His Name Was Adrian. Not "Taco Butt"

[kpete]

His Name Was Adrian. Not "Taco Butt" . (UPDATED)
by WeBetterWinThisTime

Sun Jul 11, 2010 at 04:08:35 PM PDT

" All of us have experiences growing up that impact the way we interact with others whether we care to admit it or not. Sometimes that can be a good thing. Sometimes that can be a bad thing. And sometimes, it just is."

............................

Adrian was a sweet , soft spoken young boy and I was excited to have him in my class. I was the only person of color and I thought it was awesome to see someone different . I felt like I wasn't "the only one" anymore even though I was still the only Black. It's hard to describe. Till this day, I don't feel totally comfortable at any function even if they're all Black like me, unless there's some diversity in a room. That's just me. Anyway, back to Adrian which is what this whole diary was supposed to be about. Yes, I liked Adrian, who was Mexican and he liked me. And even though the class also appeared welcoming of Adrian , Stanifer didn't like him much. During role call , he would pronounce Adrian's first and last name with a heavy stereotype Spanish accent. He even did it when he would call on him in class. When he would ask him questions, he did it in that accent with this sick grin on his face. And Adrian was a shy boy. He didn't seem to get angry or rather show anger. I believe he was scared of Mr. Stanifer.

One day , Mr Stanifer was in one of his moods. It was rumored that he was what we call and Alchie (Alcoholic) because his face was always red, but no one was certain because he had very red hair and freckles and it could have just been genetic, but he came in one morning in a pissed off mood redder than a tomato. He had been nitpicking at Adrian all day and at lunch time , it had escalated . Adrian wasn't moving fast enough for him after Stanifer demanded that he "MOVE HIS TACO BUTT FASTER" as we were all getting in line to head to the Cafeteria for lunch, so he grabbed him by the neck and slammed him down on this concrete bench like thing that surrounded a tree. It's hard to describe , but irrelevant. He told Adrian that he had to sit there until lunch was over because he's not getting any lunch today. Adrians beautiful large doe like eyes were filled with tears and he was holding his neck. I sat down with him, holding him around the shoulders crying too. When I get really pissed off, I cry and I start shaking which is what I did. As the class headed towards the cafeteria, I told Adrian to come with me to the office. I took him to the office and demanded to see the Principle and threatened to call my Mama if the lady didn't let us talk to the Principle.

Adrian got to talk to the Principle , but he didn't come back to class that day. He never came back to class at all and I never saw him again. But guess who did come back to class. Yeah. Stanifer . For the rest of that year, I detached from that class and that teacher. I was there physically, but I did not participate. I used to volunteer to read a paragraph when we would all read together our lessons because , to be honest, I was one of those people who liked to hear the sound of my own voice. But not anymore. I just didn't participate. I didn't go to the board to solve a math problem or volunteer to hand out papers or anything. Sure, I did my homework because I was afraid of my Dad. But I did nothing for Mr. Stanifer ever again. I hated him. I still hate him because I still see him today. I see him in the crowds at these Tea Party rallies yelling and screaming about the presence of Adrian .I see him in the eyes of Arizonas Governor. I see him everywhere I see hate. He's always there looking for Adrian, mocking his name, pushing him down and grabbing him by the neck. I and I still hate him. I hate that spirit.

Adrian is still missing. He's still hiding from Mr Stanifer. He's still afraid of his raging temper and the mocking and the name calling. Adrian is still powerless and all he can do is sit there and cry. And you know what ? I'm still not gonna let the Adians in this nation sit alone and cry. I'm still gonna welcome them. I'm still gonna help them. I'm still going to try to get them some justice. I'm still going to try to get them status and equality and I'm going to reject every single attempt made to strip them of their culture. I'm going to fight those who mock them and berate them and exclude them. And this time , Adrian wont be the one who doesn't get to come back and join the rest of us. This time , it will be Mr Stanifer that loses. These immigrants are people. Human beings who are gentle and kind and just want to work and feed their families. And maybe my experience in Sixth grade blinds me from seeing this whole Immigration Debate from a more balanced perspective, but you all will just have to excuse me if it seems I am always coming to their defense and always taking their side and always arguing their case and always fighting for there cause. It's because I know, they can't . They can't because they are scared. They are scared because there are too many Mr Stanifers in positions of authority in America and too few people like me who will fight for the Adrians in this nation. So, I don't care if people think I'm bias towards them. To me they are helpless and meek immigrants not Illegals. They are Adrian. They are my friends. They are not taco butts.

more:
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/7/11/883514/-His-Name-Was-Adrian.-Not-Taco-Butt-.-%28UPDATED%29

[Bluzmann57]

1. Adrian and you are true American heroes

Stanifer can kiss my ass. On second thought, Stanifer isn't good enough to put his lips anywhere near my ass.

[AsahinaKimi]

2. I hate that there are people like this in the world

I was lucky to go to school where everyone was of all ethnic varieties. We never had teachers or classmates that acted in that way. Its disgusting. It also makes me sad.

kanashidesuyo! :(

[Better Today]

3. I had a teacher who did the same to a real sweet, shy guy in our class

but her disrespect was wholly wrapped around the idea she had that he was gay. I don't know if he was or not. And I didn't sit quietly and watch. I got her ass fired, he stuck around. Seriously within 5 days of turning her in to the VP, she was outta there, and this was in Texas. There are some situations that fighting for oneself is totally ineffective, but having others fight on your behalf can be quite effective. I think this is the difference here. I never sat quietly and let her get away with it, so I was sent to the office instead of he, who chose to sit silently in humiliation, and I gave detailed accounts as to why I was sent to the VPs office. I suppose it helps that nothing intimidates me, so going to the office didn't cause the expected dampering and reserve that it was intended to.

[InvisibleTouch]

4. Good for you!! We need more people willing to do this. n/t

[Canuckistanian]

5. +1

Fight ugliness - wherever you see it.

Thanks for giving a damn. And putting it into action.

[CoffeeCat]

6. You just made my day...

...thank you, thank you--for sticking up for that shy guy in your class.

The world needs many more "Better Todays" and I am so proud of you for talking
back to that rancid teacher and for telling on her.

Bottom line, the teacher was abusive and deserved to be fired.

You totally rock and I bet that student will never forget you!

GREAT job! :applause:

[Maru Kitteh]

12. I expect your experience and the one in the OP were at least a couple decades apart.

There was a time not so very long ago that it would have been much, much more likely that it was you who was disappeared from the school, not the other way around. No matter what official policies may have said, racism and discrimination were the outward norm of society in a way that was so pervasive it was like the air you were forced to breathe, so even egregious behavior of educators was often tolerated.

I hope you can understand the story better by putting yourself in that kind of time and culture, and be proud of your own accomplishments without self-righteousness.

[burnsei sensei]

7. This Stanifer is a bully.

He should be called out for what he is.
The man needs a tack in his shoe for at least half a day.
Perhaps then his sensitivity will be triggered.

[Ken Burch]

10. a tack in his shoe..no...a TACO in his BUTT...yes

preferably a hot, steaming, hard shell taco with fresh onions and habanero sauce.

If the Taco fits...well....

[rasputin1952]

8. As I read this, so many emotions were drawn from those places

where we "hide" what we no longer wish to remember; those niches where we hardly ever allow even a splinter light.

In my school, we had a 7/8 grade preacher who was also the principal. The only one over him was the pastor of the church this school was a part of, (for the record, this was Lutheran, Missouri Synod). So much of what I became comes from those days. Corporal punishment was encouraged, (except for the girls); standing in the hallway with one's nose against a white painted cinder block, for an hour at a time; having to stand in class and be berated by this teacher/principal. He was a white haired bully with John Brown's eyes and "the fire of the soul".

Since one cannot slander the dead, (and this is truth not slander anyway), his name was Albert H.Pittlekow, and I honestly believe I once saw him in a video of American Nazi's in NY back in the late 30's, (couldn't find one damn Nazi in NY come 8Dec41 though). Virtually all of the students were of German lineage if I could find the yearbook, it read as if the names came from a Bavarian Phonebook. One yer, we had a black kid show up in class, his name was Byron, and while I don't know what his father did for a living, he had to be pretty well off in the 50s because this was a "private" school. Byron and spent a lot of time staring at painted cinder blocks. On one occasion, my nose was not up against the block, so I was slapped in the back of the head to make sure I knew where said projection should be. That small amount of blood stayed on that block for many years...but far worse, the stain left on that wall from Byron could never be washed away...Pittlekow called him a "little jig".

I was brought up in NYC, I know about racism and I know how people can get along when they have a mind to. At this time in my life, (1964), my father was dying from colon cancer, (he died 4Jul65). My dad, like all dads had faults, but he was an attorney, graduated from Fordham in the Bronx. I can recall sitting in an overstuffed chair while he was dying and still pretty lucid, one thing stood out that I have always tried to live by, "Question authority". It was years later when I understood just what that meant in realistic terms, but I felt after Pittlekow's "little jig" remark, it was time to question authority. Long story short, I got the requisite paddling from the "Board of Education"; after each thwack to my posterior, I was asked, "Do you respect authority now?" "No!" I shouted out as best as I could through the pain, (I quit counting at 15 whacks, there were more). Eventually,Pittlekow gave up, called my mother, and she and he had a "discussion" outside and the windows were open for the Spring air. Generally speaking, my mother said that if he ever touched a kid in that school again, she would be beating the doors down with an army of lawyers, (My dad had worked for Travelers).

Later in the day, (and w/my butt still stinging), we waited on the NYC bus to take us home. My younger brother, (by one year), wanted to throw rocks through the windows, but it was Byron that made the whole thing make sense. He told me he wasn't sure if he could do what I had done if the situations were reversed, he told me was scared because he was "different"...we both kind of shuffled our feet and thought for a bit. After that awkward interlude that comes from 'deep thought" and not really knowing what to say...Byron summed it all up with, "Thank you...friend". It was the "friend" part that hit me hardest, it took me a while to understand what it meant to him to say such a thing. It came from his heart, and it was one of those moments that become an epiphany.

[tavalon]

9. That was painful and beautiful

I really hope there are more of your ilk than Stanifer's ilk.

[Scurrilous]

11. Kick

:kick:

[David Zephyr]

13. I read this too late for an "R", but it certainly gets a big kick to the top.

Moving.