I tend to be a civil libertarian. I have deep, abiding support for people being able to hold and speak out on things they believe, whether it's stuff I agree with or stuff I disagree with.
On the other hand, there are circumstances where that's not allowable. And one of them is at school. Because teachers have a special role at school. They have influence and they help shape the thoughts of their students. They have power over students, both temporal and psychological. And with that great power comes great responsibility.
Which means when they break away from teaching the facts and into diatribes (http://bcove.me/8bafm6ic) about Michelle Obama's weight an how what "queers" do is an "abomination against God," it's wrong. It's wrong because it's not what they're being hired to teach. And it's wrong because it encourages that sort of thinking among students (e.g., the others on the audiotape sharing his sentiments).
And it's wrong because it divides students and puts those who don't agree with him on the outside. Imagine being, for example, a gay high school student and listening to your beloved coach (http://timesdaily.com/stories/Coach-of-the-Year-Bob-Grisham,200397) saying that sort of thing. What sort of treatment do you expect to get from him, or from his coterie?
(I won't go into my side commentary about the football coach also being the driver's ed teacher and the psychology teacher.)
And it gets worse when he then tries to weasel out of it (http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=4c5_1359782889) with claptrap like, "I misspoke in a debate-type situation. I have no hatred toward anyone or any group. People that know my heart, they know that."
No, Coach — they know your words. That wasn't misspeaking (unless you mean misspeaking because it was being recorded). That was your heart showing through.
I think Coach Grisham needs to be disciplined, and firmly. Not because he believes those things. But because saying them in front of students is wrong, a breach of trust and an abuse of power. (h/t +Wendy Cockcroft)
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School board likely to meet soon about coach’s remarks – TimesDaily.com
ROGERSVILLE — Schools Superintendent Jennifer Gray said she expects school board members to meet within the next two weeks to determine if disciplinary action is warranted for a teacher who made slurs…
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I agree!
SO tired of people who get caught out saying horrible things notapologizing with "This isn't really what I'm like". But they took the trouble to write it down or expound at length, apparently while stone-cold sober. They're just sorry that somebody picked up the rock they were under.
This coach and that waitress-dissing minister would have much in common. Maybe they should get together sometime. But not at a restaurant.
I do wonder, in some cases, how much of it is self-delusion. "Well, um, wow, that sounds really bad, and doesn't fit in with the image I have of myself as a rational, compassionate, moral being … so, obviously, I misspoke."
I have a complex relationship with bigotry. Many people in my world that I care about hold these beliefs, and I've seen the defensiveness that happens when you point them out.
What's really going on, I think, is that people who harbor some bigotry have also read the social messaging that says "being a bigot is synonymous with being an evil person who will be cast from society."
Perversely, that black and white judgement makes it hard for them to accept their opinions and change. They are placed in an internal moral dilemma that has no resolution — you cannot admit you are a bigot without believing that you are evil, and you cannot change your own attitudes until you admit that you are a bigot.
The reality is that bigotry itself doesn't make you necessarily evil. It makes you wrong, and ignorant. It certainly can make you evil – but lots of people with bigoted ideas are probably just people with a small view of the world.
I suppose we can take some comfort from the idea that people are embarrassed / ashamed to openly admit bigotry. A step forward, that is.