Debe Terhar, newly elected Ohio State Board of Education President, has managed to upset quite a few Democrats in Ohio this January. According to her Facebook page, she was apparently comparing President Obama to the Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler. A picture of the dictator was posted along with this quote: “Never forget what this tyrant said: ‘To conquer a nation, first disarm its citizens.’ — Adolf Hitler,” as stated by the Huffington Post. In response to this post, the 19 other board members Terhar resides over have been going back and forth, attempting to get her to step down from her position. These are the same board members who had just unanimously re-elected her into office. It was a small gesture of political activism that has transformed into an unnecessary controversy.
Terhar was not the original creator of the Hitler meme. This particular post has been circulating around Facebook, as well as the rest of the Internet, for quite some time now, having been originally posted by the Facebook page “Uncle Sam’s Misguided Children.” Now this public page really is a demonstration of offensive material, ranging from naked women straddling guns to children supporting confederate flags, with a whole lot of swear words thrown in for good measure.
A public apology was released by Terhar according to The Columbus Dispatch, one that was called for by almost a majority of her Board of Education. Terhar stated, “I’m not comparing the president to Adolf Hitler. It’s the thought of disarming citizens, and this has happened throughout history. What’s the true intention of the Second Amendment? It was to protect us from a tyrannical government, God forbid.” Admittedly this is quite an off-hand apology, but an apology nonetheless. I don’t really believe this woman should have to apologize at all for her own personal opinion in the first place.
Terhar’s decision to share this particular post was misguided to say the least. The radical nature of the meme is definitely not something appropriate for the head of an educational system to be publicizing. But this is about as far as I will agree with the many people attempting to kick this woman out of office. Terhar’s opinion against the increasing support for gun control is not the main reason she was almost removed from her position, but it has resulted in an outrageous public backlash against her. Sensitive Democrats everywhere are claiming that our public safety is declining due to “extremists” like Terhar. Websites like The Daily Kos, have unleashed blatant attacks on Terhar calling her a “gun fetishist” and claiming that she is among the many gun radicals out there wanting to overthrow the government. And if this wasn’t ridiculous enough, The Columbus Dispatch states that a Lima Republican, Ann Jacobs, is afraid of all the attention the board is receiving “nationally from Jewish leaders.” You have got to be kidding me. All of this from a Facebook meme? This is just another example of the power a social networking site has to cause a whole lot of trouble, and fools that allow it to have such power.
The gun control argument has been the most hotly debated topic kicking off the New Year. Due to the tragedy at Sandy Hook elementary, hearts are still bleeding for the children and teachers lost. An increasing amount of public figures are giving their opinions for or against the president’s new gun control proposals. A new “inspirational” Public Service Announcement video has surfaced, in which celebrities like Jamie Foxx and John Hamm are claiming “it’s not too late” to stop gun violence, according to CBS News. Immediately after this PSA, a different video went viral mashing clips of these celebrities using guns in popular movies. The idea was that these million dollar actors and actresses had no problem exploiting gun violence for fame and profit. Is Terhar using her now public opinion to gain fame or profit? No, she is not. She is also not some crazy gun-activist or radical anti-Semite. Everyone needs to wake up and stop treating her like she is.
The Governor of Ohio, John Kasich is at least on her side. “It was clearly a mistake, and she says it was a mistake,” Kasich told The Columbus Dispatch. Yet even with the governor’s approval, the State Democratic Party Chairman, Chris Redfern, will not let anyone involved rest. He even has managed to start a “Democrats’ Fire Kasich Fund” soliciting donations, claiming Kasich’s decision to support Terhar was irresponsible. Democrats everywhere are calling this poor woman a radical and an extremist, when the actions taken against her are in fact so ridiculously radical, that they lose their own credibility. The situation simply does not call for such absurdity.
Lauren Richey can be reached at lauren.richey@spartans.ut.edu.
I am genuinely grateful to the holder of this web
page who has shared this impressive piece of writing at at this place.
Today, while I was at work, my sister stole my iphone and tested
to see if it can survive a thirty foot drop, just so she can be a youtube sensation.
My iPad is now destroyed and she has 83 views. I know this is entirely off topic but I had
to share it with someone!