Steven Lysenko clearly is not part of the Blue Lives Matter movement. Lysenko was shown recently on a video screaming “F**k the Police” and other profanities. That is a common form of political expression. The problem is that, in addition to be anti-police, Lysenko is the assistant principal of Spencerport High School. As will come as no surprise to readers of this blog, I do not support Lysenko’s views but I strongly oppose those who want to discipline or fire him because of his exercise of free speech.
In the video, Lysenko was part of protests that followed the death of Daniel Prude in Rochester, New York, which we discussed earlier. The death raises very serious and disturbing questions of police abuse and racial justice.
In the videotape, Lysenko (who teaches outside of Rochester) is denouncing the response of the police to the protest by saying “We didn’t do anything but chant and sing,” Lysenko says in the video clip. “Our peacekeepers ended up shooting pepper spray at us for singing and chanting and telling them what a s—-y-assed job they were doing. They can f— right off America! F— the police. F— Rochester Police Department.” Not to forget his manners, he then ends with “thank you.”
In response, the Spencerport Central School District released a statement that, although the district supports “racial equality and systemic change,” it does not condone an employee using profane language on social media. Accordingly, “This will be addressed as a confidential, personnel matter.”
The controversy has divided the community with some calling for Lysenko to be fired while thousands of others signed a change.org petition in support of him.
Lysenko has been outspoken in his support of Black Lives Matter. On June 3 on Twitter, he declared “To any students-past or present-who follow me here: know that when you post “#WhiteLivesMatter, you are condoning White Supremacy. I that I will not abide!”
That last statement raises an issue of what Lysenko means by not “abiding” opposing views. However, so long as such intolerance is not displayed at school, Lysenko should be free to express his views outside of his employment. In the video, he identifies himself not as an assistant principal but an officer with a local anti-racism group.
Here is the video: Lysenko video
We have previously seen teachers (here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here,and here) students (here, here and here) and other public employees (here and here and here) fired for their private speech or conduct, including school employees fired for posing in magazines (here), appearing on television shows in bikinis (here), or having a prior career in the adult entertainment industry (here). We previously discussed the Vermont principal who was removed for expressing her opinion of Black Lives Matter on her personal Facebook page. We also recently discussed the firing of a Michigan coach who expressed support for President Trump. However, this did not begin with the recent protests. We also discussed a teacher who threatened other teachers who supported police.
I hope that all of the roughly 4000 signatories to the petition in support of Lysenko would oppose his firing even if the controversial statement were flipped. I doubt that but from a free speech perspective it does not matter. The price of free speech is tolerance for views that we may find offensive or disturbing. Unlike Lysenko, we do “abide” opposing views. Some may not deserve free speech protections but they are protected nonetheless.
Leftism is a full blown cult with mentally ill sheep being part of it. It’s a shame leftists really can’t see how mentally ill they are but hey, that’s mental illness for you and most mentally ill people don’t think they are mentally ill. I truly mean that: these people suffer from mental illness.
I’m all for freedom of speech too and while I absolutely despise leftists and view them as subhuman, I agree they have the right to spew forth their idiocy. One problem I could see here is this idiot looking to indoctrinate students with his mental illness so he should at least be monitored. If he is keeping his cult beliefs out of his job then yeah, no reason to fire him but if he is trying to indoctrinate students, he should be fired. Then again, the school is probably just another typical leftist and marxist indoctrination center like most schools are these days so they won’t care.
The most comical thing is that most of those that support this guy and say he is expressing his freedom of speech would be triggered and demanding he be fired if he said F BLM or F any other marxist terrorist group. Got to love the hypocrisy of mentally ill leftists which they are incapable of seeing yet is so glaring to all of us that aren’t mentally ill and part of that cult. They are only for freedom of speech if it is the speech they agree with. Pathetic clowns.
I also look forward to this clown calling the cops if/when he is ever in danger or has something bad happen to him.
VOUCHERS, VOUCHERS, VOUCHERS!
Local, local, local!
Demolish the wholly unconstitutional communist Dept. of Education.
The Constitution didn’t make Congress the lead despot of a dictatorship, it made individuals free.
The Constitution provided maximal freedom to individuals while it severely limited and restricted all branches of government.
Get Congress the —- out of free people’s lives.
Profanity is the crutch of the inarticulate. This behavior is indicative of public service unionization. Even FDR saw what would happen to public service if it became unionized.
How do you pronounce “F**K? It is infantile not to spell out the word. Are you afraid that someone will tell your mommy that you used a naughty word?
It is infantile not to spell out the word.
No, it’s an ordinary courtesy.
Add to that, if you do it here your comment will go into moderation and never come out again.
The coarsening of our language seems to come from imitators of ghetto-speak and, unfortunately, has infected Hollywood. Some shows are unwatchable. I recall trying ‘Deadwood’ and shutting it off because the language was offensive and completely out of place for the time. Frankly, I have known prostitutes who spoke with more grace than what one hears in public school these days.
Go back and watch “Deadwood”, you get over the language because they use it so much. It is a great show. BTW, I worked in a printing company and the f word was used by males and females alike about every third word. Did not hurt production.
I applaud educational institutions that are defending norms of civility in a politically neutral way. Teachers are in a sensitive position — they ought to be exemplars of collaborative problem-solving. Use of vile, ad-homenem epithets communicates just the opposite, an unwillingness to come together to solve problems. It teaches alienation, demonization, and indulence of primitive tribalistic instinct. It reduced options for productive collaboration. It brings the political process to a standstill.
Yes, the U.S. Govt. is constrained from forcing this hothead from knuckling under to rules of respect and civility. But the Spencerport School District can.
NB, Lysenko advertises himself as the ‘President’ of ‘the local chapter’ of the ‘National Association for Multicultural Education”. IOW, he’s a promoter of the importation of the grossest sort of political propaganda into secondary schooling. Again, public schools are the collecting pool of about 85% of those in school age cohorts. Is it too much to ask that they not be run by sectaries who want to turn the schools into their personal sandboxes? Why does your approach to these issues never allow for the local community to assert its interests? Why is it the ordinary working-class residents of the Spencerport school district have to put up with this man’s issues just because some jack-wagon saw fit to hire him?
Since Lysenko wasn’t ‘ shouting fire inna crowded theater ‘, I suppose he’s off the hook? But surely the PTA will have something to say about his future with that school?
I doubt there are many PTA chapters who act as anything but lobbies for school spending.
It should all come down to his employment contract. If there is anything in it concerning personal behaviors unacceptable to the community at large in the social setting during work or bringing unfavorable attention to his work off te job, then he should be terminated. If that is not there, then it seems reasonable that freedom of speech when not on the job should be allowed.
Now I know I did not comment exactly as it should be written legally to cover actions on and off the job, but I hope it was understood.