Larry Volk, Superintendent of Schools for Starkweather, North Dakota, apparently thought he was sending an email tirade that in part stated “(It's) time to move away from godless, corrupt, woke, left-wing ideology and back to the devout Christ-centered republic the founders envisioned,” to one of his colleagues.
Turns out he sent it to over 700 of his professional colleagues. Not one. Seven-freakin’-hundred.
Whoopsie…..
As one might imagine, the screed got noticed. And boy was it a doozy:
Volk wrote that “there is no systemic racism in America created by the Founding Fathers - the racism is the project of the godless Democrat party that has rejected god, family, and America and embraced secularism in the form of Marxism.”
The superintendent further contended that Democrats were responsible for more than a dozen widely condemned historical events, institutions and policies, including the enslavement of Black people and Jim Crow laws. He also compared pro-abortion rights Democrats to Hitler and said the Ku Klux Klan has now been “replaced by the modern military wing of the Democrat party – Antifa and Black Lives Matters."
If you really are feeling up to it, the whole message is posted here.
All it’s missing is Sen. Bob Dole’s comment about “Democrat wars”.
Oh and of course Supt Volk had his defenders, including his Board of Education Chair Chris Berg, whose pithy response was:
"I know Mr. Volk very well and know exactly what his views are," Berg said in an email. "I completely back his views 100% and we agree completely on that. We are very tired of the woke leftists pushing their garbage on the school systems and the United States as a whole."
Head-shaking as that response was, the real dipshittery came from a member of the North Dakota legislature, who uncorked this gem:
State Rep. Dave Monson, R-Osnabrock, called Volk's email "historically very accurate" and said the claims made by the superintendent are verifiable in history books that very printed before the "woke" movement.
To date no discplinary action has been taken against Supt Volk.
That did not stop Fargo Forum columnist Tony Bender from taking aim and unloading with the proverbial both barrels.
I'd fire his ass. [emhasis mine]
After reading the fever dream-inspired email Starkweather School Superintendent Larry Volk accidentally spammed to 700 other state administrators — ranting about Critical Race Theory, comparing "godless, cancerous" Democrats to Hitler, and Black Lives Matters to the Ku Klux Klan — any competent school board would do the same. Which means there's no chance that'll happen. Volk received support from School Board President Chris Berg and an atta boy from State Rep. Dave Monson who called Volk's email “historically very accurate.”
Welcome to North Dakota.
Bender also makes a great point about the magic that is email: “...anyone who can't grasp the rudimentary functions of email shouldn't be in the education business. C'mon, we've had 25 years to figure this out.”
Bender ends his column with a broadside against the political winds of his state. A state that used to stand for decency and competence in government. Sure they had their crazies. What state hasn’t? At the same time, watching from across the border as North Dakota slides into Loonyville has been distressing to watch.
I'd fire him. Yesterday. However, that would require ethics, intellect, courage, and leadership. And this is North Dakota.