Emma Sullivan, a senior at Shawnee Mission East High School in Prairie Village, was in Topeka on Monday as part of Kansas Youth in Government, a program for students interested in politics and government. During the session, in which Brownback addressed the group, Sullivan posted on her personal Twitter page: “Just made mean comments at gov brownback and told him he sucked, in person #heblowsalot”. On Tuesday, Sullivan was called to her principal’s office and told that the tweet had been flagged by someone on Brownback’s staff and reported to organizers of the Youth in Government program. […] Sullivan said the principal ordered her to write letters of apology to Brownback, the school’s Youth in Government sponsor, the district’s social studies coordinator and others.
Remember when Republicans revered the Constitution, even the parts that protect speech and expression (that they don’t approve of)? Yeah, me either. Now that the Supreme Court has established that our children don’t enjoy freedom of speech and/or expression, you’d think that they’d understand that adults charged with edumicating them have the absolute right to censor and control how they express themselves. And yet children continue trying to express themselves. When will they learn?
Evidently, Kansas Governor Sam Brownback (R-Jesusland) has so little to do that he and his staff are reduced to monitoring the Twitter feeds of high school students. Not being willing to tolerate anything they define as dissent, particularly among Kansas’ young ‘uns, they seemingly have no problem with violating the same 1st Amendment they profess to revere.
Yes, now speaking out against Gov. Brownback while a minor is a punishable offense. After all, since the young ‘uns have no 1st Amendment rights, adults have the absolute right to proscribe any speech that they find unacceptable. Of course, there are circumstances where children do cross the line, but the expression of a dissenting opinion against a Republican Governor? That’s a beat-down looking for a place to happen.
Could Ms. Sullivan have found a better and perhaps more diplomatic way to express herself? Possibly. But how is it that a school, in collaboration with Gov. Brownback, can deny a student the legitimate expression of her opinion on her personal Twitter account- a forum that has no connection with her school? Remember the 1st Amendment? It appears that some speech is more protected than others.
Remember, kids; when a Conservative expresses a negative opinion about a Liberal, it’s protected speech. When a Liberal expresses a negative opinion about a Conservative, it’s the worst sort of hate speech and incitement to dissent imaginable.
