No doubt school administrators were trying to protect the student by acting so surreptitiously, but the epithet could be a symptom of something worse that needs to be addressed. Too many people in our society, adults and children alike, believe they are superior to others and can therefore treat them as they like. Those people use their superior attitude to justify and rationalize their ill-treatment of others. Whether it is athletes versus non-athletes, rich versus poor or whites against another minority group, acceptance has yet to become standard operating procedure for most of us. Too many people are in denial that racism still exists.
Racism is completely unacceptable in any form.
The student's father said that treatment of blacks may have improved from outside appearances, but are far from improved on the inside. Unfortunately, this incident brings us back to reality and reminds us that we all have to work harder to erase racism and to bring the wrongful party to justice. The perpetrator needs to be found and pay a severe penalty for his or her crime. Ottawa residents shouldn't tolerate such horrible behavior. People should focus on those traits and qualities that we all share, rather than focusing on our differences, such as race.