By Darrell Kerby
There was a time not long ago when Idaho stood tall and clear in its conviction: “Hate has no home here.” I remember the signs—“Idaho is Too Great for Hate”—bold declarations used to push back against the Aryan Nations and the smears they left on our landscape. Those signs didn’t divide us. They united us.
They weren’t seen as political. They were principled.
Now, in a bizarre twist, we’re told that a classroom sign saying “Everyone is Welcome Here”—featuring multicolored hands, no less—is a political landmine too dangerous to display. That’s not just overreach. That’s breathtaking.
When Inclusion Becomes a Threat
Attorney General Raul Labrador’s legal opinion that such signage violates Idaho’s new education law leaves many of us scratching our heads. When did welcoming every child become a political act? When did kindness become controversial? This isn’t a slippery slope. It’s a nosedive.
We’re not debating campaign slogans or partisan propaganda. We’re talking about affirmations a second-grader can understand: you matter, you belong, you’re safe here. If those values are too ideological for Idaho classrooms, then we’ve lost the plot entirely.
The Tyranny of Groupthink
And maybe that’s just it. Maybe this isn’t about deliberate cruelty—it’s about cowardice. Legislative groupthink. You know the kind. When smart, decent people who might otherwise raise a concern instead keep their heads down, nod along, and vote yes.
Not because they believe it’s right. But because it’s expedient. Because the risk of breaking from the herd is too high. And so, the law passes. The AG reinforces it. School boards flinch. Teachers take down their posters.
And a student—maybe an immigrant, maybe a foster child, maybe just a kid who’s had a rough morning—sits a little less certain that they’re seen and valued.
The Idaho We Know Still Exists
I don’t write this to scold. I write it because I love this state too much to let silence pass for approval. The Idaho I know raised generations who stood up to bigots in northern compounds. Who built neighborly bridges across tribes, farms, and towns. Who still believe that common sense should triumph over culture war theater.
Laws that silence affirming messages don’t make our schools better. They don’t protect students. They betray the very values that Idahoans have long held dear—decency, local control, and the unshakable belief that every child counts.
The Question That Remains
If “Everyone is Welcome Here” is a political ideology, then so is kindness. So is hope. So is human decency. And if that’s how we’re defining politics now—maybe the problem isn’t the signs on our walls. Maybe it’s the signatures at the bottom of these laws. We can—and must—do better.
Thank you, Mr. Kerby, for being a voice of reason. I couldn’t agree more.
Owen Plato
Bonners Ferry
Since when has a welcome poster become political? And now they don’t want the Canadian flag displayed. Idaho is becoming a joke to the rest of the country. Vote Labrador and the rest of these clowns out.
Thank you Darrell. I remember the Sunday School song, “red and yellow, black and white, we are precious in his sight…” which today would be banned because it uses the wrong words for different colors. Let’s return to reason. Let’s seek out wisdom rather than riches.
As I read this on the anniversary of our nation’s independence, I wish all Americans could read this commentary. Thanks, Darrell
Bill Love
Sandpoint, Idaho