02 PM, March 03, 2016  

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