Sunset High School’s social studies department and the “Peace and Conflict Club” got its lauded audience with Occupy Portland yesterday.

We’re still waiting for a report. If anyone was there please let me know what transpired. Victoria@VictoriaTaft.com or DM me on twitter @VictoriaTaft or comment here.

The District spokeswoman told me on Wednesday (listen here after the 15 minute mark) that “there was no room for the Tea Party” to be included on the panel.

Photo by Reenuh

The Tea Party of course is not the only answer to the Occupy folks but it’s just the best prepared and best situated. It’s the best group to counter the Occupy movement because it is a grass roots and real movement which calls for opposition to the growth in government and loss of liberty. All of the Tea Party’s efforts have been lawful, respectful and huge. This Tea Party movement resulted in a sea change in the 2010 elections. That’s the measure of a movement.

The Tea Party has never been asked to present its view point of American politics and policy and the future of the movement at Sunset High School. 

On the other hand, Sunset High School hosted a discussion on the future of the Occupy movement. As we’ve seen–perhaps those social studies teachers at Sunset have not but the rest of us have– the Occupiers have no clearly stated goals, are wholly subsidized by public sector employee unions and other well established group in the leftosphere. There is NOTHING new about the Occupiers except that they illegally camp out and ruin parks. Their ilk in the anarchist movement have been vandalizing and breaking the law for years around here. Please see my blog post on this here. 

The last time they had a “teach in” they were ousted after 20 minutes and this is what they claimed to talk about in those short 20 minutes with a bunch of middle schoolers (see the blog posts here, here, ):

 The students brainstormed the following issues; Racial Discrimination, Economy, Foreclosures, Bank Fees, Price Hikes, Environment, Violence Against Women, Abuse, Global Warming, Poverty, Malnutrition, Corrupt Government, War and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. After about ten minutes, an administrator delivered a message to the teachers, and one of them respectfully interrupted. He acknowledged that Occupy Portland is a controversial subject and notified the group that the Portland School District was not comfortable with the conversation and to end the discussion. The class identified the First Amendment Right to Peacefully Assemble and noted that they were excersizing [sic] that right. When asked why the school district would feel threatened by having Occupy Portland meet with them, a young lady responded that they might be nervous the panel would “plant the seeds” of change

In other words there’s no one coherent message. Furthermore, this is the same scattershot “message” of the usual lefty groups. There’s nothing new here.

In short, Sunset High School has wholly ignored the legitimate and powerful and grass roots movement–The Tea Party– that has as its message shrinking the government and growing  individual freedom, embracing the freedom of our founding, in favor of a group advocating lawlessness, more government programs and less freedom (unless you count the lawlessness of the anarchist movement). How many Occupiers on stage yesterday have been arrested for vandalism, anti civil behavior and criminal mischief?

There’s never been an arrest of a Tea Party Patriot at any Tea Party.

Somehow the Sunset High School folks believe that there’s more legitimacy in the Occupy movement than in the Tea Party. Why would that be? Perhaps it’s because the Occupiers and public sector unions are the same.

And perhaps there are more Jason Levins out there in the classroom of Beaverton schools? Remember our boy Jason? He was a Tea Party sabateur who taught as Conestoga Middle School and did some of his dirty dealings on school time, even calling for the assassination of Tea Party members. Read about him here, here, & here.

Even if the parents had wanted their children to hear a more balanced message at this event they wouldn’t have had much time to respond.

Parents received the following email from the principal the afternoon before the event:

Sunset High School’s Social Studies Department and Peace and Conflict Club are co-sponsoring a student forum on the Occupy Movement from 1:15-2:30 p.m. on Thursday, February 16.  This panel discussion will take place during our Access Tutorial period and will provide attendees with balanced perspectives on recent local and national events.

The Occupy Forum is part of an ongoing tradition of helping our students see current events through various points of view.  Tomorrow’s presenters will include representatives from Occupy Portland, Occupy Tomorrow (a local off-shoot of Occupy Portland), the Beaverton Police Department, Sunset Credit Union, and Intel.

Tomorrow’s presentation is optional for any Sunset High School student.  This student-only event is closed to members of the media and uninvited guests.