another antisemitic vandalism incident at Walt Whitman yesterday

[Anonymous]

Made a big deal in that moment of how I too love to read so much sometimes I forget to turn books in, etc. Most of the time there's no countering of any of this stuff, zero witnessing, and only, *if* ever, ever reported, in any possible way (here, anonymous, a forum I try to avoid) whitesplained and defensively denied.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, in a feeder elementary for one of these schools, in the town of caucasia, my child last spring was made fun of *by her teacher* *twice* about her Jewish food in her lunch. After being targeted all year. She was invited to a lunch bunch and both times the teacher said super loudly to her, in front of everyone else, "EEEWWW, pickles are soooo gross! I'm not sitting next to you! I won't even let those in my house!" Isn't that almost a cliche, don't make fun of a kid's ethnic food? Byyeeeeeee MCPS.

Omg, please tell me I am feeding a troll by answering this but just in case you are real …you are being WAY too sensitive. Making fun of pickles is in no way anti semetic behavior. Signed, a Jew Who Loves Pickles and Acknowledges They Are Smelly and Polarizing

PS - a teacher should not be teasing a kid about their lunch no matter what, though. but I stand by this not being anti semetic!

+ 1 don't think pickles are a "jewish" thing only....I am from Central Europe (25% Jewish), and everyone here eats pickles....

+2 it was immature of the teacher but pickles are not a uniquely Jewish food. I hate the smell (and taste) of dill pickles and I’m Jewish.

[Anonymous]

So. Much. Hairsplitting. Anyone who grew up in a predominantly Jewish area of MoCo knows they're a Jewish food here. MCPS employees please use your weekend to recharge. They should pay you way more. It's egregious.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well, in a feeder elementary for one of these schools, in the town of caucasia, my child last spring was made fun of *by her teacher* *twice* about her Jewish food in her lunch. After being targeted all year. She was invited to a lunch bunch and both times the teacher said super loudly to her, in front of everyone else, "EEEWWW, pickles are soooo gross! I'm not sitting next to you! I won't even let those in my house!" Isn't that almost a cliche, don't make fun of a kid's ethnic food? Byyeeeeeee MCPS.

This is ridiculous. Disliking pickles is antisemitism? You must stop with this absurdity

And pickles are sort of ubiquitous in all cuisines. No one has a monopoly on pickling

[Anonymous]

Ok, I am Jewish. In fact, some ancestors were reportedly Slavic but somehow disappeared from 23andme and I am 100% Ashkenazi Jew. I do not send pickles to school. But there are pickles on Big Mack’s and McDonalds hamburgers. Pickles are not a Jewish good by any means.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And now we have swastikas found on desks at Wootton, Tilden, and Silver Creek.

https://bethesdamagazine.com/2023/01/21/swastikas-drawn-this-week-at-three-mcps-schools-district-announces/

So much for "No Place for Hate"?

Were these drawn in places that only those who can get inside the school could do it? Is there a big group of antisemite tweens and teens planning a coordinated hateful graffiti incident?

They were drawn on desks, presumably inside the school buildings.

There are only 8 periods in a day. It’s not like 100 different kids used the desks.

[Anonymous]

With some motivation and investigation it could probably be narrowed down. What is the MCPS policy for racist expression? Zero tolerance? In practice what is it?

[Anonymous]

There are probably a few good principals who could do more to stop this kind of thing than any lawyers or central admin could do. It does take seeing it as a problem to do so.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are probably a few good principals who could do more to stop this kind of thing than any lawyers or central admin could do. It does take seeing it as a problem to do so.

Wootton and Tilden both have first-year principals. Hope they're up to the task.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, in a feeder elementary for one of these schools, in the town of caucasia, my child last spring was made fun of *by her teacher* *twice* about her Jewish food in her lunch. After being targeted all year. She was invited to a lunch bunch and both times the teacher said super loudly to her, in front of everyone else, "EEEWWW, pickles are soooo gross! I'm not sitting next to you! I won't even let those in my house!" Isn't that almost a cliche, don't make fun of a kid's ethnic food? Byyeeeeeee MCPS.

This is ridiculous. Disliking pickles is antisemitism? You must stop with this absurdity

And pickles are sort of ubiquitous in all cuisines. No one has a monopoly on pickling

My completely not Jewish child had a teacher at a feeder elementary school 2 years ago who was vocal in her hate for pickles which happen to be my kid’s favorite food. Maybe the same teacher, who knows. She gagged and proclaimed she could not be around pickles. My kid thought it was funny. Most of the year was remote learning so it was a non-issue.

[Anonymous]

A Jewish child eating dill pickles every day is a different prompt than someone eating a big mac.

It's super not cool to make fun of a child's ethnic food. And making fun of a kid's food, and as an adult also saying you would never sit next to them, etc., is one step beyond one of the most cliched ways to be a bully.

"It was just a joke" --sound familiar?

Having the capacity to see something as a problem, whether or to what extent it's blatant, nuanced, or a mix, is important.

My hope is that MCPS does some major training.

[Anonymous]

And, a few clear directives from strong principals, who have capacity, could probably go a long way.

[Anonymous]

It’s rude to make fun of people’s food, ethnic or not. It’s disappointing when role models don’t have good manners.

Off the top of my head, there are pickles in American, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Icelandic, and Jewish cuisine of course. Many others I’m sure because of the need to get through the winter in the olden days.

So not sure it’s antisemitism or ignorance or terrible manners. Perhaps all the above?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:the mcps employee (a different one) I witnessed telling a Black child his overdue library book was "stolen" ...all in the same school within a few months, 2022.

That is appalling. I reported a similar incident and thankfully got that employee removed from her longheld position. of course they relocated her to a different MCPS school. Moving trash around the system. But at least she’s out of our young child’s school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, in a feeder elementary for one of these schools, in the town of caucasia, my child last spring was made fun of *by her teacher* *twice* about her Jewish food in her lunch. After being targeted all year. She was invited to a lunch bunch and both times the teacher said super loudly to her, in front of everyone else, "EEEWWW, pickles are soooo gross! I'm not sitting next to you! I won't even let those in my house!" Isn't that almost a cliche, don't make fun of a kid's ethnic food? Byyeeeeeee MCPS.

This is ridiculous. Disliking pickles is antisemitism? You must stop with this absurdity

And pickles are sort of ubiquitous in all cuisines. No one has a monopoly on pickling

Oh Lord, this whole thread is beyond stupid