Thank you, Diane! I thought perhaps the word was heard at school because I know in my dd's class she watched a movie about a march with Martin Luther King, Jr. where whites were hitting AA's with bats and stuff. I had no clue she was going to watch that movie before hand, and I'm not happy by the things they covered without ME knowing ahead of time. A little prep time for me would have been a nice thing!
I don't know the exact context the boy said the word because my dd was unsure. He was sitting on the inside of the seat and she was on the aisle. He was fighting with the girl across the aisle from my daughter and he said the word, not to my dd. She wasn't sure what exactly was being said, all she knew was he said the word. She doesn't think he was talking to her at all, and she doesn't know if he was calling the other girl that name. I don't think she was giving the arguement her full attention until she heard the word. Apparently this kid swears a LOT on the bus, so who knows what he was thinking.
As far as writing a letter to the parents, my *thoughts* are to let them know that the word was said, and the situation in which it happened, and to *appear* as though I'm sure they are just as shocked as I was. Also, I was going to ask if they could talk to their child and find out why they would use such a horrible word.
I know I won't get anywhere if I put the parents on defense right away, so I'm just going to ASSUME they are as horrified as I am! I also know there are too many people in our community who grew up hearing that word and use it without grasping the significance of what they are saying. When there are only white people in a persons life, for as long as they can remember, there isn't anyone around to be offended when they say the "N" word, so learning the deep feelings doesn't always happen.
I'm not going to jump into this issue without having my thoughts together and some steps prepared. I've learned that being upset and irrate doesn't get me anywhere... I need to kill people with kindness, intelligence, facts, and SUPPORT!
Now... where did JensBoys go?!
