KISS frontman Paul Stanley has weighed in on the controversy that erupted after a district leader in Texas asked teachers to offer students books with an “opposing perspective” of the Holocaust.
During a meeting last week between teachers and Gina Peddy, the executive director of curriculum, they discussed which books teachers should have in their libraries. NBC News, which obtained audio of the meeting from an unnamed employee, said that the subject of recent statewide legislation, as well as the Holocaust, came up.
“Just try to remember the concepts of [House Bill] 3979,” Peddy could be heard saying on tape, according to NBC News. “And make sure that if you have a book on the Holocaust, that you have one that has an opposing, that has other perspectives.”
A teacher at the meeting asked, “How do you oppose the Holocaust?” Peddy responded, “Believe me. That’s come up,” according to NBC News.
According to NPR, House Bill 3979, which went into effect last month, mandates, among other things, that if public school teachers choose to discuss current events or widely debated or controversial public policy or social issues, they should present numerous points of view “without giving deference to any one perspective.”
On Thursday, Stanley, who is Jewish, took to his Twitter to share the NBC News article, and included the following message: “This is so FUCKED. There will ALWAYS be ‘opposing views’ but there are NEVER opposing FACTS.”
TWISTED SISTER‘s Jay Jay French agreed, chiming in in a tweet: “completely insane. and you can thank Trump for unleashing the stupids”.
Superintendent Lane Ledbetter has since issued a statement via Facebook apologizing for the incident.
“As the Superintendent of Schools, I express my sincere apology regarding the online article and news story released today,” he wrote. “During the conversations with teachers during last week’s meeting, the comments made were in no way to convey that the Holocaust was anything less than a terrible event in history.”
“Additionally, we recognize there are not two sides of the Holocaust,” he continued. “As we continue to work through implementation of HB3979, we also understand this bill does not require an opposing viewpoint on historical facts. As a district we will work to add clarity to our expectations for teachers and once again apologize for any hurt or confusion this has caused.”
This is so FUCKED. There will ALWAYS be “opposing views” but there are NEVER opposing FACTS. https://t.co/p9ys5zDWEs
— Paul Stanley (@PaulStanleyLive) October 14, 2021
completely insane. and you can thank Trump for unleashing the stupids
— Jay Jay French (@jayjayfrench) October 14, 2021
