I mean, no one would fire a teacher for refusing to give the Wakanda salute, would they?
A Dominican-American Bronx educator, one year away from retirement, says she was fired after refusing to participate in the cross-arm, "Wakanda forever" salute to Black power.
Rafaela Espinal, who identifies as Afro-Latina, says she was chastised for repeatedly refusing to mimic the gesture popularized in the 2018 Marvel Comic’s "Black Panther," during superintendent meetings, reported the New York Post Saturday.
According to a Manhattan Supreme Court suit against the city’s Department of Education Chancellor Richard Carranza and other top officials earlier this month, Espinal was "admonished and told that it was inappropriate for her not to participate" in the salute by the then-Bronx superintendent Meisha Ross Porter.
I want to believe she was fired for something justifiable, but if she was, no one is saying what it was--so all I have is her story to go on. And let's be honest, in today's racial climate, it's not impossible to believe that what is reported above is 100% true.
I can think of two, non-provable reasons why they would want to fire her. Both money. new teacher = less in salary. Not knowing how the pension plan is set up there, it could be possible that she would get less if terminated early.
ReplyDeleteAm I cynical? Yes because that happens in industry and retail.
Why would anyone be saluting a made up mythical nation?
ReplyDeleteWhy is someone even insisting on this?
What next-the Vulcan salute?
The Post also has a story about a Jewish administrator in the Bronx, also close to retirement, who was fired after (she says in her lawsuit) refusing to do the Wakanda salute. https://nypost.com/2021/02/20/nyc-educator-fired-after-sharing-holocaust-story-refusing-wakanda-salute/
ReplyDeleteAt an implicit-bias workshop where superintendents were asked to tell their personal stories, (Karen) Ames talked about her grandparents’ loss of two children during the Holocaust — only to have colleague Rasheda Amon tell her, “you better check yourself,” the lawsuit alleges.
“That is not about being Jewish! It’s about black and brown boys of color only,” court papers quote Amon as scolding.
EllenK: don't make fun of the Vulcan salute. LLAP
ReplyDeleteJoanne: the rising anti-semitism in this country is worrying.
ReplyDeleteAnna: I can think of lots of reasons to fire someone, including "because I can".
Leonard Nemoy made up the hand sign for the Vulcan salute. A couple years ago, I went to a bat mitzvah at the same synagogue he attended. Up on the wall were carved wooden reliefs, one of which was that same sign. Turns out he drew from his Jewish heritage when he chose it.
ReplyDeleteHe discussed that in one of his books, maybe it was I Am Spock. He saw rabbis making that sign (with both hands) when he was a child.
ReplyDeleteYes, Leonard Nimoy said in a couple of interviews that he saw rabbis making the Vulcan sign when he was younger and that’s where it came from. I thought that was pretty funny.
ReplyDeleteThe squad is famously anti Semitic and promotes BSD. I don’t understand why Jewish people vote Democrat.
I am not surprised by what’s happening in NYC but as a native of that area, I am so saddened regarding how far left it’s become. I trained to be a teacher in NYC 20 years ago and it was nowhere near what it is today in terms of the liberal woketopia it’s become.
Stick a fork in NYC. As much as I’ve dreamed of one day returning, it’s not possible. Also, NYC has been ruined by their idiotic communist embracing Marxist mayor. I think their only hope is having Andrew Yang win the election. NYC will never vote R again anytime soon and Yang is the 2nd best thing they have to helping NYC begin to heal.
Lord help us.
I stand corrected-on with the Vulcan salute.
ReplyDelete