Edited by TJV News
In this age of thought crime, it doesn’t take much to kickstart an investigation.
City officials are apparently investigating a social media message from a Staten Island assistant principal. According to published reports, the Facebook post has something to do with citizens on public assistance nonetheless paying $200 for sneakers.
The allegedly racially-charged comments from New Dorp High School’s Deborah Morse-Cunningham have raised eyebrows.“Privilege is wearing $200 sneakers when you’ve never had a job. Privilege is wearing $300 Beats headphones while living on public assistance,” read the Facebook post, as reported by the New York Post. It allegedly continued, “Privilege is living in public subsidized housing where you don’t have a water bill, where rising property taxes and rents and energy costs have absolutely no effect on the amount of food you can put on your table.”
Though the alleged post says nothing whatsoever about race, it was enough to spark one parent to begin an online petition to – what else — have Morse-Cunningham fired. The petition says, among other things: “As someone responsible for the tutelage of our youth, this is especially troubling and problematic rhetoric to say the least. This leads me to question what kind of practices she’s instilled in the culture at New Dorp High School, and what kind of environment our children are learning in, especially Black youth.”
Miranda Barbot, press secretary for the Department of Education, bravely commented that “The DOE stands against racism and schools must be safe and inclusive learning environments. Teachers and staff have a responsibility to uphold those values, and the principal reported this incident for investigation.”
According to silive.com, citing screenshots of the post on social media, it read in full: “Privilege is wearing $300 Beats headphones while living on public assistance. Privilege is having a Smartphone with a Data plan which you receive no bill for. Privilege is living in public subsidized housing where you don’t have a water bill, where rising property taxes and rents and energy costs have absolutely no effect on the amount of food you can put on your table. Privilege is the ability to go march against, and protest against anything that triggers you, without worrying about calling out of work and the consequences that accompany such behavior.”
Quick to chime in, New Dorp High School’s principal, Deirdre DeAngelis, relayed a message to school parents saying that “We are taking this matter very seriously and have reported it to the appropriate investigatory office. We want to assure you that New Dorp High School does not stand for or condone language that promotes intolerance or hatred of any kind. The words contained in the post go against the beliefs and values of our school and do not represent us in any way.”
