School board dispute over Instagram favorites escalates to Nazi slurs invoked
In the Californian city of Redlands, a school board member named Candy Olson finds herself at the centre of a heated controversy. The source of the uproar? Olson's liking of Instagram posts that contained racist, antisemitic, and inflammatory memes, complete with disturbing imagery such as Adolf Hitler and Jesus commiserating about Jewish people, a Nazi-uniformed Ned Flanders character, and a meme joking about hitting an LGBTQ Pride parade with a car [1].
This has led to widespread criticism from parents and local activist groups like Together for Redlands, who argue that Olson's behaviour makes her unfit to serve the district [1]. In response, Olson claims she only intended to like apolitical images within those carousels and has since unfollowed the account due to disagreement with its inflammatory content [1].
The school board member has also accused her critics of engaging in a smear campaign because they oppose her policy positions and has alleged that her nursing license was "doxed" [3]. However, no other board members have addressed her social media concerns during recent meetings [3]. Olson maintains she is working to protect children's innocence and promote high-quality education free from political bias [3][5].
The controversy in Redlands reflects broader tensions within the school district over ideology and governance, with divisions running deeper than one board member's social media activity [1][3]. The Redlands school board's new direction, which includes proposing changes to the district's anti-racism resolution and a new process to pull "blasphemous" library books from shelves, has been met with criticism [1][3].
The carousels Olson liked included a picture of Adolf Hitler and Jesus apparently commiserating about Jewish people, an image of a character from "The Simpsons" dressed in a Nazi uniform, and a meme that appeared to joke about hitting an LGBTQ Pride parade with a car [1]. Over 1,500 people have written to the school board calling for Olson's resignation as part of a campaign by a local activist group, Together for Redlands [2].
The controversy has sparked passionate protests at board meetings, with hundreds of protesters speaking for and against rules accommodating transgender students [4]. The debate has also seen incendiary commentary from both sides, with one man in a Trump hat stating that those who want Olson to resign should move to Europe, where "you can be as gay or trans as you want until a Muslim migrant throws you off a roof and sets you on fire" [6].
Meanwhile, Pat Molnar, a teacher in the district, spoke directly to the conservative board members, stating that history will not judge them kindly and that they are an embarrassment [7]. The Redlands school board's new direction has been criticised, with critics saying the board should instead direct energy towards challenges like declining enrollment and funding cuts, as well as addressing rare heightened monitoring by the California Department of Justice for mishandling sexual abuse and misconduct cases [8].
In California, school boards have been defending policies supporting transgender students, but these views are far from uniform, and culture wars in education are still simmering at the local level [9]. Arthur Schaper, an organiser with the far-right activist group MassResistance, said he was proud of the conservative board members, and that parents protesting Olson were behaving like Nazis treated their political opponents [10].
As the controversy continues, it remains to be seen how the Redlands school board will address these concerns and whether Olson will face any consequences for her social media activity.
- The controversy over Candy Olson's social media activity, which includes liking posts with racist, antisemitic, and inflammatory content, has raised questions about her suitability to serve the Redlands school district.
- Critics argue that Olson's behavior on social media platforms such as Instagram is inappropriate for someone in a position of authority in education-and-self-development, especially given the disturbing imagery found in the posts.
- Despite Olson's claims that she only intended to like apolitical images, the general-news outlets have reported that the carousels she liked contained memes justifying crime-and-justice, joking about hitting an LGBTQ Pride parade with a car, and depicting characters in Nazi uniforms.
- As the Redlands school board navigates this heated controversy, they face criticism for focusing on contentious issues like the district's anti-racism resolution and library book selections, rather than addressing more pressing concerns such as funding and declining enrollment.
