Support NeoGAF

[Borman]

This is my old high school's rival school. Racism runs rampant throughout the community, events like this just showcase the fact.

 

[NullPointer]

Somebody should remind these students that we're a nation of immigrants. And in fucking NY no less.

No apologies should have been offered or given as they provide legitimacy to the student's backwards ass reactions.

 

[Borman]

Just so people know, this is the same school which has a lawsuit against them for essentially ignoring the anti-semitic non-sense that goes on every single day.

 

[Timeaisis]

Everything is offensive today, I swear.

 

[jmood88]

I hate so many people in this country.

 

[_Nemo]

lolamerica. What a joke you've become.

 

[IdreamofHIME]

It's time you Americans got your own language, i'm really sick of dolts like this dragging the Queen's through the mud.
If you can create Klingon, you can create Americanese.

 

[SURGEdude]

Students shouldn't be forced to say the pledge. Whoever wants to can do it. That way the parents can't complain.

They weren't forced to say it. As it should be.

 

[FZZ]

1- what does Arabic have to do with Afghanistan.

2- imagine if Someone complained about Jews speaking Hebrew. You wouldn't hear the end of it!

I'm wondering this as well.

Wtf

 

[NYCmetsfan]

Complaints were received from residents who lost family in Afghanistan and from Jewish parents, an official said.

They don't speak arabic in Afghanistan (the language they speak is closer to english than arabic) and what does being jewish have to do with Arabic (which many jews have and still do speak?)

 

[Miles Quaritch]

Allah was mentioned, that's all that really matters.

People don't know or care to know that Pashto and Dari are the official languages of Afghanistan. If you were to say they speak Pashto, they'd probably think you were insulting them.

 

[Jacksinthe]

Non issue. Shouldn't have apologized, IMO. I think Arabic is a beautiful language, I like it much better than my own Croatian ha!

 

[Rebel Leader]

Officials said the school's foreign language department organised for different pledge translations to be read in celebration of National Foreign Language Week.

Then why is this an issue?

 

[Coconut]

I was the Vice President of my highschol so my duty was the pledge and morning announcements one day I did the pledge in Spanish because we had a40% Spanish speaking population at my school and I thought it would be cool to do it. Two of the teachers took me aside afterwards and told me that I was disrespecting America. The world is a really dumb place at times.

 

[Damaniel]

Don't apologize - you just let the rednecks win that way. You're never going to make them happy, so why go out of your way to try?

 

[Kickz]

Somewhere Rudy Guiliani is wiping a tear from his eye

 

[RustyNails]

Somewhere Rudy Guiliani is wiping a tear from his eye

Nonsense. Rudy is nothing but a malfunctioning robot.

 

[Jawbreaker]

The Arabic language triggered them.

I think the pledge itself is "offensive." Are kids allowed to excuse themselves or refrain from placing their hand over their heart in protest? Or do we still castigate them for that?

 

[Imm0rt4l]

Ridiculous. There's no reason to apologize.

 

[Suikoguy]

This is simply a school that would rather offer an insincere apology then cause any controversy, over what amounts to any sane person, a reasonable thing to do under the framing of a foreign language week.

If you object to the actions of the school in having a student knowing Arabic and English recite the pledge in Arabic one day during a foreign language week. Then you should not be allowed to wallow in hatred and ignorance because a school fears confrontation.

When we shirk back from confrontation when someone is clearly wrong, then what does that tell the wrong?

 

[Paskil]

lolamerica. What a joke you've become.

Because Europe is a bastion of Arab tolerance.

 

[Lord Morairty007]

This country was made by immigrants that came all over the world. We don't even have an official language!

 

[GameGuru59]

Is this one time GAF agrees with my unwavering position of not caring what the critics of another person's speech think? Glad to have company... this time.

 

[wanderingprostheyltite]

I don't see a problem with this, it was for diversity. The school apologizing only reinforces a paranoid ethnocentric mindset. People need to stop fucking associating Arabic/Middle East strictly with terrorism.

 

[tbm24]

IIRC US doesnt even have a national official language yet. Yet they want to get mad. lol

People assume it's english.

 

[Coconut]

Because Europe is a bastion of Arab tolerance.

The problem is we in the US have all these documents and monuments that have all these things that talk about tolerance and freedom and shit.

 

[Miles Quaritch]

Is it really that surprising they apologized? I sometimes get confused as to why people treat this kind of apology as though it's serious. I mean, when a public figure says something racist, or sexist, or homophobic, when they inevitably apologize everyone assumes it's insincere, right? Why take this one any more seriously?

They got complaints, they wanted the complainers to stop bothering them, so they apologized.

It's apologising for other people's bigotry and xenophobia.

I get why they apologised, but they really shouldn't have. There has to be a line drawn under apologising for things that anyone with a shred of common sense can see wasn't insulting to any sane person.

 

[Daingurse]

Absurd that they felt the need to apologize. The intolerance in this country is so fucking stupid.

 

[stufte]

This country was made by immigrants that came all over the world. We don't even have an official language!

gross.

 

[Malfunky]

We should all be more upset over our continual recitation of a pledge of allegiance before we even know what those words mean, if anything.

 

[Suikoguy]

gross.

They do call it a melting pot...

 

[fawaz]

Or algorithms.

Or Algernon Cadwallader.

Or Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

 

[Zoned]

Or Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Or Steve Jobs.

 

[hirokazu]

Should not have apologised. Dumb cunt students who took offence can go home and be homeschooled.


What upsets me the most is the Jewish parents who complained. Why is Arabic offensive to you? How would you feel if the situation was reversed? And yet people always have to tread lightly when making such criticisms because otherwise they'd ben accused of being anti-Semitic.

 

[gutter_trash]

sugar, algebra,

 

[DontBeThatGuy]

They still do the pledge of allegiance. That's stupid.

 

[Deadly Cyclone]

If they read it in different languages, I don't see a problem. It's not like the school forces you to say the pledge anyway.
The school shouldn't have apologized, and the parents who complained could go fuck themselves.

Yeah. Pretty much this. God forbid kids hear that there terrorist language! /sarcasm

 

[JesseZao]

Should have apologized in Arabic.

aahhhhhHHHH the TERRORISTS ARE TALKING AGAIN!!!!

 

[Dead Man]

For fucks sake. Fuck all those who complained.

 

[Yagharek]

For fucks sake. Fuck all those who complained.

"The school would like to say sorry that you are a bunch of backwards racists"

 

[CadetMahoney]

crazy times.

 

[1.21Gigawatts]

These people should go back to greek numbers.

 

[RiZ III]

There is only one true language. The same language Adam, Jesus, and George Washington spoke and that's American! Freedom forever never forget 9/11!

 

[Dead Man]

"The school would like to say sorry that you are a bunch of backwards racists"

Would have been perfect.

 

[SmZA]

Where were the students who lost grandparents in WWII complaining when they did the pledge in German?

This being New York state, surely there are students who lost ancestors in the war against England?

 

[Aselith]

There is only one true language. The same language Adam, Jesus, and George Washington spoke and that's American! Freedom forever never forget 9/11!

GOD BLESS AMERICA

 

[Cartman86]

Maybe it's a weird thing to say but seeing "Since this was a language department thing I don't see a problem with this" almost sounds like we are being too easy on them. The appropriate response is "Fuck these racist pieces of shit".

 

[Docflem]

Maybe it's a weird thing to say but seeing "Since this was a language department thing I don't see a problem with this" almost sounds like we are being too easy on them. The appropriate response is "Fuck these racist pieces of shit".

My thoughts exactly.

 

[Christopher]

What's the basis of the apology especially since other languages were involved?

I think it's really cool that other languages are celebrating america, it says freedom and justice for all so why not ...?

Too extreme for me...however I've seen people get offended for less

 

[PlayALLtheGames]

What I want to know is how the offended parties explained their problem with this language department activity.

"We lost loved ones in Afghanistan. The terrorists who killed them almost certainly spoke Arabic so this is offensive."

???????

How about the Jewish residents? "Arabs and Jews are fighting in the Middle East and those Arabs speak Arabic so this is offensive."

Crazy, crazy stuff.