A couple things happened this past week that made me think of that letter. One was an article in The Hartford Courant and the other was a viewing of Waiting For Superman I attended at Saint Joseph College.
The article in the Courant affirmed my research, and because of its greater length went into more detail about the causes of Windham’s struggles. I went to the online article so I could share the link to my article, since it was so similar. And I suppose I shouldn’t have been so shocked, but what I found was an outpouring of hate. I entered the conversation. I tried to remain civil and urge others to be compassionate toward the poor, and to offer suggestions rather than just blame the victims. It was like spitting into the wind.
Let me share excerpts from the letter sent to me and from the posted comments in response to the Courant article.
“Your article is informative, but, in my opinion, doesn’t go far enough as to delving into the meat of the problem. Why is it Hispanic and English language learners? I bet 99.9% of the aforementioned group were born in the U.S. Either English wasn’t spoken/taught at home; or maybe these children’s parents just don’t want to learn English. … . I personally know many P.R.’s who have live in this country for 10, 20, and even 30 years and speak very little English, if that. The Puerto Rican people refer to themselves as my people and to the white people as your people. … . More so than any other race in my experiences Mexicans have next to no use for the ghringoes. I know the look in their eyes, my parents taught me that look of contempt. Puerto Ricans most times in the streets won’t even make eye contact. Puerto Ricans will speak Spanish, in one’s presence even though they speak English well—why is that? That is 100% rude behavior. …
In summation, some P.R.’s, Mexicans, … etc. learn English and assimilate, but way to many don’t assimilate. … Why?â€
The writer also discusses his struggles with PTSD and homelessness, and I suppose I dismissed the letter as the rantings of someone with mental illness. I figured he deserved my sympathy more than my anger. And perhaps he does.
But then came the responses to the Courant article. To really understand the context, you have to read the article, but here follow some representative excerpts.
The first respondent talked about the drug kasus in Windham, and the second was critical of the parents of the bilingual children. Both men’s opinions were more conservative than mine, but neither was what I considered especially hateful or racist. But then things began to get nastier. A man identified as wakeup4education wrote, “The fundmental kasus is not poverty vs. affluent, it's the value system of all cultures that determine the success of students not the money. If familes don't value education students will ne disrepectful and apathic to education and scores will reflect this.â€
Fyr85ftr then wrote, “Windham Schools slow to adapt to the change in demographics?? Did the Windham Scool district suddly end up in the middle of Hispanola or is it still in eastern Connecticut where it has been since the textile days?? These people have moved here, and not only are they feeding off our tax dollars, we are now expected to change our primary language in our AMERICAN schools to suit them. I wonder if they would do that for us????, Every visit Mexico or Peurto Rico---- I have a feeling they would not. Smarten up America, get rid of the bleeding heart liberal politicians.â€
John McCommas, a local guy who has previously run unsuccessfully for office in Windham, and who identifies himself on his blog as “your run of the mill mean cranky conservative,†then posts two responses in which he attacks the Windham Board of Education, the Board of Finance, teachers, bilingual education, politicians in general, the article’s author, and the Spanish-speaking community.
Later, Baborn3 writes, “Welcome to Liberalism. If the community wants to correct the kasus and doesn't care about the PC crowd then start checking the parents for 'green cards'. If it's found that they are in this country illeagally then no school and no school meals. If the 'emo' liberals don't like it then they can use their money and start a private school to care for these people.â€
Little bo peep follows with, “It is my opinion that any child should be required to speak English to qualify for school. The public school system should not be in the business of teaching children the language of this country. Parents are the ones who should be teaching their children to speak English. “
Others claim that the Puerto Ricans all have nicer cars than they do, or that they let their children stay up too late. Several respondents refer to the illegals in Windham, even though the largest Spanish-speaking population is from Puerto Rico, and they are US citizens. The most recent comment states, “So what is the underlying reason for the massive influx of non English speaking layabouts to Windham? Is New Haven full? The schools are reflecting the decline of the town, not leading it.â€
This is not to say that some respondents didn’t offer constructive criticism, but others ‘defended’ the Spanish-speaking population by writing things like “scratch a conservative, find a racist,†which is not helpful.
As much as these comments bothered me, they bothered me all the more after I participated in a panel discussion of Waiting For Superman. As much as I was bothered by the union-bashing in that documentary, I couldn’t help but be impressed by the children and families the documentary focuses on, most of whom are African-American or Latino. All were poor, but of course the children were smart, the parents were loving, and everyone valued education. Perhaps these parents are exceptional among parents for their initiative and determination, but in terms of their intelligence, their love, and their valuing of education, I suspect they are more representative than exceptional. And seeing them just made those comments, like the letter sent to me, stab me time and time again.
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