What would you think if an administrator said the following to you:
“We have to have ‘Cultural Competency’ training. Here’s an example of why…LatinX students are helpers – that’s who they are. They help each other with everything. That’s just their culture. There have been teachers who’ve come to me and felt that they were cheating and I’ve had to explain to them that, “no, they’re not cheating, that’s just the Latin X culture.”
I recounted this story to an Hispanic acquaintance recently. She was shocked. Not only did she not like the ‘LatinX’ term, but she was greatly troubled by the fact that someone would label ANY student the way this administrator did – particularly an entire group of individuals – giving every INDIVIDUAL in the group the same attributes.
How does that not 100% satisfy the definition of racism?
Here are the reasons I believe DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) and training in ‘Cultural Competence’ are simply wrong:
1. America is to be a MELTING POT of cultures. You may be Italian, but when you become a citizen of the US, you are no longer ‘Italian’ (or even ‘Italian American’), you are an AMERICAN who recognizes the US Constitution as sovereign and America’s common traditions and history as your own. While you retain your Italian heritage, share stories and foods of your culture with your friends and community – you don’t come to America expecting it to become Italy, you come to be an ‘American’ with all the rights and duties that affords and confers.
2. America – more so than in any other country in the world – recognizes INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS. It’s baked into our First Amendment. It’s an attribute given us by God who said, “Even the hairs on your head are all counted. Don’t be afraid. You are worth more than many sparrows.” (Luke 12:7). To explain individuals by a set of cultural ‘attributes’ flies in the face of God himself, let alone the Constitution of the United States. (Aside: now wonder… why do Leftists/Socialists/Communists want to teach American children to hate America?)
3. Dividing people into groups promotes racism – the practice of believing “that each race has distinct and intrinsic attributes” – and what this administrator said under the guise of preventing racism IS 100% RACIST by definition.
My husband has friends from India who came to America to work. Because they were afraid they would be deported under the Trump administration (a LIE OF THE LEFT) they moved to Canada.
Once, when my husband asked his friend how they were doing in that country, the man said that he had expected Canada would be like the US – that his family would be living among other cultures and sharing the fruits of their rich cultural backgrounds with others, learning from one another.
He was surprised instead to find that, where he lived in Canada, cultures we’re completely separated so that, instead of living with and learning from others of other nationalities, he was confined to living with only those from India.
He was very sorry they had left the US and looked forward to the time when they could return. He hadn’t wanted to leave India only to surround himself with other Indians, he told my husband.
America, America, God shed His grace on thee, and crown thy good WITH BROTHERHOOD from sea to shining sea….
ROPE/Chaffin Lawsuit Against Stillwater Public Schools – Request For Summary Judgement Heard Today
This beautiful October morning, Attorney Maria Seidler argued for Summary Judgement in the case of Brice Chaffin and ROPE v Stillwater Public Schools.
Yet another hurdle in the case of Brice Chaffin and ROPE against Stillwater Public Schools was met this morning (10.21.22).
Back in July, we updated readers about our ongoing lawsuit against SPS filed on behalf of Brice Chaffin, a member of the district who had been removed from the podium during his public comment regarding the policy of SPS to allow boys in the girl’s bathrooms. At that time, we were happy to report that Judge Kistler (Payne County Court) refused to dismiss our lawsuit against SPS, setting a further court date for today.
Don’t forget – all ROPE and Chaffin are asking for is a PUBLIC APOLOGY from SPS for their mistreatment of Chaffin. We chose a motion of Summary Judgement (asking Judge Kistler to decide the case) to prevent further taxing the legal system, not because we didn’t believe we could win a jury trial. Certainly we all believe we could.
This morning, Attorney, Maria Seidler, argued for the Judge to decide for our case, while SPS’s attorneys obviously argued for their side.
We were hoping the judge would rule from the bench this morning, however, he chose to review the video of the meeting a further time before rendering a written judgement that will be sent to the attorneys representing the parties.
This was disappointing of course, as we would have liked to know the outcome of the case sooner rather than later, but Maria was eloquent in her arguments for our side and the SPS’s attorneys argument that Mr. Chaffin was an interruption to the School Board meeting that required removal action from the Board in order to proceed, rang inevitably hollow.
Beginning to comment at 30 seconds into his 3 minute comment time, continuing to further interrupt Chaffin additional times and then having him escorted from the room via police escort couldn’t POSSIBLY have been any less of an interruption to Board business than simply letting Mr. Chaffin – who was fully civil and under his own self-possession – finish his 3 minute statement.
Certainly, as soon as we get word from the Judge regarding his decision, we will pass the information onto you.
In the meantime (and again), continue to think on these two things:
Taxpayers paid for TWO ATTORNEYS to deal with a lawsuit that could have been resolved via a PUBLIC APOLOGY for mistreatment of a parent and community member by SPS Board Members during one of their regularly scheduled open meetings.
How much money will it cost taxpayers – and how much will the ATTORNEYS MAKE OFF TAXPAYERS – to fight a suit in which SPS is clearly in the wrong and over a simple public apology?