When I was in the 11th grade, I had a teacher who changed my life. Her name is Lynne Pierce and she is an advanced placement American history teacher at Heritage High School. For the first and only time during my tenure as a slave to the public education system, I learned something brand new every day thanks to her. She was a teacher who didn't care as much about the ridiculously oppressive standardized testing that we had to take. She actually cared about teaching us. Her biggest concern was for us to wake up and actually look at the world around us. She wanted us to think critically and for ourselves.
Now she is coming under fire and being investigated for using a "racial slur." When asked why the Washington Redskins is not the most appropriate name for a football team, she responded with, “It's no different than if we had a team called the 'Newport News Niggers.'” Apparently a student got offended, reported her and now she is on leave as the school investigates.
Now I remember she used this same example when I was in her class almost 10 years ago, and none of us were offended. In fact it did exactly what she wanted it to do. Up until that point, I had never even considered that Native Americans could potentially find the name "redskins" offensive, and this hypothetical example really put that into perspective for me. I'd say that 80 percent of my class was black, and not one person took personal offense to it. In fact we were all impressed and inspired by her bluntness and honesty. That's a trait one doesn't come across much anymore. It was refreshing to say the least.
This entire situation is indicative of a bigger problem in this country. We live in such a politically correct world of trying to erase the darker parts of history that a white woman saying the word "nigger" around a black kid in an informative, educational and thought-provoking manner is now considered offensive. The worst part is that authoritative institutions are catering to this behavior. If these kids are not mature enough to hear this word in the context that it was said, then they don't need to be in an advanced placement class. On that note, they don't need to be using the word in their everyday lexicon either, but I'm inclined to believe for obvious reasons I don't have the right to make that judgment. I wouldn't want to offend anybody or anything; it's not really my style.
At this point, there is an online petition to bring her back, and I implore you to sign it. This woman has been teaching for over 40 years, and it would be a real shame if something as stupid as this incident brought that to an end. God knows Heritage High School needs her. She is one of the only redeeming qualities of that place, but that's a different rant for a different time.
To the kid who started all of this mess, I get that you take yourself and your heritage so seriously that you feel like you have ownership of this word. Maybe you don't even care. Maybe this was all because her class is hard and she doesn't take sh*t from students and you wanted to get out of work. Either way, get over yourself. If this offends you, then I pity you when you get out in the real world. Actually I am kind of terrified, because this issue shows that your part of our generation is even more narcissistic and entitled than my own. You're really bringing out the optimist in me, kid.
#ImNotOffended
