here is my letter to the midland school district.
'While it is well and good that you post a distancing letter on your main page, you say some things that are demonstrably false, there. "Mr. McCance was not acting as an agent of the school board, but as a private citizen when this comment was posted. This post does not reflect the thoughts of the board or administration of the Midland School District." While freedom of speech guarantees such vileness to be protected, it doesn't mean that there aren't any consequences. While McCance may have been acting without official capacity, he is still a member of the school board, and thus is able to (I assume) enact and debate school policy. By decrying the wearing of purple "It pisses me off though that we make a special purple fag day for them." a sane person might be led to believe that he is not acting in the best interest of the students. How can a public official claim, in private, to hate children, and still be given the trust needed to serve on the school board? "The district strives to foster an environment that discourages all forms of bullying and an environment that encourages a safe and productive educational climate of all of our students. The district is very diligent in pursuing and addressing bullying of any variety on our campuses." Saying that you don't condone or support what McCance said in private isn't "fostering an environment that discourages all forms of bullying" - inaction of good people is worse than the actions of bad people. Cyberbullying is a readily identifiable criminal act: "when the Internet, [...] [is] used to send or post text or images intended to hurt or embarrass another person." aI think we can agree that constantly repeating the needlessly aggressive word "fag" and saying that he is glad that they "get aids and die" is assuredly "intended to hurt or embarrass another person." At the very least, the passive-aggressive nature of McCance needs to be placed under scrutiny, and all arguments he has made for or against school policy should be placed under suspicion to ensure that his private beliefs are not influencing his public decisions. Thank you for your time.'
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