# Teacher assaults student that uses a racial slur against him **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 7, 2018, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-assaults-student-that-uses-a-racial-slur-against-him/824106 "2018-11-07T00:02:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2018, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-assaults-student-that-uses-a-racial-slur-against-him/824106/81 "2018-11-08T02:30:16Z")
I’ve been a teacher. As much as I want to strangle some students, as much as some students have menaced me in the past, it’s just not a teacher thing to do to be violent. You just can’t do it unless it’s in self defense or the defense of another person. You’re in a position of authority, just like any other public official. Moreover, usually speaking, you’re the adult, and they’re not. Beating someone isn’t the adult thing to do (again, unless we’re talking self defense). That said, I don’t think he should be fired. It’s a mistake. Mistakes happen. Suspended for a few weeks and then back on the job with the proviso that if it happens again, it’s over. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2018, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-assaults-student-that-uses-a-racial-slur-against-him/824106/82 "2018-11-08T02:35:57Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > bull. teenagers have always been insufferable assholes. they can rot in hell. I can’t find it, but I remember seeing a video of this 14-year-old dickbag having a meltdown, screaming at his teacher shit like “DON’T FUCK WITH ME!” > > I was in high school from 1990-1994. I remember more than one instance of those precious little angels violently attacking teachers. > > Donald Trump has nothing to do with the fact that teenagers are absolutely worthless, violent, irresponsible, destructive pieces of shit. So do you think what the teacher did was ok or justified? ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2018, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-assaults-student-that-uses-a-racial-slur-against-him/824106/83 "2018-11-08T02:39:47Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > So do you think what the teacher did was ok or justified? yes. the student assaulted his teacher, and got what he had coming in return. in case you weren’t aware, 14-year-olds are not innocent little babies. part of growing up means accepting when the world kicks your ass and puts you in your place. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2018, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-assaults-student-that-uses-a-racial-slur-against-him/824106/84 "2018-11-08T02:46:27Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > yes. the student assaulted his teacher, and got what he had coming in return. > > in case you weren’t aware, 14-year-olds are not innocent little babies. > > part of growing up means accepting when the world kicks your ass and puts you in your place. Teachers are adult role models. What teenagers learn is that violence is how you deal with your problems…which may very land them in prison. Is that what you want? Role models demonstrating to an entire classroom of impressionable young minds behavior that can land them in jail? Dude, get fucking real. Not everyone is cut out to be a teacher. Unlike what you and others think, it’s not an easy job. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2018, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-assaults-student-that-uses-a-racial-slur-against-him/824106/85 "2018-11-08T02:52:09Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > Teachers are adult role models. What teenagers learn is that violence is how you deal with your problems…which may very land them in prison. > > Is that what you want? Role models demonstrating to an entire classroom of impressionable young minds behavior that can land them in jail? > > Dude, get fucking real. Not everyone is cut out to be a teacher. Unlike what you and others think, it’s not an easy job. what do you want? teenagers are violent assholes. if they use violence to get what they want, they learn that they can use violence to get what they want. if they receive violence in response, maybe they’ll learn they can’t use violence to get what they want. adults aren’t supposed to be wet noodle pushovers. some kids need a good solid ass-kicking. ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2018, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-assaults-student-that-uses-a-racial-slur-against-him/824106/86 "2018-11-08T03:03:26Z")
Let’s see, if school is to prepare you for the real world then the teacher is doing a good job. ---
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2018, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-assaults-student-that-uses-a-racial-slur-against-him/824106/87 "2018-11-08T03:19:49Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > That said, my sympathy for the kid is highly limited. He shouldn’t have received a beatdown but sometimes when you poke a bear it bites your face off. I don’t know. I really just don’t have a proper response. I’m not prepared to say that racist taunts and baiting don’t deserve a beatdown. I’m pretty sure they DO deserve one, unless nothing does. ---
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2018, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-assaults-student-that-uses-a-racial-slur-against-him/824106/88 "2018-11-08T03:21:36Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > Let’s see, if school is to prepare you for the real world then the teacher is doing a good job. If you think school is not the real world, then you aren’t living in the real world. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2018, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-assaults-student-that-uses-a-racial-slur-against-him/824106/89 "2018-11-08T03:31:09Z")
Greater violence is not the only way to punish violence. And, even if you do wind up using something physical, it shouldn’t be in the heat of anger, but a calculated decision. Now, given the hate crime (assault + hate speech == hate crime), I’m not gonna hate on the guy. I think he did wrong, but I understand how he could do it. I don’t automatically see violence and go “EVIL!!!” The kid needs to do more than apologize. Like I said, it was a hate crime. Granted, the assault can be considered in as part of his punishment, as should be his age and the severity of the actual assault. But it deserves more than just for him to say some empty words that he doesn’t mean (as it would be a compelled apology). I’d probably go for community service for a first offense. Wouldn’t mind that for the teacher, either, really. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2018, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-assaults-student-that-uses-a-racial-slur-against-him/824106/90 "2018-11-08T03:36:28Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > The kid threw a basketball. That doesn’t change the substance of what I posted in the least. ---
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2018, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-assaults-student-that-uses-a-racial-slur-against-him/824106/91 "2018-11-08T04:33:31Z")
The only **effective and successful** way I’ve seen of dealing with a bully has been the use of overwhelming and unfair force against him. Has anyone here seen an **effective and successful** method of dealing with a bully, that doesn’t involve overwhelming and unfair force? **NB** The force doesn’t have to be physical; however, it has to be perceived by the bully as overwhelming and unfair to him personally. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2018, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-assaults-student-that-uses-a-racial-slur-against-him/824106/92 "2018-11-08T04:38:14Z")
> [@DavidwithanR](#): > > I don’t know. I really just don’t have a proper response. I’m not prepared to say that racist taunts and baiting don’t deserve a beatdown. I’m pretty sure they DO deserve one, unless nothing does. I’m pretty sure Martin Luther King would disagree with you. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2018, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-assaults-student-that-uses-a-racial-slur-against-him/824106/93 "2018-11-08T07:44:17Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > adults aren’t supposed to be wet noodle pushovers. some kids need a good solid ass-kicking. So is that the way you would set up society yes? God help us. At what age do you think it OK to start administering beatings? Girls will get beaten too, you OK with that? What level of harm are you OK with? bruising? bleeding? broken bone or two? I think your response here borders on Psychopathy. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2018, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-assaults-student-that-uses-a-racial-slur-against-him/824106/94 "2018-11-08T07:59:56Z")
> [@DavidwithanR](#): > > The only **effective and successful** way I’ve seen of dealing with a bully has been the use of overwhelming and unfair force against him. > > Has anyone here seen an **effective and successful** method of dealing with a bully, that doesn’t involve overwhelming and unfair force? > > **NB** The force doesn’t have to be physical; however, it has to be perceived by the bully as overwhelming and unfair to him personally. The use of the word “force” here is not helpful, what you mean is “consequences” or “resistance”. Bullies will continue doing what they do if they believe nothing will happen to them as a result and that people will not offer any resistance. I fired a bully once. It gave me immense pleasure but judging by the tone of some replies here perhaps I should have organised an official beating instead, or maybe just smash him in the face with a chair as he sat down for his disciplinary interview. It is depressingly easy to see where the bloodthirsty calls for capital punishment come from. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2018, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-assaults-student-that-uses-a-racial-slur-against-him/824106/95 "2018-11-08T10:51:16Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > The use of the word “force” here is not helpful, what you mean is “consequences” or “resistance”. > Bullies will continue doing what they do if they believe nothing will happen to them as a result and that people will not offer any resistance. > > I fired a bully once. It gave me immense pleasure but judging by the tone of some replies here perhaps I should have organised an official beating instead, or maybe just smash him in the face with a chair as he sat down for his disciplinary interview. > > It is depressingly easy to see where the bloodthirsty calls for capital punishment come from. Of course, most of these folk envision themselves as the ones delivering the beating rather than as the recipients. Teachers act in loco parentis in a school environment. A teacher should no more beat a student than a parent should beat a child, no matter the provocation. That said, there are still plenty of advocates for child beating around too. ---
**Author:** ![JB99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/439d5e/32.png) [@JB99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JB99)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2018, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-assaults-student-that-uses-a-racial-slur-against-him/824106/96 "2018-11-08T11:55:46Z")
> [@popomomo\_cocoyoyo](#): > > “Words will never hurt me,” but “the last straw broke the camel’s back.” I don’t condone violence and I won’t comment about this specific case, but look at this way: some people are subjected to racism every day, sometimes multiple times a day. Taken individually, each racial slur or discimination doesn’t look bad at all, just brush it off and go on with your business, right? But when it’s constant it wears down on you. Get it often enough and even the most resolute person might flip out sometimes. And that whole time, the body is receiving injections of cortisol. When you are being bullied and harassed or are in an unsafe environment the cortisol turns into a steady drip. We know very clearly that constant exposure to cortisol has damaging effects on the body and the mind. Fatigue, weakness, depression, \*\* loss of emotional control\*\*, cognitive difficulties, high blood pressure, and bone loss are all symptoms. This is why I said that “Words can never hurt you” is a total lie. Words can’t hurt you, but the stress produced by being unsafe, unsupported, attacked, and maligned very definitely produces measurable physiological changes in the body thanks to an overload of stress hormone. ---
**Author:** ![Sparky812](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Sparky812](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky812)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2018, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-assaults-student-that-uses-a-racial-slur-against-him/824106/97 "2018-11-08T12:23:23Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > Are you sure? I thought he was black too, until people kept pointing out that he is white. > [@Ambivalid](#): > > Not that it matters but the kid certainly looked white to me. While his head and face were blurred out, the other areas of his body that were visible stood in stark contrast to the skin tone of the teacher. What leads you to believe the kid is black? > [@Ambivalid](#): > > Actually, from what i can find online, the student is Hispanic. ??? I’ve seen the complete, unedited version with faces not blurred in which the student repeatedly taunts the teacher, calling him “nigga” “my nigga” etc… He also repeatedly challenges the teacher with stuff like “say that shit again, nigger” It’s available, on-line if you care to look for it. > [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > It is utterly, utterly irrelevant. ??? In a case where teacher assaults a student over a using repeated racial epithets, you think race is irrelevant? You do know about the word’s intra-group usage and reappropriation, right? Have you heard any hip-hop or rap music from the last 30 years or so? Race is not always relevant… but it is here. That said, I still don’t agree with the teacher’s response. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2018, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-assaults-student-that-uses-a-racial-slur-against-him/824106/98 "2018-11-08T13:49:18Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > It is depressingly easy to see where the bloodthirsty calls for capital punishment come from. Not so fast. I can recognize the teacher did wrong, but in the arena of teacher/student assaults I’m having a hard time getting really upset about this particular story. And I am staunchly anti-death penalty. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2018, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-assaults-student-that-uses-a-racial-slur-against-him/824106/99 "2018-11-08T14:03:12Z")
I’m basically with **Novelty Bobble** on this. Regardless of how I might feel emotionally on a given day/week/year, there is no room for acceptance of extra-judicial assault. That is, in essence, one teeny-tiny step removed from lynchings. But, I did want to address this little stink bomb that got dropped here: > [@AK84](#): > > If the students are acting basely, its the teachers fault. Wow. So no personal responsibility? No parental responsibility? No societal responsibility The actions of the students are entirely the “fault” of the teachers? ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2018, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-assaults-student-that-uses-a-racial-slur-against-him/824106/100 "2018-11-08T14:38:23Z")
> [@Sparky812](#): > > ??? I’ve seen the complete, unedited version with faces not blurred in which the student repeatedly taunts the teacher, calling him “nigga” “my nigga” etc… > He also repeatedly challenges the teacher with stuff like “say that shit again, nigger” It’s available, on-line if you care to look for it. So, is the kid white, black, hispanic, what? I thought he was black when I first saw the video, and then I read elsewhere that he was white. And no, teachers should not be punching kids in the face. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-assaults-student-that-uses-a-racial-slur-against-him/824106.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-assaults-student-that-uses-a-racial-slur-against-him/824106.md?page=6)