Last week was a bonanza in the stupid news department. I say stupid but what I really mean is, people not smart enough to keep their names out of the media. This one has to do with a teacher who referred to a pupil as an orangutan on Facebook.
As I’ve written before, the Internet provides a platform for every kind of diverse opinion in the world. And, social media is the equivalent to a bull-horn for every foul-mouthed, racial epithet-hurling member of our society.
The school district says that they have a “social media policy in the works” but, aside from poor planning, doesnʻt this show tremendous ignorance on the part of officials? Do they honestly think that they can enforce proper social behavior through a Human Resource policy? Thatʻs as crazy as people who think that everyone can be made to behave by creating laws against bad behavior. What they fail to realize is that most behavior statutes are really revenue generators because there will always be people who littler or jaywalk. Lawmakers and law-enforcement know this and make money off the fact.
When it comes to teachers or anyone who interacts with children, shouldnʻt there be much better screening during the hiring process? Wouldnʻt it be fairly simple to devise a test that would determine if a teacher would be likely to insult their students in public? Obviously, thereʻs no sure-fire way to predict human reaction but, unlike theft where there is a monetary temptation, posting racially-charged comments on Facebook isnʻt the same. For instance, nobody every did it because their family was starving or they need to pay a gambling debt.
The whole concept that the situation can be remedied by creating new rules is ludicrous. Of course, it is the same mentality that says Roger Marisʻ record 61 home-runs in a season deserved an asterisks, climate change isnʻt affected by global warming, or that Evolution is just one theory of how change occurs in species, humans included. Either we start holding our entire population to higher standards of behavior or we should expect repeat performances like the one in this story which will only lead to bigger rifts and divisions in our society.
So That's Life? 
If You Build It
07/10/2012Posted in commentary | Leave a Comment »