Kurt Daims is executive director of Brattleboro Common Sense.
BRATTLEBORO-Did I read this story right?
A school director complained that the "M" and the "P" of a Trump banner were visible outside - reversed and sideways - through the window of the Dummerston School library?
And this was upsetting even though equal time was provided for Harris, whose "RIS" letters were visible in the neighboring window? The teacher, Ellen Rago, was forced to move the banners.
We at Brattleboro Common Sense see in this a growing intolerance, which we oppose by our mission.
The banner affair reminds us of the time six Trumpers planned a rally for their man in Pliny Park in Brattleboro. BCS and others have arranged demonstrations there dozens of times, and nobody ever organized a counter-demonstration.
But at this rally, liberal people got organized and came to shout them down. In like manner, the NAACP spoke to the school board, putting words in students' mouths by claiming students are harmed by seeing Trump's name.
There were no students or reports of any students complaining. There was no evidence of harm - just imagination and suggestions of harm, along with demands for censorship.
* * *
Let's acknowledge that many of us are scared about Donald Trump. Unfortunately, some people are so scared that they want to eradicate any sign of him, and they feel harmed by the fact that their community is not 100% liberal.
But this is not a harm that the school board should address. This kind of censorship does harm because it makes us look stupid.
The board should reject the imaginary harm to students and the community. The teacher was creating open discussion, and the school board should leave Rago alone, as Supt. Mark Speno wanted to do.
Otherwise you have - what? The school board will boycott the town dump because it rhymes? Will the NAACP promote a resolution to rename the White Mountains?
That's no worse than what they've done here.
* * *
Not only have liberal people become intolerant, but the government has also. Three years ago, a school director illegally ejected a BCS member from the WSESD Climate Crisis Task Force because of references to scientific research. This was in connection to the "Student Survival Resolution," which the board opposed.
Two years ago, we arranged a debate on abortion among several religious and secular people, and many liberals didn't want it to happen. They didn't want abortion opponents to "have a platform." After the debate, the participants were very happy to know each other and wanted to work together again.
We also started a similar group to explore how climate skeptics can be encouraged to talk with climate believers. Climate skeptics feel suppressed by the dominant culture and are not inclined to talk with us. It's a dangerous separation. If we censor every M and P, if we suppress every bit of Trump, then there can be no reconciliation.
And where will that lead?
* * *
After the Sept. 10 meeting, Rago wrote to the board, "When the topic is politics, the dominant culture in Vermont is liberal. As a teacher, it is my responsibility to do all that I can to ensure that the students who do not fit into the dominant political culture know that they belong. This is not only necessary for the education of our students, it is symbolic of how democracy is supposed to work."
She also asserted that "polarization in our government has become so destructive that it endangers our democracy, but my classroom will not be a polarized space if I can help it."
At their last meeting, school board members voted to reconsider the issue. Speno should be commended for resisting the alarm about imaginary harm. People who are tolerant of diversity must applaud and defend Rago for her defense of real tolerance.
This Voices Response was submitted to The Commons.
This piece, published in print in the Voices section or as a column in the news sections, represents the opinion of the writer. In the newspaper and on this website, we strive to ensure that opinions are based on fair expression of established fact. In the spirit of transparency and accountability, The Commons is reviewing and developing more precise policies about editing of opinions and our role and our responsibility and standards in fact-checking our own work and the contributions to the newspaper. In the meantime, we heartily encourage civil and productive responses at [email protected].