Alberta school trustee posts meme with rainbow flag and swastika
She reported that she was told to do so by the "holy spirit."
Red Deer in central Alberta, the province's most populous city after Edmonton and Calgary, has been the center of an unusual scandal. At its epicenter is local school trustee Monique LaGrange, who posted a meme on social media. He became a cause for indignation of numerous colleagues immediately, at the end of August this year. Now they have held a meeting about it, and the scandal has reached a new level.
What's the meme?
First of all, let's understand what was in the picture. The meme consists of two glued photos, both of which show children waving flags. In one case, these are children from Nazi Germany with swastikas on their flags. In the other case, they are modern children with rainbow flags. LaGrange accompanied the image with the caption "brainwashing is brainwashing."
What's new about the situation?
Of course, such an act by a trustee caught the attention of the community, and colleagues urged LaGrange to apologize for comparing the LGBTQ community to Nazis and go to psychological training.
However, the woman did not admit her guilt and claimed that, first, she had been prompted to publish by the holy spirit himself, who whispered, "Do it, go for it!" And secondly, her post was allegedly misinterpreted at a meeting of the board of trustees of the Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools.
It was from the record of this meeting that the general public was able to learn of LaGrange's position, "The meme post is about indoctrination through the United Nations which directly correlates to World War II and Nazism; it is about the agenda of the United Nations and Planned Parenthood which is an attempt to sabotage our youths' identities and destinies and hijacks the LGBTQ community's original mandate."
The trustee claims that the rainbow flags are being used as a weapon of the "cancel culture": to kick children out of schools and fire adults. She also noted that what is happening is contrary to her religious beliefs — which is why the "holy spirit" drove LaGrange to protest.
Results of the proceedings
The public's opinion of the trustee's action was divided. She was criticized by many of her colleagues, as well as by representatives of the Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies.
However, at least four parents sent letters to the board of trustees in support of LaGrange. For them, the religious argument was decisive, and they recommended that the woman's beliefs be respected.
However, the board of trustees came to a different conclusion. The board members chose to proceed not according to Catholic value system, but to education law and board policy. Both involve creating a welcoming and safe school environment.
"The meme post is not, on a reasonably objective standard, dignified nor professional, [and the board] does not accept the trustee's submission that the meme was clearly unrelated to Nazism," the statement reads.
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This decision allows LaGrange to remain on the school board, but she is not allowed to participate on committees, attend meetings or represent the board in any official way until she undergoes the aforementioned training and apologizes. To date, that has not yet occurred.
Earlier this month, LaGrange's lawyer said she would not apologize but would seek a judicial review of the decision.
