Is Hate Here To Stay?

It seems like it was just yesterday—because it was—that we talked about the students at Belfast High School in Belfast, Maine, rallying together to get their Pride festival started again after two years of a COVID shutdown. I thought they were the future, and then I read these two stories, and realize these students are, sadly, the future, too.

Students at Colerain High School in Cincinnati thought it might be cool to tape “Blacks only" and "Whites only" signs over water fountains and then sharing the pictures across social media because … racism is funny?

The Northwest Local School District announced after the incident was aired by a local news station earlier this month that they would start an investigation.

The learned that the signs over the water fountains were posted for about 30 seconds, while the students responsible took photos, then took the signs down, and posted photos of their handiwork online.

Oh, so it was just a short burst of racism by a bunch of ignorant children, who then blasted their ignorance around the world on the internet. The district released a statement:

"Those who participated in this tasteless and hurtful act have been issued significant disciplinary actions. Any student, including those who are found to have taken part in sharing the post online will also be subject to disciplinary action. The actions that were displayed do not reflect the values and culture of Colerain High School or the Northwest Local School District."

I don’t know if I’d call it “tasteless” and “hurtful,” because what it’s actually Hate Speech.

Meanwhile in Florida, the Martin County School District has launched their own investigation after a photo showing six middle school students spelling out the N-word was posted on social media. The photo was arranged, photographed, and posted to social media by students at Hidden Oaks Middle School in Palm City.

Each student in the photo is holding a letter spelling out a common racial slur aimed at the Black community which the students made in an art class.

In class? Where was the teacher? Did that person know what was planned and do nothing?

The school board was scheduled to hold its regular meetings that day, just hours after the photo was posted and while the photo was not set as a topic that night people still packed the room to voice their opinions to the board.

“It’s racism.”

“I am appalled.” said another woman.

“What is happening is not OK.”

Jimmy Smith, president of the Martin County chapter of the NAACP, was at the meeting:

“I was very heartbroken. We all have made mistakes, but when you get to that degree and that depth to come up with an idea like that, there’s something else going on.”

Many people at the board meeting also noted that it was just a small step from posting that picture racially motivated shooting that killed 10 people in Buffalo over the weekend.

District officials said there is no question the students in the photo will be punished but said the exact punishment would be determined by the outcome of their investigation.

How about kicking them out of school? Or better yet, since this was Florida where the governor doesn’t want white kids feeling bad about racism and slavery and the way this country has treated people of color for hundreds of years, maybe the school should start teaching history … slavery … Jim Crow … lynchings … Civil Rights … and then maybe these dumbass kids won’t think they’re so cute.

And then their parents should gather together and vote out of office every single Republican from the fascist in charge on down out of office, because this is laid directly at the feet of Ron DeSantis.

He doesn’t want white people being made to feel bad by our racist past but he has said nothing about Black people continuing to be hurt by it.

NBC News: Colerain High School

WPBF: Hidden Oaks Middle School 

Racism, If Not Taught, Is At Least Ignored At McCormick Junior High

Racism is taught, and apparently at schools like McCormick Junior High School in Cheyenne, Wyoming after flyers saying …

“It’s great to be straight it’s not OK to be gay.”

“Black lives only matter because if it weren’t for them who would pick our cotton.”

“Join the KKK”

… were taped to walls and passed out by students.

The school’s principal, Jeff Conine, is downplaying the incident saying there were only two flyers, and that they were taped to walls in areas without security cameras, and that teachers found the flyers and took them down before the school day began.

But what about other reports that say the walls of the school were papered with the flyers, and that students with Confederate flags were passing them out to targeted students in the school’s Gay Straight Alliance [GSA] club?

Conine doesn’t know, or so he says; he told Wyoming Equality Executive Director Sara Burlingame that he was not aware that students had passed out any flyers, according to Cheyenne’s Mayor, Marian Orr, Conine told her that students had been handing out flyers.

Oops. Hate is taught, and then covered up?

Conine still maintains his story, though he did confirm a student shouted the word “faggot” at GSA students during a meeting but says he ‘scolded” that student.

A scolding doesn’t stop hate.

Conine said the day’s events were still under investigation and couldn’t say what the repercussions would be for those responsible until they were found. The most severe punishment he is authorized as principal to deliver is a 10-day out-of-school suspension.

For hate; time for the haters to gather and pan their next assault.

Conine also said he believes this was an isolated incident and yet the 40 members of McCormick’s GSA club, and the club’s co-sponsor, Kaycee Cook, a substitute teacher, say nearly all of them have reported bullying this year.

Cook claimed that students have been flashing confederate flags and yelling homophobic slurs at GSA students for weeks. In fact, it was so bad that she reported the bullying to district administrators three weeks ago but was told the incidents did not fall under their purview, and her claims were dismissed. She also says Principal Conine had been informed of the bullying, and that these recent events were not isolated. GSA students have even reported bullying from some teachers who refuse to use students’ preferred pronouns and have called same-sex students holding hands “disgusting.”

Hate is taught; and one way to teach hate is to do nothing when it rears its ugly head, and that’s what seems to be happening at this school. The bullied are being ignored, while the bullies go unpunished.

Until something worse happens…

Torrington Telegram

Tuesday Thought #3

Bob Grisham Teaches That Michelle Obama Is Fat and That He Doesn't Believe In Queers .... Plus, An UPDATE

Okay, so most people know that Alabama, deeply southern, deeply Bible Belted, is not the most tolerant or accepting place, but, perhaps one of the reasons why is teachers, and head football coach, like Bob Grisham.

It seems that school district officials are investigating allegations that Grisham made slurs about The Gays, and Michelle Obama, in the presence of students. The investigation includes a 1-minute, 24-second audiotape in which Grisham is heard asking who knows who is behind the 600-calorie school lunch.

This is the transcript of the recording:

Grisham: Like those lunches - you get 600-calorie lunches - you know who's behind that?

Different voice: Michelle Obama

Grisham: Fat butt Michelle Obama(Giggling in background)

Grisham: And look … look at her. She looks like she weighs 185 or 190. She's overweight.

Different voice: Big fat gorilla(laughter)

Grisham: I'm serious. Y'all, our country is, is, is going in the wrong direction.

Different voice: It's going straight to hell.

Grisham: You'd better be aware of it. And people running around like, oh it'll get better, it'll get better. No, it ain't gone [sic] get no better until things change. I can give you example after example of that, but I don't want to use any local names to give you examples. Things won't get better until there's a change in some areas and stuff. And you know what his platform was? Change. We're gone change. We're all … aw it's OK …. for … and … y'all can get pissed off at me or not. You can go tell the principal, you can call the superintendent and tell her. I don't believe in queers, I don't like queers. I don't … I don't hate them as a person but what they do is wrong, it's an abomination against God. I don't like being around queers.

I don't like being around racist homophobes, but, um, I believe in Free Speech, and Grisham has the right to his bigoted hateful opinions, but I don't think he has the right to teach those opinions; Grisham, for the record, in addition to being a football coach, also teaches psychology.

Yes, he does.

Grisham told the Times Daily that he misspoke: “I misspoke in a debate-type situation. I have no hatred toward anyone or any group. People that know my heart, they know that.”

Your heart, yes, and your words, spoken to a group of high school students.

No action has been taken against Grisham by the district’s administration or the school board. He was not at school Wednesday, and ALLEGEDY has family obligations that will keep him out of school the rest of the week.

“Before we do anything, we’ll investigate this thoroughly and gather information from other people,” Superintendent Jennifer Gray said. “Whatever we do in response to this situation will be dictated by board policy.”

Should Grisham be fired? Should he be removed from teaching a psychology class? I'm not sure, but I think maybe he needs a good long sit-down and maybe become reacquainted with the idea of teaching, and not just spouting his own brand of bigotry and homophobia and collecting a paycheck for it.

To hear the audio of Grisham's rant go HERE

UPDATE
Late yesterday, Bob Grisham was suspended for 10 days without pay. 
It should give him ample time to think .... before he speaks again.

Is It The 1950s Again Already?

Aah, summer.

Hot breezes and lemonade. Grilling out back and tossing around the Frisbee. Splashing around in the pool.

And racism.

At least in Northern Philadelphia, where more than 60 campers from the Creative Steps Day Camp were turned away from a private swim club.

"I heard this lady, she was like, 'Uh, what are all these black kids doing here?' She's like, 'I'm scared they might do something to my child,'" said camper Dymire Baylor. The Creative Steps Day Camp paid more than $1900 to The Valley Swim Club--a private club that advertises open membership--so their kids could swim, but the campers' first visit to the pool suggested otherwise.

"When the minority children got in the pool all of the Caucasian children immediately exited the pool," Horace Gibson, parent of a day camp child, wrote in an email. "The pool attendants came and told the black children that they did not allow minorities in the club and needed the children to leave immediately."

The next day the club told the camp director that the camp's membership was being suspended and their money would be refunded.

"I said, 'The parents don't want the refund. They want a place for their children to swim,'" camp director Aetha Wright said.

"There was concern that a lot of kids would change the complexion … and the atmosphere of the club," John Duesler, President of The Valley Swim Club said in a statement.

Change the complexion?

Ah, summer. Hot dogs and softball games. Picnics.

And racist bastards keeping black kids out of the pool.