Saying something that makes students feel bad must get a teacher fired.
Federal District Judge Manish Shaw said firing former Palatine (Illinois) High School teacher Jeanne Hedgepeth was okay because her speech made some students feel “unsafe” and sad.
Not that she said those nasty things in class. She said it on her personal Facebook page. Nor did she identify herself as a teacher at the school—a job she had held for 20 years.
What were those gawdaful, threatening things she spewed that got her canned? If you guessed it is was something that was critical of the woke agenda that apparently has infected the school board and administration, you are spot on.
She (quite rightly) blasted the rioting and looting that spread throughout America and in Chicago and that followed the death of George Floyd.
She also dared to post, according to the judge,
…longer comments discussing her displeasure with the use of terms like "white privilege," critical of those who characterized the U.S. as systematically racist, and questioning why discussions on race cannot include statistical information concerning the murder rate among the black population, nor the abortion rate.
Speak not the truth, Ms. Hedgepath, not because you’re shouting “fire” in a crowded theater. Not because your comments were a threat to national security. Not because they were libelous or slanderous. Not because that you clearly violated the long history of case law that outlines when free speech becomes dangerous.
It’s because you caused offense.
Of course she did. No doubt about it.
So much so that some students and others tracked her down and “exposed” her disgusting, hateful comments. Here’s one the judge cited in his 28-page opinion:
Wanna stop the Riots? Mobilize the septic tank trucks, put a pressure cannon on em... hose em down... the end.
She also used the F-word in a communication with a student. Never mind that this kind of dreadful talk has become a common part of today’s lexicon, including as a part of such students’ daily vocabulary.
(For a more complete listing of Hedgepeth’s offenses cited by the judge, read the text at the bottom of this post.)
The judge summarily dismissed Hedgepeth’s lawsuit challenging her firing on free speech grounds, saying among other things, according to the Cook County Record,
…even if the lawsuit was properly in federal court, the judge said Hedgepeth's claims still fail under legal tests established by the courts to determine if a public employer, like District 211, violated the speech rights of a public employee, such as a public school teacher, like Hedgepeth.
Shah said in cases like this, courts can balance Hedgepeth's speech rights against the interest of the school district in minimizing disruption to the district's operations and learning environment.
She caused offense!!!
Hedgepeth’s objections to her firing first had to go through the school district’s hearing officer, who concluded that the teacher’s “conduct was irremediable because it 'compromised, beyond repair ... her ability to continue to function effectively in her role' and her posts 'destroyed any possibility that she could be viewed as a fair and honest arbiter in the students' expressions of different perspectives.'"
The judge agreed, saying that Hedgepeth's social media posts caused "actual disruption" at Palatine High School. He wrote, "While Hedgepeth’s posts touched on matters of public concern, the interest of the District in promoting the efficiency of its educational services to students outweighed her speech interests.”
In other words, the complaining students and their parents’ concerns trumps the free speech rights of teachers.
Bang, sayeth the gavel.
Shaw include these quotes in a footnote, elaborating on Hedgepeth’s oh-so-hurtful comments on her Facebook:
“I am about facts, truth seeking and love. I will speak on any topic I choose because I live in a free country. I find the term ‘white privilege’ as racist as the ‘N’ word. You have not walked in my shoes either so do not make assumptions about me and my so called privilege. You think America is racist? Then you have been hoodwinked by the white liberal establishment and race baiters like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton. Travel the world and go see that every nation has racism and some more than others but few make efforts such as we do to mitigate or eliminate it. I have lived and seen[.] The people I am informed by about the black experience in America are actually some of the smartest people in America [a]nd it so happens they are black. Ii (sic) highly recommend studying Thomas Sowell who is now retired and in his 80’s. A treasure. A truth seeker, does REAL research and analysis. Candace Owens is one of the smartest and most courageous women in America and Larry Elders speaks the truth with a great sense of humor and FACTS not feelings. They are who I listen to when it comes to facts about the black experience in America. Don’t you think there is a deeper problem than racism when 50% of murders in America are committed by 13% of the population? Do you think there might be a subtle genocide of black babies when most planned parenthoods are put in poor neighborhood and that 33% of abortions are black babies, black women only make up 7% of the U.S. population. The greatest power you have is what you believe about yourself, what have Democrats, mainstream media and intellectuals in ivory towers been telling the black community to believe about themselves for forty years? Wake up and stop believing them, then things will change.” [69] ¶ 23.
I just want to put my arms around this woman. She is the Hester Prynne of today. Are there no brave souls who will stand up for her? I suspect they are afraid they will be next.