Would Californias SB5 Lead to More Incidents Like Operation Red Scare?
I recently was targeted by members of my colleges Republican club. In an action a California College Republicans press release dubbed Operation Red Scare, students taped a flyer on my office window. On top of the flyer was a bright red star. Below it was California Education Code Section 51530, which prohibits the advocacy or teaching of communism with the intent of indoctrinating or inculcating a preference in the mind of any pupil for such doctrine. The code defined communism as the theory that the presently existing form of government of the United States or of this state should be changed, by force, violence, or other unconstitutional means, to a totalitarian dictatorship which is based on the principles of communism as expounded by Marx, Lenin, and Stalin. Since I discuss neither communism nor overthrowing our government in my classes, I was curious to understand why these students targeted me. While I didnt satisfactorily explain this, I did discover that some of these students a
