A few day ago many sources reported on the efforts of the Missouri KKK to get in on the Ferguson action. The white-robed bubba contingent promised that “we will use lethal force as provided by Missouri Law to defend ourselves.” Some racist thugs propose to bring guns to counter the perceived threat posed by folks who are fired up by a long history of police brutality and are declaring that they won’t take it anymore. Anybody surprised by this turn of events?

On the same note, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports today that Ferguson protestors are gearing up for the furror that will probably errupt when the grand jurry issues what many expect will be a white-washing of Darren Wilson’s role in the shooting of Michael Brown. Acording to the report, one faction is exhorting protesters to “pack side arms.” So, if anybody takes this advice to heart, more guns will be added to the lethal mix. I expect that the protestors, with considerably more justification than the KKKers, also claim that they’re concerned with self-defense – and given the over-reaction that the relatively minor episodes of violence in Ferguson have inspired, it’s  hard to deny the force of the sentiment.  

The KKK types are citing Missouri law to justify their rush to the shootout at the OK Corral. While the Missoouri Revised Statutes, Section 563-031, that they cite does attempt to spell out when one may legally defend oneself with lethal force, it doesn’t – on my reading at least – seem to justify folks who are absolutely not threatened by the protests to show up, wave their guns, and fan the flames. But it’s easy for sanctimonious dimwits who want to assert their dominance and pretend that they speak for “the good people of St. Louis County of all races, colors and creeds” to misinterpret such laws with potentially disastrous consequences.

And as for any protestors who may “pack” sidearms, I think that concealed and open carry are now legal, right? While I suspect that Missouri’s very permissive gun laws were intended to enable white folks who have an exaggerated fear of African-Americans rather than angry African-American protestors, the law doesn’t make those distinctions.

Anybody who is surprised by these developments hasn’t been around the proverbial block too many times. The upshot is that we live in a state where laws have been written to encourage mayhem. The sad thing is that I suspet that these laws owe their existence in part to the fear and loathing that lots of white folks feel towards their black fellow citizens.

And it’s the various traditionally entrenched manifestations of that fear and loathing that has created the Ferguson situation in the first place. Now we’ve got Big Daddy Jay Nixon shaking  his finger at protestors and telling us all to hell with police brutality, he won’t tolerate any rioting black folks. Nor should he, but, when he’s addressing the community shouldn’t he at least give a nod of the head to the abuses that left people so angry that they take to the streets? And shouldn’t he let folks like the KKK know that he won’t tolerate any ugly, self-proclaimed “sleeping giants” who want to use Ferguson as an excuse to sling their lethal cudgels? I was visiting in California when I heard Nixon’s speech on the topic and I, a white, middle aged woman, felt like he was waving a red flag meant to incite a currently quiescent bull. No wonder the KKK feels empowered.

And while I’m at it, I haven’t seen a thing in the Post-Dispatch about the KKK’s threats. Did I just miss it? Did they not report on it because it’s potentially inflamatory? But why then did they report on the protestors who “stated plans to ‘make a few fires to stay warm’ – but without the need for firewood.” That isn’t inflamatory (no pun intended)? That doesn’t excite people like the KKK?  If the story is fit to print, print both sides.

Edited slightly for clarity.    

Recently, at Lindenwood University, the long simmering debate over public education exploded into hateful rhetoric against public schools by voucher advocate Rex Sinquefield, founder of the right wing think tank, The Show Me Institute.

Financier Sinquefield was lecturing on how to improve Missouri’s business climate.  The base of his speech was his support for no income tax.

Two years, I had written an Opinion Shaper column opposing no income tax, and had come to hear his side.  I was joined by Anita Miller, Francis Howell’s NEA President, Kim Garbs, Fort Zumwalt’s NEA President, and Cheryl Heibler, former St. Charles County councilwomen.

Following is his speech, Sinquefield was asked about his support to eliminate tenure for teachers. That ignited Sinquefield into a rant not only against tenure but against public education and teachers. He climaxed with these incendiary words from a column in an Osage county newspaper:

“a long time ago, decades ago, the Ku Klux Klan got together and said how can we hurt the African American children permanently? How can we ruin their lives? And what they designed was the public school system.”

Only a trickle of laughter sprouted, most were like my friends and I, just stunned. This was only the final nail in Sinquefield’s diatribe of false accusations against public schools. Prior to the KKK remark, Sinquefield had incorrectly said, “In this country, can you think of any other occupation where you can screw up, and screw up a child’s life permanently, and they can’t fire you?”

As a school board member, I have been one of the “they”; and Sinquefield is just wrong.  My second year of the school board, we terminated over 80 teachers including a large number of veteran tenured teachers. A teacher’s contract is like any workers contract it allows for dismissal of poor performing employees.  All a contract does is set up fair procedures for termination.

Besides, it takes two to sign a contract. If the administration doesn’t like a clause in a contract, work to change it in negotiations.  Tenure does not have to be granted for five years. If it takes an administrator longer to evaluate a teacher, you need a new administrator.

Sinquefield further insulted all veteran teachers by saying, “Many teachers quit. After about three to five years many of the good ones leave … and the bad ones stay.” That is how little regard Mr. Sinquefield has for all dedicated experienced teachers.

Kim Garbs asked Sinquefield if he had ever been in a public school and talked to a public school teacher. Sinquefield said he had, but the school he cited was a charter school.

Sinquefield is Missouri’s foremost advocate of charter schools. Yet charter schools have a bleak ten year history of failure in the St. Louis. Even after closing three of the worst charter school, charter schools still underperformed St. Louis public schools by almost 25 percent last year.

This failure of charter schools was underlined by a Stanford University study of 70 percent of the charter schools in the nation. They found only 16 percent of charter schools outperforming the public schools.

Despite this clear evidence there legislation is being considered which would bring charter schools to St. Charles County. Ultimately what is wanted is a voucher given to all children to go to the school of their choice.  This would mean a 12 percent cut in funding of public schools in order to bankroll private schools.

Sinquefield’s final attack on teachers came when he said, “It is, right now, illegal to consider the performance of students in setting the pay of teachers.” I questioned how my wife could be held responsible for the performance of homeless children (12 percent are in her district) or children who are beaten or sexually abuse, or are offspring of felons, drug addicts and alcoholics.

Sinquefield can be held responsible for the performance of his employees because he can fire those who are not producing. My wife cannot fire a child.

Kim, Anita, and I are members of an Education Caucus who believes in the words of Martin Luther King, “In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” It is time for all residents of St. Charles County who are friends of public education to stand up to the Rex Sinquefield’s.

My Opinion Shaper Column from St. Charles County Surburban Journal – cwviking

Rex Sinquefield spoke at Lindenwood University on Thursday evening. He addressed his tax proposal, among other things, including his view of tenure, and then, at 2:42 in the video (via Progress Missouri):

Rex Sinquefield ($): ….You know what, there was a column written and, I hope I don’t offend anyone. It was a published column by a man named Ralph Voss who was a former judge in Missouri. He now owns and writes for a newspaper in Central Missouri called the Unterrified Democrat, what a name, and it’s in Osage County, Missouri. And he starts off, and something like this, he said a long time ago, decades ago, the Ku Klux Klan got together and said, how can we really hurt the African American children, permanently, how can we ruin their lives? And what they designed was the public school system [audience laughter]

Question: When was the last time you were in a public school and talked to a public school teacher?

Rex Sinquefield ($): Uh, I was in the Innovative Concept Academy just recently in St. Louis and got tours of [crosstalk][voice: “Public school.”]…

Question: That’s not a public school.

Rex Sinquefield ($): Yes it is. It’s an independent public school funded by the St. Louis, uh, public school system. I haven’t been in, maybe I’ve been in [inaudible]

There are a lot of public school systems across Missouri and America.

The St. Louis Innovative Concept Academy

[….]

School Information

With cooperation from the St. Louis Public School District, Juvenile Court Judge Jimmie Edwards has opened a new school to specifically address the needs of troubled students. This concept school will be based at Blewett Middle, which was slated to be closed in June of 2009 as part of the district’s reorganization plan.

While the school district will provide teachers, transportation and building maintenance, the Juvenile Court will provide supervision, support services and will line up community partners. MERS Goodwill has agreed to help with building management…

[….]

Community Partners

[….]

* Rex and Jeanne Sinquefield

[….]

Okay.

Thank you Davis, Citizens United and a few others for bestowing this political environment blessing upon us all.

Update:

Missouri NEA issued a press release:

Sinquefield Calls Public Education a Conspiracy of Ku Klux Klan

NEWS RELEASE

[….]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Feb. 10, 2012

Teacher group demands an apology and calls on elected officials to condemn his remarks.



(Jefferson City, MO) – President Chris Guinther of the Missouri NEA, the largest teacher organization in the state representing over 35,000 teachers and education support professionals, condemned comments made by billionaire Rex Sinquefield who called public schools a conspiracy created by the Ku Klux Klan.

Sinquefield made the offensive comparison while discussing his unpopular “Everything-Tax” proposal at Lindenwood University in St. Charles late Thursday night. Specifically Sinquefield is quoted as saying:

“…a long time ago, decades ago, the Ku Klux Klan got together and said, ‘how can we really hurt the African American children permanently? How can we ruin their lives? And what they designed was the public school system….’ ”

President Chris Guinther, a teacher on leave from the Francis Howell School District, of the Missouri NEA condemned Sinquefield’s remarks and issued the following statement:

“To call the work of educators in public schools a KKK conspiracy shows how out of touch billionaire Rex Sinquefield truly is. This is a slap in the face of every educator who has worked tirelessly in a public school to improve the lives of Missouri’s children. Rex Sinquefield needs to explain himself and apologize to all students, parents and Missourians.”

Sinquefield, the largest political contributor in the state of Missouri, has donated millions of dollars to advance right-wing causes and elect politicians across the state.

Guinther continued her remarks by calling on those who have accepted Sinquefield’s support to make a choice,

“Every politician that has accepted contributions from Rex Sinquefield has a choice to make today – stand with an out-of-touch billionaire or stand with your public school kids, parents, educators and your communities.”

Video of the offensive comment was captured by Progress Missouri and was posted to YouTube. It is available here http://youtu.be/-vSpyB6s3cE with the KKK quote beginning at the 0:40 second mark.

The 35,000-member MNEA represents teachers, education support professionals, college faculty, retired teachers and students studying to be teachers in school districts and on college campuses throughout the state. It is the Missouri affiliate of the 3.2 million-member NEA.

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