SLO High teacher’s anti-gay letter shows why free speech has its benefits

Although I agree with the general sentiments expressed in the May 13 letters to the editor by Christine Mulholland (“SLO High must not allow hate speech attacks on any of its students”) and Josh Payne (“SLO High teacher who wrote anti-gay letter shouldn’t have done so in a student newspaper”), I disagree with their mutual recommendation that hatemongers shouldn’t be allowed to express their views in school newspapers.

If Mr. Stack had not published that letter, which resulted in his resignation, he would still be teaching at SLO High, ticking away like a human time bomb. I would hazard that no one knew about his views prior to his revelation or he wouldn’t have lasted there as long as he did. By “outing” himself to the world, Mr. Stack has eliminated the possibility of hurting any (more?) students. Plus, he is leaving behind him an effective teaching tool for the social studies instructors, who will now be able to use his letter to spark lively classroom discussions for a good while to come. This is one of the great benefits of free speech that often gets overlooked: giving haters enough rope.

This story was originally published May 18, 2017 at 2:19 PM with the headline "SLO High teacher’s anti-gay letter shows why free speech has its benefits."