# Texas teacher gives honor student "most likely to become a terrorist" award **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 26, 2017, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-teacher-gives-honor-student-most-likely-to-become-a-terrorist-award/787488 "2017-05-26T16:32:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**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 26, 2017, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-teacher-gives-honor-student-most-likely-to-become-a-terrorist-award/787488/21 "2017-05-26T21:37:27Z")
> [@begbert2](#): > > Right - most of the audience was way too mature to be impressed by the idea that calling random innocent people terrorists is funny. Well, if it’s _random_, then it’s pointless. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2017, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-teacher-gives-honor-student-most-likely-to-become-a-terrorist-award/787488/22 "2017-05-26T21:43:20Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > It sounds like those awards were given out by fellow students. I think it’s a little bit different when a teacher does it. And maybe they didn’t reinforce and pile on further humiliation the very things that might be creating social disadvantages for them. That’s the point, right? At some point people with social power, whether teachers or popular kids or whatever have to start taking on board the idea that just because you didn’t think you were making someone’s life worse doesn’t mean you can disclaim responsibility for it. ---
**Author:** ![mikecurtis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikecurtis/32/3284_2.png) [@mikecurtis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mikecurtis)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2017, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-teacher-gives-honor-student-most-likely-to-become-a-terrorist-award/787488/23 "2017-05-26T22:12:12Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Why does it always have to be Texas? There are plenty of assholes in Iowa, I’ve been there, there’s bunches of them! (grumble, grouse, bitch…) I’m pretty sure the press have just stopped paying attention to Florida, because it just got too ridiculous, so Texas moved to number 1 by default. California is gonna have to step up its game! mc ---
**Author:** ![mischievous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@mischievous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mischievous)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2017, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-teacher-gives-honor-student-most-likely-to-become-a-terrorist-award/787488/24 "2017-05-26T22:13:42Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > It sounds like those awards were given out by fellow students. I think it’s a little bit different when a teacher does it. > [@Acsenray](#): > > And maybe they didn’t reinforce and pile on further humiliation the very things that might be creating social disadvantages for them. That’s the point, right? Well… yes and no. The yearbook committee was made up of both teachers and students, IIRC. The popular, socially connected ones. So an award, even if rude, was a public acknowledgement that the popular kids/important teachers were interested in your existence. NOT getting an award was a clear communication of your social disadvantage. (I didn’t get an award, natch.) I guess what I’m trying to say is that, much like mock-punches, mildly rude awards can be signifiers of in-group gentle teasing, and a message that you belong. If the teacher had given them in that spirit, then I would not have found it offensive. However, if the article is accurate, that is not the spirit in which they were given and the teacher is a jackass of the first order. ---
**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 26, 2017, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-teacher-gives-honor-student-most-likely-to-become-a-terrorist-award/787488/25 "2017-05-26T22:31:37Z")
I find these particular awards, given to 12 year olds, would never be funny. Other silly awards? Sure. But these are mean spirited and nothing else. It’s a world of difference between that and 18 year old seniors. ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2017, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-teacher-gives-honor-student-most-likely-to-become-a-terrorist-award/787488/26 "2017-05-27T03:31:42Z")
I wonder who got “Most Likely to Throat Punch a Teacher” ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2017, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-teacher-gives-honor-student-most-likely-to-become-a-terrorist-award/787488/27 "2017-05-27T05:08:55Z")
Greg Gianforte? Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2017, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-teacher-gives-honor-student-most-likely-to-become-a-terrorist-award/787488/28 "2017-05-27T05:12:05Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > Greg Gianforte? > **[Greg Gianforte](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greg_Gianforte)** > > Gregory Richard Gianforte (/ˌdʒi.ənˈfɔːrteɪ/ JEE-ən-FOR-tay; born April 17, 1961) is an American businessman, politician, and software engineer serving as the 25th governor of Montana since 2021. A member of the Republican Party, Gianforte served as the U.S. representative for Montana's at-large congressional district from 2017 to 2021. > In 1997, Gianforte and his wife, Susan, co-founded RightNow Technologies, a customer relationship management software company. The company went public in 200... Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2017, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-teacher-gives-honor-student-most-likely-to-become-a-terrorist-award/787488/29 "2017-05-27T05:13:32Z")
Sorry. Double post ---
**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:** [May 27, 2017, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-teacher-gives-honor-student-most-likely-to-become-a-terrorist-award/787488/30 "2017-05-27T06:58:54Z")
I wouldn’t find these jokes funny no matter what. But having it with children is what makes it offensive to me. What I will say is that, the more offensive potential a joke has, the better it has to be told, and the funnier it has to be, because people who don’t find it funny are much more likely to be offended. You really should leave jokes like this to the professionals, unless you’re just talking among friends you know really well. ---
**Author:** ![MacCat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maccat/32/216_2.png) [@MacCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacCat)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2017, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-teacher-gives-honor-student-most-likely-to-become-a-terrorist-award/787488/31 "2017-05-27T12:32:24Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > Greg Gianforte? More likely to punch the student… ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2017, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-teacher-gives-honor-student-most-likely-to-become-a-terrorist-award/787488/32 "2017-05-27T13:08:11Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > ^^^ > > Winner of the “tone deaf post of the day” award. Looks like **Bryan’s** a shoo-in for the “Most Likely to Become an SDMB Mod” award, right guys? C’mon, who’s with me? > [@Bryan Ekers](#): > > Well, if it’s random, then it’s pointless. This is what I don’t get about it— were the “awards” random, or designed to poke fun at some aspect of the “winner”? And if the latter, what characteristic of the students were they lampooning? It’s more bizarre than offensive, to me at least. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2017, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-teacher-gives-honor-student-most-likely-to-become-a-terrorist-award/787488/33 "2017-05-27T13:37:47Z")
We could easily populate a multi-page “Omnibus Dumb Teacher Thread.” It would however be dwarfed by the “Omnibus Asshole School Administrators” thread. ---
**Author:** ![Reluctant\_A](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/839c29/32.png) [@Reluctant\_A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reluctant_A)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2017, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-teacher-gives-honor-student-most-likely-to-become-a-terrorist-award/787488/34 "2017-05-27T18:06:27Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > Apparently some of the other “awards” were Most Likely to Become Homeless and Most Likely to Cry About Every Little Thing > > [Texas Teachers Give Student 'Most Likely To Become A Terrorist' Award : The Two-Way : NPR](http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/05/26/530204472/texas-teachers-give-student-most-likely-to-become-a-terrorist-award) > > What an ass. Funny awards can be fun- but these just are not. Don’t forget “Most Likely to Blend In with White People” ([cite](http://www.fox26houston.com/news/257269308-story)). Where’s a pillory, when you need one? ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2017, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-teacher-gives-honor-student-most-likely-to-become-a-terrorist-award/787488/35 "2017-05-27T18:13:36Z")
Lighten up, Francis. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2017, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-teacher-gives-honor-student-most-likely-to-become-a-terrorist-award/787488/36 "2017-05-27T18:15:11Z")
In what world does a black teacher think it’s okay to call a black student “Most Likely to Blend In with White People”? ---
**Author:** ![Reluctant\_A](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/839c29/32.png) [@Reluctant\_A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reluctant_A)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2017, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-teacher-gives-honor-student-most-likely-to-become-a-terrorist-award/787488/37 "2017-05-27T18:43:14Z")
… nope, never mind; forgot to code-switch. Can’t be going around talking like that in mixed company. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2017, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-teacher-gives-honor-student-most-likely-to-become-a-terrorist-award/787488/38 "2017-05-28T17:27:34Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > It sounds like those awards were given out by fellow students. I think it’s a little bit different when a teacher does it. Yeah, an ex-guitarist of mine has introduced me to folks with “Doesn’t he look like he’ll eat you and wear your face!?!” That doesn’t bother me, because they know he’s a loon, too. If my boss introduced me that way, I’d be uncomfortable, at least. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2017, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-teacher-gives-honor-student-most-likely-to-become-a-terrorist-award/787488/39 "2017-05-28T18:15:39Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > In what world does a black teacher think it’s okay to call a black student “Most Likely to Blend In with White People”? I thought this particular “award” to be more offensive than the “most likely to be a terrorist” one. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2017, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-teacher-gives-honor-student-most-likely-to-become-a-terrorist-award/787488/40 "2017-05-29T03:15:40Z")
> [@mischievous](#): > > I guess what I’m trying to say is that, much like mock-punches, mildly rude awards can be signifiers of in-group gentle teasing, and a message that you belong. If the teacher had given them in that spirit, then I would not have found it offensive. However, if the article is accurate, that is not the spirit in which they were given and the teacher is a jackass of the first order. It really depends on both the level of the teasing and the nature. Middle school kids like to tease each other, but there are bullies and bullying as well. The teacher really needs to be on top of this, and being the ringleader is absolutely the wrong thing to do. It would bring real questions concerning the judgement of the teacher. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-teacher-gives-honor-student-most-likely-to-become-a-terrorist-award/787488.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-teacher-gives-honor-student-most-likely-to-become-a-terrorist-award/787488.md?page=3)