Editor’s note: This commentary is by J.S. Getman, a resident of Windsor County.

On Feb. 9, 2021, Mt. Abraham Union High School Principal Shannon Warden posted two letters on Front Porch Forum declaring that the “school board, district administration, state representatives and Community Council” voted to raise and fly the BLM flag “indefinitely.” In Warden’s words, the flag is meant to be seen as a “symbol of our commitment to becoming an anti-racist educational institution.” Apparently, up to this point, Mt. Abe had somehow been a “racist” high school.

Warden’s post encourages readers to access links to “Teaching for Change” in order to view the principles of the Black Lives Matter movement, but there are no links provided. She goes on to describe some of the actions being taken by the educators of Mt. Abe as well as members of the Mt. Abe Student Action (MASA) committee to introduce new “curriculum” to all of the students at the middle/high school:

Among these initiatives are focused advisory discussions called ‘Circle Prompts.’ The prompts provide resources such as videos about the flag’s history and purpose, poems by BIPOC authors and quotes by leaders of the Black Lives Matter movement. Students are then given a chance to respond to, discuss, and express their thoughts on each topic, fostering participation in a safe and progress-driven environment. Students also retain the right to remain quiet and listen.”

Yes, better to give students the “option” to keep quiet, rather than encourage them to share opinions of dissent regarding the propaganda being forced down their throats.

I would imagine that these initiatives would also include the rest of the tenants of the BLM movement, such as their commitment to “dismantling” the “Western-prescribed nuclear family structure.”

So far, though, Mt. Abe’s prescribed re-education doesn’t seem to mention these other topics — I wonder why? If they are truly committed to BLM’s principles, then you can bet that the rest is coming. I hope the residents of Bristol and the surrounding towns are ready for their children to hear and “discuss” all of the guiding principles of the neo-Marxist BLM movement.

Yet, it seems that perhaps local parents are not: A petition circulated by MASA in order to gain support for keeping the BLM flag up “gathered a total of 601 signatures, including those of Addison-4 State Representative Marie Cordes, Addison-4 State Representative Caleb Elder, and former Addison-4 State Representative Dave Sharp.” Students, parents, teachers and community members were invited to sign the petition, yet only 601 individuals out of the nearly 10,000 residents in Bristol, Lincoln, New Haven, Monkton and Starksboro actually did.

So, despite having less than 10% of its constituent’s support, “Community Council unanimously passed MASA’s proposal to raise the flag indefinitely,” backed by the school board and administration, of course.

If it weren’t so tragic, it would be laughable.