Last year I drove through Idaho and left with a very positive impression.

Of course, it was late spring, so I didn’t have to endure any bad weather. But the state was beautiful, the people nice, and the politics seemed to be sane. The only bad impression I got was that housing prices were ridiculous in Boise.

Californians ruin everything. They are snapping up houses in Boise.

Still, I could easily imagine living there. Now? I am not so sure. Sanity doesn’t appear to be winning even in Idaho.

Filed under “It’s just about acceptance and inclusion.”https://t.co/jJ1DcmXMtI

— Courage Is A Habit (@CourageHabit) June 4, 2023

The story that got me wondering about Idaho’s livability comes from the Idaho Freedom Foundation.

A High School senior was asked, along with other seniors, to pass on wisdom about surviving life in High School to younger students. Among the tidbits he shared his belief that “Guys are guys and girls are girls. There is no in-between.”

This ignited a firestorm that has resulted in not just his being banned from his own graduation ceremony, but that ceremony itself being delayed indefinitely.

No, I am not kidding, nor am I exaggerating.

On Thursday, Kellogg High School senior Travis Lohr took part in an activity where seniors share advice for lowerclassmen. In a departure from his preapproved remarks, Lohr spoke from his heart, saying, “Guys are guys and girls are girls. There is no in-between.”

Despite the fact that this simple statement has been a truism for all of human history, the leadership of Kellogg High School seemed to think it was unacceptable. Principal Dan Davidian informed Lohr that he would not be allowed to walk in his graduation ceremony on Saturday.

Reactions came swiftly. Local news outlets publicized the incident, and Travis himself sat down with IFF president Wayne Hoffman to share his story.

“I didn’t direct it at any groups or anything like that; it was just something I chose to say in the moment,” Travis explained. “There was a short pause, and then an uproar of cheers.”

Speaking the truth is revolutionary and exciting in a world full of lies.

Travis Lohr’s simple statement–said not with any particular hostility toward any student–seems like an anodyne observation, or at the very least a belief that is well within the norms of polite society. Certainly, much more controversial statements are considered protected speech.

That’s not how the school administration saw things though. Lohr engaged in hate speech and needed to be punished.

Look at how awful this student:

My faith in Idaho’s sanity was restored when I read the rest of what happened. Or should I say my faith in the people of Idaho was restored; their school administrators still suck, apparently.

At least 100 students and parents gathered outside the school at 9:00am, including a popular bus driver named Dakota Mailloux who decided to join the walkout on his own time. Before the protest had even finished, Mailloux was called into Davidian’s office and summarily fired with no specific reason given.

Mailloux took a few minutes to speak to Wayne Hoffman Friday afternoon, explaining why he joined the walkout with his American flag. “I saw the thing on Facebook last night about how he was not being allowed to walk because of his very factual assertion that there is only two genders, and it did not sit well with me.”

Yes, a school bus driver was fired for joining a protest on his own time, proving that in the eyes of the petty bureaucrats who run the school any deviance from the company line is a firing offense. I certainly hope that Mailloux sues the principal into poverty–although in the modern world, it will be the school district, not the petty tyrant, which will pay the price.

Kellogg High School decided to cancel classes for the afternoon, releasing students at 10:45am rather than face continued disruption. Shortly thereafter, they released a statement postponing their graduation ceremony as well. In the statement, they blamed “outside groups and agitators” for threatening the safety of students, staff, and families.

Perhaps the principal can call the FBI and get them to investigate the parents and students who objected to the high-handed behavior of the principal as “domestic terrorists.”

What is so ironic is that you can find countless videos of teachers leading students in parades and protests for left-wing causes, and nobody says “Boo.” As soon as somebody stands up for traditional values it is portrayed as a threat to be ruthlessly suppressed.

Rep. Heather Scott, whose district includes the town of Kellogg, posted on Twitter, “You get better government by getting better people in government. The community should be outraged! Shoshone County must rally around truth and our first amendment rights!”

The lesson that Idahoans should take from this controversy is that no community is small enough to escape the specter of wokeism. Kellogg is just a little mining town, with less than a thousand students attending local schools, exactly the sort of place that should be safe from the mind-virus that is sweeping our nation. Contrary to what the governor, establishment legislators, and public school bureaucrats say, it IS happening here. There is no running, there is no hiding, there is only standing up, as Travis Lohr did, and saying, “Enough.”

Idaho has redeemed itself in my eyes, and I indeed will continue believing it to be an island of sanity in a sea of wokeness.

The public schools, though? No matter where they are they should be disbanded and replaced with universal school choice. If parents want their kids to grow up insane, they at least should be forced to leave other kids alone.