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Republican leaders in the state of Arizona are under fire following comments attacking teachers in the state.
The backlash centers on two Republican politicians in Arizona, gubernatorial candidate Matt Salmon and state Senator Michelle Ugenti-Rita.
Salmon has vowed publicly to have a "confrontational" relationship with teachers. And in what has to be the most melodramatic rhetoric against educators in American history, Republican state Senator Michelle Ugenti-Rita called teachers "educational terrorists" holding kids "hostage." (Seriously Michelle, get a grip.)
See Ugenti-Rita's absurd comments below.
EDUCATIONAL TERRORISTS\n\nAs teachers look on, Senator Ugenti-Rita points at them and calls them "terrorists" who held our children "hostage." Then votes to defund AZ schools of $1.2 billion dollars.pic.twitter.com/HQIlzVy8ng— Arizona Senate Democrats (@Arizona Senate Democrats) 1645488395
"Alright, so here we are, feeding the beast. More money, more money, in my opinion capitulating to the educational terrorists who have held our kids hostage."
Ugenti-Rita then went on to blame educators for COVID-19-related school closures and claimed that the only reason schools are open now is because of parents like her raising a fuss.
It was an argument as non-sensical as it is melodramatic. In one breath, Ugenti-Rita asserts that teachers are terrorists holding kids hostage and should be defunded, but then angrily insists the schools stay open. Respectfully, Ms Ugenti-Rita, if you're reading, these proposals are mutually exclusive and it sounds like what you want is a daycare center, which is not what schools are.
Anyway. Similarly vile was Salmon's recent comments, in which he called teachers a "scourge on our society" because of--you guessed it! Critical Race Theory.
"So teachers are the problem? Has Salmon not been paying attention to what the Arizona Legislature and lawmakers like Ugenti-Rita have done to the state’s public school system over the past several years?"
"As in, wreck it.""
So much so that a recent national survey found that Arizona had the worst public education system in the nation."
Montini went on to lament Salmon, a political fixture in the state for many years, transforming into a conspiracy theorist influenced by unhinged QAnon-devotee and fellow gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, whom former Republican President Donald Trump has endorsed. Salmon wrote:
"Matt Salmon 2.0... seems to have drowned his common sense in the Kari Lake."
"The biggest lesson this new Salmon could learn from studying the original Matt Salmon, his former self, would be that the true 'scourge on our society' is spreading conspiracy theories and demonizing anyone who disagrees with you."
On Twitter, people shared Montini's shock and disgust over Salmon's and Ugenti-Rita's comments.
When Republicans start calling teachers "Educational Terrorists"...\n\nHoly Hellhttps://twitter.com/PaulCogan/status/1496498607087886336\u00a0\u2026— Sharkspeare (@Sharkspeare) 1645628364
The real "educational terrorists" are the people trying to shut down public schools.— Steve Irvin (@Steve Irvin) 1645484371
Well apparently I\u2019m an educational terrorist because I teach the truth about history and I do my best to help lift people out of poverty\u2026 I have two Masters degrees and all R\u2019s have is bull\n\n#BlueVoices \n#DemVoice1 \n#wtpBLUEhttps://www.rawstory.com/arizona-republicans-call-teachers-educational-terrorists-and-a-scourge-on-our-society-report/\u00a0\u2026— Prez \ud83c\udf0a\ud83c\udf0a\ud83c\udf0a\ud83c\udf39\ud83c\udf3b\ud83d\udc40\ud83d\udc40\ud83c\udf0e\u2744\ufe0f\ud83e\udd43\ud83e\udd42\ud83e\uddc9\ud83c\udf08 (@Prez \ud83c\udf0a\ud83c\udf0a\ud83c\udf0a\ud83c\udf39\ud83c\udf3b\ud83d\udc40\ud83d\udc40\ud83c\udf0e\u2744\ufe0f\ud83e\udd43\ud83e\udd42\ud83e\uddc9\ud83c\udf08) 1645555047
.@MichelleUgenti just referred to teachers as "educational terrorists." Think about that for a moment...our teachers are terrorists. Wow.— Julie Erfle (@Julie Erfle) 1645478163
Nothing to see here. Just my state senator (and AZ SOS candidate) calling teachers \u201ceducational terrorists\u201d.https://twitter.com/TheEdgePHX/status/1495882204777684992\u00a0\u2026— Phil Latzman (@Phil Latzman) 1645484142
State Sen @MichelleUgenti just called public ed teachers and educators \u201cEducational Terrorists\u201d while voting no on the AEL. Think about that, she\u2019s taking away money she already voted in favor of allocating and she\u2019s calling THEM the terrorists.— Ted H (@Ted H) 1645478511
I just can\u2019t understand how these type of ignorant, hateful people get elected and continue to survive the on earth.Arizona Republicans call teachers \u2018educational terrorists\u2019 and \u2018a scourge on our society\u2019: reporthttps://www.rawstory.com/arizona-republicans-call-teachers-educational-terrorists-and-a-scourge-on-our-society-report/\u00a0\u2026— Sue Massa (@Sue Massa) 1645628408
Thank you, AJ. Deplorable and disrespectful language. People who devote their lives to the well being of children should never be referred to as educational terrorists. Full stop.https://twitter.com/AJforArizona/status/1495873291801747458\u00a0\u2026— Katie Nash (@Katie Nash) 1645489617
According to @MichelleUgenti this is what an educational terrorist looks like. I thought I was a kindergarten teacher, who knew.....pic.twitter.com/zR6kWGtLaj— Kelley Fisher NBCT (@Kelley Fisher NBCT) 1645484590
If you have school age children, red states are not the place to be. They not only kneecap teachers, but now actively consider teachers (and doctors and scientists) "the enemy". This is very similar to the philosophies of Mao and Pol Pot.https://www.rawstory.com/arizona-republicans-call-teachers-educational-terrorists-and-a-scourge-on-our-society-report/\u00a0\u2026— Charlie Fox (@Charlie Fox) 1645550428
Arizona consistently ranks at the bottom of all 50 states for public education, with U.S. News and World Report's most recent rankings placing the state at 47th place.