I’ve been looking forward to Loren Martell’s take on our January School Board meeting. The only truly objectionable thing about it was its length. We Board members behaved ourselves exceptionally well although we did get a tad tiresome and long winded. Our new Chairman, Dr. David Kirby, ran things in good humor and fairly and bent over a bit to make sure the static minority didn’t get run over.
Loren has made it a habit of beginning his columns as our PR person, Katie Kaufman, would like – with a glowing account of the good stories that begin each Board meeting. This time it took up about half his column in part because we Board members did little to be ashamed or embarrassed about. There were three issues that Loren covered. One related to our attempt to push good health. One devoted to mulch. (I don’t intend to belabor that one here) And finally, the issue referred to in Loren’s headline: “Vile Words.”
I recommend you read Loren’s coverage if mine doesn’t quite satisfy. Simply put, our staff composed a presentation which included a power point slide with a list of the aforementioned vile words. They were words hurled at a trans-gendered student over the course of a school year in another district. I’m grateful to Loren for quoting my restrained and careful thoughts about their inclusion on a power point slide. Poor Loren had to listen to me at the meeting and then once again on a recording to get it down right. I showed such probity:
“Member Welty partially echoed member Johnston’s concerns: ‘If this particular slide is to be used as part of our outreach to the community, beyond the professionals who I trust will approach these words with the sensitivity they need, I would be concerned. I have not seen a school district document like I’m looking at now.’ He questioned the possible “counter-productivity” of using such words.”
On the list were two words I almost never use; the “n” word and the “c” word. As for the others that I’m less fussy about…….I’ll write two posts following this tomorrow. One concerns the “c” words use among other things at the recent Duluth Women’s March and the other concerns my reminiscences while meeting with my Uncle Frank last week in Denver.
It was suggested at the meeting that candor demands that one must not shy away from the words themselves lest we allow them to have too much power over us or, to the contrary, that in listing them publicly we will make them commonplace and risk making it easy for others to use them in common parlance. My objection was not quite either of these. I fretted that putting them on a District document might raise hackles from those who find the words particularly offensive. I’m not one, if you can believe this, to court controversy gratuitously. (that’s fifty cent language for “unnecessarily.”)
So there will be a Sticks and Stones #2 and #3 tomorrow. I hope you enjoy them. They will be every bit as gratuitous as anything else I’ve ever posted on Lincolndemocrat.
