The vice president of a school district in Arkansas, Clint McCance, recently resigned due to several anti-gay comments he made on Facebook. In the post, McCance articulated that he'd not only disown his sons if they turned out to be gay, but that he felt gays should all commit suicide.
While McCance's comments cannot be condoned, the fact that he was pretty much forced to resign because he posted something with his own personal opinion in it outrages me. This is similar to the recent string of prominent reporter-fires due to their having let the smallest amount of bias slip into their posts and statements.
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and while I am not naive enough to believe that First Amendment rights extend to non-public institutions, I believe that people should not be let go from positions that make the unrealistic demand that those holding them must refrain from showing any bias.
In McCance's case, perhaps his anti-gay sentiments are unfounded, but he shouldn't lose his job over this. Until we see some evidence that he was actively discriminating against gay students, we cannot so quickly jump to the conclusion that he is unfit to lead an educational district. McCance simply fell into the same trap that almost every teenager and occasional adult falls into: thinking that Facebook is a private medium for expression.
This whole fiasco can be related to the selection of Supreme Court Justices. We select them with some sort of expectation that they remain completely impartial when deciding incredibly partisan cases, but deep down inside we know that they won't and can't remain completely unbiased.
So, was McCance's resignation under fire deserved, or is this just another case of the public holding individuals up to absurd standards? You decide.
8 comments:
I agree with Daniel. Although McCance's comments might be harsh and uncalled for, people are entitled to their own thoughts and opinions. Not everyone is going to agree with certain issues and people shouldn't be blamed for having more extreme opinions than others. Jobs shouldn't be lost due to people just differing in opinions on certain issues.
Definitely, as Chris restated, everyone is entitled to their own opinion. This is America, where we should be protected by the First Amendment and its freedom of speech. This is where people strive to be, yet somehow in Arkansas people are being judged on views rather than character. If he does his job well, and as along as his views do not harm others, then he should be allowed to keep his job. These really are absurd standards. The people who were displeased with his ideas are just as mean as others, who are entirely against gay people. Every issue is two way. Americans must realize that difference is what makes our country better. The only way a government can be better is to allow dissension. This is one of the reasons why people escape/leave China or any other autocratic due to this freedom. We cannot make these ideals only in the Constitution, but not in real life. On the other token, if a vice president posted the opposite being very pro-gay. How would the public react to that? What happens if he said all anti-gay people need to go commit suicide? Would opinions be different? Do we hold double standards where some views are more preferable or better than others? If Facebook has such a great chance of causing problems, why does the general public still use it?
Dan has left out an important piece of context here: the comments made on facebook were in response to purple shirt Wednesday. The man was indifferent to if not celebrating the suicide of real people whose families was in the midst of grieving.
I highly suggest seeking out a video clip of the parents of one of the dead kids on Anderson Cooper last night. They were a lot more gracious than most people would have been. What this man did was reprehensible and divisive.
McCance has since apologized profusely, as well he should. I think this situation is not very comparable to that of news reporters being fired. Having a leader of a school make a statement that would be widely read and even more widely spread to the effect that gay kids might as well die sends an awful signal to some of the most vulnerable students in the community.
"Smallest amount of bias" -- Dan, really? It is a small amount of bias to call dead kid "queers" and wish them good riddance? I can't believe you mean that.
If a school official held this sort of deep-seated biases towards a religious or racial minority group, we wouldn't even be having this conversation. Of course you can't be a school leader if you hate some of the students based on an inherent trait. It's not a harmless if controversial opinion. It's a school official taking sides against select students in his community.
"Until we see some evidence that he was actively discriminating against gay students..." is also a weak statement but I will leave it to others to break down the logical fallacies therein.
@ Mr. Silton, you talked to me about this after school today, and I hope I have made my points clear already, but I'll respond just in case.
Let's leave emotions out of the mix for a second. Yes, McCance is being indifferent towards real people who have committed suicide, but we must remember that it is only human to have a lack of emotion towards things you hate or dislike. For example, few American's feel anything towards the death of enemy combatants.
The smallest amount of bias is in regards to the comments of the reporters. I do believe that the analogy is applicable in the fundamental sense that a job was loss due to a leakage of personal opinion.
I disagree, I believe that even if the bias was against a religious or ethnic population, we would still be having this conversation. It would still be the right thing to do. We must question his performance, not his opinions.
And yes, I understand that someone with deepseated emotions most likely could not separate those from his actions, but we cannot assume something of that sort, especially when something like a prestigious job is at risk.
I'd like to reiterate that I do not fine McCance's comments pardonable, I just feel that to society needs to be much more weary about what we're opposing. Are we opposing his opinions, or his actions?
Mr. McCance was actually never forced to or asked to resign from the school board. There were many protests and calls of outrage, but he was not actually fired. It was a personal choice that he made, and I think this choice is part of the consequences for his bad personal choice to publish such harsh opinions. Of course he has the freedom and entitlement to his own opinions and his freedom of speech, but as a representative of an important part of the community, he should have known that he was asking for trouble. To me, the biggest problem is the fact that students who attend the schools that he represents would not feel safe or comfortable in an environment where they shouldn't feel unsafe or uncomfortable. If McCance meant anything he said to the press in his apologies, then he knows all of this too and resigned for the right reason - "to help [his] school, [his] community."
Dear Dan, Johnathan, and Chris,
Stop being fools. You're all smarter than this, you're better than this. You know how wrong it is that an ELECTED SCHOOL OFFICIAL tells gay students that they should kill themselves. Someone who is supposed to protect children and ensure their success is telling them they need to kill themselves. And by the way, I'm leaving "emotion" out of it, because being an activist for so long, I don't really get emotional over issues anymore; I've seen it all. Johnathan, Chris, and Dan: Yes, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but he is not entitled to tell people that if they are gay, they should kill themselves. I don't care what you're opinion is on that, it is NOT, in any circumstances, ok to somehow wish death upon someone else, ESPECIALLY if they are a school board member. Is it ok that he was homophobic? While I don't like/agree with that, sure. as long as he doesn't affect anyone else. You all CLEARLY don't understand what it is like to have someone say that you should kill yourself, let alone someone in a teaching position. Ladies and gentlemen, "harsh and uncalled for" do not cut it. Try "lethal and unacceptable."
I am disappointed in what I've read here, especially coming from three intelligent people from Aragon, one of the better schools in this state.
"This is similar to the recent string of prominent reporter-fires due to their having let the smallest amount of bias slip into their posts and statements." I think having a slight liberal CNN and being called on it is a lot different than a school official saying he thinks gays should kill themselves. "we know that they won't and can't remain completely unbiased." Naturally, but we CAN expect them not to tell gays to kill themselves. I think we can even expect that from Scalia. "public holding individuals up to absurd standards?" As I said before, it is PERFECTLY reasonable for us to expect our school officials not to tell people they should kill themselves. I'd like to think our schools are not run by maniacs, thanks.
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