The ham of hate

Lewiston Sun Journal-

One student has been suspended and more disciplinary action could follow a possible hate crime at Lewiston Middle School, Superintendent Leon Levesque said Wednesday.

On April 11, a white student placed a ham steak in a bag on a lunch table where Somali students were eating. Muslims consider pork unclean and offensive.

The act reminded students of a man who threw a pig's head into a Lewiston mosque last summer.

The school incident is being treated seriously as "a hate incident," Levesque said. Lewiston police are investigating, and the Center for the Prevention of Hate Violence is working with the school to create a response plan.

"We've got some work to do to turn this around and bring the school community back together again," Levesque said.

Placing ham where Muslim students were eating was "an awful thing," said Stephen Wessler, executive director of the Center for Prevention of Hate Violence. "It's extraordinarily hurtful and degrading" to Muslims, whose religion prohibits them from being around ham. It's important to respond swiftly, Wessler said.

"Incidents like this that involve degrading language or conduct are often said by the perpetrator as a joke. I know that conduct is never static," he said. "It's part of a process of escalation."

If people think insulting Muslims with ham is OK, "More degrading acts will follow, until at some point we'll end up having violence," Wessler said.

The incident does not reflect the moral values of the school staff and students, Levesque said. "We need to take a look at this and review how a careless act is degrading and causes hurt to other people. All our students should feel welcome and safe in our schools."

He said a letter would be sent home to parents explaining what happened and outlining the school's response. Wessler will meet with students to address the school's climate, and staff will talk about how to respond to and prevent future hate incidents

'I didn't feel safe'

A 14-year-old Somali boy, whose mother asked that his name not be published, said he was eating lunch with four other Somali students on April 11. He noticed many others in the cafeteria "standing up, looking at us."

One boy came near, began laughing and threw a bag on the table while other students laughed and said, 'Good job.'"

"We didn't know what was in this bag," the boy said. "One of my friends reached inside it. It was a big ham steak. There were five of us at the table, all Somali. It was intended for us."

The boy said he looked up at students he thought were his friends. "I felt angered, offended."

He suddenly felt like he was alone. "At the school the next day, I didn't feel safe. I felt like everybody was against me. Before I felt like I fit in, and everything was normal."

He began to think white students didn't like him, and the act was their way of letting him know.

On Thursday, several students came up to him and said, "Those guys who did it were jerks. I apologize for them, and I hope you feel better."

The boy said they did make him feel better. "But for the rest of my life when I remember middle school, this will pop up right away."

He spoke out because he wants the community to know what happened, "that there is something like this going on in our schools."

Wessler and Levesque said the act happened the day before April vacation began, which prevented educators from gathering information.

"This is not done," Wessler said.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/art..._on_lunch.html

Man imagine the worst memory of middle school being the day someone gave you free food.

Its just a different culture, that we do not understand. I know Jews have similar situations with foods they can and cannot eat (remember that episode of Seinfeld when George got mad at Jerry's Jewish girlfriend because she saw him naked (shrinkage), and told his girlfriend. So to pay her back he fixed her Lobster in her eggs the next morning.

I'm not sure the exact date, but for a while Christians (might have been just Catholcis) were not allowed to eat meat on Fridays.

A ham given to a Muslim isn't food to them.
Not only are the prohibited from eating any pork product, they are prohibited even from handling it. It's considered unclean. One may not understand the "why" of it, but the least they can do is respect it.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">" The pig also because it is a splitter of the hoof but there is no cud. It is unclean for you. None of their flesh must you eat and carcass you must not touch. "
Deuteronomy 14:8

"Of their flesh shall ye not eat, and their carcass shall ye not touch, they are unclean to you."
[Leviticus 11:7-8]
</div></div>
(but for some reasons Christians tend to not follow this)

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
The Qur'an prohibits the consumption of pork in no less than 4 different places. It is prohibited in 2:173, 5:3, 6:145 and 16:115.

Forbidden to you (for food) are: dead meat, blood, the flesh of swine, and that on which hath been invoked the name of other than Allah." [Al-Qur'an 5:3]
</div></div>

Note that even some Muslim owned stores do not carry pork products. Even Target will reassign Muslim employees (at their request) to areas where they will not have to come in contact with port (e.g. not scanning bologna for customers).

Ah it was food to the kid that gave it to them. So it was food he gave em. So we should respect the fact they they look down on something I really enjoy. Im a porkaholic bacon, ham, porkchops, neckbones etc. I dont have to respect the fact they consider it unclean.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: MikeJones</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Man imagine the worst memory of middle school being the day someone gave you free food. </div></div>

You'd have to be one really messed up individual to find humor in that statement. You know what? I did. http://smilies.sofrayt.com/%5E/r/sgrin.gif

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: TheDawgs</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: MikeJones</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Man imagine the worst memory of middle school being the day someone gave you free food. </div></div>

You'd have to be one really messed up individual to find humor in that statement. You know what? I did. http://smilies.sofrayt.com/%5E/r/sgrin.gif </div></div>

If your like me you would have probly ate it and been grateful.