A second educator in Pennsylvania is filing a lawsuit against a school district after she was allegedly forced to resign after she criticized Black Lives Matter as well as riots and protests.
Ashley Bennett, a special education supervisor with 27 years of service who resigned in July after being put on leave in June, reposted on her own personal Facebook page (via The College Fix):
I see signs all over saying Black Lives Matter. I’m just trying to figure out WHICH black lives matter. It can’t be the unborn black babies — they are destroyed without a second thought. It’s not black cops— they don’t seem to matter at all. It’s not my black #Conservative friends. They are told to shut the f*ck up if they know what’s best for them by their black counterparts. It’s not black business owners. Their property, their business, and their employees don’t mean anything. So which black lives matter again? I can’t keep up. I can’t. I’m exhausted trying to figure out what we’re all supposed to do, believe and be offended by, and outraged by next. …
Just 45 days ago protests weren’t “essential” and were considered criminal, selfish, and a murderous activity because of the #Coronavirus. Today they are gloriously critical and celebrated. All of the obvious criminal and murderous activities are simply ignored. If you protest about lock-downs for freedom, you are selfish and will spread a virus. If you protest, loot, and riot for social justice, you are a warrior and immune from the virus.
The school district posted a press release on June 26 on its official website condemning Bennett’s posts and announcing that she had been placed on administrative leave:
[Bennett’s] comments do not align with the North Penn School District’s core values. The views expressed conflict with our work to develop a community that values diversity. We strive to acknowledge, respect, understand, and celebrate the dynamics of racial and cultural differences. … The employee has been placed on administrative leave while an investigation is conducted.
Bennett’s lawsuit targeting the North Penn School District, as highlighted by The Reporter, states that the public response from the district caused her to become a “pariah overnight”:
Aside from violating Bennett’s civil rights, the public fusillade leveled against her also unambiguously violated Pennsylvania criminal law which requires strict confidentiality of all disciplinary complaints … As a result of defendants’ criminal press blitz, Bennett became a pariah overnight — as defendants intended. There was never a shred of cause for defendants to discipline, investigate, or publicly comment on Ashley Bennett, who was engaging in protected political speech.
The suit continues:
Reeling and humiliated by the district’s false and outrageous public attacks on her, Mrs. Bennett involuntarily resigned on July 9, 2020, under protest as a result of defendants’ coercion. Defendants had never even told her what the charges were against her. …
As is often the case these days, a social media mob formed and came for Mrs. Bennett’s job at North Penn based on the content of her expression, contacting school officials. These individuals refuse to accept that citizens in a free society have the right to disagree with each other without facing personal ruination … The district certainly should not have offered aid, succor, and legitimacy to such a mob. To its shame, North Penn (a public school district) and its officials immediately joined in and targeted one of their own.
The press release even expressly endorsed and expressed solidarity with certain political movements such as Black Lives Matter, making it abundantly clear that any employee who expresses an opinion perceived as offending that movement will be disciplined and ostracized without regard for the law.
This is not the first Pennsylvania educator to take legal action after losing her job for posting conservative content online. As The Daily Wire reported last week, a Pennsylvania elementary school principal was fired in July after posting conservative memes on social media, including one saying she would rather vote for a potato than Joe Biden. She is now is suing the school district.
Elementary school principal is suing school district after being fired for sharing conservative memes on her Facebook page where she said she'd rather vote for a potato than Joe Biden. Amy Sacks Evergreen Elementary School
Perkiomen Valley School District https://t.co/MLWiPbQo2v— Jodi 💅 (@Jodi_Ann_Arias) December 9, 2020
Amy Sacks, the former principal of Evergreen Elementary School, who had been a teacher for two decades, was fired by the Perkiomen Valley School District and Superintendent Barbara Russell.
Some of the posts Sacks issued had included:
“This is a potato. If this potato was running against Joe Biden, I’d vote for the potato.”
“Looking for some clarity. Is Corona Season over and we are on to Riot Season? I just need to know if I need a mask or a rifle.”
“Due to Covid, we’re gonna need people to riot from home and destroy your own s***.”
“If you think the coronavirus panic in an election year right after 3 failed coup attempts against Trump is a coincidence? You might be as dumb as a rock!”