Latest / Cultural Wars | America Out Loud News / Hannah Campbell’s brave stand against sexual harassment is going viral

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Hannah Campbell’s brave stand against sexual harassment is going viral · Cultural Wars | America Out Loud News

0:09
You are listening to the Hidden Lightness on
0:10
America Out Loud Talk Radio.
0:12
I'm your host Jimmy Hinton.
0:14
I don't know if you all remember this,
0:16
but it was a very creepy exchange between
0:18
a Tennessee school board member and a teenage
0:20
girl.
0:23
He called her close to uh to him
0:25
and put his arm around her and called
0:27
her hot.
0:30
And it was really creepy.
0:32
I extremely creepy, very inappropriate, uh, not cool
0:36
at all.
0:40
And his fellow colleagues, including a police officer,
0:43
I assume it was an officer, maybe security
0:46
officer, standing directly behind him.
0:50
They all laughed.
0:52
Maybe it was a nervous laugh, I don't
0:53
know.
0:55
But wildly inappropriate.
0:57
There was nothing about that that was okay.
1:02
She was a 17-year-old teenage school student, a
1:05
minor, and I don't remember what she was
1:09
presenting on, but uh she was there in
1:13
front of the school board, and for a
1:16
school board member to call her hot, he
1:20
said, God, you're hot, and uh said it
1:23
really, really creepy in a very creepy way.
1:27
Uh folks, I don't I don't get it.
1:32
I don't understand in what world this is
1:34
appropriate.
1:36
And I've uh I have trained people to
1:40
prevent child abuse for uh well over a
1:43
decade now.
1:46
Decade and a half.
1:49
And these kinds of comments are never okay
1:51
for minor children, period.
1:55
But here's where the hidden lightness comes in.
1:59
Because the the young girl, whose name is
2:01
Hannah Campbell, and yes, she came forward by
2:04
name.
2:07
She called him and the entire school board.
2:11
She wrote a script and she read it
2:13
to the entire school board, and it was
2:15
fire.
2:18
It was absolutely incredible.
2:22
This is in Washington County, Tennessee.
2:26
I'm gonna let you listen to some of
2:29
the speech, but she says she absolutely does
2:33
not forgive the members for allowing Keith Irvin,
2:36
a member since 2006 to keep his position.
2:40
And I want to talk about this forgiveness
2:42
piece too, because that's gonna get people in
2:45
an uproar, and I happen to agree with
2:47
her theologically.
2:50
I think she's a hundred percent spot on.
2:53
Absolutely love her response.
2:56
What a brave young girl.
2:59
I almost said young woman, but that's that's
3:01
that's not right.
3:04
She's not a woman.
3:06
She's a girl.
3:08
She's a minor.
3:10
And she is intelligent, she uh she's brave,
3:13
she's courageous, and she was not afraid to
3:16
put the entire school board on blast.
3:20
I love it.
3:23
She said, I'll read a little bit of
3:24
her quote, then I'll let you listen to
3:26
the longer speech.
3:28
But she said to begin with, I want
3:31
to address Irvin's actions, which were not only
3:34
unwelcome, but sexist and derogatory.
3:37
I know this is because he has not
3:39
behaved this way.
3:40
I know this because he has not behaved
3:43
this way with any of our male members,
3:45
nor do I believe that he ever would.
3:49
I do not wish to beat a dead
3:51
horse, as everyone here has clear context as
3:54
to what happened was wrong.
3:57
She's 100% right.
3:59
Now, do you uh do you think that
4:01
he would say that to any of his
4:03
male colleagues?
4:06
We're a male student.
4:09
Nope.
4:10
She is 100% right.
4:12
Here's his quote.
4:13
Now, I want to warn you, it's very
4:15
grotesque.
4:17
It is very grotesque.
4:19
So if you have any children, I recommend
4:21
putting it on mute for the next few
4:24
seconds.
4:27
Um it is wildly inappropriate.
4:31
He said, quote, God, you're hot.
4:34
Do you know that?
4:36
Damn.
4:37
Where did you go to school at?
4:41
As he put his arm around her and
4:44
gave her a very inappropriate hug, pulling her
4:47
in.
4:50
She looked very uncomfortable in the video.
4:52
I've seen the video.
4:55
And everybody stood around and laughed.
4:58
The other school board members, the resource officer
5:01
or police officer or whatever he is, they
5:03
all laughed.
5:06
They they chuckled.
5:08
Not one person stepped in and defended her,
5:11
not one person told Irvin that that was
5:14
inappropriate.
5:17
Nobody.
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So here's what she had to say.
5:21
My goodness, keep in mind, she is a
5:25
teenage girl, and listen how smart she is.
5:29
To begin, I want to address Ermin's actions,
5:31
which were not only unwelcome, but sexist and
5:33
derogatory.
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I know this because he has not behaved
5:38
this way with any of our male members,
5:40
nor do I believe that he ever would.
5:43
The failure to act on the board's behalf
5:45
was and is equivalent to his actions, as
5:48
it has hurt me just as much.
5:50
To watch the chairperson be so quick to
5:53
bang her gavel to control the public, yet
5:55
not use it once in order to control
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her own peer was disgusting.
6:00
I understand the shock.
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I was there.
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But it is her responsibility to control and
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represent this board.
6:08
You all have done a poor job at
6:10
that representation.
6:12
Gaining global attention for sexual comments and assault
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is not the reputation that Washington County deserves.
6:19
Everyone on this board shares that blame.
6:21
Just as every voter who put you in
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the office shares that responsibility.
6:26
So every time that you feel a little
6:28
bit of discomfort from the public, I want
6:30
you to remember that it isn't even a
6:32
fraction of what I felt on April 2nd.
6:35
With all of that being said, thank you.
6:38
Thank you for teaching me that no one
6:40
will stand up for me besides myself.
6:42
Thank you for showing this community what you
6:44
believe it means to protect our children.
6:47
Thank you for giving me a reason to
6:50
advocate for policies that require board members to
6:53
have the equivalent, if not greater, training than
6:56
school administrators on sexual assault and appropriate conduct.
7:00
Thank you for showing us the importance of
7:00
Thank you for showing us the importance of
7:01
voting locally.
7:02
voting locally, and thank you for giving me
7:03
And thank you for giving me another reason
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another reason to get a little bit tougher.
7:04
to get a little bit tougher.
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That's all.
7:06
That's all.
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Wow.
7:08
Wow.
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I mean, wasn't that incredible?
7:09
I mean, wasn't that incredible?
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Her thank yous.
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Her thank yous.
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Thank you for teaching me that nobody's there
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Thank you for teaching me that nobody's there
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to stand up for me except for myself.
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to stand up for me except for myself.
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Oh.
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Oh.
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Wow.
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Wow.
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I mean, she's she's spot on.
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I mean, she's she's spot on.
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I'm not laughing because I think it's funny.
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I'm not laughing because I think it's funny.
7:28
I'm laughing because she.
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I'm laughing because she was on fire.
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That was so good.
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That was so well thought out.
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Uh, that was spot on.
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Yeah, she's being harassed, sexually harassed, as a
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minor child.
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And everybody stood around.
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They stood around and laughed.
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Not one person.
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Not one person said a word.
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Nobody.
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Ah, absolutely crazy.
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So here is an NBC article.
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It said that other school board members laughed.
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They laughed lightly.
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The meeting went on.
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Shock and anger broke out through the small
8:19
community with many residents calling for Irvin to
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be removed from his post.
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The board agreed to censor him, but he
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has kept his position.
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Huh.
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Interesting.
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And gross.
8:36
Again, Campbell said the failure to act on
8:39
the board's behalf was and is equivalent to
8:42
his actions.
8:45
As it hurt me just as much.
8:48
To watch the chairperson be so quick to
8:52
bang her gavel to control the public, yet
8:55
not use it once in order to control
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her own peer was disgusting.
9:03
My goodness, she chose her words so carefully.
9:08
I mean, she really chose her words very
9:10
carefully.
9:13
And I think she's absolutely right.
9:15
She's a hundred percent right.
9:19
Um, listen to him, and this is how
9:22
disgusting he is.
9:25
Keep in mind, he put his arm around
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her, physically put his arm around her, pulled
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her in, and was like gawking all over
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her.
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So here was his statement.
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He denied any wrongdoing whatsoever.
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He said, Last week at the board meeting,
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I wanted to congratulate a student who did
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a great job sharing thoughts with all that
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was in the room.
9:54
When I mentioned she was hot, I meant
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she was on a roll.
10:00
It was nothing to do with her appearance.
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Really?
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Really.
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Why didn't he tell her she's on a
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roll?
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Why didn't he tell her good job?
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Why didn't he say, wow, those are great
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thoughts.
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Instead, he used the expression, God, you're hot.
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Uh highly inappropriate.
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Highly inappropriate to ever say that to a
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minor child, especially when you're on a school
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board, especially on a live stream, especially in
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front of other peers.
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And he uh he looked like he was
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falling asleep whenever she was giving her speech,
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too.
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He had his arms folded and his eyes
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closed, he looked like he was bored to
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tears, like he really didn't want to be
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there.
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So I don't know.
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This is crazy, folks.
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And this is the kind of stuff that
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our students are up against all the time,
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and this is increasingly common at schools among
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school teachers uh especially, and if you notice
11:18
in the news, there's been a major, major
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uptick of female school teachers who are getting
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arrested for sexually assaulting students.
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I mean, a lot of them.
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And I remember reading something from somebody who
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uh consults with church or not churches, I
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almost said churches because I uh that was
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most of who I consulted with myself was
11:45
churches, but this guy was consulting with schools.
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Uh, he was an attorney, and he was
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consulting with schools about child sexual abuse, and
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he said, I don't think that there's a
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single school district in the entire United States
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that doesn't have a case of sexual assault
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with a teacher and a student.
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It's that common.
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And that caught my attention at first.
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I kind of pushed back against that, and
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I was like, uh, he's maybe it's because
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he was he's immersed in this and he
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just sees it so much that it feels
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like it's at every school district.
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But then I started doing some research and
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found out that it is incredibly common, very,
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very common, and a lot of school boards,
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unfortunately, a lot of school boards cover up
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for the school teachers.
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When abuse is brought to them, allegations of
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abuse, they cover it up, they keep quiet,
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they don't report it, they talk to the
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union union reps, and they'll say, well, you
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know, there's this allegation, and the universe are
12:54
uh are always well, you've got to keep
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it quiet.
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We don't want that word getting out, and
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they keep it hidden.
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It's absolutely disgusting, and this is happening at
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a lot of schools.
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Now, fortunately, the good news is that a
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lot more schools are getting a lot better
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training and they're not tolerating it.
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But Washington County, uh I watched the video
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myself.
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There was not one person who stood up
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to defend this girl, not one, not a
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single one.
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So when she called them cowards, she's a
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hundred percent right.
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I know if that were my daughter, I've
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had people make comments to my daughter before,
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and you better believe that the dad hackles
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come up and I intervene.
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I call them creepy.
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I say it loud enough too that other
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people hear.
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I'd be like, let's get away from this
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I'd be like, let's get away from this
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creepy person who keeps talking about how pretty
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creepy person who keeps talking about how pretty
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you are.
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you are.
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Oh, you're your daughter's so beautiful.
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Oh, you're your daughter's so beautiful.
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Oh, look at that hair.
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Oh, look at that hair.
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Oh, look, oh, you're a head turner.
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Oh, look, oh, you're a head turner.
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Those are never appropriate comments to say to
14:17
Those are never appropriate comments to say to
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a minor child.
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a minor child.
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Ever.
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Ever.
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So when people say those kinds of comments,
14:24
So when people say those kinds of comments,
14:27
like Keith Irvin.
14:27
like Keith Irvin.
14:30
I would like to think that other people
14:33
would intervene and say those comments are not
14:35
acceptable.
14:39
She is a minor.
14:40
She's a child.
14:43
Those comments are never, never acceptable.
14:48
Yet nobody stood up for her.
14:51
Nobody said a word.
14:54
So when she said thank you, thank you
14:57
for teaching me that nobody's here to defend
14:59
myself except for me.
15:02
Thank you for teaching me that you guys
15:05
all stand around while somebody's saying sexually explicit
15:08
things to a ch to a child, and
15:11
you've taught me that this school needs a
15:15
lot better training.
15:18
Thank you for teaching me that you don't
15:21
have the best interests of your students at
15:23
hand.
15:27
Alright, you're ready for this kicker.
15:30
In 2009, Keith Irvin was accused of inappropriate
15:33
behavior in October.
15:37
He allegedly entered a classroom discussion, and uh
15:40
it was a teacher and about 15 students,
15:43
and the student was talking about a job
15:46
and had something to do with uh the
15:49
amount of pay that the student was making,
15:52
and he made a lewd gesture, and had
15:55
to later apologize.
15:59
And uh this time he apologized in 2026.
16:04
Usually when when there's an incident like this,
16:06
uh you find that it's not the first
16:09
time, it's not the first time that somebody
16:11
has an incident and has been reported for
16:14
inappropriate conduct.
16:17
And as it turns out, and I have
16:18
a feeling there's more.
16:20
I do have a feeling that there's gonna
16:22
be more that comes out because this stuff
16:24
doesn't happen in a vacuum.
16:27
Right?
16:27
It very rarely happens in a vacuum.
16:31
I think it has a long history of
16:33
this, but kudos to Hannah Campbell.
16:35
Uh, what a fantastic girl, and she's just
16:38
brilliant.
16:42
Uh for her to stand up against what
16:44
he said to her, uh, just so spot
16:46
on, and I think that should encourage many,
16:49
many young people to speak up when things
16:51
aren't right.
16:53
We're coming up on a break here.
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America out loud news is that place to
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awaken your heart, soul, and mind to the
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alpha.
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The school board member Keith Irvin, not the
19:30
famous singer, Keith Irvin.
19:34
Keith Irvin.
19:48
Well, that young student, Hannah Campbell is pushing
19:51
back, and she's pushing back hard.
19:55
And thankfully, the community is behind her.
19:58
She said she does not forgive him.
20:02
The school board laughed rather than speak up,
20:05
rather than do something rather than intervene at
20:07
a bare minimum, at least to say, what
20:10
are you saying?
20:13
That's inappropriate.
20:16
They said literally nothing.
20:19
They laughed.
20:21
So Hannah, she decided to take matters into
20:23
her own hands.
20:25
Now, this is a I believe she's a
20:26
17-year-old student.
20:28
Uh that's incredible.
20:32
For her to write a speech to go
20:34
to the school board to read the speech
20:37
in front of them is absolutely fantastic.
20:40
And I can't begin to tell you how
20:42
much courage that takes for somebody to do
20:43
that.
20:45
This is not easy.
20:50
She's a student.
20:58
She was verbally assaulted publicly.
21:00
Verbally assaulted publicly.
21:04
Imagine what he does in private.
21:04
Imagine what he does in private.
21:08
He publicly humiliated her.
21:08
He publicly humiliated her.
21:11
This has been seen around the world.
21:11
This has been seen around the world.
21:13
And she said that's had devastating effects on
21:13
And she said that's had devastating effects on
21:14
her.
21:14
her.
21:17
And she said, I do not forgive any
21:17
And she said, I do not forgive any
21:19
of you.
21:19
of you.
21:21
I don't forgive you for not standing up
21:21
I don't forgive you for not standing up
21:22
for me.
21:22
for me.
21:24
And that's a part here for a second.
21:24
And that's a part here for a second.
21:26
I want to talk about that because it
21:26
I want to talk about that because it
21:28
is really important.
21:28
is really important.
21:31
Because victims are often taught, almost always, almost
21:34
100% of the time.
21:37
I'd say 99.9% of the time, they're conditioned
21:39
to believe that the only way they can
21:42
get healing is if they forgive the person
21:44
who abused them, and they have to forgive
21:47
if they're ever going to find healing and
21:49
they have to move on, and the person
21:52
who who injured them won't even know that
21:54
you're forgiving them, but you have to do
21:57
it anyway.
22:00
And I'm like, that's number one, that's not
22:03
a biblical view of forgiveness at all.
22:08
It's just not.
22:11
Secondly, there were plenty of times where people
22:15
were not forgiven in the Bible.
22:19
Forgiveness is withheld.
22:22
Jesus talks about withholding forgiveness.
22:26
In John chapter 20, verse 23, Jesus says,
22:28
if you forgive the sins of any, they
22:30
are forgiven them.
22:33
If you withhold forgiveness from any, it is
22:35
withheld.
22:37
There is a very biblical reason for withholding
22:39
forgiveness.
22:42
And it's to bring pain and shame upon
22:45
the person who injured you, so that they
22:49
might come to their senses and repent.
22:54
Paul talks about it in 1 Corinthians 5.
22:57
He talks about the church member in Corinth
23:01
who had relations with his mother.
23:05
And Paul puts the whole church on blasting.
23:07
He's like, you know, you you guys should
23:08
be ashamed.
23:10
And instead, you're proud.
23:13
They thought it was funny.
23:14
They're like high-fiving each other, thinking that it's
23:16
funny.
23:18
And Paul says, instead, you ought to have
23:22
removed this person, meaning removed from the church.
23:28
You get him away because he's abusive and
23:31
gross and disgusting.
23:35
And Paul says, hand this man over to
23:38
Satan so that his soul might be saved,
23:41
right?
23:45
It's for a purpose.
23:46
It's for a very specific reason.
23:48
Withholding forgiveness is a very biblical concept.
23:53
For a time.
23:55
If somebody repents, then you forgive them.
23:59
In fact, in Matthew 18, Peter brought that
24:00
up.
24:02
Well, what do I do if my brother
24:03
sins against me seven times?
24:05
Well, Jesus says, I tell you, not seven,
24:08
but 77 times you, if he says, I
24:12
repent, you forgive him 77 times, or 70
24:15
times seven.
24:20
And you've got to put all of this
24:22
in its proper context.
24:24
Repentance is a precondition.
24:28
And people point to the cross.
24:30
Well, Jesus forgave people from the cross.
24:33
But what did he say?
24:35
What were his actual words?
24:36
He said, Father, forgive them for they don't
24:39
know what they're doing.
24:44
They're sinning in ignorance.
24:47
They're not willfully blatantly sinning and causing causing
24:50
harm and injury to somebody for their own
24:54
gain, for their own pleasure.
24:59
They were sinning in ignorance.
25:02
And therefore, Jesus said, forgive them for they
25:04
don't know what they're doing.
25:08
In another place, Paul talks about receiving mercy.
25:12
Listen to what he says.
25:14
Paul says, I thank him who has given
25:17
me strength, Christ Jesus, our Lord, because he
25:20
judged me faithful, appointing me to a service.
25:23
Though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and
25:26
insolent opponent.
25:29
But I received mercy because I had acted
25:34
ignorantly in unbelief.
25:55
Father, forgive them for they don't know what
25:58
they're doing.
26:05
Oh, you got to forgive people no matter
26:06
what they've done, they won't even know that
26:08
you're forgiving them.
26:09
All right, this is what's being taught to
26:11
people.
26:13
And it really brings injury to people.
26:16
Can you imagine if Hannah had been told,
26:19
well, you just need to forgive Keith Irvin
26:22
and find forgiveness in your own little bitter
26:25
heart.
26:29
And she says, No.
26:33
No.
26:33
You know what victims are looking for.
26:37
What victims are looking for is not, can
26:39
I forgive this person?
26:42
Can I bring myself to forgive this person?
26:44
That's not what they're looking for.
26:46
You know what they're looking for?
26:48
And Hannah Campbell is a case in point.
26:51
They're looking for justice.
26:54
They want to know that this creepy man
26:56
is not going to do this to another
26:58
teenager.
27:00
They want to know that the board actually
27:02
takes this seriously.
27:04
That they're actually upset about it, that they're
27:07
actually going to intervene.
27:10
Hannah did not approach the board that day
27:13
and say, Dear board, help me to for
27:16
to find forgiveness in my heart.
27:22
Keith Irvin, and I want you to help
27:24
me to find forgiveness for my own inner
27:26
healing.
27:29
That wasn't her speech, was it?
27:31
That would have been a, in my opinion,
27:34
that would have been a terrible speech.
27:36
The reason I love her speech is because
27:39
she's calling them to account.
27:42
She's saying, I withhold forgiveness.
27:46
If you forgive anyone, if you forgive anyone
27:50
their sins, they're forgiven them.
27:54
If you withhold forgiveness from any, it is
27:56
withheld.
27:58
John chapter 20, verse 23.
28:00
23.
28:01
She withheld her forgiveness, and rightfully so.
28:01
She withheld her forgiveness, and rightfully so.
28:06
She withheld it for one very specific purpose
28:06
She withheld it for one very specific purpose
28:09
to bring and to put the shame and
28:09
to bring and to put the shame and
28:12
humiliation on the person on the shoulders to
28:12
humiliation on the person on the shoulders to
28:15
which it belongs.
28:16
which it belongs.
28:19
You see, she was the one shamed that
28:19
You see, she was the one shamed that
28:21
day.
28:21
day.
28:22
She was the one humiliated.
28:22
She was the one humiliated.
28:24
She was the one who knew that her
28:24
She was the one who knew that her
28:26
face was being spread all over the world,
28:26
face was being spread all over the world.
28:27
that people.
28:29
That people were watching that video over and
28:32
over and over and over again.
28:35
She felt shame.
28:37
She felt humiliated.
28:38
And she decided I'm going to withhold forgiveness,
28:40
and I'm going to put the shame exactly
28:43
where it belongs.
28:46
On Keith Irvin and on the entire board.
28:50
That's where the shame belongs.
28:54
And the purpose for doing that is not
28:56
to get revenge.
28:58
It's not to make yourself feel better.
29:00
It's not to, it's not to say, well,
29:03
they're going to get their own.
29:07
The purpose is to bring about change.
29:11
In the Bible, that that that word is
29:13
called repentance.
29:16
But you could just call it change.
29:20
She is trying to bring about change.
29:22
She wants to see the board held to
29:24
account.
29:25
She wants to see her abuser held to
29:27
account.
29:30
She's exactly right.
29:34
The failure to act on the board's behalf
29:37
was and is equivalent to his actions.
29:41
And it has hurt me just as much.
29:45
To watch the chairperson be so quick to
29:48
bang her gavel to control the public, yet
29:51
not to use it once to control her
29:54
own peer was disgusting.
29:58
I believe that you all are cowards.
30:03
She is exactly right.
30:07
She's exactly right.
30:18
It said Campbell was wrong about one thing.
30:21
There were others in the community who are
30:23
willing to stand up for her.
30:26
One irate father vowed to raise enough money
30:28
to oust every single board member should they
30:31
fail to act.
30:35
He said, Would you want your kid around
30:37
that guy without a camera around?
30:40
I wouldn't.
30:42
Touche.
30:44
I wouldn't either.
30:51
An online petition calling for Irvin's removal from
30:55
the board, along with superintendent Jerry Boyd, has
30:58
collected nearly 7,000 signatures.
31:03
I want to read a portion of this
31:05
uh this petition because it gives you a
31:08
picture of what happened in that room.
31:10
During a public meeting, I witnessed an incident
31:12
that no parent student or community member should
31:15
ever have to experience.
31:17
At this meeting, Keith Irvin, a member of
31:20
the Washington County Board of Education, made an
31:22
inappropriate comment by referring to a high school
31:25
student as hot.
31:28
To my utter disbelief, Jerry Boyd, the superintendent
31:31
present at the meeting, laughed at his utterly
31:34
disrespectful remark.
31:38
This is not the first time Keith Irvin
31:40
has been in trouble for inappropriate conduct.
31:43
Despite previous incidents, he maintained his position, raising
31:46
questions about the accountability and integrity of those
31:50
in power within our education system.
31:53
Allowing such behavior to continue sets a poor
31:57
example for our children and undermines the moral
32:01
and ethical standards expected of educators and officials
32:05
entrusted with our children's education and welfare.
32:10
The Washington County Board of Education is responsible
32:13
for making decisions that affect the academic environment
32:16
and overall well-being of our students.
32:19
How can we entrust the leadership of our
32:21
schools to individuals who exhibit and condone such
32:23
behavior?
32:26
Jerry Boyd's passive acceptance of Keith Irvin's comment
32:30
reveals a disturbing lack of leadership and judgment.
32:34
As superintendent, he is expected to uphold the
32:36
highest ethical standards and create a safe and
32:39
respectful environment for all students.
32:42
I love this petition.
32:44
I think it is spot on.
32:47
It's absolutely right.
33:03
So this is interesting.
33:06
I talked about the lewd juvenile gesture that
33:09
Keith Irvin made in 2009.
33:14
Here's an article according to WCYBTV record records
33:18
show that in 2009, Irvin made a quote,
33:23
lewd juvenile gesture, gesture of a sexual nature.
33:30
End quote in front of students and teachers
33:32
at a school.
33:35
He was censured then barred from school property
33:38
unless accompanied.
33:47
And then he gets elected as a school
33:49
board member.
33:51
A member of the Board of Education.
33:55
Unbelievable.
33:58
And I read his comment, by the way,
34:01
and I can't tell you how much he's
34:04
gaslighting this poor girl.
34:07
In his comment, he talks about how brilliant
34:10
she was, and she's just so smart, and
34:13
people want to take a two-second quote and
34:16
pull it out of context.
34:21
He said, I understand why people are reacting
34:24
the way they are, but that's not the
34:26
full conversation, not even close.
34:29
When I mentioned she was hot, I meant
34:31
she was on a roll.
34:34
It was nothing to do with her appearance.
34:38
Wrong, wrong, and wrong.
34:44
He knew exactly what he was saying.
34:47
It wasn't just what he said, it was
34:48
how he said it.
34:50
And it's the fact that he was centered
34:54
in the past for making a lewd sexual
34:57
gesture, and he was barred from school property
35:00
From school property, unless accompanied by another adult.
35:01
unless accompanied by another adult.
35:04
He needed a babysitter.
35:04
He needed a babysitter.
35:09
Ah, unbelievable.
35:09
Ah, unbelievable.
35:12
So interestingly, and not surprisingly, he was the
35:12
So interestingly, and not surprisingly, he was the
35:16
dissenting vote to be centered.
35:16
dissenting vote to be censored.
35:22
He got a vote.
35:22
He got a vote, which I think is
35:24
crazy that he was allowed to vote for
35:24
Which I think is crazy that he was
35:27
his own censoring.
35:27
allowed to vote for his own centering.
35:30
But he voted against it.
35:32
He was the only one to vote against
35:33
being centered.
35:36
He doesn't think he did anything wrong.
35:39
You know, it's it's these overreactive people in
35:42
the public.
35:45
And I read some of his defense too,
35:47
and he kept referring to the fact that
35:48
he's a farm, I'm just an old farm
35:50
boy.
35:52
So what?
35:54
What does your what does your profession have
35:56
to do with it?
35:58
I'm just uh I'm just an old farm
36:00
boy.
36:02
Is that supposed to excuse it?
36:05
But wait a second, you're just an old
36:07
farm boy.
36:09
Why are you referring to that?
36:11
I thought that you thought that you meant
36:14
she was on a roll.
36:17
What does being a farm boy have to
36:18
do with it?
36:19
And I'll tell you what he meant by
36:20
that.
36:21
The implication is that when you're a good
36:23
old country boy, you're a good old farm
36:25
boy.
36:28
You make comments like that.
36:29
You make lewd comments.
36:32
Just culturally part of what you do.
36:35
That's what he meant by that.
36:38
It's kind of like President Trump when he
36:40
was like, that's locker room talk.
36:43
Yeah, it's not sexual harassment.
36:46
That's just locker room talk.
36:47
That's how you talk in the locker room.
36:51
So Irvin here, uh, that's just farm talk.
36:54
It's just how we talk on the farm.
36:56
But Hannah Campbell was having none of it.
37:00
Love this girl.
37:01
She's so brilliant, and the fact that she
37:04
called them on the carpet is absolutely wonderful.
37:07
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38:56
He talked about her physical appearance, not just
38:57
talking about her physical appearance, but called her
38:59
hot.
39:02
He touched her against her will, pulled her
39:04
in, grabbed her for a hug, pulled her
39:07
in.
39:10
As a board member, as he's sitting down,
39:13
what in the world was he thinking?
39:16
Uh why do you pull somebody in for
39:18
a hug?
39:20
Why do you pull a student, a child,
39:23
a minor in for a hug as a
39:26
school board meeting is being conducted?
39:29
It just doesn't make any sense.
39:32
Except that it does.
39:33
And that's the point that Hannah Campbell made.
39:36
It's that he knew exactly what he was
39:37
doing.
39:44
He got irritated with people who came against
39:47
him for making the comment.
39:58
I meant she was hot, like uh she
39:59
was on a roll.
40:02
That doesn't even make sense.
40:05
On a roll, you're hot.
40:09
Uh and the way that he said it,
40:11
uh, go back and watch it if you
40:12
have the stomach for it.
40:14
It is very, very creepy.
40:16
I mean, it has creepy vibes all over
40:18
it.
40:20
And I think that we need more Hannah
40:23
Campbells.
40:27
We need more teenagers who are willing to
40:29
stand up for themselves.
40:33
And I know people are gonna say, well,
40:35
if she was uncomfortable, why didn't she why
40:37
didn't she say something in the moment?
40:40
It was shocking.
40:42
It was absolutely shocking.
40:45
And when you're in shock, you're not exactly
40:47
thinking on your feet.
40:49
And that's why she's exactly right, because even
40:51
if the school board was in shock and
40:54
that was a nervous laugh or whatever that
40:57
they did, they need better training.
41:00
They need the adults need better training, so
41:03
that when somebody says a shocking statement, they
41:06
don't freeze up or laugh or uh ignore
41:09
it or whatever, or all of the above,
41:11
they need to be willing to intervene, they
41:14
need to be trained to intervene, they need
41:17
to know what to do when somebody makes
41:20
an inappropriate comment.
41:23
It's not okay.
41:26
It really, really is not okay.
41:29
And the school board and the entire school,
41:32
in my opinion, clearly they need more training
41:35
because their superintendent was in the room, he
41:38
witnessed it, and he laughed.
41:41
He laughed whenever he said, God, you're hot.
41:45
So Hannah Campbell's exactly right, but I also
41:47
want to make a point.
41:49
Hannah Campbell's parents, I don't know anything about
41:50
them.
41:52
They're they're not even mentioned in any of
41:54
the articles that I read.
41:57
But I just want to give a shout
41:59
out to her parents because they raised an
42:00
They raised an incredibly strong girl.
42:01
incredibly strong girl.
42:04
Uh, she is very, very, very strong and
42:05
She is very, very, very strong and courageous.
42:06
courageous.
42:09
And for her to stand up and say
42:09
And for her to stand up and say
42:11
what she said, and to look that man
42:11
what she said and to look that man
42:13
in the eyes as he's like nodding off
42:13
in the eyes as he's like nodding off
42:15
like he's going to sleep.
42:15
like he's going to sleep.
42:18
She stood tall.
42:18
She stood tall.
42:20
If you watch the video, she didn't cower.
42:20
If you watch the video, she didn't cower.
42:24
She didn't wince.
42:24
She didn't wince.
42:26
She held her head high.
42:26
She held her head high.
42:29
And
42:29
And that has to come from having good
42:32
parents.
42:34
Parents who support her.
42:36
Parents who encourage her.
42:38
They didn't speak on her behalf.
42:41
They allowed her to speak.
42:44
They let her write the words that she
42:46
was going to speak.
42:49
And she stood up there with such confidence
42:52
and confronted her abuser.
42:56
And for her to have the ability to
42:59
do that, it's just, it's very, very commendable.
43:02
So kudos to her parents as well.
43:05
So that brings me to my next point.
43:08
And that's that all of our parents, all
43:10
of us parents, rather, need to be encouraging
43:12
our kids to do the same.
43:14
We need to empower them.
43:18
And I'm not talking about like to be
43:20
mouthy and to, you know, every time somebody
43:23
even has the perception of coming at them
43:26
that they need to come unhinged.
43:28
I'm not talking about that.
43:30
I'm talking about giving our kids confidence.
43:34
I'm talking about giving our kids the freedom
43:37
and the ability and the know-how to defend
43:40
themselves.
43:44
To defend themselves physically, to defend themselves against
43:48
verbal attacks, to defend themselves against sexual innuendos.
43:52
We need to train our kids and encourage
43:54
our kids to be able to stand up
43:56
for themselves.
43:58
Because Hannah's exactly right.
44:01
That was on a live stream that was
44:03
in a room of an entire board.
44:07
An entire school board, and not one single
44:09
person stood up for her in that moment.
44:13
Not one.
44:14
And I talk about this with my kids
44:16
all the time.
44:18
Like unfortunately, a lot of times you can
44:21
be in situations where people won't stand up
44:23
for you.
44:26
Now that's not always the case.
44:28
In fact, I was going to do a
44:30
story just today.
44:33
There was kind of a toss-up between this
44:35
and the woman in Boston.
44:37
I don't know if you saw that.
44:38
I think it was Boston, but there was
44:40
a shootout, and there was a Marine who
44:43
opened up her car door, and he had
44:46
his own gun, and he was telling her
44:49
to take cover and to run as fast
44:51
as she could.
44:54
And he stood up as bullets are being
44:57
sprayed all over the place.
44:59
He stood up and he pulled his gun
45:02
out and was defending this woman, and he
45:04
gave her a chance to get away and
45:06
ultimately saved her life.
45:08
You know, there are people who do it.
45:11
Certainly, definitely 100%.
45:14
There are people every single day who stand
45:17
up against all kinds of outrage, against abuse,
45:20
against uh violence.
45:24
There are people every single day who do
45:26
it.
45:28
So don't give your kids the impression that
45:29
nobody's out there, nobody cares, nobody will ever
45:31
stand up for them, because that's just not
45:33
true.
45:35
But I think it's fair to say that
45:37
there are going to be certain times, there
45:39
are going to be certain circumstances where your
45:41
kids don't have somebody there to defend them,
45:44
whether they're alone, or whether it's something like
45:46
this where you have a room full of
45:48
cowards.
45:50
There are times where there won't be people
45:52
to defend your child.
45:54
And so we need to teach them.
45:56
We need to train them.
45:57
We need to have conversations with them about
46:01
defending themselves, standing up for themselves, not putting
46:05
up with garbage, the lewd comments, the derogatory
46:08
comments.
46:12
That's just in no sane world is that
46:15
ever okay.
46:29
No, that's not okay.
46:32
Well, I'm just good old farm boy.
46:35
No.
46:37
You're a disgusting person who has a history
46:40
of making disgusting comments to kids, to little
46:43
kids.
46:47
Let's call it what it is.
46:50
Not, well, that's just, you know, Joe being
46:52
Joe.
46:55
That's just Keith being Keith.
46:58
No.
47:00
We need to stop excusing this stuff.
47:03
And we need to start defending our children.
47:06
All children.
47:07
By our, I don't mean your own child.
47:11
I mean everybody's child.
47:13
And I think that's that the next point.
47:17
One of the things that really inspired me
47:19
about this story is that the community did
47:20
come together.
47:22
And the community did come together in support
47:24
of Hannah Campbell.
47:28
I don't know if people were there in
47:30
support of Keith Irvin.
47:32
I doubt it.
47:34
But you never know.
47:37
Sometimes people do come in defense of abusers.
47:41
But I will guarantee that the overwhelming majority
47:44
of people who are there, they were there
47:46
in support of Hannah.
47:49
And that's changed.
47:51
Honestly, since I started doing advocacy work some
47:54
15 or so years ago.
47:58
It used to be the case that the
48:00
majority of people who showed up to court,
48:02
who showed up to wherever it was, meetings
48:04
like this, they would come in support of
48:06
the abusers.
48:09
The vast majority of people would show up
48:12
in support of the abusers.
48:15
In cases of sexual assault against children, the
48:18
vast majority of people would show up in
48:21
support of the abusers.
48:25
I'm so proud to say that that's changed.
48:27
That is changing.
48:29
Now it still happens, but people are starting
48:30
to get it.
48:32
People are starting to come out in support
48:34
of the victims.
48:36
As they should.
48:37
They always should have.
48:40
But that wasn't the case.
48:42
For many, many years, it was very uncommon
48:44
for anybody to show up on behalf of
48:47
the victim, the child victim.
48:51
But here you have an entire community.
48:53
In fact, I think you have an entire
48:55
nation that's outraged about this.
48:59
We're here talking about it today.
49:00
Here talking about it today.
49:03
There are a lot of people who came
49:03
There are a lot of people who came
49:05
out in support of Hannah Campbell.
49:05
out in support of Hannah Campbell.
49:08
7,000 people plus signed a petition to remove
49:08
7,000 people plus signed a petition to remove
49:12
not just this board member, but every board
49:12
not just this board member, but every board
49:15
member and the superintendent.
49:15
member and the superintendent.
49:19
I think that's a step in the right
49:19
I think that's a step in the right
49:20
direction.
49:20
direction.
49:22
The board called for an emergency meeting following
49:22
The board called for an emergency meeting following
49:25
Irvin's remark.
49:25
Irvin's remark.
49:28
That resulted in a vote to
49:28
That resulted in a vote to censor him.
49:31
And unfortunately, I don't think that their vote
49:33
to censor him was because they felt like
49:35
that was the right thing to do.
49:38
I think that they received a massive amount
49:40
of pressure from the public.
49:44
And so this was a response to that
49:47
pressure that you guys better do something about
49:50
this because the public is outraged.
49:55
So at any rate, uh, here's a statement
49:58
by the board chair, Annette Buchanan.
50:02
That's the one, if you remember, Hannah criticized
50:04
her and said, You're really quick to slam
50:07
your gavel down to to quiet the public,
50:09
but you not once did you raise that
50:11
gavel to bring your your own board member
50:13
under control.
50:17
So here's the statement from that board chair,
50:20
Annette Buchanan.
50:24
She said, Mr.
50:25
Irvin knows his intentions, but the rest of
50:27
us have to judge his words and his
50:29
actions.
50:31
What we saw was shocking.
50:34
He objectified and diminished a young woman publicly.
50:38
No explanation can justify that.
50:42
And I will give her credit.
50:45
That's a pretty strong statement.
50:47
And it is possible.
50:49
I don't know.
50:50
Uh, I'm not inside of her head.
50:53
It is possible that it was such an
50:55
uncomfortable situation that that that was a nervous
50:58
laugh by the other board members.
51:01
That's a possibility.
51:04
But it goes back to this idea that
51:07
the board needs trained.
51:09
If if that's the response is to give
51:11
a nervous laugh.
51:14
And then after the fact, wait until the
51:16
public is outraged.
51:19
And then you give a statement.
51:21
It's a little bit less believable, isn't it?
51:24
Even though it's a really good statement, it's
51:26
a very powerful statement.
51:28
It uh it doesn't seem like it's really
51:30
genuine.
51:33
So I I think the public would have
51:36
been less outraged at the board.
51:38
Now they still would have been outraged at
51:41
Irvin, and they should be, but I think
51:43
they would have been less outraged at the
51:46
board if the board had had like removed
51:49
him from that meeting and publicly addressed it
51:51
and just said, look, like these statements are
51:54
never okay.
51:57
It's never, never, never, never okay.
51:59
What he said was inappropriate, what he said
52:02
was wrong, and we've asked him to not
52:05
stay for the rest of the meeting.
52:08
And we're going to figure out how we're
52:09
going to move forward with this.
52:11
I think the board would have had a
52:12
lot more respect if that would have been
52:14
their position.
52:15
But they didn't do that.
52:17
They laughed.
52:20
They they was like a soft laugh, but
52:22
they still laughed, nonetheless.
52:27
So man, teach your kids how to defend
52:31
themselves and teach other adults how to defend
52:34
children and set proper boundaries.
52:39
We have we have boundaries written into our
52:42
church policy that adults can't do what Irvin
52:45
did.
52:49
And not just the words, but physically.
52:52
Adults can not initiate physical contact with any
52:54
minor.
52:57
In other words, adults can't grab kids by
52:59
the shoulders.
53:02
They can't walk up behind them and grab
53:04
their shoulders.
53:06
They can't tickle kids.
53:09
They can't pull kids in for a hug.
53:13
That's not acceptable.
53:15
Adults cannot initiate physical contact with kids.
53:20
Now I always have somebody who's who comes
53:22
back and they're like, oh, what about high
53:24
fives?
53:27
Well, obviously a high five is okay.
53:30
But when there's a suggestive, any kind of
53:34
suggestive touch whatsoever, anything that can be misinterpreted
53:38
as anything other than a benign high five.
53:44
It's not okay.
53:45
You can't take kids and pick them up
53:46
and put them in your lap.
53:50
You cannot pull a kid in for a
53:53
hug for a number of reasons.
53:58
You can't braid a kid's hair who's sitting
54:01
in front of you.
54:04
You can't stroke a kid's hair.
54:06
You can't tell a kid how beautiful they
54:08
are.
54:16
You can't stroke a kid's face.
54:22
Like, why was it acceptable for this board
54:24
member to pull this girl in?
54:28
This teenage girl to pull her in and
54:30
give her a hug as he's telling her
54:33
that she's hot.
54:36
It's not okay.
54:37
So set proper boundaries, and I recommend, I
54:40
highly recommend putting that into policy.
54:43
This school should have a policy.
54:48
They should have a policy of conduct, what's
54:51
acceptable, what's not acceptable, and what the consequences
54:54
are for when people violate those boundaries.
54:58
So very clearly, many boundaries were crossed.
55:02
There were physical boundaries that were that were
55:03
crossed.
55:06
There were verbal boundaries that were crossed.
55:11
And then he came back and he attempted
55:12
to gaslight.
55:15
Oh, I just I think she's I just
55:18
meant she's on her roll.
55:20
She's very smart, she's very brilliant.
55:23
You know, he's like superficially building her up.
55:27
What they should have done is removed him.
55:33
Like I said, remove him from that meeting
55:35
and then find a way to remove him
55:36
from the board.
55:38
Now the board is coming back and they're
55:40
claiming, well, we we can't really fire him
55:42
because it's a it's a publicly uh elected
55:44
position.
55:47
But I will guarantee they have clauses, and
55:50
there's a way that they could remove him.
55:53
So it'll be interesting to see what happens,
55:56
but the hidden lightness in all this is
55:58
that I think it's so encouraging to see
56:00
I think it's so encouraging to see that
56:01
that kids are standing up for themselves.
56:01
kids are standing up for themselves.
56:03
And I I just I think she is
56:03
And I I just I think she is
56:05
such a brave girl, and I give her
56:05
such a brave girl, and I give her
56:08
all the credit in the world.
56:08
all the credit in the world.
56:10
I give her parents all the credit in
56:10
I give her parents all the credit in
56:11
the world.
56:11
the world.
56:12
They raised a very strong, courageous girl, and
56:12
They raised a very strong, courageous girl, and
56:15
that's awesome.
56:15
that's awesome.
56:18
That, my friends, is the hidden lightness.
56:18
That, my friends, is the hidden lightness.
56:20
You can find more out about my show
56:20
You can find more out about my show
56:21
and get all the latest podcasts if you
56:21
and get all the latest podcasts if you
56:23
go to the menu navigation bar at America
56:23
go to the menu navigation bar at AmericaOutLoud.news
56:25
Outlock.news under our shows or schedule.
56:25
under our shows or schedule.
56:27
You'll be in the know.
56:27
You'll be in the know.
56:28
There is a hidden lightness that shines inside
56:28
There is a hidden likeness of Sean.
56:29
of all of us.
56:31
When there's so much darkness that envelops the
56:32
world, remember that it doesn't take much light
56:34
to expose that darkness and to ultimately inspire
56:36
other people.
56:37
Join me in being a light.