Teachers' Unions...The New Mafia

For the life of me, I cannot understand why the evil, tyrannical, power-obsessed Teachers’ Unions are so anti-education. They care nothing about enlightening our children and have not for decades.

I say this as a State of California credentialed teacher. As a child of the 60’s, I went into Education because I wanted to Save the World. It sounds rather foolish now, especially with the current state of public education. I have watched its slow deterioration year after year. The same can be said for the universities.  

Back when I began my career, I assumed everyone in my field had the same goal; educate the young people and we will all live in a better world. After a lifetime of watching the grift, hypocrisy, and outright thug tactics of the unions, I am not sure if that was ever true.

Anyone with even a few brain cells realizes the horrific damage being done to our students who, in California public schools, have been out of the classroom for nearly a year. Common sense would tell you what the statistics prove: increased depression and suicides, loss of socialization skills, one year of learning down the drain. These are ony a few of the consequences that may very well have a life-time negative effect on our children. And for what? 

When did educators become Mafia enforcers? That is the only logical way in which they can be viewed. Their resolute stance to keep schools closed is in exact opposition to what I had once believed was the motto of the profession: educate the masses. 

A quick look at the curriculum now offered in this State would make one cringe. Nevertheless, I would gladly overlook that disaster if only the kids were allowed back in the classrooms. In many districts, the quality of learning will be as woeful as it has been for ages, but it far outweighs the damage done by locking kids in thier homes. 

My only hope is that parents will finally wake up to the gangster-like tactics of the unions that care nothing about the well-being of their charges. Parents and guardians have a collective power that can take down the unions. 

Califronians Need to Stand up

I have been vocal about my opposition to the shutdowns since last April.  As previously stated, two weeks of closure to flatten the curve was acceptable, but nothing after that. Now, nearly seven months later, California is still closed. Schools have not reopened. Small businesses are closed and will never come back. Life has stalled and one would think that the public would have reached the breaking point. Unfortunately, I see no sign of that in the San Francisco Bay area. The mantra remains, We are saving lives. Should I dare breathe a contrary notion, the scorn is palpable.  

The death of small businesses in this area, and all over the State, is profoundly depressing. Drive anywhere and all that can be seen is boarded up store fronts. Proprietors have lost their entire life’s work. How could any enterprise ever come back from seven months with a Temporarily Closed sign in the window?

Equally as sad, and an aspect I find extremely distressing, is what it has done to the old folks. I know of several mid-90-year-old’s who are spending their last days in isolation and in a state of deep depression. Actually, two of them have died, and it wasn’t from the virus. They were old, it was super-hot, and most people in this area do not have air conditioning, so I cannot say for certain that the lockdowns killed them. However, I do know that they spent their last months on this earth in a mental state that no one should have to endure. 

Anyone who has lived to the age of 95, still has their marbles, and is in decent shape, is a life to be celebrated. I am not sad when they go, but reflect on what an amazing life they led. Nonetheless, knowing how depressed all of these people are, because of the mandated rules, is heartbreaking. In conversations, both in person and on the phone, they constantly talk of how sad they feel. Cognitive decline, not noticeable six months ago, is clearly evident. Yet their friends and families are allowing this to happen. I know that my old friends are not concerned about catching Corvid and packing it in.  Afterall, not one of them had ever expected to live to nearly a century. So why should they be left to suffer in the isolation of their homes, or confined to their room in a senior center? I fail to understand how people happily comply with the State mandated rules to keep them locked up and alone. What sort of society does that?

There are countless other negative ramifications of these mandated rulings that have now done irreparable damage to the lives of all Californians, financially, physically, and emotionally.  And all without one good reason. Who, with even a modicum of intelligence, can actually believe that human beings can run away and hide from a pathogen? The virus needs to run its course as viruses have done down through the ages.

California, wake up. Our State is dying.

 

Question Authority

I grew up in the sixties in perhaps the most liberal city in the country, albeit when liberalism was quite a different animal. Back then, civil liberties mattered. As a teenager, my friends and I protested against the Viet Nam War. We demonstrated against the draft. We valued our freedoms and revered the First Amendment. Question Authority may have been the most popular bumper sticker of the times. 

The Gulag Archipelago, and 1984, were among mandatory reading material for the enlightened youth of my day. We well knew of the Soviet means of controlling their populations. We found it difficult to comprehend how a populace could go along with such measures. (Granted, there were more than a few who idolized Che and Cuba, or carried Mao’s Little Red Book, but that’s a topic for another day)

So why is it now, in 2020, that I am chastised by the old guard who used to cry foul when our civil liberties were at stake?  Why is it deemed wrong to express the opinion that we can both protect the vulnerable and get back to work and open schools? Why does no one seem to mind Big Brother intruding on our liberties a little more with each passing day? For the mere mention of what I consider to be huge government overreach that is causing far greater damage than any virus ever could, I am reprimanded.  

At some point during the lockdown, I decided it might be nice to check in with a few people I have known over the years just to make sure they were all well. In emails and texts, I calmly stated my thoughts regarding the situation and mentioned that it was time to get the economy going. I also expressed my distaste for the Stasi tactics of snitch lines, and my extreme anger at China for having done this to the world.

The replies I got were scathing. I was basically accused of being selfish, wanting people to die, and labeled an outright racist for calling out China. To say the least, I was shocked. One friend left a ranting voicemail that I needed to quit spreading far-right conspiracy lies. Afterall, she pointed out, she had read the truth on Facebook. I honestly did not know that people of my generation relied on news from Facebook. As I recall, we were all brought up to check references, as well as memorizing the adage: Don’t Believe Everything You Read.

As a self-described loner, who thought I would not be bothered by the isolation, I am finding that it really is getting to me. It has nothing to do with sitting alone in my house. It is the isolation of thought. I cannot express my opinion to friends, nor to any of the regular folks in line at the grocery store in this birthplace of the Free Speech Movement. I’m a mellow gal, and do not rant and rave. It’s not my style. Humor and smiles are my preferred mode of communication. However, if I say anything about the lockdown or China, I get a stern look, a shoulder shrug, along with we have to save people. I feel absolutely and totally alone in my views.

Except for when I talk to the workers holding things together, something I have always done, and make an extra effort to do these days. We commiserate, complain about the insanity, and laugh. I’ve worked in the service industry. I know what a friendly word, a thank you, or compliment means when you’re stuck behind a counter or stocking the aisles.

My new favorite place is Home Depot. Actually, it’s always been a favorite place, especially the garden center. I talk to the employees, the workers buying materials, and the few plant buyers. What could be better than walking around in the sunshine and sharing gardening tips? I feel alive and happy.

But then I get home and realize just how alone I am in my beliefs, surrounded by people who seem happy to give up their rights and bow to the whims of government control, all while disregarding the lives being devastated by the shutdown. Or the fact that Big Tech is currently censoring opposing views. It is quite depressing.

I have lived in countries where voicing an opinion that contradicted government policy landed you in the clink, at the very least. That experience is where I truly learned the greatness of our First Amendment. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that Americans might be in danger of losing those rights.  Furthermore, not in a million years did I ever think my compatriots would allow it to happen.