While Oklahoma State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan “Naked Ladies” Walters hams it up, exploiting the terrible murder of Charlie “Proud Boy” Kirk to promote himself and his extremist agenda, the state Supremes – again – slap him across the puss.
This is the latest consequence of Walters’ relentless efforts to impose Christian nationalism on our public schools. Here’s the news lead from the website of Americans United for Separation of Church and State [AU]:
This headline links to a press release by AU. It reports that the Oklahoma Supreme Court has “prohibited Walters and the state from implementing the new social studies stands. State officials are also prohibited from spending any state funds on the standards. The court ordered the state to treat the prior version of the standards, which were enacted in 2019, as remaining in effect.”
The state Supreme court found the new standards, which Walters had pushed to lawmakers in a manner that circumvented normal procedures, “unconstitutionally promoted Christianity to public school students,” according to the AU press statement. The ruling came in the context of a lawsuit contending just that point, filed by a group of 33 plaintiffs including Oklahoma parents, school-age children, teachers, and faith leaders. AU and Oklahoma Appleseed, a non-profit education advocacy group, represented the plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
This is not the first time for a Oklahoma’s Supreme Court ruling to sting Walters’ face. Let us not forget, for instance, the court’s rejection of a public charter school with Catholic teachings integrated into its curriculum. Walters was a vocal advocate for this blurring of separation between church and state, a fundamental concept embodied in the U.S. Constitution which Walters has called “a myth.” [Walters loves the First Amendment’s free exercise clause – guaranteeing the right of all Americans to practice the religion of their choice. At the same time, he consistently defies the establishment clause – protecting all Americans from theocracy in the form of a religion established by the government. The state of Oklahoma also incorporates these fundamental rights in its Constitution.]
An interesting aside is that the Catholic church has recently announced they will be moving forward with their proposed online school that incorporates religious teachings [under a new name], but as a private school, not using taxpayer dollars. This is perfectly appropriate and consistent with the First Amendment, unlike their previous effort which Walters had so forcefully promoted.
Just last week, Walters posted on social media, “The 3 things the radical left hates most are God, America, and President Trump,” adding, “Oklahoma is proud to lead the charge to bring prayer back to school!” As obsequious as they come, this was in the context of applauding the Trump administration’s “new guidance to protect prayer in schools.”
While Walters is doggedly pursuing various tactics of eroding this constitutional principle, recent events have led him to turn his attention to a different controversy: the recent assassination of right-wing extremist and agitator, husband, and father of two young children, Charlie Kirk. Walters wasted no time in making this jarring act of gun violence all about him.
The day after Kirk’s shooting death, Walters announced the investigation of a middle school teacher who, he said, posted “disgraceful rhetoric” online. Allegedly the teacher, of Sand Springs, posted that Kirk “died the same way he lived: bringing out the worst in people.” [Kirk was shot while engaging with a crowd of students on a university campus in Utah, an outreach practice for which Kirk was well known. Kirk often invited audience members to engage him in debate while he made characteristically inflammatory statements, many marked by sexism and racial bigotry. He also was an outspoken champion of individual gun rights with a lack of sympathy for innocent victims of shootings, calling the Second Amendment “worth it” for people to die.] In tragic irony, the last word Kirk spoke, responding to an audience member just before he was shot, was “violence.”
Some would argue that the Sand Springs’ teacher’s alleged remark was perhaps callous and lacking in compassion, but certainly not hate speech or “disgraceful.” Much more caustic rhetoric has spread over social media since Kirk’s assassination, from both sides of the political spectrum. Nonetheless, Walters pounced on the teacher’s post as an excuse to call attention to himself and sanctimoniously posture.
Beyond announcing an investigation into this one teacher’s social media post, Walters released a public statement hailing Kirk as “a true warrior for our nation’s future … He inspired a generation with his courage, faith, and dedication to America. His legacy will live on today and forever.” In the same statement, Walters declared that “any teacher or employee who attempts to glorify this disgusting act of violence will have their teaching license taken away from them and will never step foot in an Oklahoma school again.”
While it’s clear that Walters held Kirk in high esteem, is it really appropriate for his hero-worshiping to be foisted on the rest of us? He is an elected official representing a state agency serving all Oklahomans, not only people who share his admiration of Charlie Kirk, but also the many who felt victimized by him. In addition to raising Kirk into the realm of martyrdom, is Walters justified in using state resources to comb through Facebook feeds and X accounts? Are we expected to trust the judgment of Ryan Walters and Republican-appointed members of the State Board of Education to determine what is and is not an attempt to “glorify” Charlie Kirk’s violent death? Do educators not have the same First Amendment rights to share their views as the rest of us without facing a coordinated effort to expel them from their profession?
You probably know, dear readers, how I would answer these questions. My guess is that justices of the Oklahoma Supreme Court might have a similar legal view, if it were to come before them. And maybe it should.
Regardless, Walters is shining the spotlight on himself, as usual, to highlight his concocted image as a self-designated star of the far rightwing Christian nationalist movement. He is not verbally glorifying Kirk’s death, but he certainly is exploiting it in service to his political ambitions. Do so may be more cynical and disgraceful to the memory of Charlie Kirk than any gross expressions of him getting what he deserved – an ugly sentiment of violence that, if felt, is best gone unsaid.
Maybe Walters should strip himself of his own teaching credentials. Another idea would be impeachment, which is definitely justified. Since Oklahoma’s GOP majority in the Legislature seems to be lack to appetite for impeaching Walters, I really wish he’d do us all a favor.
In light of his penchant for doing backflips to undermine students’ Constitutional rights; his incessant self-promotion at taxpayer expense; his abject failure to improve education outcomes in our state, currently rated 50th in the nation; his repeated disregard of the legal processes for implementing or changing agency policy; his blatant folly of overreach as he tries dictating to schools, districts, and educators on issues that are outside his authority; and finally, now, his desperate grab for headlines as he elevates Charlie Kirk to martyrdom for his own political image, at the expense of teachers’ rights – in light of all this and more, Ryan Walters should resign.
