The bully and the "future welfare recipient."

One of the biggest welfare programs in this country's history, the GI Bill, benefited a lot of white folks after World War II. Because of it many of them were able to buy their first homes, (Google Levittown, Pennsylvania when you get a chance) and they had their college tuition paid for by a thankful and generous government.
Buying those homes helped to establish generational wealth to many of these people, and it helped to set up their children and grandchildren so that they, too, could chase the A-merry-can dream.

Please stay with me, I am talking about welfare for a reason.

Unfortunately, not all of A-merry-ca's citizens were able to benefit from this wonderful government sponsored program. And, sadly, they gave and sacrificed blood sweat and tears in World War II as well.
So why am I talking about welfare tonight?
Because of folks like Derek Howard. A man so Ignorant and misguided that he allowed his bigotry to get in the way of his better judgement.

"As reported by the Kansas City Star and KCTV News, among other outlets, Marcus Williams Sr. and his son, Marcus Williams Jr., filed a racial harassment suit against the Winnetonka School District after Winnetonka (Kan.) High basketball coach Derek Howard called the younger Williams a "future welfare recipient" while the student was posing for a picture in a school hallway, then repeated the comments while Williams filmed him on his cell phone.
Here's how Marcus Williams Jr. described the incident to KCTV:

"[Howard] was doing a daily jog and he stopped and he said, 'Hey, take a picture and then at the bottom: future welfare recipient,'" the student said. "I just felt belittled, crushed and utterly discouraged."

Marcus Williams said this comment was typical of those he has endured for the past two years. So he grabbed his cell phone and asked his coach to repeat his remarks.

The coach can be heard laughing and saying, "Future welfare recipient who? Students that don't get good grades."

According to the Williams family, Howard's comment was just the latest example of racially insensitive comments from the longtime basketball coach. The younger Williams told KCTV that he refused to try out for the school's basketball team for the 2011 season because Howard told African-American members of the team that they would grow up to be laborers who earned less than $30,000 annually. The teenager claims that he repeatedly asked the coach to stop making the insensitive comments, but that the coach ignored those pleas.

After the younger Williams brought video of the coach's comments to the school principal, Howard was summoned and apologized. Yet the Williams family feels there wasn't any sincerity in the coach's apology, and won't be comfortable with the incident's resolution unless Howard isn't employed by the school any longer; the coach is currently on paid administrative leave.

"Countless times I told him, 'Hey, this is hurting my feelings and you should stop.' I guess he thinks I'm just a kid and he can do whatever he wants," Marcus Williams Jr. told KCTV. "I think he just apologized to take the heat off of him and I don't think he means what he says."

Meanwhile, the elder Williams insists that more students will come forward with similar complaints about the coach in the days to come. In the meantime, he insists the family's discrimination suit isn't about money; he simply wants the coach to issue a public apology and agree to get counseling.

"There's other kids coming forth, telling my son that they're glad somebody stepped up," Williams Sr. told the Star. "Ultimately, we want to shed light on how some teachers are bullying our kids. I don't care about money right now, man. I'm standing up as a concerned parent." [Story]

First of all Mr. Howard, WTF were you thinking? So you show your ignorance on camera while the offended party is actually filming you? I guess bigots bullies just aren't too bright.

BTW, poor grades only equals future welfare recipient if you happen to be poor or of a certain race. Some folks can make poor grades and run for president and even become governor of A-merry-ca's second largest state.

In closing let me say this: Teachers should not be bullies. They also should not have ignorant views, but if they can do a good job of teaching and keep their views to themselves, I say let them teach. But a bully should not get that kind of leeway, because a bully can't hide the fact that he is a bully, and invariably he will act out in ways that are harmful to the children that he is charged with teaching.  

Mr. Howard is a bully. And that's why he shouldn't be teaching. Not because of his narrow minded and ignorant views about welfare. Hell, if that was the case, the unemployment rate in this country would be closer to 80%.