PAYING
ATTENTION!
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The
Rush to Cry Racism
For
one minute I want you all to use common sense and logic.
A teacher in the Lawrence School System was arrested two
weeks ago because she supposedly gave a police officer a
hard time. During the incident it has been reported that
the teacher made the following comment: "You
wouldn't be treating me like this if I was Puerto
Rican."
She denies having said it. Given this teacher's
dedication to children in the community and her extensive
record with children of every race over the years I
happen to believe her.
But, even if you believe that the (alleged) comments were
made there is no validity to the charges in the Spanish
speaking press that she is a racist. Moreover, there is
no evidence to warrant her being fired from her job. But
that is exactly what is being said by a number of radio
hosts and so-called prominent members of the Hispanic
community.
Let's look at this with a clear mind shall we? If a
person (teacher or not) believes that a particular ethnic
group is getting special treatment by the police and
expresses that sentiment to police it is their right
under the constitution. Lets assume that this teacher
actually made the comments, what is racist about
expressing a belief that one group is treated
differently? Minorities do it all the time.
Ask any white cop in Lawrence, North Andover or Methuen
how many times a black or Hispanic person makes similar
comments while being arrested and I assure you it is more
common than not. How many times do we hear a minority
say, "They wouldn't be treating me this way if I was
white"? Is that a racist statement?
If Pedro Payano (a teacher at the high school) was
arrested and told the police that he thought he was being
singled out because of his race (or because he isn't
white) would the Hispanics in Lawrence advocate his
removal from the school system because of his statement?
You and I both know that would never happen.
What we have to be clear about when discussing racially
charged issues is the definition of racist behavior and
what should be done about it. It would be a different
story if this teacher had been arrested for assaulting a
Puerto Rican while making racial slurs. IT would be a
different story if someone in her classroom had
complained that she was making racial comments or jokes.
But we are not talking about a teacher who is exhibiting
racist behavior here. We are talking about a teacher who
had a skirmish with a police officer and is being accused
of stating a belief that Puerto Ricans get special
treatment.
Whether that opinion can be justified or not is
irrelevant the issue. The issue is calling it like it is
and focusing on real racism in the community when it
exists. A few weeks ago high school teacher Pedro Payano
put forth the opinion that only white people can be
racists and that Hispanics and blacks do not have the
capacity to be racist or prejudice.
As has been his history in Lawrence, Payano is seeking to
convince the large number of immigrants who come to this
city that whitey is out to get them and using the race
card will always get you what you want. It is through the
efforts of him, and people like him, that real issues of
racial inequity will not and cannot be addressed.
But the basic foundation of our democracy hinges on equal
treatment for everyone regardless of race. If it
permissible for minorities to question their treatment by
police without it being called racism it certainly cannot
be considered racism when a white person does it. We
either believe in fairness and equality or we don't. We
either believe that the rules are the same for everyone
or we do not. There are no special rules or anyone based
on race and there shouldn't be.
We spend so much time debating trumped up accusations of
racism against people like this teacher that we never get
to focus on important issues like; the lack of Latino
representation on city boards, the language problem new
immigrants face, getting valuable information to new
immigrants regarding city and social services and routing
out the real racists who deny people opportunity and free
speech simply because of their ethnicity
If the police allegations against this Lawrence School
teacher are true the courts will deem her guilty and she
will pay her debt to society no matter how small that
debt will be. This will happen in the courtroom not in
the classroom. If she is not guilty, a court of law will
exonerate her. In the mean time, I find it hypocritical
when the likes of the WHAV radio crew and other members
of the Hispanic media would demand her resignation
without a shred of evidence that a racist remark was
made, while enthusiastically endorsing the racist
ramblings of another school teacher, Pedro Payano.
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