High School Boy Suspended For Saying The Word “Taliban.” No Really.
I guess Chris Christie hasn’t changed all of New Jersey for the better. Some parts of it are still as backward as the Taliban (which I say with no fear of Ricochet suspending me).
The boy says he was discussing a video game when the Muslim girl walked by. She says that “she had perceived that he had looked at her when he said it.”
“Perceived he looked at her?” Sounds like a pretty weak case to me. But not weak enough for the Wayne, NJ High School administrator who suspended the boy.
The nuttiest part of this story is that the administrator says the infraction here wasn’t the word itself, but the girl’s “hurt feelings.”
Why in the world would hearing the word “Taliban” hurt her feelings? Is she one? Even if the boy were disparaging the Taliban, why would she care? If she is American, or just living here and going to one of our free high schools, shouldn’t she despise the Taliban, with whom we are actively at war, as much as the rest of us?
Taliban isn't a race, it's a type of government. Would he be suspended if he called her a Democrat?
Even if he called her that, is it a suspension worthy infraction since she actually isn’t a member (I hope)?
My children have Italian surnames, but when in history class they get to the chapter on Mussolini’s fascism I don’t expect them to burst into tears of racial oppression since they aren’t themselves fascists (although I have given them permission to punch first and ask questions later should anyone call them “Snooki” or “The Situation”).
I’m waiting, and hoping, that at some point we see supposedly mainstream Muslim-Americans protesting folks like the Taliban and islamo-fascism in general rather than skirting the issue in favor of false claims of racism like this.
Read the ridiculous story here.
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Jun '10
Re: High School Boy Suspended For Saying The Word “Taliban.” No Really.
Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't Taliban translate into English as student?
May '10
Re: High School Boy Suspended For Saying The Word “Taliban.” No Really.
See,Tommy? This is why so many people disagreed with your stance on Molly Norris story. We can't spend all of our lives trying not to hurt people's feelings. At some point, people are responsible for their own feelings versus the whole world being responsible for their feelings.
Re: High School Boy Suspended For Saying The Word “Taliban.” No Really.
Felicia no joke - You were one of the folks I thought of when I posted this because I knew you were going sit that Draw Muhammad Day post on my head!
I get your point, but maintain my claims to consistency as I see a wide difference between insulting one's God and one's government (noting too that I don't think the Taliban is really that girl's government).
Edited on Nov 17, 2010 at 1:33pmRe: High School Boy Suspended For Saying The Word “Taliban.” No Really.
AAAARRRRRRGGGGGGGG! That is all.
Jun '10
Re: High School Boy Suspended For Saying The Word “Taliban.” No Really.
I'm reminded of the scene in Woody Allen's Annie Hall, when Woody's character Alvy is relating his experience in a record store to his friend:
ALVY:
You know, I was in a record store. Listen to this - so I know there's this big tall blond crew-cutted guy and he's lookin' at me in a funny way and smiling and he's saying, "Yes, we have a sale this week on Wagner." Wagner, Max, Wagner - so I know what he's really trying to tell me very significantly. Wagner.
Jul '10
Re: High School Boy Suspended For Saying The Word “Taliban.” No Really.
Well, if the boy, or his Parents, ever thought he wasn't learning much in a public high school, they just did.
Aug '10
Re: High School Boy Suspended For Saying The Word “Taliban.” No Really.
Paules - that just isn't fair to be that straightforward with that much caliber.
The kids wouldn't get in trouble if he would have said : Y----- g------- m-------- s------ c---------b---------f------, or something along those lines.
What if he had said "Zionist" ? Or called her a hashemite harlot ? Sunni slut ?
Sephardic tramp ? Of course, the teachers would be running to the dictionary or MSNBC Style book to figure those curses out.
But Taliban ? Our old allies ? Come on.
PC highway is littered with bodies.
Sep '10
Re: High School Boy Suspended For Saying The Word “Taliban.” No Really.
Well, if the girl actually did have the perception that the word "Taliban" was being directed at her, and she felt she was being directly associated with them, and felt insulted by that, that would imply that she actually does despise the Taliban. Directly associating somebody with a murderous political movement I think can be understood as an insult, especially if the person is not a member. However, I don't think anybody should necessarily be suspended for that, especially not in this case, when we don't exactly know in what context and to who the boy said the word "Taliban".
Edited on Nov 19, 2010 at 11:47amAug '10
Re: High School Boy Suspended For Saying The Word “Taliban.” No Really.
I'm going against the tide on this one.Seems to me there's a lot of scope for context that could have made this a nasty incident for the girl concerned.Is she part of a very small minority in the school? How close was she when he spoke?Did he say the one word or was it part of a sentence and if the latter what was the full sentence? What's the name of the video game? Was he in a large or small group or on his own? Did he or anyone else laugh when he said the word? Was this a completely isolated incident? If it was your overweight, shy daughter and some smartass said "elephant" as she passed and then claimed he was talking about his trip to the zoo would you be as sanguine? I'd like to know a lot more before passing judgment on this one.
Jul '10
Re: High School Boy Suspended For Saying The Word “Taliban.” No Really.
The basic problem here is that university Education Departments are the intellectual slums of higher education (and I am sort of quoting TSowell here). They produce the people in charge of public school systems throughout the western world. It should not be surprising, therefore, that so many silly, idiotic and wicked actions are performed by these 'teachers' against the students in their power.
May '10
Re: High School Boy Suspended For Saying The Word “Taliban.” No Really.
Like I said, at some point we need to be responsible and manage our own feelings. Here's the original quote:
"This has nothing to do with the fact that the boy used a word," Reis said. "This has everything to do with the boy hurt a girl's feelings." And after the boy was told by administrators not to discuss what happened, Reis said, "He went back and hurt her feelings a second time." There's the context, Charles.
Are we going to spend our days mollycoddling people because they're so sensitive or easily offendable? I sure hope not. If that is the case, welcome to the World of Let's Not Offend Anyone-istan.
This is a symptom of an alarming trend in which everyone's feelings need to be held up as sacred and inviolable. Well, sometimes feeling are just that. Feelings. And feelings change depending on how much sleep one has had, the state of one's home life, hormones, who won a political election, etc. We are training our children to be perennial children where everyone must kowtow to them and their precious feelings.
Edited on Nov 17, 2010 at 3:34pmMay '10
Re: High School Boy Suspended For Saying The Word “Taliban.” No Really.
Ha ha! You have come to know me well, my friend.
Aug '10
Re: High School Boy Suspended For Saying The Word “Taliban.” No Really.
Hi FeliciaB-What about the hypothetical overweight shy daughter? If my son picked on a soft target like the guy in NJ might have done for all we know he'd get a serious lesson in good manners.That's the context I'm interested in.Lest there be any doubt, I have no time whatsoever for the professional offended, and nothing but contempt for the treacheous idiots who would prefer to see the Taliban back in power than the West prevail in Afghanistan. Still, none of that justifies oafish bad manners, no matter who the target is.In fact, the idea that a Muslim girl may have been picked on for being Muslim makes me sick. I hope that doesn't offend anyone.
May '10
Re: High School Boy Suspended For Saying The Word “Taliban.” No Really.
That was my first thought as well, that the girl was Muslim and took it as a racial slight. Even so, it would be foolish on her part if she took offense from one word that she caught in passing... a word that is not inherently derogatory. Understandable? Perhaps, but still foolish.
Maturity is as much about how we deal with what others do to us as it is about doing unto others. Teachers and other authorities should discourage malice and apathy among kids while also helping them to become thick-skinned and self-reliant. Endurance can be as important as strength.
Edited on Nov 17, 2010 at 4:42pmOct '10
Re: High School Boy Suspended For Saying The Word “Taliban.” No Really.
I see this as a matter of mutual self-interest. I don't whine at lefties for the hell they've put me through (especially in education), and I expect them not to whine about how classical liberalism is just code words for white racism (didn't Bush apologize for that in 2004?).
Sadly, this doesn't seem to work. I don't really care that lefties are arrogant pricks--but why are they viewed as tolerant? When did politically-correct bigotry start being viewed as tolerance?
I read a blog post where a black man--a "diversity guy"--was shocked there weren't lots of African-American historic sites in San Francisco. Normally I wouldn't care, except for the "I'm a diversity guy" part--San Francisco has an incredibly rich Hispanic and Mormon heritage (not to mention my ancestors helped settle it) and I felt offended that, apparently, "diversity" only means leftist minorities.
May '10
Re: High School Boy Suspended For Saying The Word “Taliban.” No Really.
NO one has a right not to be offended. This boy should not be in trouble for this. It is all in the mind of the girl. She, and her family, need to grow up.
And since it has come up, no religion has a right not to be offended either. And the more any person or religion acts with thin skin, the more they or it deserve to be mocked.
Aug '10
Re: High School Boy Suspended For Saying The Word “Taliban.” No Really.
Aaron, how do we know it was one word caught in passing and not in fact a deliberate racial slur? And how could the word "Taliban" if directed at a lone Muslim not have a derogatory overtone? Maybe the school is 85% Muslim, the boy was talking to himself and the girl is an opportunistic grievance- monger. If so then truly he would be the victim of hypersensitivity, political correctness, call it what you will. But he might just be an adolescent bully. I don't know enough to judge.And I don't expect any of my daughters to have fully - thickened skins until their late teens at best.And if they were picked on like that girl might have been I'm not sure I'd want them to just suck it up.
Oct '10
Re: High School Boy Suspended For Saying The Word “Taliban.” No Really.
I've personally learned special consideration and privileges are often wrong, except in cases of true--and clearly indisputable--need. Likely another child with ADHD or Aspergers was offended the Muslim girl got special privileges, but he/she did not. This can lead to divisions, hatred and social conflict.
Jul '10
Re: High School Boy Suspended For Saying The Word “Taliban.” No Really.
"Sticks and stones...." Charles "Sticks and stones...."
How in the world has America survived and thrived before "political correctness[?]"
May '10
Re: High School Boy Suspended For Saying The Word “Taliban.” No Really.
Charles, writing as one of those girls who was overweight in high school (not skeletal), I got picked on by bullies who thought my rear end needed it's own red flag warning, and had hurt feelings a lot as a result. What would I say to my own daughter if she were to follow in my genetic footsteps? I would say, "I'm sad your feelings are hurt. That was not kind or respectful behavior toward you. However, we live in a world where people are unkind and disrespectful. You need to learn not to let those comments define you. Stay away from those type of people and surround yourself with decent and honorable people. The dross, ignore them." I would proceed to define and reinforce who she is and promote her laudable traits. Bullies persist when they see they are having an effect. Don't give the bullies an effect, they tend to find an easier target. If my child were in danger or being picked on mercilessly, I'd step in and talk to the parents of the bully then escalate, if needed.
The goal is raising a woman unafraid of life's bullies - a grownup.
Edited on Nov 17, 2010 at 8:05pm