KSU Protest Led by State Representative.
State Representative Earl Ehrhart (R-Powder Springs) is assigned to the committee that determines which public universities in Georgia get tax dollars. Recently, an open records request uncovered Ehrhart used his position to pressure the President of Kennesaw State University to act in favor of his personal bias. Ehrhart was apparently offended by the KSU cheerleaders’ choice to kneel with their hands over their heart during the playing of the national anthem.
When citizens speak up about their beliefs to influence people it is protected by the first amendment. When an elected official with the power to threaten the public funds of a public institution influences the leadership of the school it is a conflict of interest, unethical, breach of fiduciary duty and should not be protected by the first amendment.
Let’s review for the people who have been living under a rock because you may not understand why a State Representative would unethically wield his power to unfairly influence the first amendment rights of teenagers. Particularly since, prior to this whole affair most people sat drinking a beer on Sunday afternoons while the anthem played.
October 2016 a football player can no longer sit silent in the face of the deaths of American citizens at the hands of law enforcement. Army vet urges football player to kneel the same way members of the military kneel at the graves of fallen soldiers out of respect.
He kneels for the deaths of Americans and it is disrespect. They kneel for the death of Americans and it is respect?
A handful of football players join in to use their public platform to protest police brutality. NFL uses its platform and does not renew the contract of the lead player in protest of his stance on an uncomfortable issue.
He uses his platform for protest and it is disrespect. They use their platform in protest and it is their right?
2017 more players kneel and they are joined by citizens around the world for a #NFLboycott – the purpose of the protest no longer clear. More fans are offended, no longer enjoy the game, and also boycott the NFL, the purpose of their boycott equally unclear.
They protest the NFL and it is disrespect. They also protest the same NFL and it is out of respect?
Everywhere, including on the field, people now boycott for the player, boycott because of anthem, and boycott because of police brutality. The president inserts himself and demands that owners boycott the S.O.Bs by kicking them off the field.
They boycott for a reason and it is disrespectful. He boycotts for no reason and it is respect?
Entire teams, coaches, and owners kneel in protest because of the President’s (consistently) offensive choice of words. More football fans get offended and burned jerseys, tickets, and protest the NFL because more people are joining the protest.
They get offended and protest and it is disrespect. They also get offended and protest but it is respect?
More Sunday’s pass and more people kneel in protest of a variety of reasons that all stemmed from the protest that began about excessive force. Vice-president uses excessive tax dollars to fly to a game solely to walk out in protest.
They protest problems in America on the NFL’s dime and it is disrespect. He protests the right to protest on the American tax payers dime it is respect?
Cheerleaders at public university in Georgia agree with the need to address police brutality and take a knee in a solidarity protest. Georgia State Representative gets offended at kneeling girls and uses his position of power to pressure the school president and the protesters.
They protest it is disrespect. He protests it is UNETHICAL!
Now that it’s clear we all get offended and now that it is clear we all have the right to protest….
Can we protest the bad cops that make the good cops look bad?
Can we protest public dollars spent on private entities like the NFL?
Can we protest public officials abusing their power and wasting our tax money?
Can we protest the General Assembly using their power of the purse to give tax breaks to people who purchase Super Bowl tickets?
Can we protest the General Assembly using their power of the purse to influence school presidents on matters having nothing to do with education?
Can we protest that we spend more tax dollars on police protection for private football games than we do creating recreation football programs for children?
Can we protest building billion dollar homes for sports teams and their rich owners but spend nothing on getting homes for homeless children?
Can we protest that there are people too poor to care about a protest?
Can we protest to restore the HOPE scholarship so you can attend a public college whether you are a cheerleader or not?
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LaDawn LBJ Jones
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I mean, I get it. Older whites are terrified of change. They drive down Buford Highway and curse under their breath. They hear talk of “making America great again” and they’re all in.
How do we bridge the gap and let these people know that we respect their rights under the constitution, while at the same time asserting those same rights for others?
Why should anyone support change that provides them no economic, social, cultural or political benefits but may well incur negative impact? Also … it is hypocritical, reality. The rainbow coalition of identity groups that now make up the Democratic Party and the left constantly speaks of how alienated they feel from mainstream America’s politics, culture and economics. That is fine. But when people who are – often purposefully and by design I might add – excluded from the progressive tent speak of their own alienation they get mocked, belittled, talked down to and accused like you just did there?
So your agenda provides them with no benefits that they want, need or are interested in and your rhetoric (often gleefully) kicks them in the gut and punches them in the teeth every chance you get. And oh yeah, you want them to pay higher taxes to fund all these changes that are not designed or intended to benefit them. (You can claim otherwise by stating that a few more social welfare dollars will get thrown their way but … let’s get real. Meeting their needs and wants isn’t the driving force of the left and you know it.) Wow, that is the deal of the century! Where can they sign up!
Your comments are often obtuse and unclear. But here’s how I read them:
What you are defending is the selfish, self-centered, maybe even racist, perspective, the absolute enemy of liberalism. You are advocating tolerance of intolerance. We liberals can tolerate a lot of things, but intolerance is not one of them. People need to recognize that the world is changing. It is not easy, but it is not a threat. It is just a different way of thinking. Whose life is threatened by acceptance of lesbianism? Who wouldn’t want equality for all? Who wouldn’t be opposed to police brutality? Why would anyone object to resisting these things?
As has been said before, I don’t want to pay for nuclear weapons that my family isn’t personally going to use.
“So your agenda provides them with no benefits that they want, need or are interested in and your rhetoric (often gleefully) kicks them in the gut and punches them in the teeth every chance you get. And oh yeah, you want them to pay higher taxes to fund all these changes that are not designed or intended to benefit them. ”
This could easily be the position of every non-white, non-male American with respect to the Republican Party. We are going to get nowhere decrying “identity politics” while demanding that the government cater to “me and us”, implicitly advocating our own identities as superior. What you seem to want here is to maintain a favored status when it has long since been shown to be unjustified. What others are asking for is parity — equal protection under the law. We have some principles to adhere to in this country, and some time ago the R party understood that.
LBJ: I can’t argue with this basic premise. This is what I, as you well know, encountered in Philadelphia as a ‘cis male boomer’ aka demonspawn (my latest labels). The PTB are driving a wedge between older white progressives and younger rainbows.
If old white men are all the source of the problems, why is Bernie good enough?
evergreentree: Calm TF down. The author has no ‘agenda’. Your vocabulary gives away your choice of media consumption. Ever been accused of ‘mansplaining?’ that is a good example. No one is the enemy here. Stop seeking one in those whom you disagree.
BTW, you totally dodged her issue with your rant. *golfclap* classic conservative tactic.
Indy, So, you’re advocating tolerance for differing beliefs and positions?
How?
It’s going to be tough. Many were indifferent to blatant injustices affecting minorities. There’s cause to be concerned when the turning of the tables is on the horizon, that they will be the minority—they know their actions as the majority.
It’ll be tough too because of the possibility of unpreparedness, excesses and over-correction the time comes, without even considering special rights some they seek to establish, such as who they may hire, or who they may serve commercially.
You know, I’ve changed my mind from the other day. I hope someone challenges KSU with regards to the free-expression rights of the cheerleaders being suppressed.
It is clear that Olens was bullied by two snowflakes who were offended by a silent protest, namely Earl Ehrhart and Neil Warren.
This isn’t the first time Ehrhart has possibly abused his position on the appropriations committee. Wasn’t he calling for the President of Tech to be fired over his handling of sexual assault cases? I agreed that Tech was wrong in that it did not grant students due process but one person in the legislature should not be able to tamper with a school’s ability to fund capital projects.
I live in Cobb and trust when I say that this place sometimes has to be pulled kicking and screaming from it’s redneck past. It has changed very fast in a relatively small amount of time but there are still a lot of very old attitudes around here. I’m not saying this is necessarily is a racial issue (even though the larger issue of the protests certainly are) but the fact that the cheerleaders are black is the icing on the cake for plenty of white people.
“The only way to pass along civic values is to first live up to them” George W. Bush
The Cobb Sherriff, Ehrhart and Olens have made their clear the values they’re passing on.
Laid out like a prosecuting attorney with PTSD.