’ll be brief here. Let’s just note that the heroic teachers who died while courageously trying to protect their kids at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT, and the others who survived but stayed to protect the kids, were all part of a school system where the employees are members of the American Federation of Teachers.

Let’s just let that sink in for a moment. Those teachers, who are routinely being accused by our politicians of being drones and selfish, incompetent money grubbers worried more about their pensions than about teaching our children (though most, even after 10 years, earn less than $55,000 a year for doing a very difficult job that involves at least 12-14 hours a day of work and prep time counting meetings with parents), stood their ground when confronted with a psychotic assailant armed with semi-automatic pistols and an automatic rifle, and protected their kids. The principal too, a veteran teacher herself, stood her ground, reportedly suicidally charging at the assailant along with the school’s psychologist in a doomed effort to tackle him and stop the carnage.

How many of us would have had to the courage to stand in front of a closet door to keep an armed madman from finding the kids hidden behind it, as one slain teacher died doing? How many of us would charge at an armed shooter, to almost certain death, in an effort top stop him from further killing? How many would bravely hide in a bathroom with a class of kids when we could have run away and saved ourselves?

And this: How many of the politicians in Washington and in state capitals and how many conservative think-tank “researchers” who attack teachers as leeches and drones would have shown such heroism under fire?

My guess is damned few -- if any...

For the rest of this article by DAVE LINDORFF in ThisCantBeHappening!, the new independent Project Censored Award-winning online alternative newspaper, please go to: http://www.thiscantbehappening.net/node/1474
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About author Dave Lindorff is the author of Killing Time: an Investigation into the Death Ro

What are you trying to say?

Apparently, he is claiming that anyone with a complaint against a teachers' union wouldn't have the courage to shield children from an armed madman. Such a claim, however, has no merit.

Many people act as if teachers don't have tough jobs and complain about them all the time. But, I think it's tougher to be a teacher than many realize. And those teachers at Sandy Hook are definitely heroes - both those who died and lived while trying to protect their children.

The OP creates a false dichotomy.

It is possible that individual teachers can be heroic during a crisis and still a teachers' union be promoting something that it shouldn't be promoting.

After what just happened, you're only going to admit that it's possible for teachers to be heroic? Not that they were heroic, but that it is possible?

And you don't believe teachers are heroic in other ways? I find it sad that some people have such bad perceptions of teachers.

Why are you reading into my words something that isn't there?

I can only read the words you've written. If you want to expand more to make yourself clearer, go for it.

so many interests have lobbyists on their side in washington

like wall street, gun advocates, big oil lobbyists,,etc,,

I dont understand why people object to teachers having someone on the job representing them

,,,,if the employees are complaining about their own union, thats one thing

but I dont get how someone else complains about a teachers union who isnt a teacher,,,

Any person has the capacity for heroics. But a real hero does not stand there waiting for a pat on the back either...


And all too often people forget heroes...

So much for all of those military veterans in Washington and in state capitals.

When you post and ed-op and make no comment, it is up to the reader to guess what point you are trying to make, be it pro or con the published piece. In this case there are heroic teachers, excellent teachers, good teachers, bad teachers, and lousy teachers. The teacher's union keeps the lousy teachers' jobs which pisses a lot of people off. There is no discernible correlation between the complaints against unions and the shooting incident as heroics in one mean little in the other. Overall, it just looks like a bad op-ed thrown up to see if something sticks.

Yeah. This case illustrates why "online alternative newspaper" is just another way of saying "tabloid".

seems like a case of 'rethink our generalizations'


in the case where teachers are 'lousy', ID imagine people should complain about lousy teachers


in most cases, people simply choose to generalize, so what comes out are statements about how 'teachers'(no clarification of which teachers) are or arent

usually when teachers (not just the lousy teachers) have representatives asking for better conditions or resources or pay,,,

I imagine THOSE TYPES OF COMMENTS are being challenged in the OP when we are asked to look at the heroics of these particular teachers in question,,,

I don't think these teachers were standing there waiting for a pat on the back. Nor do I think that about any teachers I know. They teach because they actually care about what they do.

service industries

like nursing, doctors, lawyers, politicans, teachers, firefighters, soldiers, policemen

I think there are good and bad workers in all of those industries
I think many sign up for merely the pay and a career
I think many more sign up not MERELY for the pay but because they wish to do something good for others.



unfortunately, the ones doing the right things, dont make the same amount of press

singmesweet and msharmony, equating heroism to Union membership is purely asinine. I could think of DOZENS of situations where people of all walks of life did things that were just in my opinion selfless on an epic scale. Women have died trying to stop someone in a fit of madness. Sometimes men act heroically in groups. Even criminals can be heroes at times. Some people make a very bad judgement call and have to pay for it. Some people are just unredeemable idiots.

I am not bagging on people here. I just don't like the presumption presented in this thread. Teacher's unions hire heroes? ANYONE WILLING TO TEACH IS TAKING ON A HEROIC TASK CONSIDERING THE TEACHING ENVIRONMENT IN SOME CLASSROOMS! UNION OR NOT!

In a way the topic is self serving and takes advantage of others suffering to make a invalid point.

I wasnt trying to make any point about who unions hire

simply stating that any occupation can employ heros or cowards, good and bad employees

what follows that logic is that union members can be heroic or greedy

any statement implying that merely being a part of a union makes one greedy is just as illogical as one implying being part of a union makes one a hero


at least, t hats what I got from the op
a statement refuting the idea 'some' might have that teachers, by virtue of having unions, are more interested in the money than the student,,,,

OP seems to try equate the Union with individual Members!
That some Individual Teachers act heroic is nothing to do with the Union giving the Children a Raw Deal!
So,please keep that Union-Stuff out of that sad Incident in CT.

Those teachers, who are routinely being accused by our politicians of being drones and selfish, incompetent money grubbers worried more about their pensions than about teaching our children


repeated for relevance


teachers, in unions , might sometimes be greedy and might sometimes be heroes

they shouldnt be lumped all together by either side,,,