Rantz: Marysville School district and WA ACLU defend cop hatred in pulling down flag

The Marysville School District, with the help of the ACLU of Washington, are leaning into the absurd, anti-police decision to pull a pro-police flag from one school.

A teacher was forced to remove a Thin Blue Line flag from her classroom by administrators at Marysville Middle School and the school district. The district argued it could be offensive to students and staff. It was also labeled “political” in nature.

Yet Black Lives Matter flags on display in classrooms are not offensive, according to the district, because that message supports the district’s commitment to “equity.” The Jason Rantz Show on KTTH first reported the story.

Now the interim superintendent, the school board president, and the ACLU of Washington are defending the inconsistent decision. Their arguments aren’t just patently nonsensical and transparently political; they reveal a deep-seated hatred of police to placate the few anti-police student body and staff.

Interim Superintendent Dr. Chris Pearson makes no sense

Dr. Chris Pearson released a letter to the district defending the district’s position supporting BLM but opposing the police. The letter made little sense.

Pearson notes that the district prohibits controversial and/or political messaging from being displayed in the classroom.

“[I]f a teacher promotes a political belief in their course content that is not clearly relevant to the material being taught, or when the teacher may be reasonably perceived as simply using their position as a platform for promoting their own view, or when the teacher’s speech could potentially disrupt the student learning environment or sense of student safety, then the teacher is in violation of these policies,” Pearson notes.

BLM is inherently political; the movement literally promotes policy changes. The Thin Blue Line flag merely supports police.

But the superintendent claims the Thin Blue Line flag “can be interpreted in a variety of ways by students who come from very diverse backgrounds.”

This isn’t very subtle code.

Pearson, who is white, believes Black or Hispanic kids may be offended by the flag. And he seems to think those middle schoolers should be offended.

Pearson thinks the flag is a hateful symbol

Pearson actually claims the police flag is forever tarnished because a small group of bigots or radicals misused it.

“While it might be viewed by some as a tribute to police, this symbol was also used by hate groups in the 2017 far-right rally in Charlottesville, and was also carried by rioters during the January 6th attacks on the US Capital,” Pearson wrote. “Therefore, without any educational context or purpose, the display of this symbol in a school classroom cannot be reasonably divorced from the political meanings that have been attached to its varied uses and, as a result, may send a mixed or even disruptive message to staff, students and families.”

The context of the flag display in the classroom was clear. The teacher placed nearly two dozen photos of her brother, a former Marysville police officer, around the flag.

Moreover, the BLM flag was used by radicals as they rioted, looted, and burned down buildings.

Maybe Pearson was busy reading How to be an Anti-Racist for the 12th time ahead of a woke semester in the district, but surely he knows about the violence committed by BLM activists. He didn’t even have to turn to national news coverage. In the name of BLM, radicals engaged in an actual armed insurrection as they violently created an autonomous zone in Seattle.

Pearson’s awful BLM spin

Pearson ignores violent acts committed by fringe lunatics in the name of BLM — oftentimes with the BLM flag in tow — because he supports the movement.

Though the BLM flag isn’t remotely related to classroom instruction, Pearson claims it “can be seen as having a specific educational purpose that is directly aligned with instructional objectives or extracurricular programs.”

Those objectives? A commitment to equity and inclusion. He also includes the LGBT Pride flag amongst symbols that are appropriate when the pro-police flag is not.

“[S]ince the Marysville School District names ‘Equity’ as one of our district values and an essential part of our strategic planning work, symbols that support notions of equity and inclusion are in alignment with these values and goals and, thus, may be appropriate for campus display,” Pearson wrote.

The Marysville School District is quite inclusive — unless you support the police.

Delusional district officials come to the rescue

Pearson isn’t alone in defending their viewpoint discrimination.

“We want to make sure that we’re honoring everybody and not being disrespectful,” said School Board President Vanessa Edwards in the Everett Herald. “Two controversial flags that are also being scrutinized right now by people outside of the district — they match up with our values for equity, the work that we’re doing with it, as well as our student groups. These are flags that have direct impact with our students.”

Edwards seems to think that only people outside of the district are upset with the anti-police posture by the district. Perhaps she should actually talk to the parents she pretends to represent. She might also want to talk to the police as she goes on her listening tour. She doesn’t stop to wonder if some students are also impacted by a pro-police flag — like a student who has police in their family.

Unfortunately, painfully woke educators are only allowed to support left-wing, progressive causes. If they don’t, they are targeted by the very same activists they’re amplifying. They’re held hostage by wokeness.

The ACLU of Washington to the rescue

The ACLU of Washington joined the fray to defend the school and condemn the police flag. The group has taken a sharp turn to the left and has become a shell of what it once was. Years ago, they would support the teacher’s pro-police flag. But now it’s staffed by fringe socialists and progressives.

“What is said or communicated inside the classroom is generally considered speech on behalf of the school district,” Kendrick Washington, Youth Policy Director at the ACLU of Washington, told the Everett Herald. “The school district has a vested interest in including and supporting students, and the display of a symbol linked to racism, as witnessed in Charlottesville, could be interpreted as government endorsement of exclusion.”

The first part of his statement is true. The second is laughably partisan.

No reasonable person — not really even an unreasonable person — would interpret a Thin Blue Line flag as a “government endorsement of exclusion.” It’s an untenable, illogical, and, frankly, stupid position. It’s like he wasn’t even trying.

And to claim some actual link to racism is equally silly. They would never link the BLM flag to terrorism even though Antifa domestic terrorists and radical activists used the movement to justify their violence. And White nationalist David Duke praised Congresswoman Ilhan Omar for her stance on Israel. Is she now linked to racism? No. Duke praised Omar for being an anti-Semite, not for sharing a white nationalist agenda.

Call it what it is: cop hatred

Pearson and anyone else willing to defend the move can justify it however they want. And a throw-away line in a statement claiming to support the police isn’t a substitute for actually supporting police.

They should call it what it is: good ole fashioned police bashing.

The Marysville School District has embraced a far-left progressive agenda like so many other districts in Washington. And that agenda is already being used to indoctrinate kids. They pretend they support equity and inclusion while silencing those who view conflicts with their ideology. And supporting police is a conflicting viewpoint.

Parents better wake up and see what’s going on. Otherwise, their kids will graduate as progressive activists rather than informed citizens ready for the real world.

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