Jimmy Galligan was in history class last school year when his phone buzzed with a message. Once he clicked on it, he found a three-second video of a white classmate looking into the camera and uttering an anti-Black racial slur.
The slur, he said, was regularly hurled in classrooms and hallways throughout his years in the Loudoun County school district. He had brought the issue up to teachers and administrators, but, much to his anger and frustration, his complaints had gone nowhere.
Galligan had not seen the video before receiving it last school year, when he and Groves were seniors. By then, she was a varsity cheer captain who dreamed of attending the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, whose cheer team was the reigning national champion. When she made the team in May, her parents celebrated with a cake and orange balloons, the university’s official color.
The next month, as protests were sweeping the nation after the police killing of George Floyd, Groves, in a public Instagram post, urged people to “protest, donate, sign a petition, rally, do something” in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. “You have the audacity to post this, after saying the N-word,” responded someone whom Groves said she did not know.
But the story behind the backlash also reveals a more complex portrait of behavior that for generations had gone unchecked in schools in one of the nation’s wealthiest counties, where Black students said they had long been subjected to ridicule. “Go pick cotton,” some said they were told in class by white students.
“It was just always very uncomfortable being Black in the classroom,” said Muna Barry, a Black student who graduated with Groves and Galligan. Once, during Black History Month, she recalled, gym teachers at her elementary school organized an “Underground Railroad” game, where students were told to run through an obstacle course in the dark. They had to begin again if they made noise.
The use of the slur by a Heritage High School student was not shocking, many said. The surprise, instead, was that Groves was being punished for behavior that had long been tolerated.
In interviews, current and former students of color described an environment rife with racial insensitivity, including casual uses of slurs.
A report commissioned last year by the school district documented a pattern of school leaders ignoring the widespread use of racial slurs by students and teachers, fostering a “growing sense of despair” among students of color, some of whom faced disproportionate disciplinary measures compared with white students.
“It is shocking the extent to which students report the use of the N-word as the prevailing concern,” the report said. School system employees also had a “low level of racial consciousness and racial literacy,” while a lack of repercussions for hurtful language forced students into a “hostile learning environment,” it said.
In the wake of the report’s publication, the district in August released a plan to combat systemic racism. The move was followed by a formal apology in September for the district’s history of segregation.
Let me just put this here.Normally I would have put this under the YAEWBT however this is a story of blatant racism in a school district. Reported but administrators ignored the complaints. Black student gets the last word on social media and outs the transgressor.
A Racial Slur, a Viral Video, and a Reckoning (yahoo.com)
Thats exactly what it is, but as a rule in order to be ignorant and prejudiced you also need to lack self-awareness.I'm an asshole. But I could never look someone in the eye or say something like that to someone's face. I feel that actually reflects more on the person expressing their own self-hate.
I'm an asshole. But I could never look someone in the eye or say something like that to someone's face. I feel that actually reflects more on the person expressing their own self-hate.
Except your scenario was not going on at that school district. Black students were being racially taunted for years and administrators ignored it.I think if we are all honest, we have said or done things that would get us "cancelled" in todays time. Very glad no internet in the 80's from things that were common to say, and would have someone ruined if there were videos. Was she wrong saying it? Obviously. There is no excuse for it. Even if not trying to be malicious. Trying to ruin someone life over it? I'm not with that.
"Racism" is not handled the same way every time. Some people get passes daily, others say one thing and its all over. Depending on who you are, and your status makes a difference. And it should not. Allowing some non black people to say the N word, and not others based on who they are is just silly. In fact, the using the word itself in any context by anyone is disgusting imo. There are too many rules to racism, which makes it even worse.
Yep I just love watching movies from the 70's and 80's and the overt racism is there as well as homophobia and misogyny and I grew up in that time frame so I remember it well. A big problem was even if you didn't have racism in you 'the hate' you parroted movies and culture so tacitly approving of that message.I think if we are all honest, we have said or done things that would get us "cancelled" in todays time. Very glad no internet in the 80's from things that were common to say, and would have someone ruined if there were videos. Was she wrong saying it? Obviously. There is no excuse for it. Even if not trying to be malicious. Trying to ruin someone life over it? I'm not with that.
"Racism" is not handled the same way every time. Some people get passes daily, others say one thing and its all over. Depending on who you are, and your status makes a difference. And it should not. Allowing some non black people to say the N word, and not others based on who they are is just silly. In fact, the using the word itself in any context by anyone is disgusting imo. There are too many rules to racism, which makes it even worse.
Except your scenario was not going on at that school district. Black students were being racially taunted for years and administrators ignored it.
In that case I say justified.
What you said however is true. Standards evolve. At one time it was allowed to objectify women at work. Funny story, I bought my mother a complete Looney Tunes DVD set for Christmas because she is a fan. Popped a disc in and this disclaimer came up noting people may be offended by the differing standards of the 40s and 50 compared to today.
I think there can be a real discussion over this girl losing her college spot for a transgression years earlier without resorting to such a ridiculous comparison.Why was this girl's life ruined over a 3 second video where she says the n word once, when Cardi B makes millions from videos where she says it hundreds of times?
You are asking the wrong question. Correct question, why didn't the school administration listen to the black students and take their complaints seriously? Or doesn't that matter to you? Oh that's right, let's get out the crying towel for the poor little aggrieved white girl and let the black student population take their beatings. Let me put it this way, your wife may be legitimately a bitch but that does not give me the right to call her that in public.Why was this girl's life ruined over a 3 second video where she says the n word once, when Cardi B makes millions from videos where she says it hundreds of times?
God those Chris Rock shorts are brilliant. Seen them both before but they're still funny and hit on some hard truth.You are asking the wrong question. Correct question, why didn't the school administration listen to the black students and take their complaints seriously? Or doesn't that matter to you? Oh that's right, let's get out the crying towel for the poor little aggrieved white girl and let the black student population take their beatings. Let me put it this way, your wife may be legitimately a bitch but that does not give me the right to call her that in public.
Tired of that same old argument "why do you black people get to use the n-word and we don't"? The poor oppressed white man. Don't take it from me here's a funnier more intelligent retort...
This one tackles your question head on...
Tell you what, if it's that important to you we black people people will trade you white people the following (assuming you are)
You get the right to call us n****rs and we'll take the collective wealth of your race and call it a day.
I'll make it easier for you, how about starting with our lives being treated by the CJS as if they don't matter.
Funny thing is, from that period and the 60s, I remember shows like The Mod Squad, The Rookies, In The Heat of The Night, The Jeffersons, Diff'rent Strokes, Room 222, NYPD and on and on and on ...Yep I just love watching movies from the 70's and 80's and the overt racism is there as well as homophobia and misogyny and I grew up in that time frame so I remember it well. A big problem was even if you didn't have racism in you 'the hate' you parroted movies and culture so tacitly approving of that message.
Wish I could give you 10 likesBunch of whiny drama queens in this thread.
Or maybe just one
She's a teenage white girl in high school.
Her life is not ruined you morons.
She will head off to college, have a blast and get a college education and everyone will forget this story.
That's the reality.
Every little snot nosed shit at that school could go burn a cross in a black families front yard, end up in the news and 10 years from now have an education, nice career and start a family to raise future little klansman.
That's how it works.
If you claim her life is ruined and she got cancelled your a fucking idiot who seeks out safe spaces
I think there can be a real discussion over this girl losing her college spot for a transgression years earlier without resorting to such a ridiculous comparison.
An argument that boils down to, "Black people say the n word so I wanna be able to say the n word!" isn't getting you very far.
Cardi B isnt black. Just a FYI. But apparently has immunity to say it as much as she wants, with no repercussions. As well as admitting to drugging men and robbing them, when she was a stripper. With zero repercussions. But thats another story. Kim Kardashian wears braids and gets trashed online for it. Carbie B? A-ok. Thats idiotic.
As I said, rules dont evenly apply to all people. Depends on who you are. Which is the exact opposite of how it should work. Allowing some people to say some words based on who they are, is wrong. The n word, and many others are disgusting. Arbitrary rules based on what shade you are, what you wear, where you are from is just idiotic. And created more divide. And is in fact racism. Those claiming to fight against it the most, are often times guilty of it the most.
Waiting for a reason why a kid gets her life ruined over a 3 second video saying the N word once. Yet someone else makes millions saying it hindered, if not thousands of times. Both no black. Im waiting for a valid reason that is ok.
I'm pretty sure some person saying the N word in a video in a derogatory manner once has probably said it tons of times before, like most racists.
Anyways, if you are concerned about different standards for different people, you should see what Donald Trump and all his sycophants get away with. That might blow your fucking mind.
BTW Cardi B's Caribbean roots (Dominican and Trinidad) in many cases have black ancestry from slave trader roots. I think you got other problems. The dry cleaners just called, your white hood is ready for pickup.
You realize that "black" isn't something relatable by default, right?
It's nice to see how you give virtue signal points based on things you're born with though.
Can you tell me anything about the black folks in Brazil, Mexico, Jamaica, Paraguay, Philippines, etc? Sadly, you don't get to just throw them all in baskets like you obviously love to do with your racist classification system.
Anyways, congrats on the thread of publicly tarring and feathering a young and dumb individual for saying something stupid. This is definitely not something that has ever been committed by 95% of every single person under the age of 20.
Enjoy her living off your taxes for the rest of your life from being unemployed thanks to your public ridicule standards.
Just a few things:
1 If the word shouldn't be used, it shouldn't be used by Anyone for any context.
2 Saying "N Word" is the same as saying the actual Word.
3 Teenagers say and do stupid things, Cancelling one over a 3 second video is stupid