Letter to WW
STUDENT POWER
One day while surfing the Web at my high school I decided
that I wanted to read the latest edition of Workers World
online, as it would be a few days until I could get to the
International Action Center to pick up a copy. I hopped on a
computer at one of the school's many computer labs, opened up
my web browser and directed it to the Workers World Web site at
workers.org.
I found that since September 2001 (when I regularly read the
Web site online, instead of by email) and now, someone had
blocked the Workers World Web site on all the computers at our
school. All that came up on my computer screen was a sign
saying "Bess can't go here." (Bess is a friendly dog that
prevents students from visiting sites our school deems
"unsuitable.") Curious, I ran the URL checking program that
comes along with the blocking software, to tell me why the
Workers World Web site was blocked. The reason given was that
it was classified as "pornography."
I was incensed. Immediately I went straight to my assistant
principal's office and began to foam at the mouth; rattling
off, I began, "Just because it doesn't agree with the school's
current political views doesn't mean that you have the right to
block it!" I continued to dust off my soapbox and to use
everything I had on the First Amendment, much to the dismay of
the poorly prepared school administrator.
The assistant principal removed his glasses and asked me,
"Well, does it display pornography?" at which point I shouted,
"Of course not!" He clearly had no idea what was going on, or
the ramifications that this situation could have had.
Trying to placate me, the assistant principal told me that
he would speak with Arthur Jonas, the school principal,
regarding the issue and that I would be "called down." Which
has become a code word in our school for "forgotten."
Arriving at school the next day, I planned to be called down
immediately, so this matter could be resolved in an expedient
manner. However, no such call was made. It was at this point
that I proceeded to go back to my assistant principal's office
on my own, where I was informed that the "principal agreed with
me" and that they just had to meet with their computer
technician.
However, Friday came, and then the weekend, and there was
still no change in the Workers World Web site status. I decided
to take a little more action. Going to the blocked Workers
World Web site at one of the computer labs, I requested a
"review" of the Web site. I checked the "unblock" button and in
the comments field on the "review site" I posted a note
informing the powers that be that if they didn't unblock the
Workers World Web site, I would bring them to court and sue
them for all they're worth.
Magically, the Web site was unblocked by school operating
hours the next day, without another word said by either an
administrator or other school official.
However, what is important about this story, as well as
scary, is that it clearly proves that capitalism needs
censorship to survive; and that it is our public (and possibly
private) schools that purvey this, by censoring what the
students can read and even think as well as knowingly, and
blatantly, violating the Constitution in the hopes that they
can bully students into acquiescing, and let capitalism survive
for another day. It is an odd time, perhaps even scary, when
schools block out logic, and only allow the unintelligible
system of capitalism to be taught.
--Matthew L. Schwartz (action.mail@zeusnyc.com)
Plainview, N.Y.
Reprinted from the June 6, 2002, issue of
Workers World newspaper
This article is copyright under a Creative
Commons License.
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