There is an article written by a 15 year old high school student about his bullying experiences in classes committed by his teachers for having an alternative conservative political viewpoints in the great state of Wisconsin with the whole Governor Scott Walker and the teachers union issues in 2011.
This article immediately reminded me of my own instances of having a political discussion with a bunch of deaf contributors in Deaf Echo that had an obvious pro-union article piece they wrote called "Madison, Wisconsin - So This is Democracy: An Attack on Education." Curious, the article got my attention and I decided to contribute to the discussion offering my viewpoints and opinions as a conservative. But somehow, somewhere down the line, a deaf moderator decided that I was making "abusive comments" in my responses and comments. The new Deaf Echo webpage no longer carry comments that were made back in February of 2011. I suspect this was due to moving the contents in Deaf Echo using a different software and didn't transport all of the older comments during the process. All 43 comments are now missing as insofar per my copy of their online discussion. Feel free to contact me for a copy just to see that I contributed responsibly. No where were my comments deemed as "abusive." Even one contributor who is a native of Wisconsin who didn't like Scott Walker and his approach about the whole teacher unions was puzzled by the moderator's assertion of my so-called writing "abusive comments" in the effort to shut me up and force me out of the discussion.
Candy made it clear earlier in Deaf Echo's comment section her displeasure of the obvious bias against me as an individual who had a different political opinion using no ad hominems, derogatory remarks, belittling, abusive comments and such.
The one thing people have to remember is that it is their blog, their website Deaf Echo. They can moderate however they see fit, whatever that fits their agenda, and whatever rules they want to make on the fly. But I can't help shake the feeling that I was somehow actually bullied out of a discussion. I seem to be the only person to have an alternative political viewpoint out of all of the people contributing there. Coincidence? Nah. Am I a bullying victim? Nah. I don't see myself as a "victim" in any sense of the word. It's really a crutch excuse to say that. What I see is that people didn't know how to debate with those having alternative, valid political viewpoints. Candy did. They didn't. Their Achilles Heel was to get overly defensive and decided to bully me out by making up some obscure reason that I "violated" their posting policy and that my comments were "abusive." Kind of like charging me as being racist when instead it's the policies I disagree, not because of skin color.
Making up excuses that my comments were "abusive" only goes to show that, yes, bullying through politics, even veiled, can and does happen to anyone, even to a 15 year old student standing up to a bullying teacher who have control of his class and any political discussions.
Sounds familiar?
Addendum: Silly me. I should've checked the Wayback Machine to see if it has archived the particular article in question along with the saved (43) comments. Here it is.
You be the judge.
Addendum II: If you happened to be curious about results of Gov. Walker post win recall election effort go here and see the differences.
My name is Benji Backer and I attend a public high school in Appleton, Wisconsin. I have always supported the public school system and plan to do so for the rest of my life. Many Americans who stand up for the public school system and the unions believe there is no attempt to sway opinion or that students with opposing beliefs are singled out. Unfortunately, experiences I have had with harassment and bullying prove that wrong. This is a timeline of the most extreme cases of harassment and indoctrination I have had in the three different public schools I have attended over the last three years.
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Teachers presenting a one-sided political view are a problem and they need to be stopped. A school should be a place students can comfortably and safely express their beliefs, learn, grow and form their own opinions. If we want an educated Republic, we need to educate our students in a fair and balanced way.
This article immediately reminded me of my own instances of having a political discussion with a bunch of deaf contributors in Deaf Echo that had an obvious pro-union article piece they wrote called "Madison, Wisconsin - So This is Democracy: An Attack on Education." Curious, the article got my attention and I decided to contribute to the discussion offering my viewpoints and opinions as a conservative. But somehow, somewhere down the line, a deaf moderator decided that I was making "abusive comments" in my responses and comments. The new Deaf Echo webpage no longer carry comments that were made back in February of 2011. I suspect this was due to moving the contents in Deaf Echo using a different software and didn't transport all of the older comments during the process. All 43 comments are now missing as insofar per my copy of their online discussion. Feel free to contact me for a copy just to see that I contributed responsibly. No where were my comments deemed as "abusive." Even one contributor who is a native of Wisconsin who didn't like Scott Walker and his approach about the whole teacher unions was puzzled by the moderator's assertion of my so-called writing "abusive comments" in the effort to shut me up and force me out of the discussion.
I just don't get it. I also was turned off and decided not to comment there further. I've seen comments that are disrespectful over there and it was allowed. Yours wasn't disrespectful in anyway nor was it anything that violated their policy and I've read it twice. Scratching my head too. I've seen comments on my own blog that were beyond anything they have ever experienced and I allowed them within reason because I wanted people to see discussions at play so they can understand the issues better. Heck, you and I don't even agree on this issue. And, I think you've done nothing wrong. I guess they don't have the balls.Certainly. I was courteous and had my facts. They saw it that I was making "abusive" comments. I saw it as their attempt to bully me out of a discussion because my contribution was not supporting their cause and rancor in their effort to "drive forward" in their home state protest efforts against Governor Scott Walker and teacher unions issue.
Candy made it clear earlier in Deaf Echo's comment section her displeasure of the obvious bias against me as an individual who had a different political opinion using no ad hominems, derogatory remarks, belittling, abusive comments and such.
Moderator: Mike McConnell has been blocked from further commenting on Deaf Echo for repeat violations of our policies. Specifically, writing abusive comments. We do not tolerate this on Deaf Echo. We love a good discussion that drives things forward, and we act aggressively to maintain a good environment for our readers and writers. Our policies can be read about more in depth on our About page.Nice excuse there. I do have a copy of the whole discussion made by various contributors. It's several pages long containing 43 separate comments. Ask and ye shall receive. And thank you, Candy. She exemplifies the very example that people with alternative viewpoints can debate/argue and can either disagree or agree with the points made, and still be friends.
Candy Sweetblog: I don't see any abusive comments by Mike. Gotta have two polarizing sides to have a good discussions and sometimes some things just don't "drive things forward." I don't see his comments creating a bad environment. Just sayin' Then again, it is your blog.
The one thing people have to remember is that it is their blog, their website Deaf Echo. They can moderate however they see fit, whatever that fits their agenda, and whatever rules they want to make on the fly. But I can't help shake the feeling that I was somehow actually bullied out of a discussion. I seem to be the only person to have an alternative political viewpoint out of all of the people contributing there. Coincidence? Nah. Am I a bullying victim? Nah. I don't see myself as a "victim" in any sense of the word. It's really a crutch excuse to say that. What I see is that people didn't know how to debate with those having alternative, valid political viewpoints. Candy did. They didn't. Their Achilles Heel was to get overly defensive and decided to bully me out by making up some obscure reason that I "violated" their posting policy and that my comments were "abusive." Kind of like charging me as being racist when instead it's the policies I disagree, not because of skin color.
Making up excuses that my comments were "abusive" only goes to show that, yes, bullying through politics, even veiled, can and does happen to anyone, even to a 15 year old student standing up to a bullying teacher who have control of his class and any political discussions.
I believe that the majority of my teachers (and teachers in general) are professional and leave their personal political views out of the classroom. There are a few teachers that have been extremely inspirational to me. Unfortunately, most is not enough. Teachers that do bring a one-sided view of politics into the classroom are attempting to influence students’ opinions. They want to teach us what to think instead of how to think.
The intimidation has not swayed me or made me cower from my beliefs, but I worry about the other students. I'm certain I am not the only one that has experienced this sort of intimidation. My teachers have always talked about bullying, including bullying homosexuals and how wrong it is. I agree one hundred percent. They shouldn’t be bullied, nor should anyone else. But if homosexuals can get equal treatment, why can’t I? Why can’t my conservative friends? If teachers want bullying to end with homosexuals, other races or religious beliefs, they should want it to end with every type of bullying possible, including political views.
Sounds familiar?
Addendum: Silly me. I should've checked the Wayback Machine to see if it has archived the particular article in question along with the saved (43) comments. Here it is.
You be the judge.
Addendum II: If you happened to be curious about results of Gov. Walker post win recall election effort go here and see the differences.