advertisement

Another 'big lie'

A big lie is being pushed by several speakers at District 211 school board meetings. No, not that one. This lie is that Attorney General Merrick Garland labeled parents who complain at school board meetings "domestic terrorists." It never happened.

PolitiFact did a fact check and stated; "Have parents who contest school curriculums been labeled "domestic terrorists" or barred from challenging school curriculums? No." Garland issued a memo on Oct. 4 directing the FBI to work with state and local officials to brainstorm ways to address "threats against school administrators, board members, teachers, and staff, and to establish procedures for threat reporting, assessment and response."

The Justice Department later issued another statement that the effort was "designed to address the rise in criminal conduct directed toward school personnel."

PolitiFact added that nowhere did the word "terrorist" appear in either of these statements. The fact-checkers also wrote that Garland clearly indicated that parents are welcome to challenge school curriculums or voice opinions that differ from their local school officials, stating, "While spirited debate about policy matters is protected under our Constitution, that protection does not extend to threats of violence or efforts to intimidate individuals based on their views."

Yet, many speakers at the Board meetings seem more than happy to keep churning this same lie in the hope that it will ward off some imaginary "tyranny" by intimidating the members of the board. Or, worse yet, they seek to legitimize criminal conduct against the people who work to make Dist. 211 run.

Repeating this lie over and over doesn't make it true. Rather, it weakens the ability of the district to function in a rational manner.

Hopefully, the people of our community and the board will not be influenced and will continue to seek reasoned, honest and fact-based solutions for tDistrict 211 students.

Jerry Freda

Inverness

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.