Syracuse school employees suspended over No Lives Matter Halloween shirts with photos of fictional serial killers Michael Myers and Jason underneath.
A case of just being tone deaf and tasteless or purposefully inciting?
Two Syracuse upstate NY school employees have been placed on administrative leave after wearing t-shirts with the phrase ‘No Lives Matter’ as part of Halloween costumes.
According to Syracuse.com, two women were photographed wearing the shirts which included the phrase as well as horror movie icons, Jason Vorhees and Michael Myers. The women appear to be in a classroom in the photo.
The women, whose names and schools were not released, were suspended pending an investigation after the photo was shared on social media.
The school district condemned the shirts as ‘racist, insulting and offensive.’
‘We believe Black Lives Matter in the Syracuse City School District,’ the district said in a statement. ‘The ‘costumes’ are racist, insulting and offensive and not consistent with our core beliefs and values. We hold our employees to a higher standard and expect them to model appropriate behavior for our students.’
Then again perhaps as educators and the current political climate, the employees should have been aware what they were potentially risking in a charged polarized divisive national state of affairs where comments, guise or sentiments carry seemingly charged rhetorical overtones… and consequences.
