More on that incident last month at Keswick High School in Ontario, where an Asian student fought back after being hit and taunted with racial slurs. With one punch, he ended up breaking the other kid's nose, and found himself suspended and arrested for assault: Black belt teen strikes back at bully, and rallies community against racism.
The incident sparked a huge community rally last week, with students speaking out against bully and racism. Meanwhile, a hate crime investigator has reportedly been assigned to look into whether indeed the gym class fight does qualify as a hate crime: Hate-crime investigator digs deeper into bullying brawl.
The facts seem pretty clear to me. The 15-year-old student, who came with his parents to Canada from Korea in 2004, says he got into a dispute with a white classmate. The white student addressed him with a racial slur, calling him "a fucking Chinese," and when confronted he refused to apologize.
The white student threw the first punch, hitting the Asian student in the mouth. The Asian student, who just happens to be a black belt in tae kwon do, threw a left-handed jab (consciously using his weaker hand) that broke the white student's nose. Of course, the Asian kid was the only one who charged. What's up with that?
The Asian kid, a top student with a 90 average, must now spend four weeks at a program for suspended students, where he isn't going to learn a damn thing: Korean boy can only watch as others go to school.
And last week, the boys family received a letter from York Region District School Board saying the school's principal is recommending the discipline committee mete out the harshest possible punishment when it meets next week. She's asking that the Asian student be expelled not just from Keswick High, but from all schools in the York region.
You've got to be kidding me. The administration seems to have little understanding of what it's really like to endure a racist comment or taunt -- made to feel like you're less than human, or like you don't belong. Why is this school being run complete morons with absolutely no grasp of what is happening here?
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