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’11-13 More Gay Kids Need To Die’ Teacher Cleared of Wrongdoing. WRONG!

Posted by on Oct 28, 2011 in Oh Hell No! | 11 comments

Joplin, Missouri teacher Jim Whitney’s homophobic comments on Facebook to a former student suggesting that 11-13 more gay students need to die before he would take the issue seriously (or “somewhere in that vicinity”) rightfully sparked outrage among many of our readers.

Well, we’re about to piss you off all over again. Whitney has been cleared of any and all wrongdoing.

We’ve investigated and found no wrong-doing on the part of the teacher.”

Joplin Superintendent Doctor CJ Huff tells News Talk KZRG complaints were made about things high school math teacher Jim Whitney allegedly posted on Facebook. But apparently Whitney’s Facebook account was hacked.

“It’s unfortunate when you’re dealing with social media and dealing with technology and the potential for people to get on to other people’s accounts and say things that shouldn’t be said.”

Huff says the Joplin School Board was made aware of the situation at Tuesday’s board meeting and no action was taken.

Deep breaths…

In a word, NO. Was the school superintendent somehow unaware that Whitney had already released a statement to a local newspaper about the incident following the story exploding across social media? Whitney’s original, pre-school board hearing statement read:

“I do not condone bullying or harassment of any kind and I am very aware and saddened by the negative impact this type of behavior creates. I regret that the posts appeared on Facebook. They do not reflect my personal views and I apologize for any and all offenses caused by the comment.”

At no point did Whitney say he had been hacked. He expressed REGRET for posting the remarks on Facebook. And he apologized for the comments, albeit in a totally cowardly “I’m sorry if and only if you were offended by what I did” type of way.

If Whitney had been hacked, his original statement to the media would have simply read: I have been hacked. Further, Facebook should be able to verify if his account’s security had been compromised, especially in light of the social media giant’s recently launched anti-bullying effort.

Let’s call a spade a spade here. Whitney made homophobic and incredibly insensitive comments about student suicide to a former student on Facebook, apologized only after the story became a media sensation, and has been spared any disciplinary action by his employers – an organization responsible for the safety and wellbeing of children – because Joplin, Missouri doesn’t give a rat’s ass about gay teens killing themselves.

Shame on Jim Whitney and Superintendent Doctor CJ Huff.

Do you believe Whitney was hacked?