The Black and White of 'Ho' Culture By Kathleen Parker Wednesday, May 16, 2007 CHARLESTON, S.C. -- In a new twist in American race relations, a federal court has ruled that a white teacher in a predominantly African-American school was subjected to a racially hostile workplace. The case concerned Elizabeth Kandrac, who was routinely verbally abused by black students at Brentwood Middle School in North Charleston. Their slurs make shock jock Don Imus look like a church deacon. Nevertheless, despite frequent complaints, school officials did nothing to intervene on Kandrac's behalf, arguing that the racially charged profanity was simply part of the students' culture. If Kandrac couldn't handle cursing, school officials told her, she was in the wrong school. Kandrac finally filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and subsequently brought a lawsuit against the Charleston County School District, the school's principal and an associate superintendent. Last fall, jurors found that the school was a racially hostile environment to teach in and that the school district retaliated against Kandrac for complaining about it. The defendants sought a new trial, but U.S. District Judge David C. Norton recently affirmed the verdict. However, he did not support the jury's findings of $307,500 in damages for lost income and emotional distress. Although Kandrac clearly suffered -- she was suspended from her job shortly after a story about her EEOC complaint appeared in the local newspaper, and her contract was not renewed -- her case didn't meet evidentiary requirements for damages. The judge said a new trial would have to determine damages, but the school district and Kandrac settled for $200,000. While the dollars-and-cents issue may have been of paramount importance to school and district officials -- and would have lent heft to the verdict -- the more compelling issue for students, parents and society is the idea that a particular group of people can be allowed to behave in a grossly uncivil and threatening way by virtue of their racial ``culture.'' The key legal question was whether a school could be held responsible for students' behavior. In this case, the black children of Brentwood had been given a pass for their behavior because vulgar language was considered normal for their culture. Defense attorney Alice Paylor told jurors that the kids heard this same language at home and there was ``no magic pill'' to make them behave. Paylor is probably right about that, though a magic paddle might have worked wonders. Back in the day, if a student talked the way these did, he or she would have received a well-deserved thwack, been suspended and sent home to face the wrath of his or her father. That process likely would have put a swift end to the tribal tyranny now often tolerated in the service of self-esteem. Let's be clear: What these children called this teacher is beyond reprehensible and could be only be construed as hostile and threatening. Here's a sample: white b----, white m----- f-----, white c---, white a------, white ho. Other white teachers and students corroborated Kandrac's account, including a male war veteran who testified he would rather return to Vietnam than to Brentwood. Kandrac's attorney, Larry Kobrovsky, argued that the repeated use of ``white'' made these slurs racists in nature. But school officials insisted that because black students were equally abusive to other blacks, the language wasn't inherently racist. Here's what we know without question: If majority white students had used similar language toward black students and teachers, the case would have been plastered on the front page of The New York Times until heads rolled. A black Kandrac would have a million-dollar book deal, a movie contract and hundreds of interviews to juggle. Her oppressors and those who passively facilitated her abuse would have been pilloried by the media -- their faces all over the evening news -- while the reverends Al and Jesse organized protests. But a white Kandrac -- who faced a daily barrage of insults, who had books and desks thrown at her and her bicycle tires punctured -- was treated like an incompetent wimp. She was just a lousy teacher out for money, the defense attorney said. Though Kandrac lost her job, the real losers are the children deprived of an education by the actions of a tyrannical few. And the worst racists are those teachers and administrators who denied these empowered brats the expectation of civilized behavior. May the rest of America now be emboldened to act decisively in the interest of students who want to learn.
Yeah, dey be talkin all dis chit man and woner why they can't get a hi school educashun... Or go to college. Or get a job. And have to sell drugs and their bodies. Or rap. Or hip hop. Or die young gettin' shot on the street corner.
And they wonder why competent people don't want to be teachers. This was middle school. Can you imagine what they will be like in high school? It's shocking the school system apparently didn't even attempt to defend the charges, but made the teacher the issue. In their view, as a white you should expect to be abused like that. Once again, liberals demonstrate why they can't be trusted to run anything. Suspend or permanetly expell these troublemakers after the second incident, and send a message to the others that this behavior will not be tolerated. Or continue to throw away money on a system that punishes those who want to learn and coddles those who ruin it for everybody else.
isn't the real problem that these kdis across the country can get away with saying even ONCE in class: Bitch? Mo-Fo? ...regardless of what 'color ' was put in front of it? My head would have been put through a wall if I came home with a note from teacher about using those words in class.
they would make us get in a push up position with our elbows and leave us there till our elbows would scab up..i kid u not..and the principle would walk in and luagh with the freaken teacher...imagine that now...law suit
I remember doing push-ups until we dropped. I also remember getting whacked half to death with a ping pong paddle by my teacher in the principals office. Oh, I forgot the whack on the hand with a ruler trick. And when real little, getting pulled by the ear back to class by an old granny teacher that lived for just those kind of moments. Ah, the good ol' times...
I remember walking five miles in the rain and sleet, up hill just to get to school. And then I had to walk up hill seven miles just to get home. And for fun - we whittled wood. anyway thats what my grandfather said and my dad too.
neo liberalism and " Modern Feminism" has lead to the destruction of the family and family values. Bring back the belt and see how fast the little pos change their behaviour. Same goes for the parents.