Morrow’s a wild pick for NC schools chief
By Myron B. Pitts
Michele Morrow is the strongest statement that North Carolina Republicans have made yet on their real thoughts on public education. It is not a good statement.
Republicans in the state legislature, including Rep. Diane Wheatley of Fayetteville, voted to give billions in taxpayer money to private schools through school vouchers, aka Opportunity Scholarships. Even the state’s richest folks will eventually be able to Uber their freshly scrubbed offspring to the private schools of their choice—using yours and my money for the tuition. Fun!
This comes after the many years state lawmakers ignored a court ruling to fund public schools in line with the state constitution, which says every student deserves a “sound basic education.” Teacher pay in our state meanwhile wallows near the bottom for starting teachers and 34th in the nation on average.
So already, our state’s attitude toward public education is sad and lacking.
Now along comes Morrow to say, figuratively: “Hold my beer.”
Morrow of Cary has called public schools “indoctrination centers” and home-schools her kids. Yet she won the Republican nomination for NC Superintendent for Public Instruction, i.e. head of public schools, having defeated incumbent Catherine Truitt 52 to 48 percent. In November, Morrow will face Democrat Mo Green, a former Guilford County Schools superintendent and former director of the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation.
Morrow has made numerous hateful or out-there statements on social media. She deleted the personal Twitter account where most of her wild statements live. But the internet, as ever, is forever, and the screenshots live on.
Calls for execution
The other day, Morrow posted from her campaign Twitter/X account a link to a story about disorder in New York schools and pledged to bring “civility” back to education.
That’s wonderful except that Morrow has many times publicly called for people’s death. Am I off-base to believe that calling for executing people is a radically uncivil position?
The tweet that has received the most attention comes to us from Morrow’s May 2020 Twitter feed, in which she expressed her deep thoughts on former President Barack Obama:
“I prefer a Pay Per View of him in front of the firing squad … I do not want to waste another dime on supporting his life. We could make some money back from televising his death.”
It’s not just the first Black president in Morrow’s crosshairs: She has called for executions for President Joe Biden as well as “vaccine-mongers” Bill and Melinda Gates, as CNN reported.
Who even sits around thinking such thoughts?
At some point Morrow might have gently shut the laptop lid, pushed the machine away and went out to touch grass. She chose Plan B: run for the highest office in the state that deals with other people’s children and their futures.
Scapegoating Muslims
Morrow claims on her campaign website that “Some schools even teach children to stereotype, scapegoat, and shame others based on their ethnicity, religion, or sexuality.”
This is pretty much made-up, since public schools would get into big trouble if they tried it. However, private schools can, and some do, deny enrollment to LGBTQ+ families, as happened right here in Fayetteville. Unlike publics, they are not obligated to offer specialized programs for students with physical or developmental disabilities.
Private schools are now free to discriminate on the public dime. Discriminatory faith-based schools are drawing down millions in voucher money, a fact frequently highlighted by former Charlotte schoolteacher Justin Parmenter, who is a frequent critic of GOP education policies on his Twitter/X feed.
Also, I ask rhetorically: Is Morrow the best messenger for an anti-discrimination message?
In 2020, she wrote that Muslims should be barred from public office. She said the goal of Islam was “evil” and bent toward world domination. That sure sounds likes scapegoating and shaming others based on their religion.
She walked back some of the anti-Muslim sentiment but only when asked about it by WRAL during her failed run in 2022 for Wake County school board.
Lover of conspiracy theories
In past tweets, Morrow espoused the false conspiracy theory that Obama was a Muslim plant sent to destroy America.
She was anti-vaccine during the COVID-19 pandemic. She bought into Trump’s false theory the election was stolen.
She promoted the pro-Trump QAnon cult’s theories and its hashtag, “WWG1WGA,” which means “where we go one, we go all.” Morrow posted it more than seven times, according to CNN.
She tweeted that actor and Trump critic Jim Carrey was “… searching for adrenochrome.” QAnon people believe Democrats and Hollywood celebrities drink children’s blood for this substance, adrenochrome, to stay young.
I have no snark for this one: It is completely bonkers. It is also based on anti-Semitic tropes that go way back.
Morrow was on the Capitol grounds on January 6, 2021, the day Trump supporters launched their failed insurrection. She was not arrested, as more than 1,200 defendants others have been. She has said she didn’t go into any buildings or do any rioting.
Shrug.
The real Morrow
Morrow at her website touts her experience teaching high school in a “micro-school” setting, which she describes as a bridge between traditional schooling and home schooling. She projects more as a typical, conservative candidate on the site. But cleaning up for the campaign trail is what candidates do; it’s like a defendant wearing a suit to court.
Her prior incautious remarks and actions likely give us a better view of how she might make decisions.
Like how she tried to get books banned in Wake County Schools. Or the fact that she wants to abolish the state Board of Education.
Personally, I don’t want to hold her beer and see what she might do to public education, which is already hurting in our state.
Myron B. Pitts is Opinion Editor at the Fayetteville Observer.
Source: fayobserver.com, April 25, 2024