America’s education system has continued to sink to depths unknown over the course of time. The trend shows no signs of reversal any time soon. One need search no farther than Utah’s Nebo School District for confirmation of this fact.
Dozens of middle school students recently walked out of class there in protest against “furries,” who growl, bark, scratch, bite and pounce on them even as school officials reportedly ignored victimized students’ complaints.
What are furries you might ask? Why, of course, they are students who dress up as animals, generally cats and dogs, and act accordingly.
According to some concerned parents, the behavior has been occurring at the school for at least a couple of years. The furries in question are said to lick themselves in class, chew on wooden sticks and rub up against unwitting students. They also chase tennis balls down the halls by retrieving them with their mouths and regularly spray Febreze air freshener in students’ eyes. And while such stories strain the mind, the accusations have now made their way to social media and through video evidence on to YouTube.
What sensible middle-schooler would care to deal with such mayhem? Yet when offended students reported the behavior to the principal, they were instructed to be kind and nice to the furries. What, like petting them and holding them on their laps?
One student allegedly recorded the dysfunctional furries in all their glory but was then reprimanded for the effort. So, the protesting students didn’t just protest, they circulated a petition demanding that officials fairly enforce school rules and dress codes and ban furries from school. The signees numbered 629.
Nebo’s district superintendant has had little to say about the accusations.
Interestingly, the furry problem is nothing new to Nebo and follows a report from March, when a teacher was documented in the act of indoctrinating students about the dangers of climate change. And to bring the message home, students were given the option of earning extra credit if they would just simply agree to consume insects.
In days of old, if such activities were actually going on in school, sensible adults could be expected to ask, “What in Hades is going on?” Those involved in or sanctioning such behavior would have been promptly dealt with and the proper student intervention sought.
But that was before the advent of overzealous teachers unions, who made schools their tools, bringing to bear zany philosophies on life from their days of protest during the “Summer of Love” and Woodstock. And these influences live on stronger than ever today.
Instead of promoting order and stability, especially after the continuing horrors unleashed upon children through insane and mindless COVID restrictions, teacher unions seek to undermine stability among students who dearly need and seek it.
As if pushing alternative genders and preferred pronouns aren’t enough, they are literally promoting mental illness and student dysfuction in telling “furries” and their parents that abnormal behavior is acceptable and should not be judged, especially by those being victimized and punished for saying they have had enough.
Public schools in America are an unadulterated mess because excessive and extreme behavior by a few are too often celebrated at the expense of the majority. Only strong parental and student oversight can nip such lunacy in the bud. And don’t tell yourself that just because it’s in faraway Utah, you have nothing to worry about. This type of insanity is already headed to a school near you if it’s not already there.
Mark Figley is a political activist and guest columnist from Elida. His column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Lima News editorial board or AIM Media, owner of The Lima News.
