Summer News and Blues: Cataracts, Technology and a little Marxist analysis tossed in

Sunday, July 15, 2018

This post falls into the category of NOGAC - No One Gives a Crap, so why am I posting this about my life? For me so I can remember what it was like to be active when I no longer can be. So if you're a NOGAC, don't click below the fold.

'We're militant again': US teachers at convention galvanized by wave of strikes

“I am more than excited than ever,” said Weingarten. “They rue the day they decided to come after us because it’s motivated us even more.... Addressing the meeting on Friday former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said: “We have to gear up again, because the challenges we face now are truly unlike any we have seen for some time.”

This Guardian piece is almost funny if you watch some of the same-old same-old reactions coming out of the AFT convention in Pittsburgh where the 800 Unity slugs have gathered at our expense to endorse anything Randi tells them to do. Eterno has a report here.
Remember my dictum - watch what they do not what they say.

This was sent to me by a retired chapter leader who opposed Unity with this comment -- Yeah right. She gets it.

While many are galvanized about the red state teacher rank and file rebellions, we know that they went beyond the AFT and NEA leaderships which always urge holding back. At the AFT convention they didn't even want to mention the word "strike", a PR move as they probably assume that the public shudders at the word. So work stoppage is the code word. I would bet that a number of teachers in those red states were on Hillary's deplorable list.

School Scope: The UFT and Janus – Should I stay or should I go? - Reprised

I reworked my blog (Why Stay?) on "Should I Stay or Should I Go?" for this week's WAVE column, which has a different audience -- or no audience. My word limit for published work forces me to be more concise - less wordy is better - I guess. To be published - today - I hope.

School Scope: The UFT and Janus – Should I stay or should I go?
By Norm Scott

Darling, you got to let me know
Should I stay or should I go?
If you say that you are mine
I'll be here till the end of time
So you got to let me know
Should I stay or should I go?

... The Clash, “Should I stay of should I go” from the 1982 album Combat Rock, https://youtu.be/BN1WwnEDWAM

These lyrics are resonating with UFT members after the Supreme Court Janus decision that makes paying dues to public unions voluntary, though on the surface remaining in the union would seem to be a no brainer. But some members have questioned just how much and how often the union made them feel they counted over the decades.

It's always tease, tease, tease
You're happy when I'm on my knees
One day it's fine and next it's black
So if you want me off your back
Well, come on and let me know
Should I stay or should I go?

This verse is so apt. The union leadership loves them when it needs them. This past school year we saw a number of schools being closed. The two Rockaway schools (PS 42 and MS 53) received a reprieve by the skin of their teeth and some in those schools are giving the UFT some credit for standing up for them and possibly influencing a crucial tie-breaking vote on the Panel for Educational Policy. We might see many of the teachers in these schools responding by staying in the union. But what happens in the other schools that did close or be consolidated, with teachers being tossed into the purgatory of the ATR pool where their entire career turns into being a high-salaried sub, possibly for life? They may be asking,

Should I stay or should I go now?
Should I stay or should I go now?
If I go, there will be trouble
And if I stay it will be double
So come on and let me know

Yes, if thousands leave the union there will be trouble, but it will be double if those who decide to remain but are agitated at what they see as a weak UFT end up being a thorn in the side if they organize internal resistance under the threat of leaving the union.

Right wing groups are organizing an active campaign to leave the union. The Rupert Murdoch owned anti-union NY Post headlined a piece called “Group wants to teach workers how to stop paying union dues.” I predict these campaigns will backfire and lead to exposing their overall assault on public workers and give some clarity to the motives to destroy the teaching profession.

Why pay union dues? I would pay just on the basis of showing solidarity with my co-workers who do pay, for the sake of school unity. Your biggest enemy is not the UFT leadership but certain supervisors and their enablers at the DOE. It is so hard to fight back even with the union. There will be some angry internal voices in schools where some people do not join the union and are barred from going to union meetings and don’t get help when they need it from the union rep. Imagine a divided school where the principal uses members vs. non-members against each other. Public schools may become like charters where administrators openly discourage unions.

There is some hope that the UFT will show its members some love.
So you gotta let me know
Should I cool it or should I blow?

Norm as a retiree isn’t affected by Janus and is cooling it so he can continue to make trouble double at ednotesonline.com.

Can you be so woke you stop laughing? BBC Video Tests Sense of Humor on the Left

When you so woke, you asleep. ... this support group is for people who are so woke they aren't having any fun....  BBC Comedy Video

https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Woke

Getting woke is like being in the Matrix and taking the red pill. You get a sudden understanding of what's really going on and find out you were wrong about ...

I aspire to be more woke than I am but not so woke I inspire the non-woke or semi-woke to roll their eyes - or to make a video like this mocking me. I think of this since tomorrow is family day out on Long Island with some unwoke people.

Upon seeing this BBC Comedy satire on people who are woke to every possible slight -- political correctness to the extreme -- some MORE members said it reminded them of a MORE meeting (MORE and the Mission from God, Part II) where you can get purged for political incorrectness.

So while getting a laugh I also took seriously some of the critical comments posted at the BBC video about mocking people who have been raising consciousness about issues related to gender, race etc. Even seniors.

My favorite line in the video is when she tells the millennials they will be conservatives by the time they are in their 30s. As someone out of the radical 1960s I can testify to how true this turned out to be for so many. Maybe these times are different - maybe the current economic and social stuff going on is the equivalent to the draft in the 60s and this stuff ain't going away so we may see more staying power on the left.

I may make fun of MORE PC stuff but I can certainly say that my own insights have been broadened through the contact I've had with so many woke people -- I'm more Woke than ever. Yet can we also have a sense of humor about some of this stuff? I know we laugh a lot more when ICEUFT people get get together -- people who are also woke - than we do at a MORE meeting.

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10155552204996778&id=130593816777&refsrc=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F&_rdr

Here's the difference between a 'socialist' and a 'Democratic socialist' - Business Insider

"The academic debates about socialism's 'meaning' are huge and arcane and rife with disagreements, but what all definitions have in common is either the elimination of the market or its strict containment," Frances Fox Piven, a political scientist at the City University of New York and a former DSA board member, told Vox....

In the present day, "Democratic socialist" and "socialist" are often treated as interchangeable terms, which can be confusing given Democratic socialists don't necessarily think the government should immediately take control of all aspects of the economy.

They do, however, generally believe the government should help provide for people's most basic needs and help all people have an equal chance at achieving success....... 
In the present day, "Democratic socialist" and "socialist" are often treated as interchangeable terms, which can be confusing given Democratic socialists don't necessarily think the government should immediately take control of all aspects of the economy. ...They do, however, generally believe the government should help provide for people's most basic needs and help all people have an equal chance at achieving success. ..... Business Insider

WTF - here we have a bastion of capitalist press splainin socialism. But as I pointed to in my last post - mainstream media is being forced to pay some attention. Just never forget that they have a goal -- to disparage socialist concepts - so read mainstream media with a grain of salt. But here is at least an attempt to distinguish between Bernie soc-dems and other forms of socialism that are closer to communism -- the name change for them has been for cosmetic reasons.

As a student of history, I view the Democratic Socialists as the equivalent of the Menshiviks in Russia c. 1917. We know what happened to them when the Bolsheviks took power. But then again the entire world teamed up against the Bolsheviks and extraordinary means were necessary -- except that ended up going on for 70 years or certainly the Stalin years.

We know that Leninists don't have the same view of democracy as liberals do. Their parties operate on democratic centralism -- supposed internal democratic decision making by members of the party and then adherence to the line by everyone -- in other words - there are no minority rights or factions allowed who support the minority. Minority or diverse views being respected is a core of democracy for me. The UFT/Unity Caucus and even the alternative, MORE, both don't seem to want to hear minority views. In MORE when you express disagreement you are charged with negativity. Or if you use a few harsh words out of frustration, bad tone (Tone Policing Used as an Anti-debate Tool by Left ...).

As a public service Ed Notes will be on the case with our own distorted views of the many shades of socialism from a lifetime of bouncing around the edges.

http://www.businessinsider.com/difference-between-socialist-and-democratic-socialist-2018-6

Here's the difference between a 'socialist' and a 'Democratic socialist'

Mainstream media grapples with a left-wing wave

Is there a real left-wing wave or are we seeing a few ripples? Ed Notes will be on the case to help you decipher the issues with a series of posts on the left -- including what the hell the left is -- my right wing friends view the NY Times as left. I will be posting a follow up from Business Insider attempting to define social democracy - Bernie territory - socialists who believe in liberal democracy compared to socialist who believe in a one party system.

https://www.cjr.org/the_media_today/mainstream-media-grapples-with-a-left-wing-wave.php
 - Columbia Journalism Review

Mainstream media grapples with a left-wing wave

By Jon Allsop, CJR

July 2, 2018 

The last few days have been seismic for the American left. Last Tuesday, the insurgent Democratic candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez scored an upset primary victory in New York, unseating heavyweight Congressman Joe Crowley. The next day, Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his retirement, girding the left for a nomination fight that could put Roe v. Wade—and other settled rights for immigrants and minorities—back on the table. And over the weekend, protesters across the country marched to oppose the separation of families at the US–Mexico border.
On Sunday, CNN’s Brian Stelter discussed sharp, ongoing criticism that mainstream media outlets failed to spot Ocasio-Cortez’s rise with The New Yorker’s Jelani Cobb (who is also a professor at Columbia Journalism School) and Vox’s Liz Plank. “Do you buy into the idea the press missed the story?” asked Stelter. “I think it’s pretty obvious,” Cobb replied. Don’t just follow the money, “follow the tweets,” added Plank, referring to Crowley’s huge, yet futile, fundraising advantage over Ocasio-Cortez.

https://www.cjr.org/the_media_today/mainstream-media-grapples-with-a-left-wing-wave.php

Why Stay? Anthem for UFTers - Should I stay or should I go? - The Clash

If I go there will be trouble, if I stay there will be double... The Clash

I'm a fan of The Clash and Should I stay of should I go is a good theme song many UFTers are facing. Try it out. (See lyrics below). The line above is interesting because if those who are most agitated about leaving due to what they consider a weak UFT in defending themselves stay they could be a thorn in the side. Thus my theory that the leadership doesn't really mind if its most vocal critics left. Remember that 12,000 UFT members voted for the opposition in the last election in 2016, a serious number of unhappy people with Unity.




https://youtu.be/BN1WwnEDWAM

With right wing groups organizing people to leave the union - see this NY Post piece - https://nypost.com/2018/07/05/group-wants-to-teach-workers-how-to-stop-paying-union-dues/

I predict these campaigns will backfire and lead to exposing the attacks on teachers and give some clarity to the motives to destroy the profession as they tie into the same people supporting the anti-union charters. (I still maintain that the school privatization movement represents as big a threat to teacher unions as Janus.

In response to the people on the ICEUFT blog who ask why they should pay in response to my comment about the problems with the UFT leadership, here is my response:

Why pay union dues? Good question. Let's just focus on the local not the big union aspect -- the union in your own school.
I would pay just on the basis of showing solidarity with my co-workers who do pay. For the sake of school wide unity - small u.
Your biggest enemy is not the UFT leadership but most likely some of your supervisors and their enablers at the DOE.

Even with the union it is so hard to fight back against these people.
Try to imagine a divided school where the principal can use the wedge against you all. It could also go the other way where some principals support the idea of a union and punish those who leave -- but I don't see this as the norm.

So an anti-union principal encourages people to leave the union -- devastate the chapter so there is no pushback at all and also no place at all to go to complain -- even if the UFT is poor in responding -- just the fact it exists can be a factor.

Now the other reason is that in a state of having to cater to get you to pay dues the UFT/Unity become more responsive and maybe even willing to fight. Don't hold you breath -- but if people actually banded together - say in a school with an abusive principal and threatened to leave the union en masse unless there was some action -- but you would give them time -- like a year.

Now imagine a whole bunch of schools banding together -- and also saying they will stay in the union but organize people to seek out other representation unless the union reforms democratically.

I've been paying dues voluntarily for 16 years since I retired because I support the concept of unionism and want to stay involved.

James Eterno just retired and is covered under his wife's health plan and could walk away but he is passionate about staying involved.
What is interesting is that the Unity crowd ignores that some of the most passionate support comes from its internal critics and Unity sectarianism means people like us will never be allowed to actually go into schools and support people.

We could mobilize a group of retirees who are not Unity in a second and I believe out critical view of the UFT would allow us to be able to really talk to people the way we do on our blogs instead of going in like a used car salesman to sell fluff.

On the other hand I could understand Unity not wanting to send in people associated with opposition caucuses, fearing they will misuse their access to organize against the leadership -- a valid point and something I've been grappling with in my developing theories of the uncaucus --- what is the point in working in opposition when there is little chance to topple Unity? (But more on this in the future.)

Look deep into the lyrics. People want to stay but it's always tease, tease, tease --- one day its fine and next its black

Reposting - Republicans Are Terrified of What Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Started

I accidentally deleted my previous post which went into some commentary on my part which is now lost in space forever. So I am just going to republish this without commentary. Sorry, a few of you left comments but they were lost too. Feel free to put them back.

I just heard a clip from Alexandria from Meet the Press in which she was asked about her socialist identification and had a good answer. (I must delve into the different socialisms very soon we know what we are talking about.)

Republicans Are Terrified of What Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Started

Jay Willis
GQ•July 2, 2018

It took the right-wing pundit class all of four days to decide how it planned to attack Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the 28-year-old Bronx native who won her New York City congressional district's Democratic primary on the strength of some really, really good policy ideas. Their chosen approach, however, might be characterized as a novel one. You should know, says this basic-cable talking head, that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez—and this is a Certified Politics Bombshell, so please make sure you're in a place where you can audibly gasp—grew up in a house.

Look at this dwelling! Feast your eyes on the scale of its opulence! Why, it has a roof, and trees, and several windows! Its walls completely enclose the living area so as to protect its habitants from the elements! By golly, I bet if you were granted access to the home's interior, you might even find a refrigerator in which Ocasio-Cortez's family could store perishable food for consumption several days beyond its purchase date! How, he might ask, can someone be poor if they also eat food?

Set aside, for a moment, the fact that Ocasio-Cortez attended Boston University, which is neither "Ivy League" nor "Brown University." (Set aside, too, how creepy it is to post on social media a Google Street View image of whatever now exists at the site of someone's former home as a gotcha argument.) Cardillo's implicit assertion is that because a cherry-picked aspect of her childhood does not comport with his lazy, pernicious stereotypes about the lives of working-class people of color, she must therefore be an inauthentic liar.

The candidate responded, in order, by correcting his mistakes and putting him in a blender.

Her first point is the sicker burn, but her second one is what will matter in November. Cardillo, a Queens native and former Bronx police officer, won't address Ocasio-Cortez's "radical" socialist agenda on the merits because he understands that Ocasio-Cortez's "radical" socialist agenda is popular enough to win elections: With neither political experience nor big-donor money to her name, she unseated a ten-term incumbent by outlining a bold vision for this country in which those who live in it can lead fuller and more dignified lives. This terrifies him. And so, instead of staking out the absurd position that things like "women's rights," "housing as a human right," and "supporting seniors" must be bad—seriously, no one in conservative media tells on themselves more willingly than Sean Hannity—Cardillo abandoned good-faith criticism altogether. It went about as well as you'd expect.

Ocasio-Cortez is the first to admit that her platform isn't likely to be adopted wholesale by the national Democratic Party in the immediate future. But oftentimes, the surest sign of a viable political strategy is the extent to which its successful deployment makes your opponents nervous. If they want to have any hope of slowing the movement of which she is now the most prominent member, Cardillo and his peers will need to come up with a better plan in a hurry. Dumb tweets about a house aren't going to cut it.

 https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/republicans-terrified-alexandria-ocasio-cortez-165942526.html?.tsrc=fauxdal

 7,239 reactions

Lessons from ISIS for UFT/Unity in the Age of Janus

In a terrorist version of the “broken window” school of policing, the Islamic State aggressively prosecuted minor crimes in the communities it took over, winning points with residents who were used to having to pay bribes to secure police help.... the Islamic State, also known as ISIS, was willing — even eager — to get involved in the messy details of people’s day-to-day lives, and conversely that hundreds of people trusted them to fairly resolve their issues, no matter how trivial.... NY Times,The Case of the Purloined Poultry: How ISIS Prosecuted Petty Crime

I'll admit that I'm making a weird comparison here, but read on. The UFT leadership must win points with the members which is one reason some members view the Janus decision as a good thing --- putting pressure on the union leaders to address the major concerns of the members.

In some ways they may be trying. Parental leave was a direct response to the Emily James' 80,000 sigs petition, which after Mike Schirtzer brought her to a UFT Ex Bd meeting, Mulgrew seemed to get on the stick. There is also the seeming move to two evaluations a year despite the union's constant defense of the 4 evals -- this may have been one of the major push-button unhappiness issues in the rank and file.

But, look at the comments on various blogs about the lack of service and response from the UFT/Unity leadership on many issues - note especially the issues with the massively flawed grievance process that the leadership has not attempted to redress - even having weakened it in the 2005 contract.

Now, there are some effective people who work for the union. I was wondering that when they have to cut staff, will these be the people retained or will those who suck up effectively survive? Or will the loyalty oath prevail?

A dew weeks ago we ran into an old UFT/Unity party member who held a position who castigated Mulgrew and the few leaders who hold sway on their refusing to listen to even other Unity people who want to see some change as necessary -- it is just not in their DNA.

There are some interesting lessons in this NY Times piece on how ISIS won some level of support from the populace - by taking care of fundamental disputes. Think of this on the level of issues that arise in schools and the UFT is looked to for some assistance. Now of course ISIS had a few arrows in their quiver to enforce their decisions. But I am focusing on the fact that they were aware that gaining support is not only about top down rule but in providing some service.

Justice was swift and efficient, mostly because no one wanted to risk punishment at the hands of the militants. Yet the fact that hundreds of civilians filed complaints, including against ISIS fighters who had wronged them, suggests that at least some Iraqis believed the terrorist group would do right by them.

Even residents who suffered abuses at the hands of the militants gave them points for their policing, saying that for nonreligious disputes, they were not only fair but also willing to wade into problems that might have been brushed off by most authorities.

Would the Iraqi government have pursued the case of a stolen chicken?

“They wouldn’t have even heard this complaint because it was only for 4,000,” or $3.50, said Mr. Imad’s younger brother, Alosh Imad. “You have to have wasta — a connection to someone,” for the police to take your case under consideration, he explained. “As far as justice was concerned,” he said, “ISIS was better than the government.”

Solution to abusive principals

OK, so we don't have the power to behead abusive principals. Can we get that in the next contract? 

Or will we one day see certain people in a shrinking UFT/Unity Caucus being led to the guillotine along with their pal superintendents and principal and the leaders of the abuse supporting CSA?

Lessons from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez win

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's victory is a shot across the bow of the Democratic machine. Here's how it happened.

https://jacobinmag.com/2018/06/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-election-crowley-democratic-socialists

The left is a very wide place, from liberal/left to the many varieties of Marxist_Leninists, Stalinists, Trotskyists, anarchists, social democrats (like Bernie). The DSA is a wide tent and its future is always going to be threatened by sectarianism.

This Jacobin piece makes many interesting points. I haven't joined or participated in Democratic Socialists of America events yet but given the Bernie politics I fundamentally support, I guess this is where I am at politically. DSA is attracting a wide-spread range of people who consider themselves socialists, or anti-capitalists. There is much debate on the left as to how much to align with the Democratic Party -- ie - can it be reformed or should it be used to build something else. I'm thinking things through with this victory over Crowley -- the wing of the Dem party our own beloved UFT hangs out with. Never forget that the UFT/Unity party was born out of an anti-left bias and has always tacked center of the road along with alliances with neocons.

So within the UFT itself, will we see a left surge? Knowing some of the left in the UFT, including some members of DSA, I don't see that happening, but if the energy that went into the Ocasio-Cortez victory were translated to the UFT, who knows?

Why Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Won

By

Michael Kinnucan

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's victory is a shot across the bow of the Democratic machine. Here's how it happened.

Brooke Parker exposes sham of @CenturyFoundation report on "diversity by design" charter schools

the corporation was projected to receive a total of about $5.6 million dollars by 2016, with more than half of these funds to be provided by NYC taxpayers. ...charter school carpetbaggers attempted to exploit some of the fears of white parents moving into an area with public schools composed of mostly Black and Hispanic students.... For all their talk of diversity, their internal leaked “marketing plan” identified their primary targets in Williamsburg as “Middle/Upper income/predominantly White” and in Crown Heights, “middle/upper income" parents.....Brooke Parker

Exposing charter school scams is some of our favorite reading. I've known Brooke Parker for many years through our Williamsburg connections. She is relentless. Leonie publishes her latest on her blog.

Leonie writes:

Brooke Parker exposes sham of Century Foundation report on "diversity by design" charter schools via leaked Citizens of the World marketing plan and exorbitant fees..
Please share!

Here is Leonie's introduction on the blog:

Here is a column by Brooke Dunn Parker, Brooklyn parent activist, about a recent controversial report by the Century Foundation, which identified 125 charter schools that are supposedly “diverse by design” – though on the whole, most analysts find that charters have  had a segregating effect, according to the AP, NBC News, and the UCLA Civil Rights Project.

Moreover, this list of 125 schools was selected from 5,692 charter schools – only a tiny number.  The methodology is also questionable.  The authors identify these schools by analyzing their enrollment, websites and survey responses from school leaders.  Though the Century Foundation sent their survey about diversity to 971 charter schools, only 86 responded – which means that nearly 40 schools were put on the list even though the school leaders couldn’t be bothered to answer their survey.  
Several Success Academy charter schools were included on their list, including Success Academy Upper West, which has had multiple civil  rights complaints lodged by parents against it.  Finally, the report was financed by the Walton Foundation, the largest private funder of charter schools, who no doubt would like to whitewash their poor record of civil rights abuses.  Please read  the Network for Public Education and Schott Foundation report on how many charter schools violate students’ civil rights.

Check out Brooke’s dive into the issue, informed by her experience with one of the supposedly “diverse by design” charter networks highlighted in the report, Citizens of the World Charter Schools. Brooke has previously written about these schools on our blog, here and here.

 https://nycpublicschoolparents.blogspot.com/2018/06/brooke-parker-exposes-sham-of-century.html


Brooke Parker has fought and exposed Citizens of the World charter when they invaded Williamsburg, Brooklyn. They used Eva Moskowitz' husband, Eric Grannis. Ed Notes published a bunch of stuff on the family scam.

Here is one on Brooke I published back in 2012:

Eric Grannis, Eva Moskowitz husband.

WAGPOPS Brilliant Expose of Citizens of the World Charter Ponzi ...

https://ednotesonline.blogspot.com/2012/.../wagpops-brilliant-expose-of-citizerns.htm...

1. 
   

We believe that there is a place in public education for charter schools, but Citizens of the World is bastardizing the original intent of charter schools. ...

Brooke left this comment on the role Eric Grannis played:
Eric Grannis didn’t start it, but he created an organization, Tapestry, that made introductions between the “community,” the charter network that already existed in California, and SUNY. Tapestry was designed to help open charters in North Brooklyn, a district where we already had the most charters outside of Harlem. Tapestry’s marketing led many of us to believe that they were particularly interested in getting white gentrifying families invested in opening charters for their kids. - Brooke Parker

and a few more ed notes pieces:

Community Outrage: What is Eva Moskowitz's husband Eric Grannis ...

https://ednotesonline.blogspot.com/2012/01/community-outrage-what-is-eva.html

1. 
   
2. 
   

Jan 27, 2012 - There is so much going on around the Eva Moskowitz Success Charter invasion of Williamsburg (and Cobble Hill) that I could do 5 blogs a day.

Ed Notes Online: Eric Grannis (Eva Hubby) Charter Failure - Two ...

https://ednotesonline.blogspot.com/2017/.../eric-grannis-eva-hubby-charter-failure.ht...

1. 
   

Dec 18, 2017 - Eva Moskowitz' was involved in the scheme early on, as Brooke Parker from WAGPOPS reports: Eric Grannis didn't start it, but he created an ...

Ed Notes Online: Trashing Citizens of the World Scam Charter ...

https://ednotesonline.blogspot.com/2013/.../trashing-citizens-of-world-scam-charter.ht...

1. 
   

Trashing Citizens of the World Scam Charter Scheme. As registration is happening for citizens of the world (part of Eva Moskowitz empire), if you could circulate these negative articles and have everyone click on them, it would be very helpful. We need to let everyone know that there is significant opposition.

Ed Notes Online: Parents Opposed to Citizens of the World Charter ...

https://ednotesonline.blogspot.com/2012/12/parents-opposed-to-citizens-of-world.html

1. 
   

Dec 5, 2012 - Parents Opposed to Citizens of the World Charter: Hundreds, Parents in Favor: 4. The NY State Dept. would allow the Hitler Youth Charter to breeze through and not only would they authorize the Ku Klux Klan Charter School for Racial Harmony but they would wash the sheets. -- Norm at charter hearing.

And here is a Daily News piece:

Charter school boss Eva Moskowitz's husband's group seeks to open ...

www.nydailynews.com/.../moskowitz-hubby-open-new-charter-schools-nabe-success-... Feb 27, 2012 - Group affiliated with Success head Eva Moskowitz's husband Eric Grannis is also looking to open a charter school in Williamsburg. (Bryan ...

Tone Policing Used as an Anti-debate Tool by Left Right and Center

In his Letter from a Birmingham Jail, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. condemned this type of silencing, writing that he was "gravely disappointed" with the "white moderate, who is more devoted to ‘order’ than justice."^{[3] ... Wikipedia}

On NPR's "On the Media" this morning I heard a discussion of tone policing and how attacks on protestors who are viewed as "going too far" has been used to subvert the message. https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/problem-with-civility

The Problem with Civility

 It is worth listening to.



I'll admit I also react badly to what looks like uncivil behavior. Like I wasn't for tossing Sarah Huckabee out of the restaurant. The owner who did that also killed her business. So there are consequences.

But having just been through years of being lectured about my tone by the tone police in MORE and seeing Mike Schirtzer purged under the cover of his "tone" when in fact it was a political purge, this story struck a note. I had not heard the expression "tone policing" as a way to deflect debate and yet I saw this in action in MORE on numerous occasions, with the final straw being taking an open discussion listserve and putting it under moderation which has in essence killed all debate in MORE.

Mission accomplished.

It was funny as the same faction, all aligned politically, tried to control the listerves when we were in GEM, so I had an inkling that some form of political policing was behind the tone attacks. But this morning I heard it discussed in the main stream media for the first time. 

The wiki item below focuses on tone policing as being used against women and minorities and the left, but it also comes from the left, especially from the sectarian left which always tries to control voices that don't align with their particular sect. On the other hand, to be fair, people do have a right to complain about tone if they are offended - that is fine. But what I found is that I would put out a serious argument and the tone police would ignore the entire argument and chastise me on tone. Sure, tell me I could avoid using a certain tone -- good friends have told me that curbing my sarcasm would strengthen my arguments.

So I tried very hard to avoid giving people an excuse to avoid my political points. The result? They just ignored what I was saying altogether. Dead silence. So now I avoid commenting at all inside the MORE bubble and will use Ed Notes to make my points.

Tone policing (also tone trolling, tone argument and tone fallacy) is an ad hominem and antidebate appeal based on genetic fallacy. It attempts to detract from the validity of a statement by attacking the tone in which it was presented rather than the message itself.

Tone policing - Wikipedia

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tone_policing

In Keith Bybee's How Civility Works, he notes that feminists, Black Lives Matter protesters, and anti-war protesters have been told to "calm down and try to be more polite". He argues that tone policing is a means to deflect attention from injustice and relocate the problem in the style of the complaint, rather than address the complaint itself.^[2] In his Letter from a Birmingham Jail, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. condemned this type of silencing, writing that he was "gravely disappointed" with the "white moderate, who is more devoted to ‘order’ than justice."^[3]

While ad hominem fallacies of relevance are often autologies, critics have argued that tone policing is a flawed concept simply because it is autological. As discussed by The Frisky's Rebecca Vipond Brink, the act of labeling tone policing may itself be considered tone policing:

The problem with telling someone that you have a right to express yourself as angrily as you want to without them raising an objection is that you’re also inherently telling them that they don’t have a right to be angry about the way you’re addressing them.^[4]

— Rebecca Vipond Brink, Calling Out Tone-Policing Has Become Tone-Policing

Bruce Byfield has written that steering observers away from the validity of an argument is only one of many possible motivations for raising concerns about tone during a heated debate.^[5] An article on The Good Men Project has argued that moderating tone, whether or not one cares about civility, is useful for increasing persuasive impact on the listener.^[6]