There’s a disturbing story coming out of Point Loma High School right now. Apparently, school officials including Principal Hans Becker have been made aware that there were hate and anti-Semitic messages on an Instagram account linked to a ROTC student at the school.
The hate messages included ” memes of guns and ammunition, talk of a school militia, as well as anti-Semitic and anti-Muslim messages”, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. A photo posted on the Instagram account showed a student wearing a Junior ROTC uniform
The U-T reported:
Screenshots of the Instagram account show posts depicting a swastika and the Dr. Seuss character the Lorax with the quote, “The trees say six million wasn’t enough,” and one saying that America needs to shut down mosques and ban Islam. Another asked Point Loma High students if they “would like to join the militia.”
Point Loma High School Principal Hans Becker said he talked to about 10 students while investigating the hate speech — those who he thought might know something about the account and those who felt they were victims of bullying. He said he quickly identified those involved. He said school police investigated and determined there was no threat to the campus.
In an email sent to parents Monday, Becker said he could not discuss student discipline but urged parents to talk with children about the importance of showing respect to others. “We work hard throughout the year to create a climate where all our students feel welcome,” Becker wrote. “The end of the year is a time to celebrate our common achievements. This is not the time for division.”
Becker plans to work with the Anti-Defamation League over the summer to find way to promote tolerance on campus
San Diego Police Department will post extra officers at Point Loma High School for the remainder of the school year. Becker and others will have discussions with junior ROTC cadets about tolerance and cyberbullying.
The U-T added:
The account, which was created in March, was closed after it was brought it to the attention of school officials, the FBI and the anti-Defamation League of San Diego last weekend. A second, “copycat” account was created by another student this week before it, too, was shut down.
Some Point Loma residents, already on edge after three homes were tagged with swastikas in late May, were alarmed to learn of the accounts, which included memes of guns and ammunition, talk of a school militia, as well as anti-Semitic and anti-Muslim messages.
The troubling social media posts were discovered less than two weeks after retaining walls on three homes on Santa Barbara Street in the Point Loma Heights area were tagged with swastikas drawn in blue chalk.
Police have made no arrests in the case. A school district spokeswoman said the Instagram accounts and vandalism were not thought to be related.
Community members have expressed concerns about the hate messages. At least one student, it was reported, felt intimidated enough to stay home from school. And supposedly, the Instagram account had more than one hundred followers, but not person or not one student came forward to report the hate speech.
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Thank you for shining the light on this evil in our community.
Interesting informational tidbit that relates to this is that all of the shooters have been male, and at least 35% of the mass shooters in this country have been trained by the US military.
https://www.counterpunch.org/2019/06/04/you-can-almost-count-on-each-new-mass-shooter-being-a-veteran/
Those Florida kids that shot up their school recently were trained IN THAT SCHOOL by the US Army to use the weapons they killed their classmates with. They were ROTC cadets. Another fact people don’t want to talk about.
https://www.counterpunch.org/2019/05/13/why-are-these-facts-so-stubbornly-forbidden/
There are a lot of forbidden topics in this country.
sealintheSelkirks
The headline on this article is inaccurate and misleading. Nowhere has it been confirmed that the Instagram account(s) are those of a PLHS JROTC student. The first IG account had a photo of a student in a JROTC uniform…it is not known if that student is even a part of PLHS JROTC. While I can understand how a person could make that assumption, it has not been publicly confirmed. I suggest you change the headline.
The JROTC program at PLHS is a wonderful program that fosters community service, leadership, and self-discipline, not to mention athleticism, academic excellence and teamwork. The young women and men who are part of the program consistently serve their community (particularly other area cluster schools) through many hours of volunteerism. These students should be supported and encouraged, not tainted by inaccurate headlines such as the one above.