Really, I’m just so stunned. And yet I’m not surprised. I don’t know how I can be both at the same time.
A while back, a week or so, I wrote a quick diary about the Buffalo School Board voting to oust Carl Paladino after his horrible comments about the Obamas. The story ended up getting a lot of quick press and FB shares, though I’m not sure everyone understood Paladino wasn’t actually ousted. I’ve followed the story and tried to keep DK updated. The Buffalo News has been really good at keeping it front and center in their community (also Eileen Buckley at WBFO.)
Today I checked in and there was a new front page story.
No matter how repugnant Carl Paladino’s comments about President Obama and the first lady may have been, they are not enough to kick him off the Buffalo School Board, legal and educational experts say. He has protection for his offensive speech under the First Amendment.
The board – which will petition the state education commissioner for Paladino’s removal – may be able to make the case that his comments violated policy or code of conduct as a sworn member of the Buffalo Board of Education. But so far, there hasn’t been much to hang that on, the experts added.
Even if state Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia decides to remove the board member – something commissioners hesitate to do – there is likely to be a court challenge that could drag on for years.
(Read Jay Rey’s whole article at the Buffalo News)
Surreal. It’s surreal because no one else would have gotten away with saying what Paladino said. (Well, maybe one guy.) It’s surreal because anyone else, any other time, would have had to step down. Until now. No, this guy, in this new environment, thinks, and appears to be CORRECT, that he can publicly wish for the death of the president of the United States, as well as make degrading, racist remarks about the first lady, in a school district that serves 70% students of color, with perfect impunity. He is protected by the First Amendment.
Intended or not, if the most high-profile member of the entire Buffalo School District, is free to make such comments as those, there is no doubt that every student in that district is getting a message. It’s not exactly the same message. Not even every black child is getting the same message. To some the message is, “You’re not safe here.” To some it is, “You don’t matter,” or “We can do whatever we want,” or even, “Hate them.” But there is NO WAY Paladino being allowed to stay will ever feel good to at least 70% of that school district.
Who does it feel good to? Who is it good for? Well, it has been established elsewhere that it is good for Carl Paladino (I mean, really, we know it’s not for the good of the children?) But, right now, I am concerned about who it is harming. Who is it bad* for?
What message does Paladino staying send to ANY impressionable young kid who is trying to figure out what is right and what is wrong? What kind of a role model is he to anyone in this student body or community? Does he demonstrate what is acceptable behavior and what is not?
There is a reason that any staff member or student would be immediately suspended for making the kind of statements that Paladino made. Statements calling for harm and death to others, statements that denigrate and dehumanize others incite anger, violence and hatred, all of which create an incredibly unsafe environment. I’m an educator. Schools have zero tolerance for these exact things — in principle and in practice. They have to.
So WTF? Really, in 2016, can one of the top guys of the governing board of the organization in charge of the education of approximately 40,000 students go on record wishing the DEATH OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES and make VILE RACIAL SLURS TOWARDS THE FIRST LADY and still keep his position?
*{In 1954, in Brown v Board of Education, Chief Justice Earl Warren delivered the opinion of the unanimous Court. The Supreme Court held that “separate but equal” facilities are inherently unequal and violate the protections of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The Court also held that the segregation of public education based on race instilled a sense of inferiority that had a hugely detrimental effect on the education and personal growth of African American children.}
I say NO. Just NO. I’m sorry, but this cannot be normalized.
How can we keep the pressure on this situation?
How can we help these students and families?
This is just one case, but how it is or ISN’T resolved could be precedent setting.
PLEASE SHARE THIS STORY. SHARE YOUR IDEAS.