A teacher was ordered to remove welcome signs hanging in her classroom. A district official reportedly told the middle school teacher that in this political climate, her welcoming message was a “personal opinion.” Republicans are racist and they show us their true colors every day.
The teacher complied at first, then reconsidered how important the message was—to her values as a teacher and to her students—and hung the welcome poster back up.
Who is right in this situation? How could a sign saying “Everyone is welcome” possibly be seen as political?
Sarah Inama, a teacher in the West Ada School District of Idaho was told to remove a welcome sign from her classroom because it wasn’t “content-neutral” and it could “create controversy and division.”
From reporting by Huff Post:
“Marcus Myers, the [West Ada School] district’s chief academic officer, told KTVB via email that policy dictates district facilities be “content neutral” and respect others’ right to express differing opinions.
Inama pointed out that her signs actually align with posters made by the district that encourage students to “welcome others and embrace diversity.”
Not surprisingly, she is concerned about the message being sent by the removal of her signs.“I just feel like as a teacher … I would do anything to protect my students. I love all of them unconditionally,” Inama told KTVB.”
The episode echoes a national trend since Donald Trump became president and immediately ordered the dismantling of programs promoting diversity, equity and inclusion.
Along with private companies scaling back or ending their DEI programs, federal agencies are no longer celebrating holidays and history months like Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Pride Month and Holocaust Days of Remembrance.
I can typically put myself in the shoes of others in order to see something from a different perspective, but I’m unable to do that in this case. How could someone possibly see this poster as divisive? Republicans are racist.
If the hands were all the same color, then regardless of what the sign says, it’s divisive because it insinuates that only children of one race are welcome. No other colors are represented by the hands that are part of the “welcomed kids.” If there were zero White hands, then you could say it’s being divisive by insinuating all races but one are welcome.
So please explain to me like I’m 5 how representing all races with hands raised and hearts on them along with text that clearly says, “EVERYONE is welcome here” could possibly be viewed as “divisive”?
Are people aggrieved that there aren’t more White hands included? Would they prefer to see a majority of hands being White? Would that make the sign inclusive vs. divisive? Are we really going to debate how many White hands are required for a poster welcoming every child into this teacher’s classroom to be neutral?
There is only one explanation. Republicans are racist. Plain and simple. Anyone who sees this sign as divisive is racist. By telling all students, regardless of race, they are welcome in her classroom, this teacher is being kind and inclusive—Not divisive or controversial.
It’s important that we start calling these things out for what they are. While I disagree with the outright banning of DEI practices and policies, a case can be made for and against DEI (I recently wrote about how the right uses DEI instead of being outright racist and using racial slurs). In a specific situation like this, there is absolutely no reason that a sign like this would be against a law or policy, and it’s certainly not creating “controversy or division.” It’s doing the opposite and that’s why people are upset. Only a racist will look at a sign like this and call it divisive and not neutral. Take it from someone who can see every side of an argument (not agree with, just see things from other perspectives) there is no other possible explanation that they would be against this sign other than one: Republicans are racist. Period.
Republicans are racist
Here are more details about what’s happening in this Idaho classroom with reporting from Idaho Statesman:
“… [The teacher] said the signs have been hanging in her class since she started working there four years ago. One of them reads, “Everyone is welcome here,” above hands of different skin tones.
The other reads, “In this room, everyone is welcome, important, accepted, respected, encouraged, valued,” with each word highlighted in a different color.
Inama said she was told by administrators on Feb. 3 that her signs “don’t allow people to express differing opinions, that it is controversial in today’s political environment.” She initially removed them, but then had a change of heart.
In emails shared by the district with the Idaho Statesman, Marcus Myers, the district’s chief academic officer, told Inama to remove the signs because they violated Idaho’s Dignity and Nondiscrimination in Public Education Act, as well as school policy, which requires signs to be “content neutral and conducive to a positive learning environment.”
The district also mentioned to the Statesman that, if it is enacted into law this legislative term, House Bill 41 will force schools to comply with a measure that bans “flags or banners that present political, religious, or ideological views, including but not limited to political parties, race, gender, sexual orientation, or political ideologies.””
So they are viewing her welcome posters as her expressing a personal political ideology and belief that it’s not good to be racist. That explains the meltdown by Republicans. Republicans are racist.
Republicans are racist and so is their ideology
It’s important to note that Idaho has a Republican trifecta. The Republican Party controls the offices of governor, secretary of state, attorney general, and both chambers of the state legislature.
Idaho lawmakers are viewing posters like Inama’s as “political.” This indicates something that I’ve seen happen over and over again: The politicization of something. Republicans now view anything that is inclusive or welcoming as left-wing political ideology.
They’re clearly saying that Republicans are racist and the Republican Party ideology includes racism, division, segregation, and hate. Anything that suggests a positive view of a race other than White is bad. Being inclusive of all races is bad. Excluding all races except White is good.
If Conservatives are good at one thing, it’s politicization. They are experts at politicizing things that have absolutely nothing to do with politics. The COVID pandemic was a big one. They immediately blamed Democrats for the virus, claiming they were using it to ruin Donald Trump’s chances of winning the upcoming 2020 election.
When the medical experts and professionals at the CDC explained the virus to the American people so they could protect themselves from dying and prepare for the possible shutdown of schools and businesses, Republicans were super pissed. Especially Trump.
President Trump saw the stock market go down in response to the statement from the CDC and he wanted a good economy to run on for re-election. He immediately went in front of the cameras at the White House to walk back everything the experts said. He downplayed the danger and possible consequences the COVID pandemic could have on society.
Each time the governor of a blue state would shut down in order to protect their people from a deadly virus, Trump would lead the charge and beigin attacking them on Twitter for doing it. He and MAGA would attack Democratic governors, threatening them if they didn’t open everything. A group of men even plotted to kidnap the governor of Michigan and murder her over it!
In his first term, President Trump fired the person who had told Americans the truth about COVID and put someone at the CDC that was required to authorize any public announcementfrom the CDC before it was released. Obviously any “bad” message, no matter how true it might be, would ever be allowed to reach the public.
So many voters on the right now blame the experts at the CDC and others for not doing what was necessary during the pandemic when they were being muzzled and censored by President Trump.
They’ve accused Democrats of “politicizing” school shootings in order to do so themselves. They do it to proactively take the heat off themselves for never doing anything about gun violence. It also helps them hide from the fact that they take hundreds of thousands from the NRA and gun manufacturers to not do anything (OpenSecrets.org). By shifting the blame for mass and school shootings onto Democrats, they escape the scrutiny and blowback from Americans questioning why they haven’t done anything to keep their children safe.
Now we’ve entered a time in our politics where Republicans are racist and they politicize everything they possibly can in order to associate things the public doesn’t like with the Democrats.
Here’s the problem. Blaming Democrats for wanting all children to feel welcome and included in the classroom is just nonsensical. It’s not political at all. It should be a principle held by everyone in the country. Even the most hateful racist wouldn’t want kids to feel unwanted or unwelcome… right? (Maybe I’m being too generous here.)
There are very few people who are against every child feeling welcome and wanted in a classroom. Those people are racist. Republicans are racist for pushing legislation and policies that demonize something meant to protect the mental and emotional well-being of our children. If you see a sign that says EVERYONE IS WELCOME as political, problematic and think it should be removed, you are probably racist. Period. There is no other possible explanation.
If you have one, please tell me about it in the comments. I’m genuinely interested to learn about a valid reason for viewing this sign as “divisive.” If you agree that this is racist, react to this post with anger so I know I’m not alone.
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