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Teacher's 'terrorist' joke no laughing matter for student

Quote:

HIGHLAND PARK | High School senior files suit over remark in class

March 15, 2008Recommend

BY JUDY MASTERSON Waukegan News-Sun
Maysam Amanishourbariki says he's been called a terrorist at his Highland Park high school at least three times since the fall.

The senior, who uses "Amani" for short, said he twice faced down fellow students who taunted him with that label last year.

But when a teacher told him he "fit the stereotype of a terrorist," he said he didn't know how to react.

"Everyone started to laugh," he said. "I just sat there. I was confused. I didn't know what to do. I was angry and upset."

The outgoing senior, who plays on the school's boys volleyball team, is of Iranian heritage but was born in the United States, like three older brothers who all attended Highland Park High.

The Amanishourbariki family says it plans to file a discrimination suit in federal court next week against Township High School District 113.

The teacher's remark came in the wake of an exchange in which she cajoled Amani into pulling down his hoodie and taking off his hat, which he said he wore because he was self-conscious about a new haircut.

"Right after she said it, one of the students -- a freshman -- got up and gave her a high five," Amani said. "I was like, 'Is this kid serious?' They treated it like a joke, but it's not a joke."

Amani, 17, burned for days about being made a laughingstock, he said, before finally telling his parents. His father and mother, a school custodian and a day care worker, "were furious," he said.

"It got to the point where they were getting sick over it," Amani said. "My mom had trouble sleeping and eating. The believed America is a place where people from anywhere can come and be successful."

Amani said his teacher apologized weeks later, but neither he nor his parents received a satisfactory response from the administration.

Chicago attorney Tamara Holder said she plans to file a federal complaint arguing that Amani was the victim of discrimination and defamation and asking for unspecified damages.

Carol Votsmier, spokeswoman for District 113, said the district "prides itself on diversity and acceptance, and the situation concerns us."

Sun-Times News Group

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/8...high15.article

That's pretty messed up. I can relate, my old high school was a pretty rural area of town and we had teachers that we're all "good 'ole boys" which I loved to argue with during school about Not letting Bush get a second term in the white hosue.

This whole story sucks though, I mean the teacher was probably just trying to be funny, but that sort of shit is uncalled for, especially for a teacher and that bitch should be fired.

I say we strap a bomb to the teacher + students and see who's laughing then.

If you're an infidel, will Allah reward you for taking your own life?

Not exactly the most appropriate setting for those kinds of "jokes"

Racism is not a novel concept especially in this country.
People need to stop being so sensitive. This particular situation doesn’t seem that bad.

Here’s an idea. Let the school take disciplinary measures and don’t file suit for every minor inconvenience.

Racism is dead. I have never met a racist person. I agree with you but people need to understand the difference between bigotry and racism.

Explain the difference for us.

A Racist believes that geneticly one race is superior to another, a bigot just simply dislikes persons of another race because of their race or racial stereotypes.

I see, I'll be sure to use the correct phrasing in the future. I just don't expect anyone else around me will, because the common usage of 'racist' is more or less the definition of bigotry.

Well you could of course just call any disagreement I may have with liberal views, racist views. Which seems to be the case quite often these days.

So you are a racist!

lol well yes, in that context I believe I am just over 50% racist.

I'm about 35% 'racist/bigot'. I am just annoyed by.. "Monkeys" (NOT blacks, you know the difference between blacks and 'niggas', right?) at school. It's just fucking rediculous.

However, Look at most sports, Black people ARE genetically better than whites. HAHA my friend just changed my wallpaper & home page to Nazi stuff. The Nazi website and some pic that says "WHITE POWER!" and has the swastika in the middle.

If we're being purely semantic, the term racism covers both definitions. It may refer to someone who adheres to the doctrine that inherent differences between the races exist rendering one race superior to the others. It can also mean simple bigotry. Neither definition is wrong, and colloquially the latter is far more common.

And anyone who thinks racism is dead is blind. I have been spit and slurred at from a truck on a university campus. I have been denied service at a local restaurant, with incontrovertible evidence that it was due to the color of my skin. These are not isolated instances, though these are the two most conspicuous experiences that I can recall at my university. Subtler forms of racism are so frequent that they are simply prosaic. Though racism may not be a novel concept, it is an unnecessary affliction on humanity. The passive approach advocated by Sheerx neglects and exacerbates a serious problem. Vituperation is the only appropriate response to racism.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mjordan2nd

The passive approach advocated by Sheerx neglects and exacerbates a serious problem. Vituperation is the only appropriate response to racism.

I agree with this. I make it known when someone tries to slip in a stereotypical joke behind someone's back that I don't approve. It made tensions between myself and an ex-roommate a little rough, because he assumed because we were both white I would support his views..

I was at a diversity workshop (long story) and one particular student was arguing long and hard that he has to "use that language" to "communicate properly" with his constituents and the like. His argument was that because the rednecks he knows speak that way, he would be alienating them by not doing it. When it was suggested he disapprove of their behavior, he blatantly refused. And this was a supposed student leader on a college campus.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adrenachrome

Racism is dead. I have never met a racist person. I agree with you but people need to understand the difference between bigotry and racism.

You’re right it is more bigotry than it is racism.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mjordan2nd

Vituperation is the only appropriate response to racism.

I’d have to agree with you on that but vituperation would not provide any long term solutions either.

Although we’re approaching a point where it’s embarrassing to exhibit any obvious outward showings of racism, at least hopefully, it’s like you said, a more subtle almost unconscious form of racism is inherent in a large part of the country’s population.

Education would probably be the only way to fix that.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mjordan2nd

And anyone who thinks racism is dead is blind. I have been spit and slurred at from a truck on a university campus. I have been denied service at a local restaurant, with incontrovertible evidence that it was due to the color of my skin.

Are you shitting me? Is Texas really that bad? Here in Indiana, I rarely ever see any forms of racism. I'm sure it's out there, but I barely notice it anymore. This may have to do with the fact that I work in one of the most diverse law firms in the country. We have a Diversity Committee just for this sort of thing. I was forced to go to a meeting about diversity a couple of weeks ago. This law firm is so fuckin uptight.

For example, an employee that regularly visits the copy center commented that sheperd's pie was 'ghetto'. My boss (who is black) totally took it out of context and yelled at the guy to get the hell out of the copy center. The guy apologized, said he didn't mean anything derogatory by it, and promptly left. The next day I was called into the head of HR's office to give my views on what occurred the previous day. They made it into such a big deal and the dude almost got fired for it. Fuckin ridiculous. Being overly PC is just as bad as racism itself, I think.

Where I'm at in Texas, I don't really see much racism. I've heard lots of complaints and jokes about Mexicans, but many of them were coming from Mexicans...

Here is an example from one of my favorite bloggers:

Quote:

Ugh. I'm still fuming about this. I host a poker game on Thursday nights and last night one of the regular players invited a new guy to the game that no one else knew. In the middle of the game, someone brought up politics (not me; I don't talk politics with most of that crew, I just play poker with them). And this new guy blurts out, "I can't believe no one has taken a shot at Obama. Can you imagine if they elect a fucking nigger as president?"

I was absolutely stunned. I told him to get the hell out of my house, he wasn't welcome here. And then I got the typical answer: "Oh, I didn't mean...." Bullshit. Yes you did. You just didn't know it wasn't safe to be a racist around me. Now get the hell out of my house. This is not the first time this has happened in my life.

It happened when I was in college when a co-worker said something similar. As soon as you tell them that you've got members of your own family that you love who are black, they always start to backpeddle. 'Oh, I didn't mean..." The hell you didn't. You meant exactly that, you just thought since we were both white it was okay to let your true feelings show.

I've had the same thing happen with anti-gay slurs as well. Unlike most people, I don't just nod and smile when someone calls people faggot or other such slurs. While I will gladly fight for their legal right to say such things, I won't let it go unanswered and I certainly won't allow it in my house. And the reaction is the same every time.

[1]

Adrenachrome, is this not racism? Even in your definition of the word, does this scenario not epitomize racism? This is a feeling I'm sure many share. And this is a feeling they may shape the future of our country. Considering this, I can't see how anyone can claim racism is dead.

Ed responded exactly as I would have hoped, though!

[1] http://scienceblogs.com/dispatches/2...omfortable.php