N.C. Lawmakers Mock Students

This one's personal. I'm from Rutherford County, N.C. North Carolina Policy Watch has this article about Rep. Debbie Clary (R-Rutherford County) and her Republican pals mocking and ridiculing students who wrote them to advocate for funding for public schools. (It appears the county is struggling to fund both charter and traditional public schools, so students got involved in advocating against passage of a bill that will make an already bad situation, worse.)

The context is really irrelevant. Like schoolyard bullies passing nasty notes, these "representatives" shared emails making fun of the students' grammar. Instead of praising the students for becoming civically engaged, or seeing the errors as "Exhibit 'A'" in support of the students' argument, these fine examples of how elected officials should never behave made the students the butt of their jokes. Never mind that the unemployment rate in Rep. Clary's district is nearly twice the state average. She's more concerned about whether these students embarrassed her. I hope my friends and family who still live in Rutherford County are busy finding Rep. Clary an opponent.