Today, I started my 6 Hour Spanish Class , first day of university, and I really felt like my teacher was out of line. He asked us to use 5 words to describe Hispanics in class. Now, this being a spanish for law enforcemnt (I'm only taking because it combines 2 semesteres of Spanish into 1), I really felt like he was eliciting us to racially profile an entire group of people, and of course some responses made my blood boil. I heard lazy, stupid, smelly, short, beautiful ray of sunshine (this just among my snickering 22-24 year old peers), etc. AND THERE WAS NO OUTCRY FROM THE TEACHER. My email doesn't even convey how truly apalled and offended I was, because I wanted to be civil, and maybe there's a real explanation for it. Anyways here goes, leave feedback please, let me know if I should consider going to a higher power at all on this.
Sr. NOLASTNAME,
I'll preface my email by saying that I enjoyed your class today. It seems you are a teacher that will make this class enjoyable, and that will be important, given the length and intensity of the class.
That said, I was saddened and angered by the initial responses of the people in my group when asked to describe hispanics using adjectives. The first 3 I heard, were racist or would be perceived as offensive by someone of hispanic background. And these words don't come from the mouths of the undeducated. These are guys aged 22-24 soon to complete their 4 or more years at an esteemed university. To be honest, I really wanted to punch one of them and leave the class at that point, but I decided it wasn't in my best interest to do so. Having said that, I would have been offended to be Hispanic in that class room and here some of the adjectives that were hurled around like child's play. Hell, I was offended, and I'm not Hispanic (although my grandparents are Italian Immigrants). Now imagine if these are to be our future law enforcement agents, and perhaps there will be an understanding of why accounts of the "white bully cop" still run rampant.
And the general American public wonder why immigrants do not want to assimilate. For some reason, there is a culture of ignorance that still is prevalent today in America's youth. Dr. King said to judge people "not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character". Unfortunately King's speech is still that, just a dream.
I'm sure your intentions were noble, and really my anger is not at all directed at you. It's high time that we do tackle this issue, and I know your class isn't an ethics or a political based class, so I'll leave all my comments to this personal email. I just see enough hatred and intolerance everywhere, everyday, that I hope that I can escape from it while attending your class. Thanks for taking the time to read my email, and see you in Hodges on Friday.
Your humanistic student,
Justin NOLASTNAME
Sr. NOLASTNAME,
I'll preface my email by saying that I enjoyed your class today. It seems you are a teacher that will make this class enjoyable, and that will be important, given the length and intensity of the class.
That said, I was saddened and angered by the initial responses of the people in my group when asked to describe hispanics using adjectives. The first 3 I heard, were racist or would be perceived as offensive by someone of hispanic background. And these words don't come from the mouths of the undeducated. These are guys aged 22-24 soon to complete their 4 or more years at an esteemed university. To be honest, I really wanted to punch one of them and leave the class at that point, but I decided it wasn't in my best interest to do so. Having said that, I would have been offended to be Hispanic in that class room and here some of the adjectives that were hurled around like child's play. Hell, I was offended, and I'm not Hispanic (although my grandparents are Italian Immigrants). Now imagine if these are to be our future law enforcement agents, and perhaps there will be an understanding of why accounts of the "white bully cop" still run rampant.
And the general American public wonder why immigrants do not want to assimilate. For some reason, there is a culture of ignorance that still is prevalent today in America's youth. Dr. King said to judge people "not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character". Unfortunately King's speech is still that, just a dream.
I'm sure your intentions were noble, and really my anger is not at all directed at you. It's high time that we do tackle this issue, and I know your class isn't an ethics or a political based class, so I'll leave all my comments to this personal email. I just see enough hatred and intolerance everywhere, everyday, that I hope that I can escape from it while attending your class. Thanks for taking the time to read my email, and see you in Hodges on Friday.
Your humanistic student,
Justin NOLASTNAME
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