Teacher's dad reports death threats over Bush-Hitler comparison

[sabra]

http://www.summitdaily.com/article/20060308/NEWS/103080022

Teacher's dad reports death threats over Bush-Hitler comparison


DENVER - The father of a Colorado teacher who compared President Bush's State of the Union address to speeches made by Adolf Hitler said he and his family have received at least 12 death threats.

Jay Bennish is on paid leave from Overland High School in suburban Aurora while Cherry Creek School District investigates whether his Feb. 1 lecture violated a policy requiring that balancing viewpoints be presented in classes.

Bennish's father, John Bennish of Beverly Hills, Mich., told The Detroit News in Wednesday's editions that people have called his house threatening to kill him or his family.

"This has been totally lopsided and one-sided," Bennish's father said of the news coverage of his son's lecture.

[BlueEyedSon]

1. Isn't that terrorism?

[Avalux]

2. I would think so.

Rabid Bush supporters threatening to kill - I'll bet the FBI's on it. :eyes:

[Fridays Child]

5. Not when it's in the name of Dear Leader.

/sarcasm

[zbdent]

6. Only if it's a Dem making the calls

Didn't you read the brochure from the Dept. of Homeland Security?

;)

[laylah]

20. And a brown

Dem to boot :sarcasm:

[MadMaddie]

15. Yes...it is "Terroristic Threats"...

The neocons have created an environment where an outspoken liberal is going to get killed....This is deadly territory....the * cabal sits back and says nothing....

There is going to be a civil war in this country...

[rodeodance]

28. I would say it is hate speech

[Mr_Jefferson_24]

30. Death threats absolutely...

...ARE a form of terrorism, but I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for BushCo's Brown-shirts to invoke their Patriot Act right to secretly abduct, torture, and indefinitely detain these perpetrators. It won't be long before violent fanatics will start testing how far they can go to see what authorities will do in these kinds of cases. What I'm afraid they're going to learn very quickly is that authorities will do little or nothing so long as the victims are part of the anti-fascist pro democracy crowd. This is much the way things started in 1933 Nazi Germany---seems to be just where we're headed:

http://www.crisispapers.org/Editorials/germany-1933.htm

[tom_paine]

64. Exactly. Perhaps one or two more generations

maybe sooner.

If trends remain unchanged, it is almost a certainty, considering what we know about the history of Totalitarianism.

[adigal]

65. Don't be so ridiculous - when you threathen to kill someone

who says something against our Leader, George Dubai Bush, it is national security, not terrorism. You libs - you must hate America.

</snark>

[RagingInMiami]

3. Right, they're not like nazis at all

[krkaufman]

43. I suspect the callers are dim enough to miss that irony. n/t

[Swede]

4. Thus confirming his comparison to Nazis.

nt

[Az_lefty]

7. freepers gone mad...

[boobooday]

8. This is absurd

A very small number of people trying to silence the majority.

What do these people fear? If they believe they are right, they shouldn't fear that their children might hear an opposing viewpoint. If their children are so easily "brainwashed," then they've got a serious problem.

[phantom power]

9. I'd like to see some students start reporting "anti-liberal" rants.

The closest thing to an argument these junior nazis have is that it's "inappropriate" for teachers to harangue students with their political opinions. This is transparent bullshit. Every social studies and history teacher I ever had harangued us with their political opinions, along with plenty of other teachers for that matter. And where I grew up, I'd estimate that 2/3 of them were die-hard conservatives. Everybody knows this is going on all the time, and always has, and always will. And I don't even think it's so bad. I wasn't scarred for life by it.

But if the hitler youth want to play the "no opinions" card, let's call their bluff.

[bluestateguy]

10. Unhinged

Bush's people are very protective of their little baby and any criticisms of him.

[still_one]

11. I am sure they are good "christians" who are sending the threats

[trixie]

12. Boy, the Bushites

are one blood-thirsty crowd. OOOOh is that very pro-life? NOT!

[Bozita]

13. DU this Detroit News poll ... and leave a comment if you wish

http://info.detnews.com/feedback/lettersindex.cfm?topic=A_teachable_moment&forum=dnletters


Colorado geography teacher Jay Bennish remains on administrative leave while his school district investigates remarks he made about President Bush during class, including comparing Bush's world view to Adolf Hitler's. Do you think he should be fired?


Yes 55.48%
No 44.52%

[medeak]

19. what is wrong with Detroit? would think it would be a dem city? n/t

[phantom power]

22. Michigan is a fairly conservative state.

The only major exception is the city-state of Ann Arbor.

[NYC]

24. The poll got worse.

Yes 56.52%
No 43.48%

It doesn't show the number of votes.

[Duncan]

31. Done. nt

[mike_c]

33. omfg-- first comment on the list....

Clinton strikes again!

Posted: Wed. 03/8/06 09:37 AM
From: julie
City: macomb, USA
Subject: A_teachable_moment
Comments: He shouldn't be fired, but he needs to do the following:

1. Stick to the subject he is teaching.

2. He needs to explain OSAMA and his army are the bad guys. They are the ones that cause all the trouble due to their overzelous religious beliefs.

3. He must explain how the Clinton administration was do busy renting out the Lincoln bedroom and hanging out with Hollywood and 60's and 70's musical bands, that he allowed our overseas intelligence agencies not have enough agents to do the job.

4. He must tell the students that Jordan was going to hand Osama over to Clinton a few times, but that Clinton turned his back.

5. He must state 9/11 was Osama's fault and that the President is doing his best to protect the American people.

6. He must explain that this is a different kind of war and that information is so quick to be discovered due to the internet and other means. He needs to tell the students that the American people need to shut up and not demand all of our battle plans be disclosed upfront. How can a war be fought, if classified information gets leaked to the media?

[Bozita]

34. A lot of those comments are unfuckingbelievable!

[RaleighNCDUer]

46. Dear Julie,

1. The subject for ALL teachers is teaching their students how develop critical thinking skills -- something you obviously missed.

2. If Osama is the bad guy, why aren't we trying to find him? What are we doing in Iraq?

3. Abramoff. And the republican congress is who cut the intelligence budget, not Clinton.

4. Jordan never had Osama. Never made any such offer.

5. Assuming Osama was behind 9/11, why did Bush ignore the PDB that warned against just such an attack? Why did he ignore the Clinton administration's warning that their biggest challenge would be OBL? How has Bush shown his intent to protect us, considering 9/11 and Katrina?

6. When classified status is imposed to cover up mistakes by this administration, how can we effectively fight the enemy, not knowing our own weaknesses?

Thanks.

These people are unbelievable.

[roguevalley]

59. if this is the lesson plan, god help us. what a total asshole.

[Cha]

60. It's getting worse as far as I'm

concerned..it's now 33% saying "no".

No way Jay Bennish should be fired..what about the little Brown Shirt that taped him without his knowledge? What should happen to the him?

[Syncronaut Seven]

14. Hey! Somebody has to call this guy out for his comparison.

I mean, can you imagine how offended Mr Hitler would be, knowing he was being compared to a brain dead, drug addled chimpanzee?

On Edit:
Having now taken the poll and read the responses I have a couple of personal observations.

While the poll indicates popular support for firing, the feedback comments are overwhelmingly in support of the teacher. I believe this indicates one or both things. 1. Bush supporters don't know how to write. 2. A "bot" or really obsessed * fan is hammering the poll hard.

Of the feedback in support, most seem to simply be abbreviated lists of "common man" republican talking points. References to Clinton (either) or Kennedy are dead giveaways.

Hitler is old and dead, shouldn't the new definitive measure of a weak argument be "the first person to bring up a Clinton loses"?

I mean, seriously.

[DBoon]

36. The corollary to Godwin's Law

nt

[coalition_unwilling]

61. LOL--comparing Bush to Hitler is an insult to Hitler

since, say what one might, Hitler was at least competent (up until Operation Barbarossa, anyway).

Is this apostasy? I would have been in the first group (communists, socialists and labor leaders) sent to the camps in '33, so I think that gives me the right to acknowlege Hitler's demented competence.

[daleo]

16. I hope he has call display

People shouldn't be able to make threats like this, without some legal consequences.

[The Backlash Cometh]

17. Sounds like the people calling are brown shirts.

[KurtNYC]

45. Future headline: "Teacher's father compares death threat callers

to Brownshirts"

[medeak]

18. Faux news won't shut up over story...still on this am n/t

[RebelOne]

35. That's because Sean Insannity won't shut up about it.

For the past two days, he has been ranting about this story and the big, bad, liberal teacher and the poor 16-year-old boy.

[Shadder]

21. This article really helped me to understand some things.

I was interested to learn that not only did he graduated from the same High School as I did (Seaholm High School in Birmingham, Michigan), but that his mother is currently a teacher in the elementary school that I attended. Now what makes this interesting is that al during this situtation I've been reminded of a class that I took as a senior in High School, Economic Geography. The class was taught by a Mr. Petrakis who was without any doubt the single best teacher that I ever had in my life. He had the ability to take a class that by all rights should have been the most dull and boring class in the world and turn it into the high point of the day for all those that took it. One of the things that made made this class so memorable is that he was able to teach us that there were other people in the world - both our little world and the world itself - that had differing viewpoints that what we might have and that it was ok for us to try to understand those viewpoints. Not that we had to accept them but just realize that they were there. Sound somewhat simmilar? I'm wondering if perhaps this teacher might have also had a class or two with Mr. Petrakis?

[Bozita]

42. VERY interesting post! ... You may have found his favorite teacher

[RedEarth]

23. I wouldn't be surprised if the infamous "Michigan Militia"

was involved in these death threats. Terry Nichols brother is a member, and both McVeigh and Nichols used to hang out with those creeps....hate-filled group of assholes.

[HuffleClaw]

25. "This has been totally lopsided and one-sided,"

yes, yes it has been. not ONCE have i seen the slightest mention of the dubious morality of the kid's taping of the teacher and using that tape for reasons which have nothing to do with education. i don't recall it ever being permissable to tape a teacher while in class, but i'm in canada. and the creepy thing is the guy was merely telling an unpleasant truth, which i've yet to seem mentioned in news reports.

[Massachusetts]

26. The truth shall set you free!

Bush-Hitler comparison

[oasis]

27. Bushbot, Koolaid swilling, brown shirts are proof that Hitler lives.

[izzybeans]

29. Ironically confirming why a teacher would try to confront such a

comparison for his students.

On edit: Note to self: when broaching this subject start with this phrase: "I want you to consider this so that you do not grow up to a murderous asshole. Learn from the past, build for the future."

[ClayZ]

32. More Faith Based Security?

FBS BS

[mike_c]

37. it's being freeped, big time....

eom

[dflprincess]

38. Making Terroristic Threats has been illegal under Minnesota law

for several years - long before 9/11, it's part of the antistalking laws that were passed.

[Rocknrule]

39. Threatening liberals is OK in 2006 America

Criticizing Der Fuherer is not

The gov't has confirmed that we as liberals are 2nd class citizens by not acting on this and similar things that people like Coulter have said

I'm wondering when Cheney will send a message to our troops to "execute Order 66" :scared:

[Shakespeare]

40. I call bullshit.

And will continue to call bullshit until he produces proof of the death threats.

[RaleighNCDUer]

49. Bullshit, because the bushbots are above such antics?

?????????????????

[Shakespeare]

54. eep....my bad; I thought the KID'S father was claiming death threats.

That the teacher would get death threats I absolutely believe. Spending 30 seconds at FR would pretty much confirm their disposition to do so.

[RaleighNCDUer]

55. Kinda thought that might be the case.

Cheers!

[bpilgrim]

57. I got a death threat for a FLASH video i made on the Illegal Iraq War

http://nobravery.cf.huffingtonpost.com

so i don't find it hard to believe at all (not to mention all the other examples i have read over the years)

peace

[coalition_unwilling]

62. I've received death threats from passing motorists at

my weekly anti-war, anti-militarism vigils. If I weren't willing to die for my beliefs, they really wouldn't be worth having in the first place.

[Ilsa]

41. The RW teen gets called a snitch, while the teacher gets death threats.

How very Republican. Kill anyone that criticizes the Fuhrer, uh, I mean the pretzeldent.

[stepnw1f]

44. Self-Delete

[RaleighNCDUer]

48. ?????

You're saying the teacher's father is lying? And that he's a nazi?

You think the bushbots are NOT threatening him and his family for what his son was teaching?

[stepnw1f]

50. Talk about jumping the gun

too much coffee...

[RaleighNCDUer]

53. 'sall right. I've been known to type faster than I read, too.

:thumbsup:

[superconnected]

47. So the right wing cult can make death threats

but the teacher doesn't have a right to express his opinion.

[TankLV]

51. Balancing viewpoints: Bush is a WAR CRIMINAL & Abramhoff also

gave to Democrats.

Bush is AWOL - and Kerry didn't deserve his medals and shot himself!

Bush* is a great leader - Clinton LIED (about a blow job which I can't mention because it involves sex).

Yeah - present a Democratic TRUTH along side a REPUKE LIE for balance.

[Megahurtz]

52. Psycho-Terrorist FReepers!

It just makes you want to go and join their side!:sarcasm:

[geniph]

56. Any fool knows Bush isn't Hitler

he's Mussolini, without the ability to run a competent administration that kept the trains running on time.

As an aside, wouldn't it be instructive to know how many of those saying the teacher should be executed are "pro-life"?

[coalition_unwilling]

63. Please stop insulting Hitler (and Mussolini) :)

[roguevalley]

58. I recall someone saying this kid was a 'child' and it was wrong in

the extreme to be angry about what he did. I wonder, if this poor guy gets hurt, will the little fucker and his parents be responsible? I certainly hope so. The little bastard deserves punishment if by his actions he harmed others. That district is going to screw him over. You wait and see.

RV, who taught 27 years and never saw a district save a teacher from a mob once.

[Kurovski]

66. Bush may not yet be at the achivement level of Hitler,

but he certainly has enough little Brown Shirts running around this land of ours.

[AngryAmish]

67. Bush IS Hitler

Right on!

[lonestarnot]

68. bushitler bushitler bushitler bushitler bushitler bushitler bushitler