DURHAM — Oyster River School Board member Jim Kach of Madbury said he is not resigning and stands by his words, despite the recent request of an Lee resident who said his former Twitter account made "offensive statements about Muslims, gay people and Jews."
Ruth Sample recently submitted a letter to the School Board requesting Kach step down from his position. Read more...
I found it really disturbing that Fosters felt the need to also include (in a separate "article") a list of all the potentially offensive tweets that came from Jim Kach's account since 2009.
ReplyDeleteThis was ridiculous. It wasn't news. And it had already been listed as offensive by Ruth Sample and Roni Perkins. So why the need to reprint them?
Will the Fosters editorial board *please* stop trying to stir up more trouble in the ORCSD? We are trying to move past and work through some of the conflicts that have occurred over the past few years. Fosters, you are *not* helping!
I would respectfully disagree with Bruce- I found that be seeing the tweets verbatim that I was more able to judge whether they were indeed offensive, or just "snarky" as Mr. Kach posited. It also revealed the breadth of his scorn and prejudice. I sent the following letter to the school board and Foster's today:
ReplyDeleteTo the members of the Oyster River School Board, and to Jim Kach,
We are writing to express our outrage and disgust at the comments of Mr. Kach which were published in Foster's Daily Democrat today, and to call for his immediate resignation from the Oyster River School Board.
Mr Kach's comments from his Twitter account reveal him to be a person of prejudice towards people of color, women, Muslims and Jews. His vitriolic statements are shocking and personally insulting. Moreover, they absolutely violate the principals of acceptance, tolerance, and mutual respect that are a pivotal philosophy of our district. Our motto is "working together to engage every learner". In Mr. Kach's mind, does this also include Jewish students? Female students who might not be blessed with perfect looks? Does this include Muslim students, of whom Mr. Kach feels that "paranoia" is appropriate? Does he believe our students of color are not "culturally American"?
Mr. Kach cannot continue to serve as a representative of our community. He has revealed his closed-mindedness and personal prejudices, so cannot possibly be impartial and unprejudiced in his approach to hiring. Can you imagine how a candidate for the position of permanent superintendent, having read today's paper, will view the hiring process if that individual was a person of color, or female, or Jewish, or Muslim? He has shown himself to be the antithesis of a role model for our students. The Code of Ethics for Board Members requires that they will "take no private action that will compromise the board or administration". He has belittled groups of individuals who comprise his constituents. He has demonstrated an attitude, unfortunately prevalent in our political life, that those who may have a different background or viewpoint on an issue are not worthy of respect.
If Mr. Kach does not resign, we would like to know what vehicle exists for his removal from the board. We suspect there will be strong community support for his removal, if not from the adults in our community, then from our children. They have been taught well by our dedicated educators to insist on an environment for learning where there is a no-tolerance policy for bigotry, and where all practice tolerance and mutual respect.
Sincerely,
Debbie and Harry Mueller
Durham
I can't for the life of me fathom how this Foster's article can be characterized as "stirring up" more trouble in the ORCSD. There is no need to stir anything - ridiculousness presents itself in so many fora that its difficult to keep up, much less plan ahead to invent it.
ReplyDeleteEven the small published selection of Mr. Kach's public tweets (that's what they were - PUBLIC...he acknowledges his phone wasn't hacked, his email wasn't conscripted, his digital handwriting wasn't forged)reflect a profound lack of tolerance and sensitivity toward the population he professes to serve - Us. My children. Myself. My neighbors with children. The other school board members. Their children and their childrens' children. You. Anyone in that population have a learning disability? Anyone female? Anyone gay? Anyone black? Anyone not won a Ms. America contest? Everyone sure they are "culturally American"? He is scorning them. Me. You. Us.
I found a number of Mr. Kach's tweet-rants to be racist, sexist and homophobic. His PUBLIC suggestions that the size of a woman's backside, fashion sense, photogenicity or sexual orientation are indicators of her intelligence or ability do not reflect the type of human I want anywhere near the developing minds I am raising in this school district.
Everyone is absolutely entitled to their opinion - and to NOT make that opinion public. There cannot truly be a sense that someone that makes these opinion public is qualified to participate in the leadership of ANY public education effort in this country - least of all mine.
You think his expressions are appropriate? Let him know - he can come run for school board in your district....I hope you don't have daughters, a disabled child, a culturally blended family, a hefty backside, or a non-Waspy religious perspective....if you do, I imagine it will be difficult to explain to someone you love why you think its ok for someone who publicly ridicules, derides, and dismisses them to sit at their education decision-making table. It's not ok for him to sit at mine.
Tory Jennison
Durham
Debbie & Tory,
ReplyDeletePlease don't misunderstand me. I am not trying to defend Jim Kach or his tweets. I am not at all upset about Fosters running an actual article where the discussed the tweets and some public reaction (interviews with Ruth Sample and Roni Pekins). To me that is "news" and certainly seems to be newsworthy.
However, to simply put together a list of offensive tweets and publish it in the name of "investigative journalism" seems quite laughable to me.
And to add to my suspicion that the Fosters editorial staff is trying to inflame things at ORCSD, their site today published multiple letters to the editor that criticized Jim Kach for his tweets and suggested that he should resign from the SB. I don't have a problem with that. However, they have apparently refused to publish the letter I wrote to them criticizing them for publishing the entire list of offensive tweets culled from 2 years of Jim Kach's account.
I'm not defending Jim Kach, I'm just wondering why Fosters is so eager to inflame public opinion against members of the ORCSD School Board.
The trouble with degrading language, such as Mr. Kach was using, is that it encourages more incivility and disrespect. I recently attended an incredible workshop with Stephen Wessler, author of The Respectful School. He was a prosecuting attorney in Maine for many years who worked with the most extreme cases of bias-based attacks in Maine schools. He said that the pattern for these incidents is clear. First, people use degrading language about others with their peers. If it is met with approval or isn't stopped, it can then lead to degrading language directly at a person. This can then lead to harassment which can then escalate further into violence. Stephen Wessler is clear. Not all uses of degrading language lead to violence, but ALL biased-based hate crimes begin with just the kind of language that Mr. Kach was using.
ReplyDeleteI have yet to hear Mr. Kach acknowledge that he realizes that his comments were wrong. In fact, he has repeatedly defended them. Stephen Wessler was also clear about another point. Children aren't born with prejudicial biases...they are taught them by adults. As Stephen said in his talk, "We have bequeathed these views to our children." As a leader of our school system, Mr. Kach has defended his use of disrespectful and hateful language. I'm sure it's not his intent to pass along biased and prejudicial views to young people in our community, but by defending this kind of language, that's just what he's doing.
USMC-ORSD Losers
ReplyDeleteThe ORSD tells the judge we will make changes so they are let go. The Marines’ actions are understandable. Conflict and confusion are what we the ones that go off to fight for the freedom of the USA get as we return. My right to run for elected position in New Hampshire with out interference from the news media and government officials has to be guaranteed. It is like I read today “Piss on the crucifix, and they’ll call you an artist. Piss on the American Flag and they’ll call you a freedom-of-speech Constitutionalist. Piss on the Taliban POS that just tried to kill you and your fellow Marines, and they’ll call you a villain”. I am a natural born US citizen that came back from the Vietnam Conflict 100% disabled. Government retribution is against the law, yet the NH government officials and news media use this to create danger to the public in my personality to stop my getting elected. The positive changes any person serving the people of NH and the USA can make if elected by law has to be the voter’s freedom to choose.
NH and the VA stop my medical care for combat related disabilities to teach me to obey government authority. The newspapers continue to reinforce the danger my life is to the citizens of NH to justify the criminal actions of Judge Peter Fauver and the NH Supreme Court. Communication by the news media and the manipulated truth to control public opinion is highlighted by our government official’s refusal to speak with me. Communication is the civilized manner to solve problems with out violence. The news media makes the father that blew up his two sons a villain and a bad person. The news media refuse to tell the other side, which is a man, accused by the news media and incompetent law enforcement of killing his wife to build public support for illegal acts to justify their actions. The news media and law enforcement right here in NH are trying to do this to me except from my head injury and PTSD I see the USA as a place (no matter what harm) that we must give to make what so many over the history of the USA gave their lives to protect and defend our Constitution not be in Vain.
Judges in the NH SC refused to hear a case where Judge Peter Fauver in a criminal manner used the trusted power of the courts to enable the Madbury NH selectmen for the selectmen’s personal gain take from local residents. Judges just like this gave the ORSB the right to hide facts under the Right to Know Law from the people as long as they promise not to do it again. NH put me in jail as a terrorist under the Patriot act to stop my opinion letters. Law enforcement comes to my home to harass my family and friends to isolate me to make my combat disabilities inflame my desire to commit suicide. It is working!
The ORSD voters and the State of New Hampshire have a Right to Know the back ground of a person running for elected office no matter how bad a select few want to censor the truth. Denied the right to talk can kill.
Some day some of your and the children of the ORSD will may be join the US Military should they not have a fighting chance if they come back to the USA alive.
Peter Macdonald Sgt USMC Semper Fi
465 Packers falls Rd Lee NH 03824 603-5659-6217