The Mexican American Studies program is the equivalent of the Ku Klux Klan and its teachers are skin heads, John Huppenthal wrote. A teacher who writes op eds against the Common Core is a “f*cktard,” according to an email from a Department of Education employee. These wildly inappropriate comments indicate a level of hatred and intolerance toward perceived enemies at the top levels of the Arizona education system, in an agency whose mission is to promote the academic and social educations of Arizona’s youth.
Huppenthal has been justly condemned for his anonymous blog posts under the pseudonyms “Thucydides” and “Falcon9.” Some of the comments were pointed directly at TUSD’s Mexican American Studies program, which he hated with a passion unbecoming the Superintendent of Public Instruction. He wrote that TUSD’s Mexican American Studies program was the equivalent of the Ku Klux Klan (“MAS=KKK in a different color”). The Klan is a post-Civil War group which terrorized, tortured and lynched African Americans [Note: The KKK also targeted Mexican-Americans, a point I should have included in the original post]. It’s hard to imagine a more inappropriate, ignorant or offensive comparison. He called the MAS teachers skin heads (“MAS skin heads can’t run classrooms”), meaning the teachers deserve to be put into the same category as members of roving gangs of often racist, often white supremacist youth who use hate speech and violence against ethnic minorities. Making a comparison like that is beneath contempt.
Huppenthal, furious with the MAS program, lashed out at people he perceived as enemies using language which originated in some dark, dangerous corner of his psyche and which was meant to do injury to the Mexican American Studies program and the TUSD staff who implemented it.
Now we learn this level of hatred and demonization of those who presented a threat to the mission of Huppenthal’s Department of Education extended further. Recently, it was directed at a teacher who spoke out against the Common Core. In an email written during work by Angela Escobar, an ADE employee, about Brad McQueen, a Tucson-area teacher who has written and spoken out against the Common Core, she wrote, “What a f*cktard.”
Calling McQueen a “f*cktard” is far worse than, say, calling him an asshole, especially coming from someone in the Department of Education. “F*cktard” is an abbreviation of “fucking retard.” Retard? That’s a playground insult hurled at an enemy by an angry child. The term “retard” has such negative connotations in the world of education, its use has been effectively banned. Escobar’s use of the term is the same as a Department of Civil Rights employee calling someone a “fucking faggot.” The person the epithet is hurled at doesn’t have to be developmentally delayed in the first case or a member of the LGBT community in the second. The point is to insult the person by making a comparison to a group the speaker finds contemptible. Language of this kind has been unacceptable for decades, and especially among employees who are supposed to be serving and protecting the people they are insulting.
Both Huppenthal and Escobar hurled their insults under cover. Huppenthal used pseudonyms and was only exposed when Blog for Arizona discovered his identity. Escobar wrote her email to a colleague, and it was only made public through a public records search.
Now that Huppenthal and Escobar have been exposed for acting in a wildly inappropriate manner given their positions of responsibility at the top of the state’s education system, what’s happened to them?
Huppenthal has said over and over in two public appearances, he “apologizes” for his “hateful comments” and he “repudiates” and “renounces” them. He’s still in his job and hopes to be reelected so he can be superintendent for another four years. Angela Escobar was disciplined, though the Department of Education won’t tell us what that means, and she’s still in her job.
In the Arizona Department of Education, apparently there are no serious consequences for hurling insults and using language which would result in the suspension or expulsion of a student in most Arizona public schools.
This article appears in Jul 3-9, 2014.
In a State worthy of the name, Huppenthal and his female toady Escobar would be unemployed yesterday. But since our citizenry is as docile as a flock of sheep dozing in a meadow, there will likely be no consequences.
huppenthal did this all in the name of jesus christ too…christians are losing all their power and so they have become paranoid…f’king freaks…hope jesus comes back for them soon
The irony here is based locally, where here in Tucson, john huppenthal was raised. He attended parochial grade school and high school. Religious instruction every day at St. John’s, and @Salpointe (Catholic) High School. He was given atleast 10 years of Catechismal instruction…learning about God, Jesus, Mary. We are talking about the formulative years of an individual’s character. Irony again. He lived in an area of diversity and hard working people with small businesses. The “lazy pigs” comment will haunt him forever, even as he attempts to spin those words, as if to mean that he was speaking of the “fat, lazy pig” in the tale of The Little Red Hen. A pretty good wrestler at Salpointe, Huppenthal now can wrestle with his conscience. If indeed he has one.
David, the Mexicano/Chicano community was also terrorized by the KKK. See the work of Rodolfo Acuña, Martha Menchaca, and Richard Delgado. Often, like other issues dealing with racism, the KKK is viewed within terms of a Black/White binary – which is dangerous given how Mexicanos/Chicanos are often (and purposefully) left out of the historical narrative.
Please sign our petition at http://www.ExpelHuppenthal.com. #ExpelHuppenthal
The Huppenthal controversy is a mere side show to a much larger issue, the unrelenting attack on public education by our legislature. Recent (March 14) studies published by the NEA shows that education funding in Arizona is $3000 less than the national average ranking us 51st among the States. Dead last! Our legislature has routinely robbed education funding for other purposes, now we have candidates for governor touting vouchers; further destroying public education.
Our individual tax burden ranks us 40th among the States, again in the bottom tier. So our taxes are among the lowest and we don’t fund education.
There is an oft repeated mantra out there, “Lower taxes, reduce regulation and jobs will come” So we have lowered taxes and reduced regulation but our recovery is lagging behind the other states. Even high tax, high regulation California is doing better.
Anybody see a problem here?
Just because they are not of the white race does not mean their actions cannot be the same as the KKK. They are border- line terrorists that are using any means they can to push their anti- white agenda.
Sean Arce, thanks for the correction, or addition, to what I wrote. My lack of inclusion of the Mexicano/Chicano community in my summary of the KKK’s activities (especially glaring given the comparison Huppenthal made) is another example of why we need strong ethnic studies programs.
Let’s not forget the 4 hr block, which segregates ELLs into classes with no English models, has continued on Huppenthal’s watch. His ADE auditors come and check lesson plans which are needlessly complicated to make sure that grammar, writing, reading, and oral language each get their discreet hour of instruction, with no mixing of the skills. Even kindergartners get a half hour of English grammar. Crazy. Some kids get stuck in these classes forever. It’s educational malpractice, and it’s state sanctified.
Michael,
The answer is stop voting for the idiots. Stupid is contagious! The first step is electing officials that believe in an educated and educatable workforce/voters. Businesses need an educated workforce (i.e., no way in hell Tesla will come here). They also need to be educatable so that new technologies and techniques can be utilized. Also companies don’t want to relocate to a state where the children of their employees are guaranteed the worst education in the United States. When I lived on the east coast we used to make fun of West Virginians. Nothing we thought then can hold a candle to Arizona.
The roads are in terrible shape and it takes forever to do anything about them. Just drive past major road projects and you’ll see a handful of people working, if any. Take the current widening of N Oracle Road. Every utility dug up the side of the roadway to relocate their utilities. Did they get together and do the digging, relocating, and restoring all at one time. No, they each redug up their predecessors work in order to add theirs. It’s only a couple of miles of work, but no one expects it to take less than 5 years at this pace. What business would want to come here, especially if they have to bring in raw materials and ship out finished products, if we can’t even provide decent roads for them and their employees?
This state will always remain a backwater until you and other citizens stop electing idiots to office.
Those in power feel they can speak (and act) with impunity, but still hide behind pseudonyms to add more malice to their statements, and frequently get away with it. If teachers speak out in any way that does not meet government approval, or if they are foolish enough to spout the BS our so-called “leaders” do, they would be crucified. It is time for everyone who cares about education in this state, whether they are for/against the CCS, or a specific district, or ELD teaching models, to stand up for the most important issue of all: Fair and unbiased leadership of the Education Department, and doing what is right for ALL students. So much of this political trashing of the education system in this state could be avoided if everyone sat down and talked about what it is doing to the students. It is, and should always be, about them.
azpaul, is this you, Huppy? Shouldn’t you be blogging on your white supremicist website about how you are misunderstood? Pobrecito el enojado republicant-do.