Texas Teacher Calls Student A Terrorist In Class

Yesterday I posted about the Muslim family that was removed from a United Airlines flight for “safety” issues, though no one truly explained what safety issues caused the removal, and Raybeard commented:

”This sort of thing gets uglier by the day. Where will it pop up next?”

Well, it looks like it popped u next at First colony Middle School in Sugar Land, Texas, where Waleed Abushaaban is a 12-year-old honor student. But, he has, you know, one of those names and so apparently his teacher called him a terrorist in class one day.

The students were watching "Bend it Like Beckham" in class one Thursday after taking an exam and Waleed laughed at a joke in the film and his teacher said:

“I wouldn’t be laughing if I was you.”

When Waleed asked why, the teacher said it was “because we all think you’re a terrorist.”

And so naturally the jokes began about Waleed carrying bombs into school; other kids made fun of him, laughed at him, teased him. The teacher was removed from the classroom after the accusations, but now Waleed’s family wants her gone for good.

“Just because my son is a Muslim doesn’t mean he is a terrorist. He’s as American as anybody else. He was born here ... that’s all he knows is how to be an American.” —  Malek Abushaaban, Waleed’s mother

The Fort Bend school district released a statement about the accusations saying they do “not support the teacher’s actions”:

“While the teacher reports her statements were made in the context of trying to make a point about negative stereotypes, District officials do not believe that the teacher exercised the appropriate sensitivity expected of the District’s educators.”

Um, how does calling a twelve-year-old a terrorist work into a point about negative stereotypes? If he’d been Latino would she have called him a rapist and drug dealer to make her point? If Waleed was gay would it be okay for the teacher to call him a “faggot”?

This teacher needs to go; this is not teaching; this is projecting fear into a space where fear need not be. Her actions were terrorism, in  my mind, because she terrorized that young boy and she instilled fear into each and every student who may now look at Waleed Abushaaban, or anyone who looks like him, has a name like him, sounds like him, a little differently.

And, once again, since people aren't getting it:

Muslims are not terrorists; terrorists are terrorists.

NY Daily News