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Parents' Fear of Retaliation
Thursday, August 5th, 2010
Robert Wechsler
Yesterday, I wrote a blog post about intimidation, but I forgot to
mention what might be the greatest fear among citizens relating to their
local government: the fear that if they speak out against local
officials, especially school officials, it will affect their school-age
children.
I was reminded of this fear by a letter to the editor in yesterday's Neighbor News (northern New Jersey). The writer of the letter wants a PTA member to file an ethics complaint against a school board member, because only PTA members received a particular e-mail endorsement. He wrote, "[I] need a brave PTA member who'll admit to receiving it, to file an ethics complaint. Unfortunately, those to whom I've spoken fear retaliation affecting their children's education."
I knew a couple who were very politically active, opposing the people in power in their town, until they sent their child to public school. Their activity ended abruptly, due to fear of retaliation against their child.
This fear is not always reasonable, of course, but it is powerful, and it can be taken advantage of without anything direct being said. Implicit threats as well as unexpressed expectations of local government employees in an unethical environment can be just as damaging as the sort of express threats that were the subject of my blog post on intimidation.
In fact, they can be more damaging, because they are extremely difficult to end. Why? Because there is no evidence to present, even though everyone can attest to the existence of the implicit threats and expectations. They are like humidity on a summer day: stifling but invisible.
Parents' fear of retaliation is equally invisible. Because its effect is to either end participation altogether, or limit it to participation as parents trying to preserve or increase school funding, what these parents do not do cannot be seen by anyone, often even themselves.
As a primer on retaliation for parents of special needs children says, retaliation is about too much power and not enough accountability. Where there is accountability, and especially where officials make it clear that they welcome parent and citizen involvement, there is no fear of retaliation.
Where there is a poor ethical environment, those who get involved in politics are more likely to be on the side of those in power, because then they feel they have nothing to fear. This can make it even harder for parents to oppose school or town policies or officials' actions.
Robert Wechsler
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics
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I was reminded of this fear by a letter to the editor in yesterday's Neighbor News (northern New Jersey). The writer of the letter wants a PTA member to file an ethics complaint against a school board member, because only PTA members received a particular e-mail endorsement. He wrote, "[I] need a brave PTA member who'll admit to receiving it, to file an ethics complaint. Unfortunately, those to whom I've spoken fear retaliation affecting their children's education."
I knew a couple who were very politically active, opposing the people in power in their town, until they sent their child to public school. Their activity ended abruptly, due to fear of retaliation against their child.
This fear is not always reasonable, of course, but it is powerful, and it can be taken advantage of without anything direct being said. Implicit threats as well as unexpressed expectations of local government employees in an unethical environment can be just as damaging as the sort of express threats that were the subject of my blog post on intimidation.
In fact, they can be more damaging, because they are extremely difficult to end. Why? Because there is no evidence to present, even though everyone can attest to the existence of the implicit threats and expectations. They are like humidity on a summer day: stifling but invisible.
Parents' fear of retaliation is equally invisible. Because its effect is to either end participation altogether, or limit it to participation as parents trying to preserve or increase school funding, what these parents do not do cannot be seen by anyone, often even themselves.
As a primer on retaliation for parents of special needs children says, retaliation is about too much power and not enough accountability. Where there is accountability, and especially where officials make it clear that they welcome parent and citizen involvement, there is no fear of retaliation.
Where there is a poor ethical environment, those who get involved in politics are more likely to be on the side of those in power, because then they feel they have nothing to fear. This can make it even harder for parents to oppose school or town policies or officials' actions.
Robert Wechsler
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics
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