Wednesday, November 14, 2018

Pete Gust: Baraboo Nazi Salute Photographer, WEAC Leader

Baraboo is getting the world's attention because of this photo:



From Baraboo News Republic:

The photo appears to have originated on photographer Pete Gust’s website, Wheel Memories. The page that hosted the photo on the site has since been replaced with a message claiming “malevolent behavior” by “those in society who can and do take the time to be jerks” caused the site to remove the photos.

“The internet can be a wonderful tool but for some there is an overwhelming urge to destroy,” the web page says. “The destruction may not be physical but instead it can be bullying that is intellectual or emotional. To anyone that was hurt I sincerely apologize.”

Gust could not be reached for comment Monday, but in an interview with Madison365, he said he asked the boys to "give me a high sign, a wave that you’re saying goodbye to your parents."
Pete Gust's explanation of the photo is weird.

He asked the boys to give him a "high sign, a wave that you’re saying goodbye to your parents"?

What?

Why would these kids at prom be waving goodbye to their parents?

And why do they look like they're throwing a Nazi salute when they're waving goodbye? Who taught them to wave bye-bye?

It makes no sense.

From the Associated Press, via the Washington Post:
The parent who took a photo of Wisconsin high school boys giving what appears to be a Nazi salute on the steps of a local courthouse said Tuesday he was simply asking the teens to wave goodbye to their parents before they headed to prom and never anticipated the image would draw widespread condemnation.

But Pete Gust, who has a son in the photo, said he understood why his photo of about 60 boys outside the Sauk County Courthouse in Baraboo last spring offended some people. About two-thirds of the boys have their right arms raised in the gesture, many grinning widely.

“The optics aren’t good,” Gust told The Associated Press, though he said he didn’t believe the boys were doing a Nazi salute: “There was never any inkling of that whatsoever. ... There was nothing intended in any way shape or form to simulate anything that was offensive to anyone.”

Gust maintained that his camera merely caught the boys’ wave prematurely, saying his “regret is I didn’t get to the apex.”
Gust acknowledges, "The optics aren't good."

Ya think?

Why post a photo that didn't intend to offend but did look offensive?

Something is up with this guy.

Mark Belling found out that Gust isn't just the photographer and father of one of the boys in the photo.

He was a leader of WEAC, the Wisconsin Education Association Council.

Belling writes:
A background check of the Baraboo man who took the photo of a large group of Baraboo High School students giving a Nazi salute is a longtime leader of the Wisconsin Education Association Council, the large state teachers’ union. Pete Gust was a director of WEAC from 1986 to 1999 and is a former teacher. He now takes photographs, often of motorcycles or biker events and calls himself an educational consultant and public speaker. The photo has gone viral and has been universally condemned.

...

Gust’s LinkedIn page has now been taken down but it revealed his long background in the teachers union and listed his current occupation as a motorcycle photographer. Democrat State Senator Jon Erpenbach, whose district includes Baraboo, originally condemned the photo and blamed it on racism coming from President Trump. Now that the instigator appears to be a former teacher and leader of the teachers union, it’s unclear who Erpenbach will blame the bigoted photo on.
The photographer of the world famous Baraboo Nazi salute prom photo is a former teacher and teachers' union leader.

Was Gust trying to hurt the kids in the photo?

He had to know the image would reflect negatively on many of the boys. If they weren't doing anything wrong but just looked like they were, why would Gust distribute the photo to a worldwide audience?

Why didn't Gust the teacher tell the boys at the time that a Nazi salute is extremely offensive and not funny?

It's unclear if the boys intended to show their allegiance to Hitler.

It's very clear that Gust chose to share a photo that depicts many of the boys of the Baraboo High School Class of 2019 as Nazis.

Why would former union leader Gust make that choice?

That's not clear.





1 comment:

Unknown said...

The whole reason for this conjured up controversy that he created is to push their Democrat " social justice " anti-conservative indoctrination into the district. Here's proof from a WEAC article days later.

" Our association fully supports the district’s investigation and intention to take all appropriate responses. The Wisconsin Education Association Council works to give teachers resources so they can foster hate-free schools where all people are respected and celebrated, including racial justice in education, creating safe and welcoming schools and anti-bullying. This shameful situation makes it clear our mission is more important than ever, and we will remain vigilant.”

' WEAC reaffirms our absolute insistence that schools be safe and welcoming places free from hate. WEAC and the NEA have many programs and resources to foster hate-free schools:

' Black Lives Matter at School
Diversity, Equality and Social Justice Resources
Combatting Islamophobia
Safe and Welcoming Schools for LGBTQ+ Youth
Creating LGBTQ Inclusive Schools
Virtual Book Study on Racial Justice
Take Action on Racial Justice
Combatting Institutional Racism"

http://weac.org/2018/11/12/weac-we-must-foster-hate-free-schools-and-communities/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=SocialWarfare&fbclid=IwAR1T1805F_NbKHE1KV5EdUtoed4XEEwJtxQ8xGjD8ibHyC7BAeHqanHLghw