The remark by Mount Ogden Middle School teacher, Judy Sepulveda, calling black student Thomas Terry, 14, "a lazy monkey" was inappropriate and apologies to Terry's family from the Ogden School District and Mount Ogden Principal Trevor Wilson were the right thing to do.
The remark, even if it was not intended as a racial slur by Sepulveda, carries the connotation of such. It is no secret to any informed person that racists have in the past compared blacks to monkeys and apes, etc.
Such word usage, designed to deliberately demean, is low-class, disgusting and hurtful to blacks.
The fact that the remark "lazy monkey" is offensive to blacks should be a clear warning sign that it is inappropriate to use in the type of interaction that Sepulveda had with Terry. That was obvious given the reaction of students who heard the remark and reacted with "oohs" and "ahhs."
In fact, this isn't the first time that the term "monkey" was used inconsiderately to describe a black person. On Sept. 5, 1983, the late sports broadcaster Howard Cosell, during "Monday Night Football," while referring to Washington Redskins wide receiver Alvin Garrett, said, "Look at that little monkey run." Cosell, who defended Muhammad Ali's decision not to fight in the Vietnam War, was likely no racist, but he was criticized for the same reason we criticize Sepulveda's words: they are hurtful and inconsiderate.
Ogden School District spokeswoman Donna Corby has promised that the incident will not occur again. We hope that's true.
There have been several letters to the editor that express surprise that anyone would regard the remark "monkey" as racist. That is true if a caucasian is called a monkey. But, as mentioned, given the history of bigots who have compared blacks to monkeys, it is racially insensitive when such a term is directed at a black person.
That is not political correctness. It is simply common sense, courtesy and respect for others' feelings.
Comments