The Oklahoman: This Is Not Civil Discourse

Editorial In The Oklahoman ~ If children acted the way some adults did at this week's lively Oklahoma City School Board meeting, we'd have to wonder where their parents were. Instead, it was the grown-ups who put on an embarrassing sideshow we hope no children witnessed.

Most offensive were references to race, slavery and "high-tech lynching” that defy common sense. Is there a power struggle happening at 900 N Klein, home of the school district's administrator? Absolutely. Is it about race? Absolutely not. Even suspended Superintendent John Q. Porter has said race has nothing to do with the upheaval.

It's a good thing when members of the community show up in support of a leader they believe in. Truth is, that kind of community involvement is almost always a good thing. But it quickly becomes bad when adults forgo any semblance of order and respect and begin yelling and screaming and throwing out racially charged phrases.

No doubt those people who trekked to the meeting had valid concerns. Accusing the superintendent of the state's second-largest school district of financial improprieties, poor communication and mistreating employees is no small matter. The public ought to be concerned. But Porter's supporters lost credibility when the shouting match began and, even worse, prevented those observing respectfully from hearing a lot of what was being said.

We're reminded of similar bad behavior from some of those who oppose the state's new immigration law. Instead of giving their well-reasoned concerns time to resonate with people, they resort to hateful speech and ridiculous comparisons to historic tragedies.

Free speech laws give people the freedom to make stupid and even untrue statements and to get loud while doing so. But we owe it to ourselves and our community to use speech wisely and not allow public disagreements to become circus-like free-for-alls.

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