Racism Normalized

A lot of us are tied to cell phones, more so than we should be. However, one positive thing is that they have exposed the ugly side of society, bringing just to the perpetrators. We all remember the video of George Floyd being strangled to death. Derek Chauvin pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 21 years in prison. Without the video evidence, Chauvin could have walked free.

An incident started last week when a black student, at a middle school, in Pflugerville, Texas was denied permission to go to the washroom. The kid complained and said “Bro, that’s racist”. The cell phones came on, and the teacher knew this. The white teacher eventually did write a bathroom pass and said,

“So, if I was racist, I wouldn’t let you go to the restroom, would I?”

Things went downhill, from there. A discussion on racism ensued. The teacher was asked if he considered himself to be racist.

“You guys do what you need to do, …, You guys don’t think that I’ve made peace with all this stuff? You think I’m still walking around prejudiced against people?”

Then he said this,

“Deep down in my heart, …, I’m ethnocentric, which means I think my race is the superior race, …, I think everybody thinks that, they’re just not honest about it.”

He then admitted to his racism defending himself by saying at least he was honest. He then asked the students to shut off the cell phones.

The teacher, who has not been identified, was put on administrative leave last Friday, and fired on Mondat, this week. The school board, of course, has disavowed his actions, saying his statements do not represent the beliefs of the school.

This wan’t a discussion held in university, or even high school. It was in a middle school. The teacher was trying to normalize his racist beliefs. If not for the presence of cell phones, it would have been a he said – they said situation. The stunning thing is he knew he was on video and he said these things anyways. I sure hope this is not the way society is heading. I could relate this to events that have happened in the US since 2016, but why state the obvious.

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