Indoctrination Fridays: Teacher's Lesson Compares Scott Walker to White Segregationist

A paper published by several college professors, entitled Organizing the Curriculum for Labor Consciousness, calls for more weaving of Big Labor history and tactics into every day curriculum.

Take the case of Kate Lyman, a teacher in the Madison, Wisconsin school district.

According to an article she penned for the leftist Rethinking Schools magazine, she was swept into the protests by her daughter and Facebook, because “that’s how they did it in Egypt.”

When teacher staged a “sick out,” Lyman described it as “four exhilarating days, four confusing days, four stressful and exhausting days.”

For the record, she’s speaking of the self-serving school employees. She’s not talking about the working parents that had to scramble to find child care because their children were not in school.

At first, the teacher, who already apparently has a warning in her personnel file for violating the school’s “controversial issues” policy, claimed to just invite the students’ observations about what took place.

Consider what these students said: of immigrants, one said Walker would “send them back to Mexico.” Lyman apparently didn’t correct this idiotic notion. Another said, “does he want to be rich?” “Yeah, he wants to be rich!” “He’s selfish.” “He’s crazy.” “He’s guilty.” “He’s greedy.” “He should go to jail, even though he’s governor.”

Lyman’s student teacher created a PowerPoint presentation, with side-by-side pictures of the Madison protests and images from the civil rights fights in the south. Then, she went lower than I thought was possible even for union activists. Quoting Lyman:

“I hesitated to ask this last question as the students were examining a photo of white segregations (“We want a white school!”) juxtaposed to a Walker supporter (“WisSCOTTsin”). But we talked extensively about rights, in the context of both the Civil Rights Movement and the Capitol protests.”

I bet you can’t guess how old these kids were. Surely if they were tuned into the news, they must be high schoolers. No, Lyman is warping the brains of 2nd- and 3rd-graders.

“Embedded in the history of labor’s struggle is an alternative system of values that we sorely need in this era of socially destructive greed and consolidated corporate power,” the professors wrote.

“The values of the labor movement, embodied in collective action for social justice, can counter the gross mal-distribution of wealth and power that has dangerously undermined our economy and politics. A restoration of organized labor’s power can promote prosperity by securing a living wage for working people, and reinvigorate democracy by building a politically progressive electorate that bridges the traditional fault lines of different that have been used to confuse working people and divide them against each other and from their own deepest interests.” (emphasis added)

It seems that if the truth is on your side, nothing would have to be “built.” The masses, once informed, would come flocking to your side.

But the reasoning for the union activists’ push for more “labor history” in curriculum seems to be becoming more clear. The professors cite leftist American “historian” Howard Zinn, when he wrote:

“If teacher unions want to be strong and well-supported, it’s essential that they not only be teacher-unionists but teachers of unionism. We need to create a generation of students who support teachers and the movement of teachers for their rights.” (emphasis added)

“Movement of teachers for their rights,” is, of course, code for teachers unions. So the teachers need to get them when they’re young, fill their heads with propaganda equating collective bargaining privileges and lawsuits over coverage of Viagra as somehow equal to the work of Martin Luther King, Jr. and John Lewis.

“In education the neoliberal emphasis on accountability and individual efforts militate against the labor movement’s call for solidarity and collective action to address common economic problems. This (mis)education does not serve the needs of the vast majority of students, who need more than anything else to develop the capacity for collective action in their own real interests.

“Moreover, the traditional curriculum does not require discussion of the alternatives to corporate capitalism promoted by historic American social and political movements, such as the International Workers of the World, and the American Socialist Party, beyond a nominal mention and subsequent dismissal, and despite the end of the Cold War, Marxist economics is not seriously studied and communism is not considered as an alternative economic system but simply dismissed as the flawed ideology of a deservedly defeated empire.”

This is the overarching principle of “organizing the curriculum:” to change America away from a free market economy and towards socialism, all the while exalting the virtues of Big Labor.

“Whaddaya mean youse don’t support da union?”

I have received the below message from Mark Mix of the National Right to Work Committee, which I am posting for your information. I signed the letter, and I hope you will too.

“We will hunt you down . . . slit your throats . . . drink your blood. I will have your decapitated head on a pike in the Madison town square.”

Those are the words of a union militant aimed directly at a Wisconsin state legislator for daring to vote to restrict Big Labor’s forced dues control over Wisconsin state workers.

There were literally dozens of similar recorded death threats along with acts of vandalism leveled against Wisconsin state legislators and Governor Scott Walker for not towing the union boss line.

Even more ominous, the Wisconsin State Journal reported police found “dozens of rounds of live ammunition outside the Capitol” during the height of the Wisconsin protests.

Thankfully union militants did not use that ammunition to make good on their threats . . . at least not yet.

Unfortunately, just last month the New York Daily News reported that a small group of union whistle blowers and members of the Communications Workers of America were not so lucky.

After reporting a timesheet-padding scheme by their local union bosses, one of the whistle blowers was beaten so severely by a union thug he suffered two herniated discs and had to undergo knee surgery.

Another whistle blower found a dead rat in his locker along with a note he would be “taken care of.” And another stated he was told: “If I continue to complain about their finances, they would have me killed.”

The fact is nearly every day ordinary working men and women face death threats, harassment, vandalism and bodily harm if they dare defy the dictates of union officials.

Union bosses consider themselves above the law because — they are — thanks to the notorious Supreme Court Enmons decision.

Today you and I have an opportunity to put an end to all this.

That’s why it’s vital you sign the petition urging your Congressman and Senators to cosponsor and vote for the Freedom From Union Violence Act IMMEDIATELY.

The fact is, for decades union bosses and their underlings have committed thousands of reported incidents of violence, extortion, vandalism and even murder.

And in most of these cases these vicious acts of violence and intimidation have not even been investigated, much less prosecuted and punished.

Ever since the Supreme Court’s infamous 1973 Enmons decision, union bosses have been granted immunity from prosecution for acts of violence and vandalism they orchestrate in the so-called “pursuit of legitimate union objectives.”

This outrageous loophole in federal law has effectively tied the hands of federal law enforcement officers and has permitted union bosses and their handpicked “enforcers” to achieve their union goals – by any means necessary.

And, it’s no secret union bosses are all too happy to use violence and terror to achieve their number one goal: force more and more working men and women into paying union dues.

You and I need to make sure union bosses and their henchmen are subject to the same laws as every other lowlife and criminal.

That’s why the Freedom From Union Violence Act must be a top priority in Congress.

But to make this happen I’m going to need your help.

First, will you sign the petition to your Congressman and Senators urging them to co-sponsor and vote for the Freedom From Union Violence Act?

http://righttoworkcommittee.org/fuva_petition.aspx?pid=fuv1

Next, can I also count on you to chip in with a contribution of $10 or more to help the Committee pay for and, just as importantly, expand this critical program?

If we are going to force the politicians in Washington to stand up to the union bosses and end this legalized union terrorism once and for all, it will take an army of concerned and committed Americans just like you.

You see, unless the politicians in Washington are forced to pay attention, they will continue to turn a blind eye to the violence committed by their union boss patrons.

With your help, we hope to contact up to 1.5 million Americans in the next few weeks who are outraged union bosses have the green light to act like they’re above the law.

Your generous contribution will also help pay for costly radio, T.V., and newspaper advertising, which, if funds allow, we hope to run in swing states and districts calling on politicians by name to support the Freedom From Union Violence Act.

Your generous contribution today can also enable us to personally brief hundreds of influential nationally syndicated columnists, editorial writers and talk radio hosts in order to build momentum in the media for the Freedom From Union Violence Act.

So, please, sign the petition and, if at all possible, chip in with a contribution of $10 or more to the National Right to Work Committee so we can mobilize the grassroots army needed to finally plug this Big Labor loophole of violence.

With your help we will put an end to Big Labor’s terror tactics once and for all.

Sincerely,

Mark Mix

Most big universities have someone who teaches history of labor unions and courses like that. One such teacher, Jefferson Cowie from Cornell University wrote a book about the labor history of RCA, entitled, Capital Moves: RCA's 50 year quest for cheap labor.

I had a series of email exchanges with him, pointing out some of the fallacies in his book, starting with my grandfather and what happened to him. My grandfather was the top tool and die maker at RCA. He was what they called the model maker, the guy who made the prototypes. He loved his job, working directly with the top design engineers on all the newest and most important advances in radio and tv, as well as government contract work for the war effort.

My grandfather was the VP of the radio and tv workers, when in 1949, he was elected to be the first president of the Electrical workers and Machinists at RCA. The CIO had gotten without a strike and the men elected my grandfather, but the CIO bosses were not happy and requested that RCA move my grandfather into management so that he could not serve. My grandfather turned down the offer. Money wasn't a big deal to him. He loved his job and he loved politics. He had some differences with the CIO bosses, though. My grandfather wasn't a racist.

A few months later, before he could even take office, he and my grandmother were run down by a hit and run driver as they stood on the curb in front of their home.

RCA responded by closing the plant in Camden, NJ, and moving out of the area, before my grandfather had even fully recovered.

The people of Camden County responded by electing my grandfather as the new Camden County State Assemblyman.

The CIO responded by reporting my grandfather as a communist to the HUAC. There evidence was that someone had once seen him perusing the headlines on a Communist newspaper at the news stand by his bus stop.

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