In the latest round of a far-left Democrat going absolutely berserk over consequences faced for horrid actions, President of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) Randi Weingarten put out a press release on Thursday, September 18, freaking out over the fact that leftist teachers have been fired for celebrating the assassination of Charlie Kirk.
Particularly, Weingarten argued in the press release that public school teachers, despite their influence on young pupils and the fact that their salaries are paid for by taxpayers, should not face consequences for the horrible remarks they have made online about the death of Charlie Kirk, saying it is their First Amendment right to not face consequences.
She began by disingenuously admitting that political violence is bad, before going on to claim that the fact that they are facing consequences for not condemning it is wrong. She said, “Acts of violence and hate must be condemned, always. They are antithetical to democracy and the values we try to instill as teachers.”
Continuing, Weingarten said, “Last week, anyone with a social media feed—including children—witnessed a devastating tragedy, a horrific act of political violence, that has traumatized the nation. Since then, teachers and many others we represent across the country have tried to deal with the effects of that trauma as it is playing out in classrooms, campuses, caregiving sites and other settings.”
She further added that now is the time for conservatives to “de-escalate,” refusing to admit that the left has done the exact opposite in pushing hate instead, saying, “Utah Gov. Spencer Cox and former presidents rightly recognized this moment as an inflection point, a time not just to denounce the Kirk killing as the political violence that it was, but to find a way to come together and to de-escalate.”
Still not done, Weingarten then blamed conservatives for the whole thing, alleging that they had “weaponized” the moment to promote censorship. She said, “The current administration, unfortunately, has not. And some are weaponizing this moment. Of course, no one should celebrate another person’s murder. But using this tragedy to encourage the doxxing, censorship and firing of people for their opinions—including educators’ private opinions shared during their personal time—is wrong.”
That’s when she claimed that the First Amendment should protect public figures from facing consequences in their personal lives for things they say online, saying, “Conservatives, too, are warning against going down this dangerous road. They know this sends the absolute wrong message to chill speech—one of the most important freedoms in our country. Americans must be able to exercise their First Amendment rights in their personal lives, regardless of whether we agree or disagree with them. None of us who values freedom should ever want to relinquish that right.”
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Again attacking conservatives for being upset over the abominable manner in which many teachers have behaved, she said, “We once again are calling for an end to the hate and the smears. We must find ways to tone down the rhetoric and disagree civilly. As the framers envisioned, education is the path to civil debate and open inquiry—and teachers promote these founding principles of our nation every day in their classrooms.”
Concluding, the horrid union leader said, “Let’s recognize the hard work they do, particularly in the wake of this tragedy and so many others we’ve faced as a nation, to assuage students’ trauma and create safe and welcoming environments where every student can succeed. Let’s denounce political violence, find that exit ramp, find ways to de-escalate—and let’s do it without eroding constitutional rights.”
Featured image credit: By Laura Markwardt – https://www.flickr.com/photos/labor2008/2972013943/in/photolist-4UUV9t-4UYVi9-4UUGDc-eYXBzP-7LgpJE-7Lctpv-7Lcqga-8Evdd4-7bcqf4-andWRM-8xnwVE-5pipKj-765FaC-765FeN-765EVA-761MaM-765F1N-765E2o-7bcqjK-5zhtUJ-7bgezd-49TZa5-49TZjG-49PUBa-49TZnJ-49TZ6f-49PUwT-49TZeW-49PUvg-49TZbE-49TZcW-49PUmK-5wCmcH-85LN2d-85LJUS-85LUJE-85LLN9-85HFep-85LRfw-85HMDK-85LLs7-85HEfv-85HKEv-85HNpg-85HMgx-85LRUq-85HFAz-85LY6A-85HGX6-85HQsi/, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=34143824