I would like to offer a reader’s
”
Jeers
”
to Gilroy Unified School District Trustee David McRae for his
irresponsible reaction to your editorial published on June 17.
Dear Editor:
I would like to offer a reader’s “Jeers” to Gilroy Unified School District Trustee David McRae for his irresponsible reaction to your editorial published on June 17.
He deserves it, along with former Gilroy City Council Member Lupe Arellano for her verbal attack on a parent at a recent school board meeting. According to Webster’s dictionary, something can be described as racist if it is “based on the assumption that one race is biologically superior to another.” In our vernacular, the words “racism” and “racist” refer to behavior based on hatred and intolerance.
I think we can all agree they are strong words, words that should not be thrown around lightly. Yet, both McRae and Arellano have chosen to use these words in recent public dialogues, despite a lack of evidence of hatred or intolerance toward a particular race.
At a May GUSD board meeting, Lupe Arellano accused Gilroy High School parent Denise Apuzzo of being “racist” because she questioned the process used to decide that one book, which did not meet the high school’s established criteria for instructional material, was going to be replaced by eight books, all of which are written by Latino authors.
She pointed out that piloting those eight books did not seem to be moving the reading list in the direction of true diversity, one of the goals strongly advocated for by board members and district administrators at the previous meeting. She was sharing her views with our elected officials, but instead of respecting Ms. Apuzzo’s time at the podium, Ms. Arellano chose to yell out in a public meeting, “Denise, don’t be a racist.”
Unfortunately, GUSD Trustee David McRae was not at that school board meeting. Perhaps if he had witnessed Ms. Arellano’s indefensible behavior he would have exercised greater self-control in his response to an editorial published on June 17.
When I read his letter published on June 21, I went back and reviewed both the original article, “Digital Divide in the Silicon Valley” and the editorial published in response to the findings of the Gavilan study. In your editorial, you state that calling on businesses to donate computers to families in need is a “noble idea”, but acknowledge what we all know to be true. Language is a barrier. It is true in education, it is true in the political arena, and it is a factor in the “digital divide.” Not the only factor, but one factor and discussing that does not make one a racist.
McRae goes on to accuse the paper of “Hispanic bashing” and states this is a “common reaction from your publication.” Yet, it was the results of the Gavilan study and the observation of Gavilan Instructor Margi Bryson that it is “difficult to learn to use a computer in a foreign language” that lead to the original article and subsequent editorial.
Does Mr. McRae believe the Gavilan study and Ms. Bryson are racist? Does the study’s results and her comments show hatred and intolerance for Hispanics or anyone who does not speak English?
The world is full of real hate and intolerance, and many times racism is subtle. As a community and as a nation, we should be steadfast in our determination to create a fair and just society. But both Arellano and McRae have used the “R” word to falsely accuse others and to justify their own political and philosophical positions.
We should expect more from our civic leaders. They owe Denise Apuzzo and the paper a public apology.
Jackie Stevens,
Gilroy
