The reemergence of casual racism as a commonplace behavior —after decades during which open displays of bigotry were considered not only socially unacceptable but actually led to serious consequences like ostracism and reduced employability — is one of the most disturbing symptoms of the societal virus that infected our country with the election of Donald Trump.
Those symptoms were on full display at Wisconsin’s Baraboo High School this weekend, when a bunch of seniors from the school posed for a group photo while giving a Nazi salute, which one of them then posted on Twitter to share their offensive gesture with the world.
The tweet has since been deleted after the post gained attention for its racist display of both the “Sieg Heil” salute and the white-power “OK” hand gesture a senior in the front row of the photo portrays but was apparently taken by a parent of one of the boys in the photo at a prom.
Jules Suzdaltsev of The Young Turks investigated the background behind the photo and found some disturbing news about the environment at the school. After requesting that someone at the school explain how such a shot could eve be taken he was deluged with tweets from Baraboo students who described a culture where racism was openly displayed and rarely punished.
I am being flooded with messages from students of this school about some of the guys in the group photo.
It sounds like there is a lot of racist bullying and the school tends to do nothing about it. pic.twitter.com/yvPZWI196A
— Jules Suzdaltsev (@jules_su) November 12, 2018
Sounds like racism is not uncommon at this school. pic.twitter.com/WJ9yuEVV8J
— Jules Suzdaltsev (@jules_su) November 12, 2018
Not every boy in the photo willingly participated in the heinous salute. Suzdaltsev heard from Jordan Blue, a student who refused to raise his hand for the photo.
I spoke with the only student who is visibly not comfortable with the “salute”, he provided this statement. pic.twitter.com/HbNBc8xLOK
— Jules Suzdaltsev (@jules_su) November 12, 2018
Blue may wind up being the only one of those students who doesn’t have trouble finding a job or getting into college as a result of the negative publicity around the incident.
School officials condemned the photo with this statement:
The Baraboo School District sent the following letter to parents this morning in response to a photo circulating on social media. We are launching an investigation, and as such, are unable to provide additional details at this time. pic.twitter.com/oRxcl82lJT
— Baraboo Schools (@barabooSD) November 12, 2018
Emphasizing how seriously they take the matter, the school has enlisted the local police to help investigate the circumstances around the taking of the picture.
The Baraboo Police Department is aware of a controversial photo of a group of high school students that has been posted to social media. Officers are assisting the Baraboo School District with their investigation into this matter.
— Baraboo PD (@BarabooPD) November 12, 2018
While the entire incident is symptomatic of the Trump-inspired rebirth of racism, it is good to know that at least a majority of the population is still horrified and disgusted by actions such as these. Let’s make sure not to lose our sense of outrage at situations like this and make sure that we roundly condemn them when they occur, otherwise we risk slipping back into the dark ages without a fight.
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Original reporting by Jules Suzdaltsev at The Young Turks.