They are not using armbands, yet; however one school district in Galesburg, Illinois, is issuing color-coded identification to visibly label vaccinated and non-vaccinated school district employees. This is how the process of stigmatization is begun; be aware of what is coming.
According to sources in Illinois School District 205 (Galesburg, IL) School Superintendent John Asplund sent the notification (screenshot below) to school staff members announcing a new staff ID badge policy. [Galesburg CUSD #205 LINK]
School staff now have the option to change from the customary white ID badge to a yellow ID badge to indicate that they have received the COVID-19 vaccine. This policy is currently only limited to school staff and does not apply to students. However, it can be anticipated the school may begin to visibly identify non-vaccinated students.
This is a slippery slope where peer pressure and stigmatization become a serious issue. How long will this remain voluntary? This creates a dynamic of virtue-signalling peer pressure on school staff to publicly display their private health information. As noted by one of the affected recipients of the notification “this policy will prompt a lot of bullying, ostracism, and cliquish behavior.”
Additionally, the passage in the email that states, “At this point in time, proof of vaccination does not give you any additional benefits…” is striking to me. The implication here is that employment or social compact benefits within the district may be designated or assigned -at a future date- based on vaccinated status. If this was not an active part of the thought process within the administration, the notation about “additional benefits” would not be present.
The social issues in/around COVID-19 mitigation have been catastrophic for our educational system. Creating a class system based on vaccination status is very troubling. Keep an eye open for this type of activity surfacing in your area.
This is a troubling development.
Act or be acted upon…. push-back now or silence is the same as consent !
