Ken WhiteJan 14, 2023

I got more pushback than I anticipated on one argument in my post about the Ninth Circuit decision about the MAGA-hat-wearing-teacher: the idea that a MAGA hat is not self-evidently outside acceptable public conduct.

I certainly have a reaction to seeing someone in a MAGA hat — I figure they’d probably hate me, and I probably wouldn’t care to hang out with them — and I know some people have stronger reactions. But . . .

Show threadKen WhiteJan 14, 2023
…I can’t wrap my head around the concept that openly supporting a former President, who got 75 million votes last time, who is still hugely popular among Republicans, is not only completely acceptable in my social circle or yours, but is completely unacceptable in a way that the law should enforce. It’s just not in the realm of reason. It’s one of the more striking examples I’ve encountered recently of in-a-bubble thinking.
Show threadKen WhiteJan 14, 2023
….. It’s actually scary to me that some people think that tens of millions of people should be treated as as-a-matter-of-law outsiders. It’s a terrible, terrible way to run a society.
Show threadM.S. Bellows, Jr.Jan 14, 2023
@Popehat Except MAGA isn't a person, it's a political philosophy. And the hat's being worn by a teacher, whose students presumably include people attacked by the MAGA philosophy.
Show threadKen WhiteJan 14, 2023
@msbellows It’s the recognized slogan of a candidate. And note that here the hat wasn’t worn in front of students. It was worn to and from a teacher event and taken off at the event.
Show threadRobin Finehout
@Popehat @msbellows this is I believe quite different then wearing it in the classroom. Wearing a hat inside could be considered in bad taste, but that’s where it stops. He just won’t have people sitting with him, or maybe it’s his way of finding friends, but he should still be allowed to wear it. I wear RBG teeshirts all the time.
Jan 14, 2023 at 11:30pmWeb