On June 26, 2016, Yvette Felarca was caught on video assaulting a man at a white nationalist rally in Sacramento. She punched the man in the stomach repeatedly, before throwing him to the ground. Felarca is a 7th and 8th grade Humanities teacher at Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School in Berkeley. Among her responsibilities is teaching the students under her tutelage about the Bill of Rights.

Someone who does not believe in free speech should not teach kids about their constitutional rights.

Felarca's activity would get a student expelled at best, or jailed at worst. And yet she's meant to be a role model for students. She has repeatedly advocated the use of militant, violent tactics to shut down opponents of her personal political pack, By Any Means Necessary (BAMN). They claim that they're "fighting the good fight," trying to stop "fascism" from taking hold in Berkeley.

He who fights monsters should see to it that he himself does not become a monster.

I don't care if they're fascists. As Americans, they have a right to free speech. Assaulting people for their political views is undemocratic, un-American, and unacceptable.

In the United States of America, people who disagree argue with each other, or agree to disagree. They do not try to intimidate others into agreeing with them. They do not attack people for disagreeing with them. That's the realm of third-world countries, not the oldest democracy on Earth.

By continuing to employ Yvette Felarca, and enable BAMN, the Berkeley Unified School District is subverting democracy. Now, they shelter her, refusing to publicly punish her for actions completely unbecoming of a teacher.

I am a Berkeley resident. I went to King. And I am horrified that the BUSD tolerates this behavior. It's common sense. Someone who does not believe in the right to free speech should not teach children about the Bill of Rights.

As a supporter of free speech for all, I am petitioning Donald Evans, Superintendent of the Berkeley Unified School District, and Beatriz Leyva-Cutler, President of the Berkeley School Board, to fire Yvette Felarca.

To mis-quote Voltaire: "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."