In what has to be one of the strangest, sickest, and most twisted of stories in recent memory, one that has us all shaking our collective heads and thinking we thought we could no longer be shocked, a pervert with some strangely disgusting fetishes, was hired into the Los Angeles County Public School system 30 years ago and has been “teaching” our children.  In addition to whatever academic knowledge he has tried to impart, Mark Berndt, age 61, imparted other unmentionables to children as young as 6 years of age.  Since I do not wish to even recap the shocking levels of debauchery and weirdness practiced by this sick man, you can read about it here if you have the stomach for it.

Of course, presuming Mr. Berndt is guilty, he will be locked up somewhere.  And one can only hope his victims and their families will find some means of coping with this very real tragedy.

But I have to wonder: what is it about the Teachers Union that wishes such perverts to receive no financial penalty for such conduct?  Why is it the Teachers Union forces the LA Unified School District to accept a contract that allows such predators as Mark Berndt to resign, and thus maintain their benefits for life, rather than be summarily terminated?

If we really want to send a strong and clear message to would-be abusers of our children, we need to hit them with every conceivable penalty to send an unequivocal message that such foul behavior will not be tolerated by society.  When the Teachers Union allows the Mark Berndts of the world to voluntarily resign, and thus keep their pension and other benefits, they send exactly the wrong message.  Yes, shame on Mark Berndt.  But also, shame on the Teachers Unions for their short-sighted spinelessness and broken moral compass.