# Another Crappy Teacher: Mocking Muslim Student **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 4, 2011, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-crappy-teacher-mocking-muslim-student/580723 "2011-05-04T17:49:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-crappy-teacher-mocking-muslim-student/580723/1 "2011-05-04T17:49:56Z")
Here is another stupid [molder of young minds](http://gawker.com/#!5798559/teacher-suspended-for-mocking-muslim-student-after-bin-ladens-death). > [@](#): > > She said, “The teacher told the student that ‘I bet you’re grieving.’ And she basically looked at him and said what are you talking about? And he said I heard about your uncle’s death and she said wow, because she understood that he was referring about Osama bin Laden being killed and was racially profiling her.” […] > > The mother said, “The student ended up crying over what was said to her by the teacher and the teacher asked her why she was crying and another student said it was because of what you said earlier. And his response was, oh, OK, and just kind of smirked and giggled and walked away.” Jesus Christ on Cracker, how ridiculous are some people. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-crappy-teacher-mocking-muslim-student/580723/2 "2011-05-04T17:54:25Z")
nm… ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-crappy-teacher-mocking-muslim-student/580723/3 "2011-05-04T18:08:19Z")
That’s funny. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-crappy-teacher-mocking-muslim-student/580723/4 "2011-05-04T18:11:17Z")
I’d cry, too, if I was a kid. I just found out an acquaintance thinks I am Muslim. Why she thinks this I have no idea. I’ve only met her once or twice. I never indicated any sort of religion around her, at all. So it’s totally racist - purely on skin color. I am brown, ergo Muslim. It’s fucking rude and offensive. She also thinks Muslims all wear turbans and put bombs in the turbans. Her petty ignorance would make me insane if I let myself care about it at all. But I am thirty-five and self-confident, and not being told this by someone in authority. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-crappy-teacher-mocking-muslim-student/580723/5 "2011-05-04T18:17:08Z")
> [@Tahssa](#): > > That’s funny. How the hell is that funny? ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-crappy-teacher-mocking-muslim-student/580723/6 "2011-05-04T18:19:33Z")
Well, I thought the video was funny because they said they didn’t want to reveal the person’s identity but still they showed her tattoos. The incident at the school’s not funny at all. The teacher should be fired. And the parents of the child mocked by the teacher should sue. Really, sometimes the only thing that makes people think first is monetary loss. ---
**Author:** ![Farmer\_Jane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Farmer\_Jane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Farmer_Jane)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-crappy-teacher-mocking-muslim-student/580723/7 "2011-05-04T18:27:11Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > I’d cry, too, if I was a kid. I just found out an acquaintance thinks I am Muslim. Why she thinks this I have no idea. I’ve only met her once or twice. I never indicated any sort of religion around her, at all. So it’s totally racist - purely on skin color. I am brown, ergo Muslim. > > It’s fucking rude and offensive. She also thinks Muslims all wear turbans and put bombs in the turbans. Her petty ignorance would make me insane if I let myself care about it at all. > > But I am thirty-five and self-confident, and not being told this by someone in authority. :rolleyes: What’s offensive about being thought of as a Muslim? It’s her ignorance. ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-crappy-teacher-mocking-muslim-student/580723/8 "2011-05-04T19:17:24Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > The incident at the school’s not funny at all. The teacher should be fired. And the parents of the child mocked by the teacher should sue. Really, sometimes the only thing that makes people think first is monetary loss. (a bit meatier version of the story is found here: [http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=8109997](http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=8109997) ) Actually, ISTM that the school is acting with dispatch, and in a proper manner. The girl in question reported this immediately, and the teacher is already on administrative leave, following this incident, and further investigation is ongoing. The students are reported as having stood up for the Muslim girl. This strikes me as the best that the school could have done, provided there were no prior incidents of this nature. The fact that the students stood up for their classmate goes a long way, in my opinion, towards substantiating the statement from the school district that they believe this sort of behavior to be unacceptable. I am the last person to want to defend abusive teachers, or to ignore the shocking compliance that other teachers, school administrators and teacher’s unions have had in the past to enable such behavior. In this case, however, I don’t see any glaring signs that there has been that kind of enabling, here. Absent proof of that sort of culpability, I don’t see why the school district should be held accountable in a civil suit, especially if they carry through and fire (Or even place on unpaid leave til the end of the year, and fail to renew his contract.) the teacher once their investigation is completed. > [@CitizenPained](#): > > What’s offensive about being thought of as a Muslim? It’s her ignorance. Did you even read the full post you quoted? Having someone thinking that one carries bombs in the turban that they expect you to be wearing is offensive. If you seriously don’t see how that is offensive, you’re even more of an idiot than I think you are for being unable to read for comprehension. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-crappy-teacher-mocking-muslim-student/580723/9 "2011-05-04T19:49:00Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > The incident at the school’s not funny at all. The teacher should be fired. And the parents of the child mocked by the teacher should sue. Really, sometimes the only thing that makes people think first is monetary loss. Sue? What is her cause of action? And what damages can she claim? ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-crappy-teacher-mocking-muslim-student/580723/10 "2011-05-04T20:10:41Z")
My first on seeing the OP was “please don’t be in Tennessee, please don’t be in Tennessee…” ETA - woot! ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-crappy-teacher-mocking-muslim-student/580723/11 "2011-05-04T20:11:07Z")
> [@](#): > > She said, “The teacher told the student that ‘I bet you’re grieving.’ And she basically looked at him and said what are you talking about? And he said I heard about your uncle’s death and she said wow, **because she understood that he was referring about Osama bin Laden being killed** and was racially profiling her.” (bolding mine) I’m confused. How does “I heard about your uncle’s death” translate to the bolded part of the article? Did the teacher have a history of referring to Osama bin Laden as the uncle of her or other Muslim students? ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-crappy-teacher-mocking-muslim-student/580723/12 "2011-05-04T20:12:24Z")
The solution I’d suggest is to hold a school assembly with the teacher seated on stage while the principal described the details of the exchange, then looks at the teacher with an expression of contempt, says “That was a fucking dumbass thing to do!” and after that the matter is dropped and everyone gets on with their lives. No lawsuit, no forced apologies, just a public rebuking. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-crappy-teacher-mocking-muslim-student/580723/13 "2011-05-04T20:12:29Z")
Yeah I’m confused about who said what also. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-crappy-teacher-mocking-muslim-student/580723/14 "2011-05-04T20:14:33Z")
> [@LurkMeister](#): > > (bolding mine) > I’m confused. How does “I heard about your uncle’s death” translate to the bolded part of the article? Did the teacher have a history of referring to Osama bin Laden as the uncle of her or other Muslim students? This is the kind of thing that’s pretty damn obvious in context, but not so much when it’s abstracted into a retelling, especially in text. I have no doubt that he meant Osama. ---
**Author:** ![Double\_Foolscap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85e7bf/32.png) [@Double\_Foolscap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Double_Foolscap)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-crappy-teacher-mocking-muslim-student/580723/15 "2011-05-04T20:15:07Z")
> [@LurkMeister](#): > > (bolding mine) > I’m confused. How does “I heard about your uncle’s death” translate to the bolded part of the article? Did the teacher have a history of referring to Osama bin Laden as the uncle of her or other Muslim students? For the same reason I’ve seen Facebook tards refer to Obama and Osama as “cousins”, I imagine. ---
**Author:** ![miss\_elizabeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@miss\_elizabeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/miss_elizabeth)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-crappy-teacher-mocking-muslim-student/580723/16 "2011-05-04T20:35:52Z")
The teacher is a piece of shit, but the fact that the school acted so quickly, and that her classmates stood up for her makes me very happy. We will never eradicate prejudice and ignorance in the world, but we can marginalize it, and create a culture where this sort of shit isn’t tolerated. And apparently this school is creating that culture, and that is a wonderful thing. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-crappy-teacher-mocking-muslim-student/580723/17 "2011-05-04T20:44:59Z")
> [@CitizenPained](#): > > What’s offensive about being thought of as a Muslim? It’s her ignorance. It’s offensive because the person has taken datapoint about **Mika** – the color of her skin, too dark to be white but too light to be black – and assumed that she can deduce an important part of Mika’s character: her religious faith. It is no less offensive thanit would be if I assumed my friend Andy Cohen was cheap. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-crappy-teacher-mocking-muslim-student/580723/18 "2011-05-04T20:56:29Z")
And it’s offensive since the person in question has such a horribly negative view of Muslims. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-crappy-teacher-mocking-muslim-student/580723/19 "2011-05-04T22:18:18Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > The incident at the school’s not funny at all. The teacher should be fired. And the parents of the child mocked by the teacher should sue. Really, sometimes the only thing that makes people think first is monetary loss. Who should be sued? The teacher made a stupid insensitive comment and was immediately disciplined for doing so. Should the school be sued? It might be tough proving the school did something wrong. The teacher? I guess, but what can anyone expect to get out of the teacher? IF there was a pattern of this kind of behavior and administrators did nothing then suing makes sense. Without more information, it doesn’t seem like such a good idea to me to sue. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-crappy-teacher-mocking-muslim-student/580723/20 "2011-05-04T22:24:38Z")
Good for the other kids! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-crappy-teacher-mocking-muslim-student/580723.md?page=2)