Author Archives

Steve Nelson

Steve Nelson is a retired educator, author, and newspaper columnist. He and his wife Wendy moved to Erie from Manhattan in 2017 to be near family. He was a serious violinist and athlete until a catastrophic mountain bike accident in 2020. He now specializes in gratitude and kindness.

http://www.stevenelson.substack.com

Nelson's Crossing

America’s Enduring Hate Crime

May 18, 2023 Like 0 Steve Nelson

“When used in a hate crime law, the word ‘hate’ does not mean rage, anger, or general dislike. In this context ‘hate’ means bias against people or groups with specific characteristics that are defined by the law.” – from the Department…

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Kids Have Rights Too!

April 29, 2023 1 0 Steve Nelson

Talk about closing the barn door after all the horses are romping through the fields! According to news reports, a bipartisan group of Senators have introduced a bill, Protecting Kids on Social Media Act, establishing a minimum age for most…

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Is Free Speech Our Most Important Right?

April 11, 2023 Like 0 Steve Nelson

“So a judge, who had shown contempt for the human rights of others, wants to enjoy free speech as a human right himself? Free speech is an important right. But is it a more important right than those of life…

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Young Folks Will Save Us

March 25, 2023 Like 0 Steve Nelson

My first reaction to the growing conservative campaign to ban or remove books from libraries is that they – sigh – drastically overestimate the number of kids who even know where the library is. This is not to dismiss the…

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March Madness!

March 19, 2023 Like 0 Steve Nelson

March Madness is a display of utter brilliance! “Of course,” you say, but I don’t mean what you may think. When speaking to various groups about education over the years, I would often interject a bit about multiple intelligences. While…

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There’s a Weapon on Campus

March 7, 2023 Like 0 Steve Nelson

This is a partial screenshot from my son’s phone. Last week my granddaughter texted him from her middle school. They were in lockdown and she had learned that it was not a drill. A friend’s mother texted the terrifying…

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Whiny Little Bitches

March 2, 2023 Like 0 Steve Nelson

“Whiny little bitch.” – Bill Maher, describing Donald Trump in May, 2016. “Irrational, pouty, vain, thin-skinned, hysterical and just not that bright, does that sound like anyone we know today?” he added. Aside from the admittedly gratuitous pleasure I take…

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All Censorship is Wrong

February 27, 2023 Like 0 Steve Nelson

The complex issues of sensitivity, censorship, expression, art and history splashed down on the front page of the New York Times this week in a pair of articles. One piece examined the legal case brought by Quebec artist Sam Kerson,…

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Washing Away the Stench

February 7, 2023 Like 0 Steve Nelson

We all have to live with ourselves, but occasionally one is left to wonder how. This week on MSNBC, Steve Bumbaugh, College Board Senior Vice President, did his corporation’s bidding by defending the indefensible whitewash of the AP African American…

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The Content of Character

January 16, 2023 Like 0 Steve Nelson

"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” - Martin Luther King, Jr.