What is the structure of hate? What are its elements? What makes it so pervasive and difficult to stamp out? And what is it that makes the specter of anti-Semitism rise again in Somerset County?
In the early 2000’s, Bridgewater experienced an ugly series of anti-Semitic actions. According to newspaper accounts at the time, a man was indicted for scrawling anti-Semitic graffiti on bleachers surrounding the ball fields at Chimney Rock Park. The same person was also charged with “making telephone calls threatening to harm the former governor, Christie Whitman, and the mayor of Bridgewater, James Dowden.”
The road to tolerance is a long one with many detours along the way. Now, another incident has apparently occurred: In the local section of the Courier News, Michael Deak reports that, “Two 13-year old boys have each been charged with three counts of bias intimidation and harassment.”
In regard to the same topic, Jennifer Golson writes in another local newspaper that two teenagers from the William Annin Middle School in Bernards Township “were charged with bias offenses for allegedly making a series of derogatory phone calls to Jewish families.”
She quotes school Principal Nick Markarian as saying that some eighth-grade students placed “phone calls of a harassing nature” and that he has “counseled” them so that there is no “school-based misconduct.” If the allegations are true, it seems to me that Mr. Markarian may need to review his rather soft statements.
Deak reports that “The principal was ‘extremely disappointed’ about the incidents,” and that, ‘The school emphasizes character development and conducts special programs and daylong events such as Holocaust Day to promote mutual respect.’” Character development begins in the home and is nurtured and developed there. Schools cannot solely impart that characteristic. Educators can only provide information and, most importantly, project a good example through their own personal conduct and integrity.
Mr. Markarian intends to meet with his eighth-graders about this, Deak writes. Sounds OK, but school action involving a broad sweep of the guilt brush over all students doesn’t get to the core of this particular problem. These are highly specific incidents which, if they happened as alleged, require a specific response aimed at those involved.
Mr. Markarian, voluntarily working with the teachers of these two students and, with the full approval and support of their parents, should consider assigning an appropriate community project, followed by a report, to each of the students. Or would that violate the conventions of political correctness?
It is too easy to ignore the import of these alleged incidences. We all know where bias-laden phone calls can lead, how disruptive they can be to the lives of people and, in particular, to Jewish families, whose tradition has endured enough through the ages.
Sources: For the full background stories, see Michael Deak at http://www.mycentraljersey.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080507/NEWS/805080375/1011/NEWS0206, and Jennifer Golson at http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/somerset/index.ssf?/base/news-3/1210221367159820.xml&coll=1. For the Bridgewater archived story, see the New York Times at http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/a/antisemitism/index.html?query=BRIDGEWATER%20(NJ)&field=geo&match=exact
No comments:
Post a Comment