Teacher’s anti-military rant

The unthoughtful, unkind utterances of disgraced and now fired teacher Gregory Salcido about the supposed lack of high intellect he sees in young people who want to enter our country’s armed forces are of a different kind than other types of American free speech because the words were spoken in a classroom.

It’s certainly not that, as a teacher, Salcido gives up his First Amendment rights — outside his teaching hours. But when class is in session, you wouldn’t want to see a teacher telling students how to vote, or what church to go to, or whether to go to church at all.

You want to see a teacher explaining all sides of an issue, perhaps explaining with passion what the options are, but certainly not doing so with an eye to his own peculiar prejudices, unless it’s a paltry matter like how he takes his burger.

But Salcido, the El Rancho High School teacher who also is a longtime member of the Pico Rivera City Council, wasn’t encouraging his students to think for themselves when he went on an anti-military rant, apparently spurred by a student wearing a Marines sweatshirt to class.

He called anyone who would join the armed force “the frickin’ lowest of the low.”

He disparaged students’ relatives who might be serving as not the brightest of the bunch, either. And, to be fair, he encouraged them to stay in school and go to college.

But it wasn’t just a philosophical exercise — it was a tirade. And it’s not the first time Salcido has been in similar hot water.