Re: A recent anti-Armenian incident

[hyebruin]

Hi all,

I just got a bit of a shocking news today on an incident that happened at GCC? where some white? professor threatened an Armenian student by using another Turkish student in the classroom!? Is this true? How much of it is sensationalized? I just cannot fathom such racism and bigotry from an academic environment!!! Can anyone shed light on the details of this? or maybe it's posted somewhere on the web?---By the way if this occurence happens to be true( I'm afraid it just might be!) the family of the student should sue the school and the professor...I was just reading an article up here near Sacramento where a hispanic family is going to sue a local businessowner for a racial slur (for which the business has already apologized)...but their attitude is too little, too late! I think we armenians need to adopt that kind of mentality and not want just the minimum, but DEMAND what is right and what is fair!!! So next time some backwards hick or WHOEVER it may be..will think twice and bite their tongue before spewing out hate!!! We are the majority basically in that town, and how dare anyone say anything bad or hint anything bad about Armenians??? It's the same as making a racial/ethnic slur against blacks, hispanics, jews or Asians...IT'S ALL WRONG AND WE NEED TO WEED OUT THE BIGOTS WHO INFEST OUR COMMUNITIES AND HIT THEM WHERE IT HURT$$$$$$$$$$

[Sip]

But what disturbs me most is that sometimes "we" Armenians are much worse in calling other people names, using derogetory slang, and resorting to ethnic slurs.

 

I can't even count how many times I've heard teenage Armenian kids (and even adults) using the "N" word to refer to blacks .... most of them are doing it as jokes ... some of them are serious about it ... but almost none of them realize how serious their actions are preceived in this supposed land of free speech

 

I think what you said is all nice and well, but we have to start with ourselves (first)

 

The GCC incident sounds a bit sensationalized though I doubt any professor there would dare say ANYTHING bad about Armenians ... he would get SHOT

 

[ November 12, 2002, 08:43 PM: Message edited by: Sip ]

[hyebruin]

Wow! I'm surprised you feel that way!! Are you trying to play devil's advocate or something? And, most importantly why in the world would you even discuss the "lowest common denominator"...why are you refering to the ignorant among us rather than...THE REST of us? there are always always going to be people who have certain preconceived ideas and beliefs...and YOU and I are no exception to that...the only difference between us and the teenagers/adults you mentioned is that we (or at least I) would never open my mouth without thinking... rather I would observe and interact and try to educate myself so that I do not judge someone by their ethnicity, but rather for their person, and I would never throw someone's history or worse yet their suffering to their face...I think as an Armenian (granted that's something you feel very strongly about)you need to be more passionate when some a**hole makes light of your past...and, no! I don't mean go and threaten and try to run them over on the road like some immature kids do( who drive around in their brand new mercedez, armed,and without an education or anything to show for themselves as presentable young adults) ...rather stand up! and support our cause! I don't mean to pick on you;) but this attitude is soooooo prevalent among a good portion of us that it hinders our recognition and our rights... Just imagine if instead of the armenian student, it was a black student and he was told that his 'n' a** needs a good beating by his white classemate's slave owner ancestors...that comparison does not even do justice to this situation because at least the slaveowners were not trying to exterminate the blacks in inhumane torturous ways!! (they were abused in other ways, unfortunately!)... the point is...the more people we have in our community who feel like you do, and it almost felt like (as I was reading) you were conveying this "it's not a big deal" attitude, the longer will be our journey to some sort of recognition and respect that we deserve. I am a very open minded person and I live where there are virtually no Armenians around me, but I have friends of all backgrounds and I enjoy learning about their culture; but at the same time I know who I am and when I speak to them about what I am all about and my history and my people, they listen...and they show compassion...and I don't put on a 'nice attitude' about turks either. I don't have to be pc about them, because they did something for which they must and WILL pay for!!! We have to stop pretending or worse yet being nice in order 'not to offend anyone' when we ourselves are being targeted!!... and NO! just because some of the ignorant among us do it, does not excuse or lighten the fire that's directed towards us.

[Sip]

I can't help but picture these recent "Armenian" vs. "Lobi" fights that have been going on in the last few years in the LA area ... sometimes with DEADLY results. I suspect that many of them start with situations just as you describe. I think almost all of them are 100% useless probably even counter-productive.

 

However, you are probably very right in saying that I am a bit too "moderate" in this case ... but I have 2 reasons:

 

1) I almost never care what a "backwards hick" (as you put it) thinks. So the hick could insult my mother and I wouldn't give a rats behind. There's just no benefit in it for me to pick a fight.

 

2) I have learned in the past, that you can almost never get through to a "backwards hick", especially NOT with fighting or force.

 

Getting aggressive, "hitting" back so to say, and being too sensitive on such things will probably do more bad than good ... in MY opinion (you don't have to agree ) I also find a lot of value in this "turn the other cheek" type of mentality that Christianity is supposed to be based on. I don't like too much of what organized religion preaches, but that particular philosophy, I do subscribe to.

 

But again, I am not saying what you say and the way you think one should react in a situation like this is right or wrong ... I am just saying my personality and thinking is such that I'd probably let it slide and concentrate my energy on more important things... more important than just trying to force everyone to never SAY something bad about Armenians (even though we know you can not easily change their minds once it's set).

[Sip]

On a similar note, I really think "Affrican Americans" went completely the wrong way with their attitude towards the "N" word and their ultra-sensitivity on the "spoken" words. What happens now, is that even someone like me who really has no reason to differentiate between blacks and whites, immediately gets nervous and starts to think in terms of race when a black person is around. I don't want to make the mistake of saying something and pissing them off, since that could mean losing my job, fortune, or even life.

[Azat]

here is an artice from LA Times(Glendale News Press)

 

Instructor accused of racial remarks

-GCC teacher being investigated for alleged threats to Armenian student

 

By Ben Godar, News-Press

 

NORTHEAST GLENDALE -- An instructor at Glendale Community College is under investigation and might face disciplinary action after allegedly making racially motivated threats toward an Armenian student.

 

According to several students in the class, Adjunct Professor Paul A. Williams threatened to assault an Armenian student, then said he would have a Turkish student slit the Armenian student's throat. The incident reportedly occurred Wednesday in Williams' U.S. History class.

 

Williams could not be reached for comment.

 

The episode was reportedly sparked by an incident in the class Monday. Williams had asked the class what time it was, and a student said it was later than it actually was, student witnesses said Friday. This caused Williams to dismiss class early.

 

When the class met again Wednesday, Williams accused the Armenian student of making a fool of him, witnesses said, adding the student wasn't the one who had given the incorrect time.

 

According to four students who said they were in the class at the time, Williams threatened to beat the student "back to Armenia." Williams then pointed to a female student of the class known to be of Turkish descent, and said he would have her ancestors cut the Armenian student's throat.

 

Roger Bowerman, chairman of GCC's Social Sciences Division, said the incident was being investigated and would be resolved before the class meets again Wednesday. He would not comment further on what, if any, action might be taken against Williams.

 

Alisa Alaverdyan, a 25-year-old student in the class, said she left the room immediately to report the incident to the administration.

 

"I was really mad, and I wanted [the administration] to see me in that condition," Alaverdyan said.

 

Fellow student Ed Alas said he, too, was shocked.

 

"I've been in college since 1989, and I've never heard a professor say something like that," Alas said.

 

Williams was hired by GCC about a month ago to replace the original instructor for the history class. It is the only class he teaches at the school.

 

Anahid Keshishian, a professor of Armenian Studies at UCLA who also teaches at GCC, said the reported comment would make any Armenian angry.

 

"I'm shocked someone would do that, especially someone who's supposedly educated," she said.

 

Keshishian said the Armenian Genocide, in which an estimated 1.5 million Armenians were killed by forces of the Ottoman-Turkish Empire during World War I, is a continuing source of pain for many Armenian people.

[vava]

I know this is an aside, but:

 

That's a LONG time to be in college, Ed.

...and I thought I'm taking too long

[Sip]

Hahahahah ... this is a good one ... Thanks for the article Azat! I wonder how serious the guy was when making the comment and then how much the students are blowing it out of proportion!!!

 

If that's true, the guy is a complete moron! What idiot would ask the students what time it was? The guy deserves anything he gets

[hyebruin]

Thank you Azat!!

[wh00t]

And now some commentary from Azerbaijan:

 

Our Century (Azerbaijan)

Nov 20 2002

 

MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF ARMENIA HAS EXPRESSED ITS CONCERN

ABOUT ANTIARMENIAN MOODS IN USA

 

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia has expressed its

concern about antiarmenian moods in USA. An incident at

Gleendail University, Arizona gave occasion for such sharp

statement. The professor of history Alan Wiliams has insulted

in public his student - Armenian citizen A. Alaverdyan, having

required her coming back to Armenia. On professor's words even

if so-called «armenian genocide» took place in the beginning

of the twentieth century, it was lawful. As it became known,

University management has not dismissed the teacher - racist yet,

just temporarily discharged him from work. The representatives

of Armenian Embassy in USA have already flight from Washington

to Arizona, to understand what has happened, as Central-Asian

News agency informs.

 

An incident at

Gleendail University, Arizona gave occasion for such sharp

statement.

 

Gleendail? Oh, Glendale. Gleendail University? Oh, Glendale Community College. Arizona?

 

The professor of history Alan Wiliams

 

Probably a good idea to mention professor of U.S. history.

 

Armenian citizen A. Alaverdyan, having

required her coming back to Armenia.

 

Armenian citizen? And that last statement is a misquote.

 

On professor's words even

if so-called «armenian genocide» took place in the beginning

of the twentieth century, it was lawful.

 

The biggest lie of this entire "article"! This never happened!

[Sip]

Ah yes! The amazingly "objective" medias at work ... quite a disturbing piece of info wh00t

[Azat]

one last note. the associate prof was dismissed soon after the incident.

[Paul bunyan]

That worthless bum, that yawp professor

should be tarred and feathered and ridden out of Glendale on a rail waaahooooo!!!