SO A TEACHER ALLEGEDLY FROM WOLF MIDDLE SCHOOL IN MICHIGAN HAS
CALLED A STUDENT A MUTT.
THIS CAME TO AN ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF UPROAR AND RIGHTFULLY SO.
A STUDENT, KADEN BROWN, WAS SITTING IN CLASS QUIETLY WHEN
HIS LANGUAGE ARTS TEACHER ASKED HIM, ARE YOU A MUTT?
HE WENT HOME AND REITERATED IT TO HIS FATHER, NOT REALLY AWARE
OF WHAT WAS BEING INSINUATED, AND HIS FATHER TOOK TO
FACEBOOK TO EXPRESS HIS OUTRAGE.
THIS IS A PICTURE OF HIM HOLDING A SIGN THAT SAYS I AM NOT A
MUTT, AND THEN IT WENT ON TO SAY THIS.
HIS DAD SAID THIS, "BEING CALLED A MUTT MADE MY SON, MY
HEART AND JOY FEEL LIKE HE WAS NOTHING.
HE EVEN CAME HOME AND ASKED HIS MOM, WHY CAN I BE ALL WHITE?
THIS TEACHER MADE MY FEEL DIRTY.
THIS MISBEHAVIOR SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED IN OUR SCHOOLS.
OUR CHILDREN SHOULD BE FACED WITH THIS, ESPECIALLY IN
THE CLASSROOM, FROM PEOPLE THAT WE THE PARENTS ENTRUST OUR
CHILDREN PROTECTION."
THIS WENT VIRAL AND IT LED TO A TWITTER HASHTAG, WHICH I THINK
IS STILL GOING.
PEOPLE ARE SAYING, #IAMNOTAMUTT TO SHOW PRIDE IN THEIR
MIXED-RACE IDENTITY.
THIS IS HEARTBREAKING, SIMPLY BECAUSE ñ IT'S OUR BRINGING IN
ANY INSTANCE WHERE SOMEONE IS BASICALLY RACIALLY ABUSED IN A
CERTAIN WAY, BUT IT'S KIND OF PUT IN A CERTAIN WAY THAT
DOESN'T SOUND AS RACIALLY MOTIVATED AS ALL BEASLEY WHAT WE
ARE KNOWN TO HEAR.
THE WORDS THAT WE ARE PRONE TO HEAR THAT WILL SHOCK US OF THE
CORE, BUT IT'S STILL A WAY TO BE PREJUDICED TOWARD SOMEONE,
ESPECIALLY SOMEONE THAT IS BIRACIAL, AND MIXED, THAT
IS WHAT IT STEMS FROM AND THAT IS WHAT THEY ARE TRYING TO
CONDEMN IN A NEGATIVE WAY.
AND IT'S A KID, A YOUNG KID WHO WAS GOING HOME WITH NO IDEA WHAT
THIS MEANS, BUT HE KNOWS IT SOMETHING YOU SHOULD NOT BE
CALLED, AND IT TAKES HIS FATHER TO POST THIS PROTEST.
ESPECIALLY FROM A TEACHER, PEOPLE WHO ARE SUPPOSED TO
BE INSPIRING KNOWLEDGE AND WISDOM TO THE KIDS, NOT BE
BRANDISHING THEM WITH SOME SORT OF NAME.
SURE, THE TEACHER SHOULD BE FIRED.
I THINK WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND THAT THE CLASSROOM IS NOT
NECESSARILY A SAFE SPACE, BECAUSE DISPROPORTIONATELY
STUDENTS OF COLOR EXPERIENCE THESE ISSUES OF RACISM AND
VERBAL VIOLENCE.
AND IT'S PUBLIC SO IT'S ALL THE MORE EMBARRASSING AND HURTFUL.
AND I THINK, THINKING BACK TO THE DEBATE LAST NIGHT, DONALD
TRUMP INDEXING THE THING ñ INDEXING THE TERM BAD HOMBRES.
MUTT NOT NECESSARILY BEING A RACIST TERM BUT IT IS INDEXING
RACE IN A WAY THAT IS NEGATIVE.
IT'S JUST AS HARMFUL.
OKAY, AND YOU HAVE EVERY RIGHT TO SAY I'M AN ASSHOLE FOR
ASKING, BUT DO YOU THINK HE WAS TRYING TO BE CUTE?
OF COURSE THERE'S NOTHING CUTE ABOUT SEGREGATING SOMEONE, OR
ISOLATING THEM FROM THE REST OF THE CLASSROOM IN THIS WAY, BY
POINTING THEM OUT, BY POINTING OUT THEIR RACIAL BACKGROUND, BUT
DO YOU THINK THAT THIS TEACHER WAS BEING GENUINELY RACIST?
OR WAS IT UNINTENTIONALLY RACIST?
WAS IT A MICRO-AGGRESSION?
I DON'T KNOW, I'M ASKING.
I THINK IT'S BULLSHIT.
I THINK THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS GENTLE RACISM, OR ACCIDENTAL
RACISM.
I THINK YOU NEED TO BE CAREFUL ABOUT THE WORDS THAT YOU USE.
SHE USED THIS WORD BECAUSE IMPLICITLY, OR SOMEWHERE IN
THE BACK OF HER MIND, RACE WAS OPERATING.
DO NOT SAY BIRACIAL, OR TO INDEX HIS RACE AT ALL.
WHY DOES THAT MATTER IN A CLASSROOM CONTEXT?
ESPECIALLY AN 11-YEAR-OLD BOY.
ñ ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, WHY ARE YOU INDEXING RACE AT ALL TO
CATEGORIZE SOMEONE?
THERE ARE PLENTY OF OTHER WAYS THAT YOU CAN CATEGORIZE
STUDENTS, IF NECESSARY.
SO I THINK IT IS HARMFUL AND I THINK EVEN IF SHE WAS
TRYING TO BE CUTE OR FUNNY, IT WAS STILL RACIALLY MOTIVATED.
THE ONLY REASON I SAY THAT IS BECAUSE IRONICALLY EVERY SINGLE
PERSON SITTING HERE AND EVERY SINGLE PERSON IN THE STUDIO IS A
MUTT.
YOU'RE A MUTT, YOUR IRISH AND SCOTTISH.
I'M LIKE, 17 DIFFERENT ñ NO, SERIOUSLY UNLIKE 17
DIFFERENT ACTIVITIES FROM THE MIDDLE EAST.
GREEK, TURKISH, KURDISH, ALL OF THAT.
THAT'S WHY YOUR HAIR IS SO NICE.
THANK YOU, I DON'T FEEL THAT WAY ABOUT MY HAIR AT ALL BUT
THAT'S BESIDES THE POINT.
AND WHENEVER YOU SEE THE FUTURE BABIES OF THE WORLD AND IT'S
ALWAYS LIKE, THIS ETHNICALLY AMBIGUOUS RASHIDA JONES
LOOKING SUPER SEXY PERSON, AND THAT'S WHERE WE ARE PROGRESSING
AS A SOCIETY AS WE INTEGRATE AND MOLD INTO A SINGLE HUMAN BEING.
SO IRONICALLY, EVERYTHING A PERSON, INCLUDING THAT TEACHER
THEMSELVES IS PROBABLY A MUTT.
AND I ALSO HAVE A DOG THAT IS A MUTT, SO WHEN I HEAR THE
TERM I DON'T REALLY THINK THEY ARE BEING SUBJECTIVE.
BUT IT'S A DOG THOUGH.
BUT I HAVE A REALLY POSITIVE FEELING TOWARDS MY MUTT.
I UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU ARE SAYING, AND ALLOW ME TO GO ONTO
A LITTLE BIT OF A RANT TO DEBUNK WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN IN
THE COMMENTS.
PEOPLE ARE GOING TO SAY WE ARE RACE BAITING.
YOU READ THE COMMENTS HUH?
I UNDERSTAND, IT WILL BE WHITE PEOPLE READING THIS AND
SAYING THIS YOU HAVE NO IDEA.
I HAVE NO IDEA BECAUSE A STUDY CALLED ME A MUTT I WOULD HAVE
NO IDEA THAT SOMEONE IS BEING RACIALLY PREJUDICED TOWARDS ME.
BUT WHEN SOMEONE DEALS WITH RACIAL PREJUDICE EVERY SINGLE
DAY, THE TONE IMMEDIATELY COMES OFF THAT YOU ARE TRYING TO
INSULT THEM.
EVERYONE HAS A LITTLE BIT OF DIFFERENT NATIONALITIES IN
THEM, IT DOESN'T MATTER, THIS THE WORD USED TO REPLACE
THE OTHER BOLD WORDS THAT THEY DON'T WANT TO USE.
BECAUSE ALL OF THESE THOUGHTS ARE ALREADY IN THESE
PEOPLE'S HEADS.
DON'T THINK FOR A MOMENT IT'S A THINK OF RESPONSE.
THE RACIST VALUES IN THIS COUNTRY IS A SIGNIFICANT
PROBLEM, AND THEY ARE STILL THERE AND HAVE NOT LEFT, AND
WHEN YOU HAVE A LEADER THAT IS VALIDATING IT ñ
AGAIN, I FEEL LIKE I CAN JUST PUSH A BUTTON, DONALD TRUMP
VALIDATES THIS AND THIS.
BUT IT'S TRUE.
YOU BETTER BELIEVE THESE THINGS ARE COMING UP.
THE TEACHER, SOMEONE YOU ARE EXPECTING ñ
I PUT SO MUCH FAITH IN TEACHERS.
I'VE BEEN INVOICED BY SOME TEACHERS IN MY LIFE.
THEY HAVE GUIDED ME TO WHERE I AM, BUT BACK IN SCOTLAND
AND HERE.
THEY ARE SO INFLUENTIAL.
MY PARENTS, YES, BUT MY TEACHERS, THEY HAVE AN
IMPORTANT JOB TO TRY TO BREAK THESE CULTURAL EXPECTATIONS
THAT EVERYONE PUTS ON PEOPLE.
THESE STEREOTYPES.
CALLING A STUDENT A MUTT?
THAT IS NOT HOW IT IS GOING TO GET DONE.
AND TO THE PEOPLE IN THE COMMENTS THAT MIGHT BE
WHITE, YOU CAN VISIT YOUR RECENT HISTORY.
IRISH PEOPLE, ITALIANS THAT PEOPLE ARE NOW CATEGORIZING
AS WHITE, WERE NOT ALWAYS CONSIDERED PURE.
THAT'S WHAT MUTT REFERS TOÖ.
RIGHT, WHICH HAS LINKS TO EUGENICS AND ALL THESE OTHER
RACIST MOVEMENTS, WHICH IS WHY THIS LANGUAGE IS PROBLEMATIC.
THAT'S WHY YOU THINK YOU CAN REACH BACK INTO YOUR RECENT
HISTORY TO FIND A TIME WHEN YOU WEREN'T CONSIDERED
DOMINANT, WHEN YOU WEREN'T CONSIDERED NORMAL.