Friday, February 01, 2013

Alabama High School teacher's homophobia and rant against First Lady caught on tape.

Courtesy of Times Daily:

School district officials are investigating allegations that a Lauderdale County High School teacher made slurs in the presence of students regarding first lady Michelle Obama and gays. Superintendent Jennifer Gray confirmed the investigation concerns the school’s head football coach, Bob Grisham, who also teaches driver’s education and psychology. 

The investigation includes a 1-minute, 24-second audiotape of Grisham asking who knows who is behind the 600-calorie school lunch. 

“Fat butt Michelle Obama,” he said. “Look at her. She looks like she weighs 185 or 190. She’s overweight.” 

Male voices interject comments during the discussion, at one point referring to Michelle Obama as a “fat gorilla.” 

Later in the tape, Grisham referred to the U.S. as going in the “wrong direction” and tells the students they can “get pissed off at me or not. You can go tell the principal, call the superintendent and tell her. I don’t believe in queers. I don’t like queers, I don’t hate them as a person, but what they do is wrong and an abomination against God.” The tape was reportedly recorded by a student Monday and took place on school campus during the school day. 

Grisham told the TimesDaily on Wednesday afternoon he misspoke. “I misspoke in a debate-type situation,” he said. “I have no hatred toward anyone or any group. People that know my heart, they know that.” 

Gray said a link to the audio recording was sent to her in an email. “It’s an unfortunate situation, and we hope to clear this up as soon as possible,” Gray said. 

No action has been taken against Grisham by the district’s administration or the school board. He was not at school Wednesday, and Gray said he has family obligations that were expected to keep him out of school the rest of the week.

And this guy made these comments in front of his students?

You know I am usually a huge supporter of teacher, and almost always give them the benefit of the doubt, but fuck this guy. He needs to lose his job and NEVER be around  kids again!

I can only imagine the kinds of things he has said in the past that DIDN'T get recorded.

68 comments:

  1. Anonymous9:39 AM

    “I misspoke in a debate-type situation,”

    -------------

    This guy has potential. He'd fit right in with all those Republican candidates that haven't figured out that their appalling statements need protection from microphones.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous9:58 AM

    One Video Destroys the Republican Myth that Their Opposition to Obama Isn’t Racial

    In this video, the evangelical, Koch-backed, tea party Arkansas state senator Jason Rapert explains why minorities like President Obama don’t represent his America.

    Video:

    While addressing a tea party rally in 2011, Rapert said, “I hear you loud and clear, Barack Obama. You don’t represent the country that I grew up with. And your values is not going to save us. We’re going to take this country back for the Lord. We’re going to try to take this country back for conservatism. And we’re not going to allow minorities to run roughshod over what you people believe in!”

    This is Republican politics in a nutshell. Rapert isn’t some random person at a rally, so the one bad apple theory that conservatives love to use doesn’t apply. This is an elected state senator. His fellow Republicans nominated him for office. Rapert is the perfect embodiment of the three forces that currently make up the base of the Republican Party. He is an evangelical who is backed by the Koch brothers, who is pushing the state’s extreme anti-abortion legislation, who also happens to be filled with anti-immigrant rhetoric.

    Rapert is literally the model Republican. Earlier in the clip, he even mentions Obama hosting a dinner for Muslims at the White House. In a minute and a half, he invoked all of the the guiding principles of today’s Republicans. Rapert also delivered the clearest statement of why so many Republicans oppose this president. It isn’t just because they disagree with his policies. There is a belief among a sizable number within the Republican rank and file that Obama and his minorities are “running roughshod” over what they believe in.

    Of course, what they seem to believe in is a conservative white man in power.

    http://www.politicususa.com/video-destroys-republican-myth-opposition-obama-racial.html

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous10:00 AM

    Game On GOP: Benghazi Hearings Did Not Deter Hillary Clinton from 2016

    Sorry, GOP, it didn’t work. The Benghazi hearings did not serve to deter Hillary Clinton from running for President in 2016.

    The outgoing Secretary of State, who is one of the most popular politicians in America, told the Associated Press in an exclusive interview, “You have to have a thick skin because (politics) is just going to be a contact sport as far as we can look into the future.” The AP wrote that while the Benghazi attack was the low point for her time as Secretary of State, “the furor over the assault would not affect whether she runs for president in 2016.”

    Clinton expounded on the way the Republicans refused to accept facts in the Benghazi hearings to the AP:

    “I was so unhappy with the way that some people refused to accept the facts (regarding Benghazi), refused to accept the findings of an independent Accountability Review Board, politicized everything about this terrible attack. My job is to admit that we have to make improvements and we’re going to.

    There are some people in politics and in the press who can’t be confused by the facts. They just will not live in an evidence-based world. And that’s regrettable. It’s regrettable for our political system and for the people who serve our government in very dangerous, difficult circumstances.”

    Refusing to accept facts (aka, defeat) is what the Republican Party is known for, from climate denying to legitimate rape to falling for their own faked polls. The absurd Benghazi hearings were just another failed effort of a dying party to obstruct and smear the winning party.

    http://www.politicususa.com/gop-fail-benghazi-hearings-deter-hillary-clinton-running-president.html

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous10:03 AM

    Alabama.
    Enough said.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Actually, something like that happened in my daughter's high school government class. She needed to take the class to graduate.

      This was in northern Illinois, in a suburb of Chicago.

      The teacher went on and on and on and on - on various occasions - about how bad Obama was for the country, how McCain should have won, look at the mess the country is in now... and sometimes also slipped racist tomes in, such as "that monkey needed to get back to Africa!"

      She was very upset about it, but we had already had a run-in with the vice-principal regarding her being bullied... so, I picked up the phone and called the School Board president (who used to volunteer a lot with me on sports projects and who I knew on a first-name basis).

      He's no longer with the district... apparently other parents also came forward. Thank God.

      Delete
    2. WTG, KAO. I agree. You have to punch a bully in the nose or they won't stop. Talking that nonsense is disrespectful to the students, and entirely inappropriate.

      Delete
    3. P.S. to the bullying story: I told my daughter, "if this girl bugs you again, I will back you 100%, I will support you every inch of the way, even if you get detention or suspended, but - you MUST get BACK into a bully's FACE. And MEAN IT. The only thing a bully truly understands is a bigger bully."

      One day a few weeks later, the girl taunted her... and my daughter (a very sweet, kind, usually mellow but absolutely full of spice when she needs to be...) just UNLEASHED her INNER BITCH on her.

      She verbally took her apart, right there in the middle of the quad in the school!! The best part? It happened during a passing period, in front of a huge audience - and she didn't use any foul language - and there were people CHEERING HER from the staircase above and throughout the quad!! (and no, it wasn't yells of "cat-fight!!")

      The girl who was taunting her was one of The Mean Girls - her mommy was influential at school (meaning, she whipped out her checkbook a lot) but, then again, so was I... (I volunteered at the school a LOT) and lots of people had many run-ins with her daughter throughout the years.

      I was so proud of her that day for standing up to the bully and putting her in her place. They still hate each other, but there haven't been any problems since.

      Delete
  5. Anonymous10:08 AM

    I live in Alabama and I think this man is a disgrace and should be fired. There are a lot of people here who feel the same as I do. Some are screaming about his right to free speech, but in this setting he does not have the right to spew hate.People like him are what is wrong with the country now. There are a lot of stupid rednecks in the area I live in after all they voted Mo Brooks into office.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Leland2:38 AM

      I don't believe First Amendment rights cover this kind of crap. They should NOT be allowed to spew their personal garbage IN CLASS!

      This THING did not "misspeak". He quite clearly stated exactly what he BELIEVES. Accidentally, perhaps, but he did it.

      This is basically a Pogrom-type thing. Getting the PTB's (Powers That Be) started on cramming stuff like this down our youths' throats is where it begins. Ask Hitler. He and his people (especially Goebbels) were masters at it.

      And this guys teaches Psychology?

      Delete
  6. hedgewytch10:09 AM

    That's the school's PSYCHOLOGIST?!! Truly a WTF moment. But its the South - modus operandi. If he has any kind of accreditation at all, it needs to be revoked. YOU DO NOT preach your personal opinion like that! I am an environmental educator and I have to stop myself all the time from saying, EXXON and BP are EVIL companies. Instead I lay out facts and figures and ask the kids to make their own decisions on whether the actions by those entities would be considered "right".

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No. That's the school's coach. He also teaches driver's ed and teaches a psychology class.

      These are the guys that move up to administration.

      Delete
  7. Anonymous10:11 AM

    And Mr. Grisham I don't like being around ignorant bigotted idiots....

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous10:20 AM

    Misspoke ? No, I'd say he was pretty clear what his feelings were, and communicated those effectively.

    Hopefully, the personal matters that he had planned to do the rest of the week include seeking a Driver's Ed position outside the public school system.

    The superintendent's reaction did not seem to be one of disgust, pending severe sanctions against the coach/lecturer. His team must've had a winning record, which is too often considered more important than his shortcomings as an educational professional. By the way, this isn't a free speech matter. This is an ethical matter and possibly a situation where the man's bigotry would prevent him from compliance with policies agreed upon by the local school district, State of AL, and the US Dept of Education. People must be accountable and orcs and entities must hold their employees accountable.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:34 AM

      Interesting that he said he "misspoke" and then that he was speaking in a "debate-like" situation. Hmmm. I think he's just trying to cover up what cannot be covered up. I'm glad someone was smart enough to record what he said. I bet kids have been subjected to his ignorant rants for years. Not the kind of person anyone should want teaching or coaching.
      Beaglemom

      Delete
    2. hedgewytch1:02 PM

      You are never going to get Orcs to hold their employees accountable. ;-)

      Delete
    3. Anonymous5:26 PM

      Ouch, hedge gal. I think i meant to type orgs. I never know what auto correct is going to change it to. I thought I was typing in a "debate-like situation" and mistyped. =). I guess I need a couple of days to smooth it over with my family.

      Delete
  9. Jesus wept.

    And anyone who has an ounce of compassion or wisdom.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous10:32 AM

    whaddya wanna bet he's got an underage high school girlfriend on the side too ?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And when he knocks up one of his students, he'll say he 'mis-poked', and take a couple of days off to handle family matters, just like Creepy Chuckie, Jr.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:11 AM

      I'll bet that "fat Michelle" can beat this 'good christian bagger' doing pushups two-to-one. This sanctimonious, self-righteous, hypocritical asshole shouldn't be in front of a group of young people. Mis-spoke, my ass. Got caught speaking his narrow, bigoted mind is more like it.

      We can't prevent people from being ignorant bigots, but we sure as hell shouldn't hire them and pay them with public funds. This is infuriating.

      Delete
  11. Anonymous10:32 AM

    ome are screaming about his right to free speech, but in this setting he does not have the right to spew hate.People like him are what is wrong with the country now. There are a lot of stupid rednecks in the area I live in after all they voted Mo Brooks into office. The religious among them are the first to draw the parallel to apes. I saw a video the other day where Barack leaned over to give Michelle a kiss. Her head didn't really move but her lips started to head in his direction and they just kept going and going. They must have travelled a good six inches out from her face. This has nothing at all to do with apes, it's just something to do with her personally. It doesn't mean she isn't beautiful to others of her race. Just not my cup of tea.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Her lips traveled out a good six inches from her face? Oh, please! You didn't think you could sneak that one under the radar, did you?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:23 AM

      People who claim to be Religious you mean. People who are true Christians do not in any way agree with this type of stupidity. As far as Michelle Obama not being your cup of tea that is your right, but if you are teaching my child you need to keep your opinion out of the class room. You are not being paid to teach my child hate.

      Delete
    3. jcinco2:23 PM

      hey sarah, go wash your hair.and do something about those batwings you call upper arms...

      Delete
  12. Anonymous10:37 AM

    It's very unfair to pick up on Michelle's large behind. Like other women of her race, it gets large in middle age because it's part of their race's makeup. It's a fat reserve that was necessary to a people who couldn't always rely on a daily source of food. Not unlike the Polynesians or certain native indians. There's no need to hide it or be ashamed of it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Or white women with large behinds. It's more than a racial characteristic. It's an individual one.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:10 AM

      Having a nice butt and hips is feminine and should be celebrated. Most men like women with hips and butts.

      Delete
    3. angela11:20 AM

      I think you're trying to help . . . .but.

      Mrs. Obama does NOT have a large behind. She has an behind that is appropriate for her height, weight and familial DNA. I come from a family of flat assed black women--so the race thing isn't necessarily so.

      But It wouldn't have mattered if Michelle Obama weighed eighty-five pounds. And by the way, she is an amazing looking woman and the most buff FLOTUS we have ever had--- She's black and that is the asshole and his compatriots problem.

      Believe me--if she was a tall blue eyed blond with THAT ass they'd lick the television every time they saw her.

      Delete
    4. My great grandmother was full-blooded Comanche, so I'm blessed to be a rare whooty :P I'm very proud of my butt! It's crazy to call First Lady Michelle fat/overweight, she's obviously ridiculously fit and I bet she could run laps around this guy! :)

      Delete
    5. Anonymous11:26 AM

      Michelle´s figure is to die for.

      I´m curious.

      How do you explain Bristol´s fat ass? Or RAM´s?

      Delete
    6. Anonymous12:06 PM

      Ya, man, I know your type.

      You prefer women with twelve-year-old boy butts.

      Because you like twelve-year-old....

      BTW, physical characteristics are mostly determined by sexual selection - not environment or food supply or anything else, dumbass.

      Delete
    7. DetroitSam10:49 PM

      I have seen hundreds of photos of Mrs. Obama and for the life of me can't see the "fat butt". She is in good shape, in good health and anyone who thinks of her as fat needs eyeglasses.

      Delete
  13. He teaches psychology? Holy crap!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anonymous10:47 AM

    The school's head football coach.( I'd be surprised if he wasn't.) Also teaches driver's ed and psychology. What the hell? Psychology? Surely you jest. What college did he attend? Who gave this creepy, ignorant, illiterate, hideous, little man a degree?

    How can anybody that uses the word ain't call himself a teacher of anything?

    And who is it again that pays this babbling idiot's wages?


    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous7:23 PM

      In many High Schools if the coach doesn't teach PE, he teaches the "odds and ends" classes. I doubt this guy took any more psychology than the three classes required for a teaching degree.

      Elizabeth 44

      Delete
  15. Anonymous10:51 AM

    What a disgusting coward. He's fine with someone telling the principle, but when someone actually does, he claims he "misspoke"???????????????

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous10:52 AM

    Hate speech is free speech? We'll see what Alabama supports when their feet are held to the fire and their actions are viewed under a microscope. It's 2013, people. This is unacceptable in a polite society of intelligent people. For this to be recorded in a school. But u wouldn't be surprised to see them do a witch hunt for the 'snitch', and begin a new 'safety policy' disallowing all recording devices from campus.

    I've seen this happen too much where the whistle- blower is persecuted or shunned, because "he's a good coach and he took us to the state semis last year." ignorance, bigotry, religious zealotry, low-intelligence, lack of awareness and empathy, etc--- the layers of these problems are wrapped around one another like an onion as you peel one layer after another. In the core, you have hate. Everything grows outward from that. There's your dose of day-to-day reality with the Tea-Bircher crowd. And they want nothing more than to take us all back to the time when these ignorant rants like his were not only popular opinion by the majority, but they were also reflected in public policies and laws that promoted discrimination. This us sickening. I grew up hearing shit like this from a handful of people that I had the sense never to have any respect for. But it's obvious all of those like-minded haven't died off yet. And they won't if this crap is not admonished and stomped out of existence.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Anonymous10:56 AM

    Mr. Grisham:
    From the picture above, you had better take a very close look at yourself. You have a pretty sizable double chin there and you look as if you may have a sizable beer belly to go with it. Check yourself out first, before saying very nasty things about others..
    also: if you lose your cushy job as a Teacher, you may find yourself working like other people,No all summer off,or hollidays off during the school year, and you may not have such a good medical plan availble.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Leland2:51 AM

      10:56, I would like to take exception to your last paragraph. Have you ANY idea what most teachers do during the "all summer off"? They take courses to keep up with the ever-changing requirements of the school systems they work for or to improve their qualifications so they can advance a little more quickly toward a higher level of degree and thus do a better job of doing their jobs, i.e., TEACHING OUR CHILDREN!

      You have fallen into the same trap a lot of people have - you have listened to the Repubes who scream that the troubles with our schools lie with the teachers.

      A question for you: How much better off would our schools be if our non-teaching school employees - like district superintendents?weren't paid six figure+ salaries?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous2:14 PM

      Leland:
      Sorry Leland, I do not absorb what the Repub's broadcast. I think. observe and decide for my self. Always have and always will.I am a die hard, liberal. Now for the Teachers you are so sorry for. They work a total of around 182 days a year,pretty cushie I'd say. Besides the teachers I know, Live at the Lake, not a cabin, but a home, males guide in the summer
      and others travel.In our district, they have Teachers aides to help with grading ect.No more recess duty for them, no more hall monitoring..They don't work shift work, nor do they work in the cold or heat. They do not rotate hollidays.
      Your argument fell flat with me Leland.

      Delete
  18. Why would anyone call Michelle Obama "fat"?? All the Obama family members are extremely tall and thin. This man is inventing his own false reality!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Perception in the alternate reality bubble can be distorted. Like, a lot! And, none of those facts with their librul-leaning bias.

      Delete
  19. Anonymous11:08 AM

    Kinda O/T: But Tennessee is at it again:

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/31/gay-dog-euthanized-tennessee_n_2590537.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular

    ReplyDelete
  20. Anonymous11:12 AM

    Why wasn't the asshole fired immediately? They have his voice on tape - perhaps they need verification it is him? He should not be teaching ANYONE!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous5:35 PM

      Due process. Then fire his sorry ass.

      Delete
  21. Anonymous11:17 AM

    He doesn't like women with natural curvy bodies that God meant for them to have, and he don't like gays. What a despicable cretin.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Anonymous11:20 AM

    Our FL Michelle is VERY fit, has that fool seen her awesome arms? Apparently not.

    ReplyDelete
  23. This teacher obviously likes his women skinny and frail enough for him to feel masculine around them. How does it feel knowing the First Lady can beat you in a race, push-up contest, and probably any other physical test of mettle? lol

    ReplyDelete
  24. Anonymous11:27 AM

    This is easy.

    He is a bigot.

    And got caught on tape.

    Fire him.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:05 PM

      I mis spoke = I didn't know I was being taped

      Delete
  25. Anonymous11:31 AM

    Alabama.....the state that ranks as one of the least educated, and one of the highest in obesity.

    This inbred goes on to state he has no hatred in his heart. As someone that was facinated by my Abnormal Psychology class, I can fully understand how he rationalizes that statement. You really cannot hate that which you view as less than human.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Anonymous11:45 AM

    O/T: But Tennessee strikes again. first a man tries to put down a 'gay' dog and now a state representative tells a constituent that she needs therapy because she emailed him telling him he needs to be more compassionate.

    http://wonkette.com/499476/tennessee-homophobe-and-new-wonket-coverboy-stacey-campfield-is-a-real-weird-guy

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous5:38 PM

      Campfire = closet case. Don't look at me. Lookie at them over thar.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous5:40 PM

      Campfield.

      Delete
  27. Anonymous11:49 AM

    I agree he should be fired and never allowed to teach again - but it happend Alabama - so he will probably get a promotion, a raise, and be invited to dinner at the the parent's homes.

    ReplyDelete
  28. I’ve put up with dumb blonde jokes, and a dear friend had to put up with Polish jokes, but they were never so mean! This is plain viciousness.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Anonymous11:58 AM

    and this guy teaches Psychology?!

    ReplyDelete
  30. Anonymous12:04 PM

    Excuse my language Gryphen, but this guy is an effin' asshole and so are the students that called the first lady a big fat gorilla. They are so damn dumb, they wouldn't be able to find their way our of a paper bag. Effin' low life assholes!

    ReplyDelete
  31. Anonymous12:16 PM

    Know your enemy. These shitheels are ignorant. They believe gayness to be a dangerous act and may be rooted in their faulty understanding of HIV and AIDS.
    They are told and believe that it is virtually—not completely, but virtually—impossible to contract AIDS through heterosexual sex. They believe most people realize that AIDS came from the homosexual community—it was one guy screwing a monkey and then having sex with men. They ¨think" it was an airline pilot.

    Fucking airline pilots and their monkey fucking!

    Seriously, what possible line of logic could have led someone to conclude that the first case of HIV was caused by someone getting buttsexed by an ape out in the jungle?

    I guarantee you Bob Grisham believes shit like this.


    ReplyDelete
  32. Anonymous12:41 PM

    I had something similar happen at my local college very recently. I was in a speech fundamentals class and during 4 or the 7 classes we met, the professor went on and on about the President. I was embarrassed for him. The rhetoric was nasty and inaccurate but that didn't stop him from polluting a classroom I paid to attend.

    Three other students (rightwing authoritarian types) agreed with him and made the learning environment hostile. After the fourth time, I lost it and spoke out in class.

    The professor, Mike was so nasty about it, he began to yell at me in front of the class but after class several people came up to me to thank me for speaking out.

    That night, I went home and called the Dean in charge of him. I ended up meeting with the Dean and he was appalled. The Dean told me there is no such thing as First Amendment rights in front of a class and in fact, at Moraine, they are not allowed to even wear a political button on their clothing let alone tell us their politics.

    I removed myself from his class that day and ended up taking the class with another professor who wasn't so nasty. My understanding is he was reprimanded by the Dean. Other professors now tell me he should have been fired as he was reprimanded before about the same issue.

    keep your politics out of the classroom and you won't get your tit in a wringer!

    ReplyDelete
  33. Anonymous1:06 PM

    This guy and most of his students are destined to spend their lives in Alabama. That is punishment enough.

    ReplyDelete
  34. Anonymous1:53 PM

    Fox will give him a job..They love this shit...

    ReplyDelete
  35. Anonymous2:05 PM

    This mysogenistic, homophobic racist needs to find his sorry ass on the unemployment line by next week!

    Is there a way to for people to contact this Board of Education and call for his immediate release from his job?

    ReplyDelete
  36. WakeUpAmerica4:43 PM

    Chilling that he is a psychology teacher. He sounds like a backwoods hillbilly. I can almost picture the rotted and missing teeth.

    ReplyDelete
  37. linda7:37 PM

    in 1969 i had an algebra II teacher in high school who was a born again christian and spent a lot of time proselytizing to us in class. i went to a fundamentalist church and i already heard way too much of that BS at home and at church. i could not stand this guy -- he was also sexist and had conservative political views which he shared. sometimes he spent more time talking about his opinions than about algebra. i started out with an A in his class and eventually wound up with a D the last semester. i hated his voice so much that i just zoned out and looked out the window at the football field at a gym class that was sometimes out there. i still remember this. i graduated in the top 10% of my class and never had anything but As and Bs except for that class. back then you couldn't complain about this stuff in a small town. my own parents would have thought he was doing a great job. i attribute my life long math phobia to him. teachers like the one in this article have no idea what a rant like this will do to a kid. he should be fired!

    ReplyDelete
  38. Anita Winecooler9:36 PM

    Why, Golllllllyyyy!!! What he said was lower than a tick on a weasel's belly!

    "Pumpkin" is a verb in his neck of the woods, just ask his broth.... daddy!

    Teh stoopid needs to be chargerged with child abuse. That way, he won't be allowed to teach, ever!

    When will it end?

    ReplyDelete
  39. Anonymous10:25 PM

    What is so ironic about this, is that the First Lady could have this dipshit pinned to the ground and crying for his momma, in around 12 seconds.

    ReplyDelete

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