Hartford High School Principal Nelson Fogg’s office sent out an email to parents reporting a type of “hate” crime had been committed off campus affecting a Hartford High School student. We don’t know who, what, when, where or why because the report was deliberately vague stating:
“We were made aware of a concerning incident that happened to one of our students. The incident was hateful and racially motivated. This did not happen on school grounds or during the school day, but as a school district, we will not tolerate or ignore threats to members of our community and we condemn all forms of racism.”
Per the suggestion in the email, we reached out to Hartford’s new Equity Coordinator Maggie Ibrahim at ibrahimm@hartfordschools.net for comment and clarification and have yet to hear back.
A few questions immediately come to mind given the nature of the incident and the new role taken on by Miss Ibrahim.
At the risk of sounding incredulous, the problem with this type of report is both the lack of detail and the now lengthy list of hoax self-hate crimes the likes of Jussie Smollett. One might even recall Dwight Walker, a gay pastor, who set his own car on fire to curry political support. In a moment of honesty, Walker said he “wanted people to see him as a victim”, only he was also the perpetrator. He faced felony arson, lying, and fraud charges as a result.
It would be nice if this were a rarity but the number of hoaxes hate crimes (178 since 2001) compared to known hate groups in Vermont (2) gives one pause. The timing of the incident is also suspicious given the school sent out another email later that week announcing a “Day of Racial Equity” field trip occurring next week (9/30).
Nobody wants to doubt these claims but the lack of transparency given the history of these types of incidents leaves the serious investigator no choice. Who was involved? When did it happen and where? What was said or done? How do we know it was racially motivated?
I come from a neighborhood in a city almost famous for its hatefulness – southeast Portland, Oregon. We had skinheads, Aryan nations, then the Crips, Bloods, Asian gangs, Hell’s Angels, and Tanya Harding. We can hate with the best of them. Now, supreme among them is Antifa who have made themselves masters of hate masquerading as “anti” hate. My favorite was the time they tear-gassed, pepper sprayed, and assaulted children who were with their families for a prayer vigil in Waterfront Park. Because what could possibly be more fascist than praying with your kids?
If this incident is real, and until we get the full story we can’t know for sure; it absolutely should be condemned. However, the vagueness of the report disallows people to give it the necessary vitriol and rebuke any racially motivated act of hate deserves. Whoever was targeted should feel supported and unafraid of shedding light on the who, what, when, where, why, and how? I can think of no other town in Vermont than Hartford that would quickly rise to defend anyone, especially a “marginalized’ person from any act of racial hatred. They don’t just lean left, they live it. This is why this report needs to be transparent for all to get behind the victim if in fact there is an actual victim.
If the school or town refuses to shed the necessary light, then the opportunity to drive another nail in the anti-hate coffin will be missed thanks to the false altar upon which the hate hoaxes have been committed over the years.
The second question of Miss Ibrahim’s position arises wondering what exactly is an Equity Coordinator? How does one coordinate equity among Hartford High School students and faculty? Was this taxpayer paid position requested by the town, and, if not, then by whom and why?
Very little can be found on the Hartford page link to her role and bio (which you can find here). What can be found are the following statement and a list of definitions for the terms listed.
Anti-Racism Statement:
“The School District of the Town of Hartford rejects all forms of racism. Racism in any form will not be tolerated in this school. Hartford Schools are committed to the mission of increasing cultural respect by cultivating a greater understanding of concepts of diversity, inclusion, equity, implicit bias, white privilege, white supremacy, and systemic racism.”
Finally, the arbiters of designating hate groups remain the Southern Poverty Law Center who has added a “hate map” to its site. Out of all of the United States Vermont has by far the least in all of New England with two. The first is the Patriot Front which finds its base in Texas, the second is a neo-Nazi group called the Nationalist Social Club, which is ironic given NAZI stands for National Socialists. Hitler, though anti-communist, actually favored the racist teachings and gnostic program thought up by socialism’s crown prince Karl Marx.
Vermont’s proud tradition of being the first state in the union to abolish slavery in 1777 to its credit, remains a decidedly anti-hateful place to develop a hate group since only two claim residency here. However, the number of hate crimes reported in Vermont (138) is nearly triple that in New Hampshire (48) which has twice our population. Which begs the question, how is Vermont, the bluest state in the U.S., three times as hateful as New Hampshire, a historically red state?
A brief history lesson on the US government’s historical fight against racism and hate crimes goes back to Ulysses S. Grant, a Republican, who fought bravely after replacing the deceased Abraham Lincoln. Among Grant’s many battles was against the lynching of both black and white Americans who were targeted for their stand against racism. Over 1,000 Republicans were lynched during his term in office, though Grant’s efforts brought the extremist Democrat-sponsored Ku Klux Klan and their terrorism in the north to a screeching halt while he remained in office.
I wonder if they’re teaching that at Hartford High School.
