Editor, The Smithfield Times:

During last week’s special Isle of Wight County School Board meeting, Windsor District’s Michael Vines informed all of us that “Mark Twain was a homosexual.” Really. This was sure news to me and probably to all the parents, teachers and even students present or watching livestream. And who, besides Mr. Vines, of course, even cares anyway?

But maybe I did miss something in my high school English class so, out of curiosity, I “Googled” Samuel Langhorne Clemens. Nope, no mention of any gaiety there. But a few more clicks did reveal something. Mark Twain’s “homosexuality” was a retroactive invention of liberal college professors in the 1990s.

Unfortunately for Mr. Clemens (who by then had been dead for a half century), he could not rise up to confirm or deny this retrospective revelation. But “revisionist history” was popular at that time among elite leftist university types. Maybe this is Mr. Vines’ “educational” background?

So I’m not sure what drives his obsession with outing long-dead “queers” — that’s the Q in LGBTQ that they now prefer using — but I am sure it disqualifies him from being a member of our School Board. Some of us will also recall at his “town hall” meeting a few weeks ago he told us that not Columbus but the Chinese had actually “discovered” America. He really said this!

I do hope those concerned Windsor parents will resubmit their petition to recall this woefully obtuse man. His demonstrated ignorance and alacrity to prove it are a bad example for our children. Remember that, by law, our school board is entrusted with establishing the curricula in our schools. Mr. Vines might insert some very interesting learning objectives!

We have a blatantly ignorant school board member who also seems obsessed with gay sex. He must be quickly removed from his position of influence over our students.

 

Albert P. Burckard Jr.

Carrollton