Teacher keeps job after using "N" word to describe Obama

[Scurrilous]

Source: Miami Herald

<snip>

"As a room full of outraged black parents watched in disgust, a middle school teacher who used a racial epithet to describe Barack Obama was able to keep his job Thursday night when a divided school board in this rural North Florida town voted to just suspend and transfer him.

The incident involving teacher Greg Howard, a 22-year teacher and football coach, has divided the town, and served as a stark reminder to many that racial tensions can easily bubble to the surface as the nation and Florida appear ready to pick the first black president.

"I'm just sick,'' said Sacrine L. Douglas, a Miami native who just moved to Marianna from Miami only to have her 12-year-old son, Jesse, experience "the worst kind of racism.''

There, in Jesse's first period geography class, Howard transformed Obama's slogan of "Change'' into an acronym by writing this on a dry-erase board: "Can anyone Help A N Get Elected?" Officials say he didn't write the slur, but verbalized it as "nigga."

Read more: http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/2008/10/teacher-keeps-j.html

[Xipe Totec]

1. Transfered where, I wonder?

Where would be a suitable venue for this lovely person to teach?

I'd be interested in finding out what school district will take him.

[jobycom]

3. To a vocational school, the article said. nt

[AndyTiedye]

19. Hopefully Some Hot, Steamy Place in the Everglades With Lots of Alligators!

[SoCalNative]

2. Some of the comments are just as bad

if not worse than what this "teacher" did.

[Xipe Totec]

5. Whose comments where? (n/t)

[SoCalNative]

6. The comments posted under the article

by readers

[Xipe Totec]

9. I see what you mean

Yikes!

[47of74]

25. News orgainzations think having comments sections encourages civil discourse...

Silly news organizations. Most of the time unless a very tight leash is kept on the whole affair they turn into digital dark alleys. A couple years back there was a murder in the town where I live - the victim was white, his attacker was black. At that time anyone could post at any time they wanted in the local newspaper's comments section. So the comments got very ugly, and very racist very quickly. When someone started repeatedly posting the image of a black person being lynched the paper shut down the whole comments system and got both the police and FBI involved. It eventually came back, but with a lot tighter controls on it, and now the paper requires people be verified before being allowed to comment.

[rpannier]

14. rhonda woofter's comments were both disturbing and laughable

Voting is a previledge we need to preserve, among other things, in this
country.
Before you vote this year, PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU ARE AWARE OF WHO YOU ARE
VOTING FOR. Not a lot is know about Senator Barack Hussein Obama, because
he is fairly new to the political arena.
Here is an overview of his life and where he came from and the views and
believes that have surrounded him his whole life.
I ask you, as an adult, have you not been influence by the views and beliefs
of your family? Can we fairly say that your upbringing has a lot to do with
who you are today?

************

Yes...we must preserve our PREviledge to vote

I agree...Not a lot is KNOW about

And it's true, I am concerned about his... views and BELIEVES

Yes...I ask you, as an adult, have you not been INFLUENCE by

****************

I would have written off one or two as a typo, but this person's grammar and spelling is atrocious. The only thing they got correct is 'a lot' is two words

[silverojo]

22. Check out this comment!

if hussain the black messiah is elected.
white people will have to seat in the back of the bus. and we wont be able to look into their eyes. may god help us

Yes, may God help us if people really are stupid enough to think this is what will happen when a black president is elected.

[FLyellowdog]

4. As a retired teacher here in FL

I was disgusted by the actions of this young man. And now I'm both disgusted and appalled that he is going to be allowed to further his career in education in our state. I hope someone brings him up on ethics charges to the State Department of Education and sees that he loses his certificate. But I won't hold my breath...it's still Florida, you know.

[NCDem60]

17. You should have expected it because......

....he coaches football.

[ReadTomPaine]

7. This is not surprising to anyone who's visited or lived in the Panhandle.

It's a part of the culture there.

[On the Road]

24. The Panhandle -- Geez

Southern Alabama.

[kiranon]

8. Perhaps someone could sue the school district on behalf of the students for emotional damages

or for violation of civil rights. I would be talking to an attorney or the ACLU to see if there is a case that could be made. Perhaps a complaint to the United Nations so it would investigate? Just thoughts about possible remedies to look into.

[47of74]

23. Good idea

That's the only thing the school board would respect, I think. They've made it clear that they would not know decency or honor if either walked up and shook their hands.

[texastoast]

10. Is this another incident of this in Florida?

Seems like the last Florida racist pig posing as a teacher and making headlines was older than that.

So this is another incident?

[sandnsea]

12. 22-year teacher - not 22 years old n/t

[texastoast]

16. Okay, that's it

time for bed if I can't read any better than that.

[Scurrilous]

13. This guy got the most attention.

But there have been other incidents.

[texastoast]

15. Sims. That's it.

Thanks. That's the one I recall. Family name. Sigh.

[Duke Newcombe]

11. Apologies to our FL DUers...

Yet another reason to either (a) saw the state off of the CONUS and let it drift, or (b) erect partitions around the South Coasts and Orlando, and keep relations with them ala Berlin, and forget about the rest of that dysfunctional state.

[GOPNotForMe]

18. Don't forget Gainesville and Tallahassee! We are bluer than Orlando! nt

[NOW tense]

20. Maybe he can be replaced with John McCain's hair brain idea of

having military coming back from Iraq going directly into teaching without having to take any tests.

[stillcool]

21. kind of reminds me of George Bush..

"Is our children learning?" Obviously they are, and look at what they are learning. It sure does emphasize why it is that Education is a National Security Threat to our country.