The principal of DuPont Manual High School in Louisville, Kentucky is under fire for being super racist! But what does “being super racist” mean these days? Glad you asked.
Here’s what went down.
A couple of angry students had a meeting with the school’s principal, Gerald Mayes. They were upset that the football coach was not allowing student players to kneel during the national anthem. One of the students secretly recorded the conversation, so we know exactly what was said.
“I don’t have a problem with anyone that’s sincere,” Mayes said. “I have a problem with people that do it just for attention.”
As you can see, he didn’t totally shoot them down. He’s just worried they’re doing it to cause a scene. And let’s be honest. That’s why MOST people are doing it. They’re attention hogs.
But then things got weird. For some reason, the entire thing turned into a conversation on “who’s more oppressed than who.”
When one of the students said blacks have faced greater discrimination than Protestants, Mayes responded by saying, “And that’s coming through your filter, and I don’t agree with you.”
Mayes went on to bring up the plight of Native Americans and Jewish people before saying he also has faced racial discrimination.
“Listen, I’ve been discriminated against because I was white. That ain’t right,” he said, adding that he had “lost four jobs because I was white.” …
Later in the conversation, Mayes asked the students to view racial issues from another perspective. In an example, he said he is often pressured to hire more African-American teachers at Manual.
“I’d love to, but would you want me to hire an African-American teacher because they’re African-American or because they’re the best teacher?” he asked the students.
I really don’t see any problem with what the principal said. Other groups have been oppressed. That’s fact. Perhaps he did lose jobs because he was white. With the racial quotas some companies have these days, I believe it’s possible. And what’s wrong with the last part? I agree that we should hire people based on their SKILL SET and QUALIFICATIONS. Not their skin color. What about any of that is objectionable?
Because one student recorded the conversation, the school district got involved, and Mayes got in trouble. He apologized and said, “help me be better.”
Alrighty then.
However, his apology wasn’t good enough for students. They’ve been holding sit-ins and demanding that he be fired ASAP. And now there are a bunch of other students coming forward, claiming that Mayes has made questionable remarks in the past. Some students claim he made “inappropriate comments to them regarding their gender identity.”
“The everlasting impact of his words cannot be erased from Manual until he is gone,” the school’s Black Student Union said in a statement Tuesday. …
In its statement Tuesday, Manual’s Black Student Union said that it had accepted Mayes’ apology but that “he must be held accountable.” In calling for Mayes’ removal, the group cited not just the recorded comments, but also Mayes’ “history of offensive comments and actions against marginalized student groups.”
They say he has created “an atmosphere of fear.” Therefore, he must go.
Maybe he’s made more concerning remarks in the past. I don’t know. But so far, nothing in that conversation came off as blatantly “racist.” Pointing out that other groups have been oppressed and suggesting that we should hire people based on their qualifications– that’s not racist.
h/t College Fix