Horrible day at the office (Eng/Kor)

Posted: 2002/12/09  By: jade (Views:4163)

Please forgive this whining ...but....

Today I was teaching my 3rd year junior high students and one of my more smartass students
started waving a post card. Now this kid is a pain in the ass most of the time. I figured it
was one of the pop star divas they have plastered all over their desks. As usual I made him
give it to me and on the front was the most horrific, gory, obscene picture of the young girls
killed in the accident we have been talking about so much. Now to be honest it was a
pre-printed postcard to GW.

What I didn't expect was my visceral reaction. This was not one of those fuzzy pics you can
see. It was complete with intestines, blood and visable blood and gore in perfect focus. I was
appalled. Several of my students had them and waited in silence as I looked at this picture.

I told them the following: (with the help of Korean Teacher) I am NOT GEORGE BUSH. I am NOT
the Army. I understand your anger so send the card to George Bush but DO NOT wave it in my
face. I am glad you are thinking about something besides computer games. Then since the
postcards did not include the zipcode of the White House I left the room and got it for them.

What surprised me was the reaction of the students. Mind you the 3rd year students are my
most difficult they haven't had much English like the younger boys and are often difficult and
I cannot joke or tease them like the younger boys. To quote an earlier poster I had to be the
UBER-bitch just to maintain control of the class.

When they saw how upset the pictures made me. How sad they made me when they saw my tears
they were shocked into silence and then chastised the boys waving them at me. The boys started
speaking very frantically to the Korean teacher. Another note, for all intents and purposes for
these boys  school year is over. They could have been complete and total bastards if they
wanted to be. But, surprisingly they were very apologetic. They soundly bitched out the
students who were waving the cards and kept saying over and over to the Korean Teacher that
they knew it wasn't my fault.

While I am not proud of my reaction. Believe me unless you are a monster there is no way you
could not be affected by these gruesome pictures. But I think it was good for them to see what
can happen when you blindly follow the pack. People are hurt. Not nameless faceless people but
actual people. They were honestly shocked that I was so visably upset.

I am disgusted at whoever printed these postcards. Good Lord where is your sense of decency?
Mind you I have seen accident scene pictures equally as moving that did not include oozing
intestines and bone matter. Is there no respect for the dead? No respect for these poor dead
girls. They are now being used to bait and annoy a teacher. How proud you who printed them must
be. Are they hunting trophies? What sick, deviant minds put this crap together.

In June of 2000 there was a knife murder of US Army Doctor (Maj.) David Barry in a shopping
district in Seoul. He had a family too and children. Where were the apologies from the Korean
Government? Not much outrage over that huh?

Maybe I should I start wearing a t-shirt with his lifeless body on it? Should I send pictures
to the Korean President? Should I insist the killer(s) be turned over to the US Goverment
immediately? Should I spit on every Korean or Asian looking person I see in the U.S. and scream
"Fucking Korea"? Should I tell my friends in California to post "No Koreans welcome here" on
their store windows?

I saw this quote and it is succient and very true.  Even God cannot change the
past."--Agathon  

NOTHING ABSOLUTELY NOTHING can bring those poor girls back to life. Not racism, Not Hatred,
Not protests! What we can do is try to make sure this can never happen again. What we could do
is start a fund for the families who lost their loved ones. But promoting hatred and anger is
doing nothing but making people defensive and hurt. No one will win...no one.

Jade