Race Cards
I am a student at Thunderbird High School and I am writing in regard to Paul Rubin's article "Pride and Prejudice" in the February 4 issue of New Times. The article shocked and angered not only me, but the staff and students of Thunderbird High School.
I believe some parts of the article are false. For example, the fight between the Anglo students and the Asian students was not a "race riot." It was merely two groups of teenagers that got into a quarrel and were using violence as their way to resolve the matter. Why must you bring up the fact that Loi Nguyen and his friends just happen to be Asian? If it were two groups of Anglo students fighting, I doubt that you would write a seven-page article on it. Yes, I will admit that racial slurs were, in fact, said, but people can say things that they don't necessarily mean.
The way you perceived the staff of T-Bird was appalling. I do understand the inconvenience of Loi being put in the wrong classes because of his learning disability, but you need to realize that there are more than 1,000 students to register and deal with.
I send my regards to Loi Nguyen's family and friends. Loi's death was a terrible tragedy.
I love Thunderbird High School. There are no gangs and hardly any fights. Almost all the students there are respectable teenagers. Remember that.
Jackie Shue
via Internet
I read Paul Rubin's article today and broke out in tears, overwhelmed by my emotions. At this point, I have not composed my thoughts enough to express accurately everything it brought up for me emotionally or intellectually, so I at least want to write and thank you for writing the story, for presenting and reporting it well. As an Asian American who has been here for 28 of my 31 years, it brought me full circle to experiences I had even in preschool and kindergarten. As a mother, who just moved from Chicago and is already wondering about the amount of diversity in this town, and about to send her multi-racial (multi-ethnic, really) child into preschool, it just sends my imagination in all sorts of directions.
Most of all, though, I feel for the family, and want to know if there is anything I can do, where I can send a note, or any organizations that I can support, specifically in the Phoenix area. It was inspiring to read of the devotion and care of a lot of Loi's early teachers. That was reassuring. The lack of feeling on the part of the young Anglo boys says a lot as well as to areas that need to be addressed by all of us in society. Thank you for your writing and the service you provide in informing the community.
Anilyn Fabello
via Internet
In reading your article about the young man who took his own life, I became very angry. It was not because of the young children who teased him, either. My anger came from the fact that his entire family was allowed admittance to this country because the woman had spread her legs and got pregnant by an American soldier.
They come into our country, live here for six years and never bother to learn the language. The clincher is that they are living off of my parents' social security as well as what is supposed to be mine when I get older. What has happened to the old America where we took care of our elderly people? I realize that their daughter works and bought them the house. That was very nice of her. It still doesn't give them the right to dip their hands into something that is not rightfully theirs. They never paid into that fund. How do we change the laws to get rid of loopholes like the one that is allowing things like this to happen? Why don't you do an article on that? As far as the kid's suicide, I can't feel sorry for someone who makes a concise decision to take his/her own life. I don't care how far down you are, if you look, there is someone to talk to.
Mary Curfman
Phoenix
Paul Rubin did an excellent writing job on "Pride and Prejudice." So many [idiots] passed the buck at Thunderbird High School. How do these people become in charge of anything? The one or two good teachers who tried to get Loi Nguyen into the right school program deserve a medal.
Kimberlee Ward
via Internet
I attended Thunderbird High my sophomore year. I am now 20 years old. I am friends with Brandy Walmer, the female mentioned in this story. I am quite upset and bothered by the fact that the Asian kids are being looked at as the fucking victims of this whole ordeal! They came here to learn our language and be more like us. They know it's going to be really tough. That's why you don't see all of us Anglos going over to Asia and trying to make them accommodate our ways of living! If it's that damn hard to learn our system and ways, go home!
