Arrested for Speaking Out at School Board Meeting - Video

The issue is, the meeting had some rules in effect, if it weren't for such rules, it would be chaotic.

He could have just be smart about it and wait for his turn.

originally posted by: luciddream
The issue is, the meeting had some rules in effect, if it weren't for such rules, it would be chaotic.

He could have just be smart about it and wait for his turn.

The man didn't break the "LAW" he simply violated a "RULE". There IS a difference! Thus such as he just broke a rule, he should have just been escorted from the meeting instead of being "ARRESTED"!

Gotta love Authoritarians.......

originally posted by: seeker1963
Gotta love Authoritarians.......

...and since this guy did not want to play by the rules, and would not let others take their turn, what would YOU have done as Chair?

originally posted by: luciddream
The issue is, the meeting had some rules in effect, if it weren't for such rules, it would be chaotic.

And the world isn't chaotic currently?

The man was arrested for speaking out of turn at an informal meeting. I hope people are getting the whole picture here, this is not a court of law and someone in contempt.

This man stood up for himself, his child and what he believed in, and in my mind he has what most Americans lack these day.

Guts.

originally posted by: JohnnyCanuck

originally posted by: seeker1963
Gotta love Authoritarians.......

...and since this guy did not want to play by the rules, and would not let others take their turn, what would YOU have done as Chair?

As I already stated, "Have him removed."!

He did not violate any law. He broke a rule!

originally posted by: Realtruth
The man was arrested for speaking out of turn at an informal meeting. I hope people are getting the whole picture here, this is not a court of law and someone in contempt.

...and since this guy did not want to play by the rules, and would not let others take their turn, what would YOU have done as Chair?

originally posted by: seeker1963

originally posted by: JohnnyCanuck

originally posted by: seeker1963
Gotta love Authoritarians.......

...and since this guy did not want to play by the rules, and would not let others take their turn, what would YOU have done as Chair?

As I already stated, "Have him removed."!

He did not violate any law. He broke a rule!

And if the cop says "come with me" and you don't, what happens then?

originally posted by: JohnnyCanuck
.....and since this guy did not want to play by the rules, and would not let others take their turn, what would YOU have done as Chair?

You're kidding right?

How many politicians, law makers, and authoritarians are playing by the rules these days?

Do as I say and not as I do.

Sound familiar?



What I would have done was ask him to leave, if he did not comply I would have ended the meeting, and rescheduled when people calmed down.

But this guy was not really that out of control. Did you see the video footage?

It was an over-reaction by authorities figures that shouldn't have the position they are in.

a reply to: JohnnyCanuck

If you have concerned parents, at least in Texas, they need to be given the floor to air grievances. I don't know how schools are set up in the OP or Canada.

But if i have concerns that need to be addressed, they damned well better bring closure to the matter before dismissing me. Why would I give a man in a suit a free pass? If anyone else tries to give my kids material that I find objectionable, I would poke them in the eye. At the very least, the chairman needs to recognize he has a duty to the parents to explain (or make an explanation available in a meeting with school officials ex post facto) what is going on.

Just because they act under the fallacy of "authority" does not mean that they don't answer to the tax payers.

a reply to: luciddream

Breaking a school board meeting rule ranks last on the list of issues in my opinion.

Issue 1. Schools assigning inappropriate reading assignments to students.

Issue 2. Parent arrested for voicing an opinion about inappropriate material in school.

Issue 3. Parents at the meeting totally ignore a man being arrested for
voicing his concern over inappropriate material at school.

Issue 4. Last, and certainly the least, a school board meeting rule was broken.

originally posted by: JohnnyCanuck

originally posted by: seeker1963

originally posted by: JohnnyCanuck

originally posted by: seeker1963
Gotta love Authoritarians.......

...and since this guy did not want to play by the rules, and would not let others take their turn, what would YOU have done as Chair?

As I already stated, "Have him removed."!

He did not violate any law. He broke a rule!

And if the cop says "come with me" and you don't, what happens then?

You already know the answer to that question don't you?

Disobey a cop in the United States and it isn't a secret any longer that you just might get pummeled half to death or worse.

Did you even read the full article??

The reason I am asking is that the school board NEVER has a police officer present at their meetings. They were aware of this father most likely showing up!

Therefore, they used their "Authoritarian Power" to make an example out of him.

EDIT: I apologize! I read a different article than the OP used and in the article I read it explained what I just brought up. MY bad. I will try to find the article I was referring to and post it.


2nd EDIT: Perhaps my beef will make more sense to you now?

Baer then contacted Principal Peter Sawyer of Gilford High School last Wednesday to arrange a meeting, but was told by Sawyer it would not be possible to meet before the weekend. Baer attended Monday’s meeting to make his concerns known to the school board. There was a police officer present at the meeting, Gilford Lt. James Leach. Youssef said that he had been told by other parents that it’s not common for police to be present at Gilford school board meetings.

Source

edit on 7-5-2014 by seeker1963 because: (no reason given)

originally posted by: seeker1963
Did you even read the full article??
The reason I am asking is that the school board NEVER has a police officer present at their meetings. They were aware of this father most likely showing up!
Therefore, they used their "Authoritarian Power" to make an example out of him.

I did read the article, and when the cop asked him to leave with him, the guy sat there and said repeatedly "I guess you're gonna have to arrest me".
So who's playing the system?

originally posted by: Realtruth
a reply to: Realtruth

Here is the video. Surreal at best. Pinch me please!

If everyone in the audience had any balls about them, they all would have stood up, told the cop to leave and told the school board to STFU and listen, the parents pay those idiots salaries.

Cheers - Dave

a reply to: JohnnyCanuck

So you believe he should be arrested for speaking over the 2 min rule. I think in this case he had a right to.
I bet your one of them sat in the front row, you may as well be...

There is nothing wrong with WHAT he said, which i agree.

I have a problem with WHEN he said it and HOW he handled the situation.



Its like you guys are okay if some bully cuts in line because he has to get his lunch before you all.

Civility and respect, do you have it?

Sometimes I wonder what kind of people really post on ATS...

Here someone not following meeting rules, even after being told to stop, decided to continue and obstruct meeting. If i was chair, I would boot him as well, as nothing productive would ever come from parent like that. There are ways he could object and question given book, but this is not the way he should have done it, and surely not by rising his voice and talking without given permission.

As for material, wonder if he lets his kid read bible, as there are stories in bible that are far worst then what he calls pornographic story in that book.

9th graders is usually 15-16 year old - I would be worried if my parents checked everything I've read at that time... Tho, I grow up in different surroundings, never experienced restrictions on TV, movies, alcohol etc. like kids here...

a reply to: LadyJae

Besides the sexually explicit material, is this a good book to show to incoming freshman at a H.S.?? Especially a New Hampshire High School????

Jodi Picoult's 14th novel, Nineteen Minutes, deals with the truth and consequences of a smalltown high-school shooting. Set in Sterling, New Hampshire, Picoult offers reads a glimpse of what would cause a 17-year-old to wake up one day, load his backpack with four guns, and kill nine students and one teacher in the span of nineteen minutes. As with any Picoult novel, the answers are never black and white, and it is her exceptional ability to blur the lines between right and wrong that make this author such a captivating storyteller.
On Peter Houghton's first day of kindergarten, he watched helplessly as an older boy ripped his lunch box out of his hands and threw it out the window. From that day on, his life was a series of humiliations, from having his pants pulled down in the cafeteria, to being called a freak at every turn. But can endless bullying justify murder?

originally posted by: JohnnyCanuck

originally posted by: seeker1963
Did you even read the full article??
The reason I am asking is that the school board NEVER has a police officer present at their meetings. They were aware of this father most likely showing up!
Therefore, they used their "Authoritarian Power" to make an example out of him.

I did read the article, and when the cop asked him to leave with him, the guy sat there and said repeatedly "I guess you're gonna have to arrest me".
So who's playing the system?

SO lets just call the Police policy enforcers,

AS that what he is doing, enforcing a school POLICY, not a law.

Why were Officers even at the meeting in the first place?

a reply to: virraszto
Yup, and there's always somebody who just won't Sierra Tango Foxtrot Uniform and let the rest of the people talk, or let things move along. Judging by this longer video, this guy set things up, and he challenged the Chair to have him arrested...numerous times! Sorry Sparky...careful what you ask for.

originally posted by: SuperFrog
Sometimes I wonder what kind of people really post on ATS...

Here someone not following meeting rules, even after being told to stop, decided to continue and obstruct meeting. If i was chair, I would boot him as well, as nothing productive would ever come from parent like that. There are ways he could object and question given book, but this is not the way he should have done it, and surely not by rising his voice and talking without given permission.

Thankfully our forefathers didn't think this way and spoke out even when they broke the rules, obstructed meetings and stood up for what they thought was just.

A man was arrested for speaking out in an formal meeting. And just because he asked to be arrested is not sufficient grounds for arrest, diligent police officers know this.

Also speaking up at a meeting, or out of turn of roberts rules of order is not itself an offense to be incarcerated. Bad arrest and bad decision by the school board.

The meeting should have been adjourned immediately and no one should have been arrested.