Utah State Senator Jokes About Kids Whose Lunches Were Thrown In The Trash!

Utah State Senator Jokes About Kids Whose Lunches Were Thrown In The Trash!

by John Prager

Recently, between 50 and 70 children (9-13% of the school) at Uintah Elementary in Salt Lake city, Utah were in tears as cafeteria workers took away their lunch trays and threw them in the trash, replacing the meal with a piece of fruit and milk; their only crime was a shortage on their school lunch account.

The cafeteria manager and her supervisor have been placed on paid leave following the (if worded generously) misguided decision to cause children to go hungry for any reason, with special attention being paid to whether or not they actually followed guidelines for notifying parents. Multiple parents report receiving no notification that lunch balances were in arrears.

The public backlash following the incident have inspired a bipartisan effort to prevent anything as horrific as humiliating and depriving children over an accounting issue from happening again. State Senator Todd Weiler (R) and Jim Dabakis will meet with Senate leaders to discuss legislation that students are fed in schools. Weiler calls for the termination of all involved because they "used [their] power to humiliate and embarrass children."

However, Weiler's seemingly caring approach is not reflected in some of his social media interactions. Twitter user GammaRae206 attempted to engage Weiler in dialogue concerning his party's attitude toward the poor in general, but she was met with the usual evasiveness that can be found in conservatives.

Why would Busch grill  a man who is calling for blood over this incident? Perhaps she has looked at his voting record. A brief glance shows that in 2012, Weiler voted for abstinence-only education in public schools, a bill that passed 19-10. Weiler's decision to support such legislation helped to virtually ensure a higher teen pregnancy rate, leading to a future with more hungry children. In March of 2013, Weiler helped pass a bill authorizing concealed carry of a firearm without a permit, a move that helped to place an untold number of children's lives at risk.

Another user pointed out that the GOP sponsored food stamp cuts, ensuring that the children would still be hungry at home but Weiler's sympathy for children seems to end with the positive publicity he has garnered from what looks like an attempt to co-opt a horrible incident for political gain.

His concern from the children does not prevent him from cracking tasteless jokes about their humiliation and what some are calling abuse:

While we can appreciate Weiler's decision to go to bat for the children, it is important to consider that his motivations may not be pure--anyone who feels that our youth should not be properly educated about reproduction, that food stamps cuts are in any way fine, or that children need to be around more guns is, at minimum, selective about when he cares about Utah's youth.

John Prager