Reply to Nysmith allegedly allowed antisemetic bullying and expelled the kids who's parents complained

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]It's hard to take this stuff seriously when anyone who criticizes the IDF or Israel attacks on Palestinians gets labelled "anti-Semetic". Seems kinda like a cheap trick and manipulation [/quote]

It's kind of hard to believe that people can't see that lessons that involving drawing Hitler (in any context), canceling Holocaust survivors and [b]expelling three students in March is anything other than anti-Semitic[/b].  No one is challenging criticism of the IDF or Israel's heavy-handed response to October 7th, but rather, you know, anti-Semitism. Like "you're the reason people hate Jews" or celebrating (incorrectly) an October 7th death. [/quote]
How is this anti-Semitic?

And for that matter, why would drawing Hitler be anti-Semitic either? Unless youre lionizing the guy... I mean drawing someone is a neutral act. We hire courtroom artists to draw the most vile criminals and murderers, that's hardly an endorsement of them. [/quote]

Sure. they could also draw swastikas as a neutral act just to show the symbols of the strong Machiavellian leader. [/quote]

Sure. I'd also advise you never to travel to east asia, where swastikas are still widely used and literally can be observed on google maps marking temples every 200 feet or so. This oversensitivity to historical facts and symbols is what makes people roll their eyes. Again, unless the school is ENDORSING these things, what exactly would be anti-semitic about portraying historical accuracy? [/quote]

So just to be clear - your position is that people who are offended by Nazi swastikas are “oversensitive” because Hindus use a similar symbol for totally benign, non-Nazi reasons? I don’t think anyone in America in 2025 is going to see a swastika (particularly if the assignment had to do with nazis) and think “oh, must be the Hindu symbol. It would be oversensitive of me to react.” Like what even ?
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Yeah, my point is it's a widely used, ancient symbol used in various cultures and co-opted by the nazis. Unless youre arguing that the combination of lines is some magical emblem, in which case, half of asia would be implicated, then it makes sense that students might sketch it out as part of a historical lesson. Or are we not supposed to talk or even touch on WWII? [/quote]

It’s very clear that you’re not arguing in good faith here but, just for the record: symbols have the meanings we imbue them with as a society, and that can differ from region to region. It is beyond any reasonable dispute that if people see a swastika in America in 2025, they’re going to assume it’s a nazi symbol (not an Hindu one) and react in very predictable ways.

Here, students were apparently asked to depict a Machiavellian leader and chose to draw a giant portrait of Hitler. The teacher/school should have foreseen that, regardless of the specifics of the assignment, that portrait might provoke a strong emotional response from Jewish students. The fact that they apparently DIDN’T foresee that, or didn’t care, speaks volumes about their priorities. And whether you think the assignment was actively malicious in some way (I personally don’t), it’s very clear from this and the many, many other incidents detailed in the complaint that the school’s priorities do not include the welfare of their Jewish students.

Re: this part: “it makes sense that students might sketch it out as part of a historical lesson. Or are we not supposed to talk or even touch on WWII?” To be clear, this was not an assignment about WWII/given in the context of any larger lesson about WWII or the Holocaust. In fact, when the parents tried to PROVIDE that context in the form of a Holocaust Memorial Day speaker, they were shut down and the event was cancelled.

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So it wasn't even a specific order to draw Hitler, just one kid picked Hitler, during an assignment when you were literally supposed to chose a morally wrong and awful leader? OMG. How are people genuinely upset about this?! Touch some grass. [/quote]

Exactly. These people are deranged[/quote]

That's not what the assignment was.  Obama was one of the leaders chosen.[/quote]

It's interesting some try to make it that the assignment was to chose a terrible evil leader, but then the head of school himself said someone chose Obama. The point of an assignment like this is to explore Machiavelli's ideas and maybe to even see good leaders can have many flaws and to explore "does the end justify the means?" Whether you are a fan of Obama or thought he was not a good president, you can find positive leadership qualities and flaws and poor choices as well (as with most leaders). Choosing Hitler, as I mentioned before, shows the kids in that group were not understanding the assignment and this is not bad/good. I am willing to assume these were good kids who just though well "Machiavellian" means evil so we will chose someone evil and perhaps the lesson itself was not at the right level for them.This could have been a great opportunity to teach and intervene. It was a lapse by the teacher, likely a misunderstanding of the assignment by the kids and poor judgement by the school. The optics were terrible. Then the head of school poured gasoline on a spark. When you add that poor judgment to everything else the family reports, it shows a larger issue and the school needs intervention at various levels. Getting defensive just makes the school look worse.[/quote]

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