Antisemitic incident at Blair

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Horrible. There was a recent incident at Loiderman middle school where an antisemitic symbol was found drawn in a folder in the art room. From my understanding they do not know who drew it. The principal sent a message home. We need to do better as a society. It was a teachable moment for my middle and elementary school kids to recognize symbols of hate and to know why they are harmful

Hi , I’m the OP, I’m 48 and went to Mcps. There would be swastikas etched on desks when I was in schoo. Stuff like that never made the news

Kids were suspended over this kind of stuff when I went to MCPS.

It happens at the W's almost weekly and just gets swept under the rug.

Any hate toward Jews, Muslims and Asians will continue to get swept under the rug until we have a change in leadership.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Horrible. There was a recent incident at Loiderman middle school where an antisemitic symbol was found drawn in a folder in the art room. From my understanding they do not know who drew it. The principal sent a message home. We need to do better as a society. It was a teachable moment for my middle and elementary school kids to recognize symbols of hate and to know why they are harmful

Hi , I’m the OP, I’m 48 and went to Mcps. There would be swastikas etched on desks when I was in schoo. Stuff like that never made the news

Not really sure of your point. I never said anything about it needing to be in the news. Either way it’s still horrible. Your lackadaisical attitude about it is very concerning. This is the type of thing that perpetuates this type of behavior.

I’m just saying 30 years ago they didn’t do anything

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Horrible. There was a recent incident at Loiderman middle school where an antisemitic symbol was found drawn in a folder in the art room. From my understanding they do not know who drew it. The principal sent a message home. We need to do better as a society. It was a teachable moment for my middle and elementary school kids to recognize symbols of hate and to know why they are harmful

We don't need teachable moments. We need strong consequences. If parents and schools did not teach them by MS that this isn't ok, then they don't belong in the schools. Not surprising this happened at LMS.

+100 you make moments teachable by teaching students that this will not be tolerated i.e. having real consequences

[Anonymous]

I agree the fact incident is concerning and the involved students should be disciplined.

But I also think it's possible-to-likely that the incident was kids being stupid and ignorant, but not actually anti-Semitic. My experience with other people in this area makes me think it's unlikely that a group of students at Blair are starting some kind of Nazi club. The way the incident is described makes me think there's some likelihood they didn't realize that what they were doing looked like a Nazi salute to others. They were scene doing it together while posing for a picture. Does anyone actually think a group of students at Blair were like "let's take a picture of ourselves doing a Nazi salute in theiddle of the day in campus!"?

This is different from the incidents of anti-Semitic graffiti at other MoCo schools, acts committed at night and which are clearly intended as hate speech. It's not hard to imagine an angry, wrong headed individual doing that, while obviously making an effort not to get caught

What are the odds this was a group of kids doing a dance move or attempting a "cool" pose for a photo, and just didn't realize it looked like they were heiling Hitler?

[Anonymous]

My kids went/go to Bethesda-area MCPS schools. There have been swastikas drawn on walls and desks over the years.

Nazi symbols are co-opted by kids who want to rebel against "the establishment". I very much doubt that they are specifically antisemitic, or anti-Israel or anti-Jew. I do not believe that this wealthy area, full of opportunities for everyone, has a population that suffers economically such that they would need to level hate against a specific group. I would like to remind you that historically, that sort of backlash happens under intense stress - Covid lockdowns for anti-Asian crimes, severe economic and social trauma in pre-WWII Germany leading to the rise of the Nazi party.

Un-prepared or rebellious adolescents who are bored and looking to find themselves and belong to a tribe will lash out against LGBT+, Jews, Muslims, any group perceived to be "other" than the tribe they aspire to belong to.

Exercises in wellness and tolerance can be a double-edged sword, because you can certainly educate the majority of kids who respect authority, but you're pushing the rebels to act out just because they've been told not to.

So in that context, a swastika isn't a "I hate Jews" sort of thing, but a "I just had yet another stupid assembly and I'm going to spray a swastika on this school wall to let everyone know I won't be brainwashed." The symbol is guaranteed to provoke everybody. If there was an easy anti-LGBT symbol, or an easy anti-Muslim symbol, they'd use them too! This is why the "gay" slur is the verbal equivalent of the sprayed swastika. The kids are looking to trigger their communities into outrage. They're little trolls.

The response has to be consistent education on tolerance. But it shouldn't lead you to clutch your pearls and panic, because otherwise you're just giving them what they want: attention.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree the fact incident is concerning and the involved students should be disciplined.

But I also think it's possible-to-likely that the incident was kids being stupid and ignorant, but not actually anti-Semitic. My experience with other people in this area makes me think it's unlikely that a group of students at Blair are starting some kind of Nazi club. The way the incident is described makes me think there's some likelihood they didn't realize that what they were doing looked like a Nazi salute to others. They were scene doing it together while posing for a picture. Does anyone actually think a group of students at Blair were like "let's take a picture of ourselves doing a Nazi salute in theiddle of the day in campus!"?

This is different from the incidents of anti-Semitic graffiti at other MoCo schools, acts committed at night and which are clearly intended as hate speech. It's not hard to imagine an angry, wrong headed individual doing that, while obviously making an effort not to get caught

What are the odds this was a group of kids doing a dance move or attempting a "cool" pose for a photo, and just didn't realize it looked like they were heiling Hitler?

Ah yes — the standard minimization of antisemitic behavior. You wouldn’t be saying that if someone was perpetrating anti-Black behavior.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
My kids went/go to Bethesda-area MCPS schools. There have been swastikas drawn on walls and desks over the years.

Nazi symbols are co-opted by kids who want to rebel against "the establishment". I very much doubt that they are specifically antisemitic, or anti-Israel or anti-Jew. I do not believe that this wealthy area, full of opportunities for everyone, has a population that suffers economically such that they would need to level hate against a specific group. I would like to remind you that historically, that sort of backlash happens under intense stress - Covid lockdowns for anti-Asian crimes, severe economic and social trauma in pre-WWII Germany leading to the rise of the Nazi party.

Un-prepared or rebellious adolescents who are bored and looking to find themselves and belong to a tribe will lash out against LGBT+, Jews, Muslims, any group perceived to be "other" than the tribe they aspire to belong to.

Exercises in wellness and tolerance can be a double-edged sword, because you can certainly educate the majority of kids who respect authority, but you're pushing the rebels to act out just because they've been told not to.

So in that context, a swastika isn't a "I hate Jews" sort of thing, but a "I just had yet another stupid assembly and I'm going to spray a swastika on this school wall to let everyone know I won't be brainwashed." The symbol is guaranteed to provoke everybody. If there was an easy anti-LGBT symbol, or an easy anti-Muslim symbol, they'd use them too! This is why the "gay" slur is the verbal equivalent of the sprayed swastika. The kids are looking to trigger their communities into outrage. They're little trolls.

The response has to be consistent education on tolerance. But it shouldn't lead you to clutch your pearls and panic, because otherwise you're just giving them what they want: attention.

There is so much wrong with this sentence, I don't even know where to start.

[Anonymous]

Those kids should be forced for several hours to look at video and photos of concentration camps and survivors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
My kids went/go to Bethesda-area MCPS schools. There have been swastikas drawn on walls and desks over the years.

Nazi symbols are co-opted by kids who want to rebel against "the establishment". I very much doubt that they are specifically antisemitic, or anti-Israel or anti-Jew. I do not believe that this wealthy area, full of opportunities for everyone, has a population that suffers economically such that they would need to level hate against a specific group. I would like to remind you that historically, that sort of backlash happens under intense stress - Covid lockdowns for anti-Asian crimes, severe economic and social trauma in pre-WWII Germany leading to the rise of the Nazi party.

Un-prepared or rebellious adolescents who are bored and looking to find themselves and belong to a tribe will lash out against LGBT+, Jews, Muslims, any group perceived to be "other" than the tribe they aspire to belong to.

Exercises in wellness and tolerance can be a double-edged sword, because you can certainly educate the majority of kids who respect authority, but you're pushing the rebels to act out just because they've been told not to.

So in that context, a swastika isn't a "I hate Jews" sort of thing, but a "I just had yet another stupid assembly and I'm going to spray a swastika on this school wall to let everyone know I won't be brainwashed." The symbol is guaranteed to provoke everybody. If there was an easy anti-LGBT symbol, or an easy anti-Muslim symbol, they'd use them too! This is why the "gay" slur is the verbal equivalent of the sprayed swastika. The kids are looking to trigger their communities into outrage. They're little trolls.

The response has to be consistent education on tolerance. But it shouldn't lead you to clutch your pearls and panic, because otherwise you're just giving them what they want: attention.

There is so much wrong with this sentence, I don't even know where to start.

Seriously.

PP, do you know the backgrounds of most of the prominent/high-level Nazis? These weren’t economically impoverished, under-educated people. They were previously renowned doctors, engineers, etc.

You have a lot to learn.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree the fact incident is concerning and the involved students should be disciplined.

But I also think it's possible-to-likely that the incident was kids being stupid and ignorant, but not actually anti-Semitic. My experience with other people in this area makes me think it's unlikely that a group of students at Blair are starting some kind of Nazi club. The way the incident is described makes me think there's some likelihood they didn't realize that what they were doing looked like a Nazi salute to others. They were scene doing it together while posing for a picture. Does anyone actually think a group of students at Blair were like "let's take a picture of ourselves doing a Nazi salute in theiddle of the day in campus!"?

This is different from the incidents of anti-Semitic graffiti at other MoCo schools, acts committed at night and which are clearly intended as hate speech. It's not hard to imagine an angry, wrong headed individual doing that, while obviously making an effort not to get caught

What are the odds this was a group of kids doing a dance move or attempting a "cool" pose for a photo, and just didn't realize it looked like they were heiling Hitler?

Blair parent here and I agree. A Hitler salute could easily be a dance move or a regular salute. Given the reaction though I wonder if it was more than that? Eg directed at Jewish students, knowingly a Hitler salute or accompanied by Nazi or antisemitic language?

[Anonymous]

They could also have been ridiculing someone they considered to be dictatorial and bigoted (eg like Hitler).

Did they say Heil Hitler in the video?!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Horrible. There was a recent incident at Loiderman middle school where an antisemitic symbol was found drawn in a folder in the art room. From my understanding they do not know who drew it. The principal sent a message home. We need to do better as a society. It was a teachable moment for my middle and elementary school kids to recognize symbols of hate and to know why they are harmful

Hi , I’m the OP, I’m 48 and went to Mcps. There would be swastikas etched on desks when I was in schoo. Stuff like that never made the news

Not really sure of your point. I never said anything about it needing to be in the news. Either way it’s still horrible. Your lackadaisical attitude about it is very concerning. This is the type of thing that perpetuates this type of behavior.

I’m just saying 30 years ago they didn’t do anything

No, they suspended and expelled kids 30 years ago. Now they are too woke and think RJ is enough.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree the fact incident is concerning and the involved students should be disciplined.

But I also think it's possible-to-likely that the incident was kids being stupid and ignorant, but not actually anti-Semitic. My experience with other people in this area makes me think it's unlikely that a group of students at Blair are starting some kind of Nazi club. The way the incident is described makes me think there's some likelihood they didn't realize that what they were doing looked like a Nazi salute to others. They were scene doing it together while posing for a picture. Does anyone actually think a group of students at Blair were like "let's take a picture of ourselves doing a Nazi salute in theiddle of the day in campus!"?

This is different from the incidents of anti-Semitic graffiti at other MoCo schools, acts committed at night and which are clearly intended as hate speech. It's not hard to imagine an angry, wrong headed individual doing that, while obviously making an effort not to get caught

What are the odds this was a group of kids doing a dance move or attempting a "cool" pose for a photo, and just didn't realize it looked like they were heiling Hitler?

Blair parent here and I agree. A Hitler salute could easily be a dance move or a regular salute. Given the reaction though I wonder if it was more than that? Eg directed at Jewish students, knowingly a Hitler salute or accompanied by Nazi or antisemitic language?

You realize you’re minimizing antisemitism, right? Would you do that if the kids were doing something anti-Asian or anti-Black?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They could also have been ridiculing someone they considered to be dictatorial and bigoted (eg like Hitler).

Did they say Heil Hitler in the video?!

Why is it that whenever an antisemitic incident occurs, there are people questioning whether it’s REALLY antisemitic?

[Anonymous]

Kids being kids. Blah Blah