Fox News and a school student ruins teacher's life

[Great Caesars Ghost]

The North Carolina high school student who was berated by his teacher after he spoke critically of President Obama told Fox News on Monday that he wanted to "laugh" when he heard the teacher suggest he could be arrested for criticizing a sitting president.

<snip>

The argument started when the classroom began discussing news reports that Mitt Romney bullied a fellow student when he was in high school. At the time, The Washington Post had recently published a lengthy article alleging that Romney, as a teenager, had cut off another student's hair.

<snip>

"Didn't Obama bully somebody though?" a student in the North Carolina classroom asked when the report was brought up, referring to an incident Obama described in his memoir "Dreams From My Father." In the book, Obama wrote that, as a child, he once pushed a female classmate after other students taunted them -- the only two black students in their grade -- and called Obama her boyfriend.

The teacher, in the video, said she didn't know whether Obama bullied anyone -- but the argument quickly escalated, as the teacher yelled at the student, telling him "there is no comparison."

"He's running for president," she said of Romney. "Obama is the president."

The teacher later said: "Do you realize that people were arrested for saying things bad about Bush?"

The student told the teacher that someone can't be arrested "unless you threaten the president."

The Salisbury Post reported Monday that district school officials suspended the teacher in the course of their investigation into the incident.

Rogers' mother Gina told Fox News she was "shocked" when she heard the tape. She said her son had told stories about the classroom arguments, but she didn't realize they were this "extreme."

"I don't feel the teacher should have started a political discussion if she wasn't willing to hear both sides," she said.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/05/22/student-defends-criticism-obama/?test=latestnews#ixzz1vdAzARUH

(Sorry for the Fox link )

Video can be seen here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/101730196

[MadHound]

1. Teacher ruined her own life

If you're opening up a political discussion, then don't be surprised by what comes your way. Instead of trying to stifle a student's freedom of speech, respond with facts instead. I heard an audio of this teacher in action, and she was yelling and screaming at the student, never the brightest thing for a teacher to do.

[sheckj]

32. Old man

Perhaps you should refer to the real history of George W Bush's peopel having people arrested for opposing him at some of his Rallies.Now taht is facts not a response from some pundit opinion.

[get the red out]

2. Illustration

It's an illustration of how hateful politics is in our country in general. A thread on this subject was hidden earlier.

[slackmaster]

3. It's all the fault of Fox News and the student

The teacher's demeanor had NOTHING to do with it.

[southernyankeebelle]

4. I had wondered how long this would take to get on Fox News?

The teacher was wrong. I do believe if you going to have a discussion then you need to hear all sides. The student needs to respect the president but he is entitled to his opinion. The teacher was out of line. I usually am a teacher supporter.

[Great Caesars Ghost]

6. I see that as he goated the teacher to yell at him.

Why else would it be recorded? I remember a long time ago, a teacher was in a middle of a student induced recorded controversy. Forgot what his name is, but he did tell his side on the Today show.

[southernyankeebelle]

10. You knew he would. Did they mention the teacher's name?

[Great Caesars Ghost]

21. Tanya Dixon-Neely

[southernyankeebelle]

24. They said they weren't going to let the teacher's name out.

[Great Caesars Ghost]

25. It was already out beforehand.

[southernyankeebelle]

27. Sad really. The teacher was out of line but this kid is an a...hole for sure. It sounds like he

set her up.

[joeglow3]

29. He said he recorded it because this is the not the first time she has behaved like this

Sorry, but setting up a recorder to catch someone doing this for the 10th time (or, however many other times there are) is NOT setting the teacher up. It is gathering proof of a terrible teacher.

[southernyankeebelle]

31. Yes, I think the teacher was wrong but I think this kid set her up.

[alp227]

20. Jay Bennish, who compared Bush to Hitler

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11767241/ns/us_news-education/t/teacher-who-likened-bush-hitler-reinstated/

On the recording, Bennish told the students during a Feb. 1 geography class that some of Bush’s speech “sounds a lot like the things that Adolf Hitler used to say. We’re the only ones who are right, everyone else is backwards and our job is to conquer the world and make sure that they all live just like we want them to.”

[Great Caesars Ghost]

26. Thank you, and great catch.

[Octafish]

5. People went to PRISON for just joking about Bush.

Robert Humphreys is one guy's name.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x6283725

OTOH: People can carry loaded weapons where Obama is speaking and that's OK.

[Bluerthanblue]

9. yup- the teacher might not have handled this very well,

but what she said about what happened under Bush was true.

And your point about the guns is pretty profound.

(I'm from NH where the "tree of liberty" fool carried his weapon)

[RZM]

13. People went to jail for saying that Bush was an asshole as a kid?

Because that's essentially what this kid said about Obama.

I agree that people were investigated and charged for making statements that were construed (sometime falsely) as threats against Bush, but that's not relevant here.

I'll bet there's not a single case of anybody being arrested for saying something remotely like what this kid said. There's no possible way it could have been construed as a threat.

If basic criticism of Bush had been an arrestable offense, Skinner would be wearing an orange jumpsuit.

[Bluerthanblue]

28. there was no threat

Last edited Tue May 22, 2012, 10:24 PM - Edit history (1)

made by the couple who were arrested because they wore anti-Bush t-shirts. (they actually got an $80,000 settlement as a result)

http://www.progressive.org/mag_mc082007

Or this man?

Or this man?
http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-201_162-3087866.html

The fact is, there was little tolerance for any statements critical of Bush. And the idea of a person greeting the arrival of Pres. Bush in Portsmouth NH with a gun strapped to their leg, carrying a sign inferring that his blood should water the tree of liberty would have gotten him arrested.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-5235445-503544.html

I don't think the teacher handled the situation well at all, but the outright hatred and misinformation that has been thrown around by all kinds of people against Pres. O- including the "you lie" asshole at the SOTU & SC Justice Alito's "not true" foolishness. Bush and his gang didn't tolerate or allow the freedom of speech that is being allowed under Pres. O.

[Puzzledtraveller]

33. Yes! CW FTW! Chrome Rocks!!!!

[RZM]

36. Indeed :)

[RZM]

11. That's neither here nor there

The teacher was still way off base. The kid wasn't saying anything that could be construed as a threat against the president. He was simply applying the word 'bully' to that incident in Obama's childhood. I wouldn't agree with that assessment, but so what? The idea that such a statement should be prohibited in the classroom or merits shouting from the teacher is ridiculous.

[soc7]

7. Ugh.... She was an absolute embarassment...

n/t

[siligut]

8. The kid set the teacher up, why else was he filming the ceiling?

The teacher had a bad argument, but so did the kid. Comparing Obama's incident to Rmoney's shows a complete lack of perspective. The kid's mom took his crap to Fox, being the sort of mother that she is and of course, Fox went with it.

I agree with the mother that the teacher didn't seem to be very knowledgeable.

[4th law of robotics]

34. Apparently this teacher has done this sort of thing before

hence the recording.

[ZombieHorde]

12. The video looks really bad for the teacher in my opinion. nt

[maxrandb]

14. There's that "Both Sides" BS again

Look, you can slice it a "million ways to Sunday", and there is no "reasonable" comparison between what Romney did, and what the President wrote about in his book.

I mean I hate to mention this, but Hitler had a "side" to the story too. Doesn't mean it had any reasonable or rational point...BUT, he did have a "side".

The teacher was supremely wrong, and her actions deserve sanction, BUT THERE IS NO WAY THE BULLYING STORY IS A "BOTH SIDES" story, unless you think Mit was right to commit aggravated assault.

Just more Faux News "look at this shiny object over here" shit to dumb down the debate...and the electorate.

[Great Caesars Ghost]

19. Here is a question that needs pondering

Would the teacher get the same reprimand and suspension if she wasn't being recorded? I find the justification and convenience of recording highly suspicious. I still say she was set up.

[joeglow3]

30. How was she set up?

Because she was caught.

[6000eliot]

38. That kid sounds like an O'Keefe in the making.

I wouldn't trust anything the little scumbag had to say. His mother sounds like a creep who put him up to it as well.

[Puregonzo1188]

15. Ah, I think the teacher acted rather inappropriately myself--though I am not sure it warrants

national attention and other Fox's interest in this story is less than objective.

Still, no one can go to jail for calling the President a bully--whether or not he was one.

[KurtNYC]

16. The whole tone of the discussion was wrong and she was leading it

Reminds me of 2 very immature teachers who I had in high school but they didn't yell. Yuck.

[richmwill]

17. Sorry. In my opinion, if her life is now "ruined" it's her own fault...

Very unprofessional of her to yell and scream at a student that way.

[RZM]

18. It appears that she isn't cut out for managing a classroom full of teenagers

Not everybody is cut out for it. It's not always an easy thing to do. They are going to test you and they are going to say and do things you don't like. If you're not capable of handling that then you shouldn't be teaching.

[alp227]

22. Overhyped, unsubstantive stories like this draw people to the right, sadly.

I bet many of the parents who watch this story then choose not to send their children to public schools never gave the Obama/Romney bullying claims any afterthought. Although the teacher was right to point out there was no comparison between a young Obama simply shoving another student and Romney forcibly cutting another student's hair, the teacher went overboard and made a fool out of herself in front of the entire nation. Chances are that some of her students probably have are getting their young brains sucked into the alternative reality warp of fox news/drudge/blaze/free republic.

[cali]

23. bzzzt. gigantic fucking FAIL

idiot teacher did this. And the local paper recorded it. fuck teachers who tell students that they can be arrested for criticizing the President. And what's with the idiot shit about how it's ok to criticize Romney but not Obama?

If this was a teacher who said that you could criticize John Kerry for his throwing away his medals and his anti-war activity but not President Bush for skirting serving in Vietnam, you'd be having a fit.

[vaberella]

37. Agreed. n/t

[4th law of robotics]

35. 4 years ago. And the teacher is screaming at her kids for criticizing Bush

CNN picks up on it and the teacher is fired.

Would the students and the media be to blame? Certainly not on here.

That teacher is an idiot and shouldn't be around students.