High school student turns Valedictorian speech into abortion rant

Pepper said:
I'm female. That is another whole other discussion
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My observation is that those most strongly against abortions are the people least likely to be in need of one.
The less likely their need, the stronger their anti-choice feelings run.

In order of the depth of their objections: old men, women past menopause, married women, and children who are not yet sexually active.

Just sayin...
 

StarSong said:
If she'd delivered a speech from the right rather than the left in Texas it wouldn't have been newsworthy.
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Good line. What if she had delivered it in Massachusetts? What if she had spoken out about the excesses of Critical Race Theory or the Marxist roots of the Black Lives Matter movement? Would that have been ok?
 
This topic just happens to be the major cause of my life. MY body, MY choice; and if that choice means going to hell, it still has nothing to do with anyone else, including the biological male donor.
 

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Pepper said:
Your questions at the end are pertinent, @JimBob1952. That is a whole other discussion, but I personally reacted to the use of the word "rant" when she was not ranting at all. Ohioboy set up the topic in a biased way by using "rant" and that was my objection, based on my own bias, but then again, I'm female. That is another whole other discussion.

There is a question of her betraying trust on the content of her speech, but hey, she worked the hardest at her school, showed incredible guts given where she is located, so Congratulations, Paxton!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And..........that is a third whole other discussion.
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Agree that rant is not the right word for a reasoned speech.
Pepper said:
This topic just happens to be the major cause of my life. MY body, MY choice; and if that choice means going to hell, it still has nothing to do with anyone else, including the biological father.
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I understand completely. I am just trying to point out that there is a free speech issue here. If this young woman gets to speak out on abortion rights, does next year's valedictorian get to chuck his speech and go off about why it's important to increase and not decrease police funding?
 
JimBob1952 said:
Good line. What if she had delivered it in Massachusetts? What if she had spoken out about the excesses of Critical Race Theory or the Marxist roots of the Black Lives Matter movement? Would that have been ok?
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Or, she could have given a speech titled 'Hitler was right' and 'Jews will not replace us." I'm sure there is a willing audience for that.

However, Jim, it is what it is and she said what she said, and that has nothing to do with our fantasies and speculations of 'what if?'
 
Pepper said:
Or, she could have given a speech titled 'Hitler was right' and 'Jews will not replace us." I'm sure there is a willing audience for that.

However, Jim, it is what it is and she said what she said, and that has nothing to do with our fantasies and speculations of 'what if?'
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Ok.
 
What this Valedictorian did is nothing new. Students breaking rules, back in the day, was frowned upon, not called bravery and not praised virally. The Academy Awards ceremony has a long history of political rants when they are suppose to be saying things like "thank you, this was a great experience, and I learned something"...you know...expressing gratitude where it belonged, etc. I would have thought everyone was so over that soap box stuff.

That student could have written her speech to make a difference in All of the audience's lives and their futures, including the young men... not just a select few. Pro-choice speeches are plentiful out there throughout history and so on.

As soon as I became pregnant each time with my children, I no longer considered it "My body's rights", but rather "Our bodies' rights" as there were two of us. But that's me. Her choice is hers.
 
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Lara said:
What this Valedictorian did is nothing new. Students breaking rules, back in the day, was frowned upon, not called bravery and not praised virally. The Academy Awards ceremony has a long history of political rants when they are suppose to be saying things like "thank you, this was a great experience, and I learned something"...you know...expressing gratitude where it belonged, etc. I would have thought everyone was so over that soap box stuff.

That student could have written her speech to make a difference in All of the audience's lives and their futures, including the young men... not just a select few. Pro-choice speeches are plentiful out there throughout history and so on.

As soon as I became pregnant each time with my children, I no longer considered it "My body's rights", but rather "Our bodies' rights" as there were two of us. But that's me. Her choice is hers.
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Young men who'd actually listen to her rather than staring at her body? Yeah, right, hahahahaha!
 
fuzzybuddy said:
I understand why some do not appreciate the introduction of controversial topics, into what is mostly a formulaic speech. And, even though she was obviously passionate about her views, she sprang this on her unsuspecting faculty. Yes, it's a youthful expression of her concerns, in an unusual, mildly disconcerting way, but I don't think she should be burnt at the stake for it
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Let me be clear on the point with this. She was chosen Valedictorian to speak for the graduating senior class. Not to promote a personal agenda on any subject. Salutorian addressess should be the same.

ANY social media would a complish and achieve the same or a even greater result. No she wasn't a hero, it was stupid of her.

What if a Teacher would have done that in class? Would that be ok?

What about seperation of church and state?
 
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ohioboy said:
Let me be clear on the point with this. She was chosen Valedictorian to speak for the graduating senior class. Not to promote a personal agenda on any subject. Salutorian addressess should be the same.

ANY social media would a complish and achieve the same or a even greater result. No she wasn't a hero, it was stupid of her.

What if a Teacher would have done that in class? Would that be ok?

What about seperation of church and state?
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Good question, since the government is violating the 1st Amendment by legislating their religious beliefs. All anti-abortion laws are rooted in religion.

Her speech gave her the platform to voice her opinion that wouldn't have been noticed had she just posted on social media. We wouldn't be discussing it right now had she not made it her valedictorian speech, so, mission accomplished. She got her voice heard.
 
Answer my part about the teacher, what if she taught that is class, and streamed it live or not?
 
I was kind of surprised that her speech was so short. The Valedictorian’s in high school and college spoke much longer. In high school, our Valedictorian spoke ad nauseam.
 
Nosy Bee-54 said:
Do you mean like accepting school vouchers and stimulus funds? 🤷‍♂️
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These have been given the green light by the courts, the same with church property tax exemptions. The question of "If a teacher had done that in class, would that be okay" needs to be answered.
 
Amazing how this seems to have morphed into a "what if" discussion. Where she delivered the speech, how she delivered the speech, who she was, etc., etc., etc., was unique to this person and this place. She didn't deliver the speech in Massachusetts. That state has not begun a war on personal rights of women as has Texas. She is not a teacher and, had a teacher given the speech in class, it would have been a different issue. And, NO!, social media platforms would not have had the same or greater impact. Social media is full of people touting their own opinions. Few have a major impact. This young lady using her platform DID have an impact or we wouldn't be talking about it here. She did visit with her parents about changing the speech content and they were okay with her doing so. This young lady certainly gets my accolades!!!!
 
Why are people shying away from my teacher question? If it's okay for a student to do it, then it's okay for the teacher. If it's not okay for the teacher, why is it okay for the student?
 
ohioboy said:
Why are people shying away from my teacher question? If it's okay for a student to do it, then it's okay for the teacher. If it's not okay for the teacher, why is it okay for the student?
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A teach in a classroom if a paid employee of the school district. That teacher has signed a contract holding him/her to certain requirements. The classroom is not the place for expressing political opinions. Now, had a teacher been asked to speak about her teaching experiences to the local Lion's Club, Optimist Club, etc. and had given the same speech this student gave... she would be protected by First Amendment rights. The young lady was not employed by the school. The young lady was not under contract to perform a certain duty.

Teacher speaking in a classroom.... Student speaking at a graduation exercise... Apples to Oranges.
 
911 said:
I was kind of surprised that her speech was so short. The Valedictorian’s in high school and college spoke much longer. In high school, our Valedictorian spoke ad nauseam.
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It's because she doesn't care about anyone in the auditorium except "My body's rights". She got that out there and was done. Forget a motivational speech about the future path the graduates are all about to embark on. Forget about moving forward with integrity for a bright future ahead.

Maybe she just wants to be another Greta Thunberg starring in her own Netflix documentary. Sorry, probably not. But the ripple effect happens.
 
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Sorry Patch, wrong, she was on school property and if you don't think that makes a difference, you are wrong, look up "Bong hits for Jesus", and internally citing Fraiser.
 
Patch said:
A teach in a classroom if a paid employee of the school district. That teacher has signed a contract holding him/her to certain requirements. The classroom is not the place for expressing political opinions. Now, had a teacher been asked to speak about her teaching experiences to the local Lion's Club, Optimist Club, etc. and had given the same speech this student gave... she would be protected by First Amendment rights. The young lady was not employed by the school. The young lady was not under contract to perform a certain duty.

Teacher speaking in a classroom.... Student speaking at a graduation exercise... Apples to Oranges.
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It wasn’t a classroom she gave the speech to.
 
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