‘We’re getting soft’: Kentucky governor says America is weak for closing schools as a deadly arctic deep freeze wreaks havoc with record-breaking low temperatures – By Emily Crane (Dailymail) / Jan 30 2019
© Provided by Associated Newspapers Limited Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin has criticized schools for closing as a deadly arctic deep freeze wreaks havoc on tens of millions across the United States as they are hit with record-breaking low temperatures
Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin has criticized schools for closing as a deadly arctic deep freeze wreaks havoc on tens of millions across the United States as they are hit with record-breaking low temperatures.
Hundreds of public schools and several large universities from North Dakota to Pennsylvania canceled classes on Tuesday and Wednesday due to the dangerous temperatures.
Bevin, in an interview with NewsRadio 840 WHAS , said America was weak because of it.
‘Now we cancel school for cold?’ he told host Terry Meiners on Tuesday.
‘It’s deep freeze,’ the host replied. ‘This is serious business.’
Bevin hit back: ‘Come on, now. I mean, there’s no ice going with it, or any snow.
‘I mean, what happens to America? We’re getting soft.’
The governor added that he did ‘appreciate that it’s better to err on the side of being safe’ and admitted that his comments were ‘slightly facetious’.
He then doubled down, saying: ‘It does concern me a little bit that in America, on this and many other fronts, that we’re sending messages to our young people that if life is hard you can curl up in the fetal position somewhere in a warm place and just wait until it stops being hard… that just isn’t reality.’
At least nine schools closed in various districts across Kentucky on Wednesday.
The National Weather Service predicted that wind chill temperatures in Louisville on Wednesday would be between negative 15 and negative 20.
More than two inches of snow also fell Tuesday night in Louisville.
His remarks sparked backlash on Twitter from educators in Kentucky.
‘We will always support decisions made for the health & safety of Kentucky’s children. Always,’ the Kentucky Education Association tweeted.
Several teachers in Kentucky also hit out at the governor and demanded that he stand in the cold for 30 minutes like students would if they had to catch a school bus.
‘I’d like to see @MattBevin prove how ‘hard’ he is by standing outside for 30 minutes tomorrow morning as if he were waiting for a bus with less than adequate clothing, like many of KY’s Ss would have been due to their lack of resources,’ Jessica Duenas, a teacher at the W.E.B. DuBois Academy in Louisville, tweeted.
Louisville teacher, Tiffany Dunn, tweeted: ‘These elitist comments don’t shock me anymore, but they’re still appalling. I’m thankful for our school systems taking student safety so seriously. We have to remember the safety of EVERY child – not just those who have the means to dress warmly in this type of weather.’
