In today’s episode of “Post-Racial America,” we travel to the Golden State and examine an incident at a Catholic school that looks more like it came from 1950s Mississippi than the liberal bastion conservative pundits love to hate.
An unspecified number of students from Central Catholic High School in Modesto have been suspended for a video they sent to black student, wherein one of them holds up a noose while saying “you must die, motherfucker,” before cutting to a clip of a gun being fired.
According to the Modesto Police Department, who have opened a investigation into the incident, Tonya Porter, the mother of the student on the receiving end of the threat, contacted school administrators after seeing the video. The video mentions her son by name.
Attorney Jacq Wilon has stepped in to help Mrs. Porter and her son. He said that everyone should take this incident very seriously, presumably in response to an inquiry regarding whether or not the incident may have been “just a joke.”
“When has bullying ever been a joke? When has a death threat ever been a joke? Right now, with everything going on (nationally), what were they waiting for, for someone to die? The fact is that people are hurt. People are scared.”
Bullying is not a joke. It’s a widespread problem that some apparently feel is being blown out of proportion. It is imperative, however, to appreciate the magnitude of each situation. While some teasing can likely be handled without police involvement, there is a difference between making fun of someone for wearing an outdated style of clothing and threatening a black student with fucking noose.
Central Catholic High School President Jim Pecchenino appears to agree with Mr. Wilson’s statements.
“Students involved in that video have been suspended. They are not on our campus. We’ll follow our process for discipline. The whole video is despicable, every part of it. The noose, the gun going off, it’s just unconscionable to view. It’s very unsettling.”
The students could be charged with hate crimes pending the results of the Modesto Police Department’s investigation into the incident. Their investigation has dedicated personnel and detectives following up on every lead.
California has strict hate crime laws. Per the findings of a formal hate crime investigation, the motivation for committing a crime can be remarkably influential in whether or not someone receives an enhanced sentence. California’s hate crime statutes impose severe, additional penalties for harming, threatening, or harassing someone because of their disability, gender, nationality, race, ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation.
Mr. Wilson has characterized the incident as a hate crime, though it is important to point out that at this point, the incident has not been official characterized as such. White students directing threats toward black students does not necessarily mean a hate crime has been committed. It’s very possible they just think he’s a douche. However, the noose and the “you must die, motherfucker” is enough to warrant an investigation into the incident possibly being racially-motivated.
All that aside, this is bullying. This is a threat. There is nothing alleged about that. These pricks called the student out by name. If nothing else, the directed threat is painfully obvious.
Despite that, there will still be detractors who think this is just “kids being kids” or “just a joke” or some such nonsense. Be that as it may, there is a line and these students crossed it. There is a limit to what can just be shrugged off as imbecilic adolescent behavior.
[H/T Raw Story]
