Here is some background info:
My english teacher is a german canadian christian.
I am a russian jew who immigrated here 10 years ago.
So anyway, I am talking to my friend Drew about how I am gonna be on vacation for winter break, right? Then my teacher interjects and says "i think it should be called christmas break because we are breaking for christmas, not hanukkah (looks at me) or Kwaanza (looks at some black kid in my class) because we are breaking for christmas which is the most important holiday"

What an <<removed>>!!!! I just want to punch him in his fat ugly canadian face. I hope he chokes on his morning cup of joe, eh?



This post has been edited by BuffaloHELP: Dec 2 2005, 12:41 AM

Just to float few of my points here: By you calling him/her "fat Canadian" are you not also being prejudice? You are singling out that it's Canadian verses Russian.

I believe your rant should be focused on why he/she was singling and referring to people as though each holiday celebrations were only observed by each student? I mean it could be that your teacher didn't want to offend anyone by leaving out the proper cultural holiday names. I know a Jewish kid that celebrates Christmas. And a white South African family who celebrates Kwaanza. And look at it this way, your teacher probably have something to prove--prove his condolences. He/she is a German addressing an African and a Russian (who happens to be Jewish also). I would be mortified to face you if I was a German, given the past history. Right?

Give some room for understanding and give that teacher of yours a chance. Sometimes people mean the right thing but it comes out all wrong. And perhaps there's more tension between you two that you immediately mistook his well intension... I am not defending anyone. But we need more room for understanding if we're to beat any animosity between races, creeds and/or social class.

i realy agree with you about punching him/her in the face...
i mean comeone you are teacher rasist
how would that afect on lots of kids... if i was in your place i would probobly go to the principle and tell him all about that thing... so teacher will going to hate you more then ever ( nah.. not so bad, you can allways hate him more ) or he would hate you but you will have the best marks and noone will know that he dont likes you

Just few days ago we got new teacher from Philozophy ( i just bought her a drink in disco ) and she is the biggest rasist in town....
At first class she sad that Juda ( the guy that sold Jesus ) was a gipsy
And then she sad that last Philozophy profesor was bad guy becouse he was an Bulgarian... and we sad like .. so wath if he is Bulgarian... and she's like : :So you wont to say to me that Bulgars are good people."
I couldnt belive
So after some classes we sad our Profesor of math all about that and she sad tath she cant do anything and that she and her colegues are a little a scared of this new profesor...
*darn*... i hate my country !

Well you teacher is right we are breaking for Chritmas but if he is making racist remarks you can sew them and that is the altumete revenge. ANd i am russian too and i never met anyone who is Russian Jewish thats cool that you are Russian and Jewsish my teacher is Jewish and she gave us a lexture about the Jewish colture and she got sewed bc she is not spoosed to give lextures in math about religon and I liked it but at the end she made a remark saying that Jews are better than Christians and that really made me angry. Well she got fiered and all the kids in class(christians) stared cussing at her and it was really not right i actually enjoyed to find out about Jewish people but when she said what her culture is better that others it made me think.....

I agree with BuffaloHELP, I understand how you could be upset, but not having heard the tone used I'd say it could be a take at not trying to upset you. That being said if this was said as an insult, or even a personal opinion gone to far, you might want to tell someone of authority, say the principal. Now if you could do it all again, and (just in case it backfired) didn't have anything to do over winter break, you could have told him, "Okay if Hanukkah isn't important, then I will be here on December 25th, and I expect you to be here to teach me, that's your job!" And as far as getting in trouble for talking back, oh well, just threaten to sue the school, people have been sued for religious discrimination, especially coming from a figure of authority.
Also by fat ugly Canadian face I hope you mean that his face is fat and ugly, and by chance he just happens to be Canadian, because just as you were told that Hanukkah is less important, and that upset you, being told that Canadians are all fat and ugly upsets me.

Argh! That's so mean!!! I don't celebrate christmas, and I certainly don't think it's the most importatnt hoilday ever. But if I thought otherwise, I wouldn't say it out loud. That's totally offensive! How rude!!!
Getting pretty angry because I don't celebrate christmas, really. It's called winter break on the caledars, not Chirstmas break. If it was, we wouldn't be getting 11 days off from school. Jeez. Not saying I hate christmas or anything like that.

IMHO moldboy and buffalo are wrong. I mean come on, the teacher blatantly butt into a conversation (which he/she weren't part of) between two friends and then started to single out two students who didn't celebrate christmass. It seems like this teacher had made it their job to annoy you but then again maybe they didn't mean it or it came out wrong. Or maybe they are genuingly predjudice.
I'm sure you know by now that nowhere where in the world you go or whatever race/colour/religion you are there is always someone that seems to hate you based on those criteria, even though they don't even know you.

"The most important holiday?" Now that's not a bigoted remark (N.B. exponential sarcasm). Your teacher only seems to make matters worse when he singles both you and the other out. Have you told him you were offended?

Although it is probably true that the American Public School system was designed to break exclusively for Christmas, seeing as how the majority of Americans are, or at least were, Christians at the time of its establishment. There is no need however for him, as it seems to have effected, attack you. If you are indeed attending American Public School, I don't think he's even allowed to say that. As much as I hate having to analyse everything that escapes my lips anymore to make sure that it's politically correct in today's society, your situation seems to have crossed the line. If you haven't already, I would confront him about this.

That's really racist. It's the 21st Century right now, hello? Maybe you should punch him in the face. Racist people are the most disgusting.