TO THE EDITOR:
I deeply appreciate having a local Catholic paper, so thank you for all the work you do. However, I have to say I’ve never disagreed with you so sharply as I did when you downplayed U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland’s characterization of parents at school board meetings as “domestic terrorists,” in a recent editorial. In the same editorial, you noted with sadness that schools have been “succumbing to radical ideologies,” while casting Garland’s memo as an effort to “protect teachers from physical harm.” Yet, the combativeness of school board meetings has been the result of parents objecting — largely without physical violence — to these radical ideologies that you claim to oppose. Where is the widespread, organized violence — unchecked by local enforcement — that would entail FBI involvement in local school board meetings? How would you advise parents to address schools’ adopting woke ideology, if not by speaking out strongly at school board meetings? Garland’s memo was not “politicized” by Republicans; it really was that outrageous — nothing short of the totalitarian state flexing its muscles in an attempt to intimidate the family. It’s disappointing to read my Catholic newspaper prioritizing “public safety” (a favorite slogan of dictatorships throughout history) over parental rights.
Richard Beyer, Cranston
