Comments on: From the “That Doesn’t Actually Make it Any Better” Department

By: Robotech_Master

Robotech_Master — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 20:23:30 +0000

I especially “like” the bit where “Freshwater told investigators he simply was trying to demonstrate the device on several students and described the images as an ‘X,’ not a cross. But pictures show a cross, the report said.”

Because while burning a cross would be bad, just doing an X is okay.

By: enegim

enegim — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 16:41:33 +0000

Meanwhile, on a religious-news site (where I read of the incident), one of the comments posted was (paraphrased) “No true born-again Christian would do such a thing…therefore we have to question the reports in the secular media that it happened.”

By: Chris Salter

Chris Salter — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 13:03:50 +0000

@SMD: Small burn marks do tend to disappear over time. Otherwise, my days in fast food would have left both forearms a blotchy, discolored mess. :) Larger burns do stay, of course — generally, any burn I got that was larger around than a dime has left at least a small mark.

And John… Yeah. Never mind the religious crap, the fact that the dude knowingly and willingly burned children… Yeesh. The principal and school board are facing some MAJOR lawsuits.

By: Jeanne

Jeanne — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 12:34:19 +0000

Friday night football games are indeed a very big deal in this town. And I’ve been told that Freshwater is a coach for some sport, although I can’t remember which one and I don’t think it’s connected to the middle or high school. Certainly no one else in Ohio would have such a problem–unless the school administration got tired of the way “it’s always been done here” and aired some dirty laundry for a change. Freshwater’s followers (and they are legion) are now trying to have the school board recalled.

By: Steve Buchheit

Steve Buchheit — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 21:57:37 +0000

Sounds like the kind of teacher that says, “Here, just grab this capacitor…”

Oh, fun times.

As for teaching the values of the community, well, I guess his marks clear up faster than the cigarette burns, but still one would think a professional would have more discretion (and brains).

My guess is this community also prides itself as a “sports town.” With the football team gathering the majority of the budget (because, you know, nobody else in Ohio would have such a problem, and don’t get me started on the homeschoolers who pay for programs on Creationism). Jeanne, any insights?

By: watercolor

watercolor — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 19:12:00 +0000

That “x” had one leg a lot longer……. isn’t that a cross?

By: Jonathan Vos Post

Jonathan Vos Post — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 16:27:24 +0000

In my defense, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, that was not a cross that I was burning into the skin of schildren. It was a plus sign. And, if the school administration had not interrupted me, I would have proceeded to burn a minus sign, multiplication sign, division sign, and square root symbol into their skin. I mean, do you want them to learn Math or not? Our days are numbered. A version of this expression appears in the Bible (Daniel 5:26): “God hath numbered thy kingdom and finished it.” It came into common use in the late 1800s. Q.E.D.; Amen.

By: Jeanne

Jeanne — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 13:59:57 +0000

Freshwater lives in Mt Vernon, OH (not Columbus). I’m one of the parents in the school district–one of the ones who was whooping and hollering in celebration on Friday night. Why did it take so long to get this guy fired? The principal and superintendent are new. They came in and actually cleaned up a situation that had persisted for far too long because the folks in this very small town were reluctant to make a big fuss. (!) As I noted in my blog, the response to my letter to the editor in support of the school board when this all started was an anonymous religious pamphlet in the mail. I wasn’t really kidding when I asked “what’s next? A fiery cross on my family’s front lawn?”

By: Djscman

Djscman — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 06:59:54 +0000

And see, I thought cross-burning usually referred to another, even more unpleasant activity. We probably can’t call this situation cross-branding, though, seeing as how organizations such as the Red Cross and the government of Switzerland place such importance on their cross brands. They’d become cross.

By: mythago

mythago — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 05:30:07 +0000

“Principal William D. White wrote a letter to Freshwater in January, telling him not to shock children with the device. The letter noted that it would not be placed in his personnel file unless he shocked his students again.”

WHY doesn’t stuff ever happen in places where I practice law? So unfair. My opponents are almost never this stupid.