No beating around the bush.

Last Saturday, a high school math teacher named Truman Buffett posted an online video that threw a Seattle private school into a panic. The video accuses administrators at the Bush School, a K–12 school with 560 students, of being more lenient toward students whose parents make significant donations.

Case in point: a racially charged letter, circulated in January 2010 by a senior student whose friends are known around the school as the “real rich boys crew.” It was a fake acceptance letter from Harvard University that began: “I hope you is as excited to read dis’ as I is to write it!… We know dat you ain’t the brightest kid on the block, but you ‘sho is tha coolest… You have to earn your keep and get grades or we’ll kick your itch ass out on the cold ass mutha fuckin street nigga, naked, let your white ass get did from behind!” (The full letter is posted here.) The administration’s decision to not punish the student who allegedly wrote the letter, Buffett says, contributed to Buffett’s eventual departure from the Bush School.

Over time, the real rich boys crew had “gotten the message from the administration that there really was nothing that they could do that was ever going to get them in any sort of real trouble,” Buffett says. “There was a pattern on the part of the administration to turn a blind eye.”

Buffett no longer works at the Bush School. In March of last year, he and head of school Frank Magusin had a conversation about renewing Buffett’s contract. “It was pretty mutual,” Buffett says, “in that I’d already given him a letter saying, in effect, if I can’t feel better about this administration, I have no intention of returning.” His contract was not renewed.

Buffett says he decided to finally tell this story when a current Bush student approached him for an interview as part of a student project called the “Big Broadcast”—24 hours of student-generated content. But when school administrators learned about the student’s story, he says, they threatened to pull the plug on the entire Big Broadcast project. So Buffett made a video of his own.

“There is no disagreement between faculty and administration about what this letter is,” Buffett says. There is also no disagreement about who wrote it; the student signed his name to it and was, Buffett says, “unrepentant.”

The faculty unanimously called for the student’s suspension in winter, Buffett says, and the school deans recommended that the student be suspended for three days. Jack McHenry, upper school director, called a meeting and assured the faculty that the student would be “held accountable,” Buffett says.

But McHenry called another faculty meeting, where he reportedly announced that “the school’s response would be nothing,” according to Buffett. No suspension, no written explanation, nothing.

“We spent time as a faculty during that meeting discussing the family’s wealth,” Buffett recounts. “We spent time discussing the student’s father’s considerable influence… What none of us heard during that meeting was any sort of moral or ethical justification for this idea of throwing out all of the disciplinary action that we had decided was the right thing to do.”

Bush School administrators—including McHenry and head of school Magusin—refused to comment for this story, and communications director Maia Kaz said the Bush School has no comment on the matter.

But to former students who spoke to The Stranger say they aren’t surprised by Buffett’s story and that wealth-based favoritism was not unusual. (It has also been written about before, including a 2007 story in The Stranger.) Lucas Epling, who graduated from the school in 2008, says “there was a very clear separation” between students based on wealth.

“The school wants to make money,” Epling says. “If they had a problem with a student who was a big donor, as opposed to a student whose family wasn’t a big donor, they’d side more with the big donor. Any business would, because they’re a business.”

Is there a culture of racism at the Bush School? “Maybe the students aren’t outright racist,” Epling says, “but they weren’t informed.”

Tuition for the 2010–2011 school year was $19,315 for kindergarten to second grades and $25,760 for 9th to 12th grades. And according to the school’s 2009 tax filing, donations fell by $2 million (from $3,851,361 to $1,851,972). The Bush School, like nonprofits everywhere, is scrambling to keep its donations coming.

DJ Johnson, who also graduated in 2008, agreed. “I was the only African American guy in the high school, and I definitely felt cornered and awkward,” he says. “I was expected to speak for the whole community constantly.” Other students, he said, “made constant racial jokes, used the n-word—tons of people did. They see some black guy and say he was a gangster, instantly profile them as something negative. There was a Hispanic student, and if something went missing, they’d always blame him for stealing it.”

There was a “rich white guy crew” when Johnson was in school as well: “Lots of kids were baffled by how these not-so-great students ended up at great colleges. And a lot of those kids were wealthier. There was so much favoritism that it was really hard for some students.”

Buffett’s experiences with racism at schools are painful and personal. His older, adopted sister, Vera, was African American and routinely suffered racial harassment at her middle school in Wisconsin. “We saw people at the schools that we were a part of tolerate this, not understand that this was a big deal, not take it seriously.” One Friday afternoon in 1983, Vera left school, went home, and hanged herself.

“Bad behavior or bullying or harassment is going to prompt the administration to check the ledger books and see what sort of donations have been made by a family before they decide whether or not they’re going to act?” Buffett says. “They’re giving a how-to guide on privilege—a how-to guide on how to move through the world with money and do what you want.” recommended

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Brend an Kiley has worked as a child actor in New Orleans, as a member of the junior press corps at the 1988 Republican National Convention, and, for one happy April, as a bootlegger’s assistant in Nicaragua....

106 replies on “The Real Rich Boy’s Crew”

  1. Mr. Kiley: here are excerpts from other comments on the articles related to this issue. They will show that you clearly have not read the comments since they disprove your claim that “nobody is arguing with the relevant facts and assertions”

    First, the letter. From LJM, comment 21 on “The Controversial Bush School Letter”: Look, it’s not a cool joke. It’s stupid. But it’s business as usual at schools. Stupid kids do stupid things and stupid administrators react stupidly. This happens every day all over the state, all over the country.
    From BushStuden1, comment 73 on the same article: Having had a chance to read the letter, we can all agree that the content is very offensive. That said, my point earlier was that, contrary to Truman’s account, last year very few people actually saw this letter, it was a little joke among the students that wrote it, until the faculty picked it up.
    From BushSchoolStudent1234, comment 21 on this article: “…[T]he Stranger has blown this letter COMPLETELY out of proportion. ONE stupid joke from ONE stupid senior at the Bush School DOES NOT reflect the views of the entire community. To come out and blatantly call our school racist is not only unfair, it’s simply stupid.
    From Seattle4Life, comment 123 on “Math Teacher Explains Why…”: Yes, there was a letter mistakenly circulated around the school that was inappropriate and offensive, but honestly it was a horribly misguided attempt at humor.
    Every comment is in unison on two details: 1. the letter was in terrible taste; 2. You have blown it completely out of proportion.

    Second, the administration’s decision. From TheTruthAboutTruman, comment 59 on “The Controversial Bush School Letter”: It is still unknown who wrote the letter, and even whether or not this person is/was a member of the Bush community. Therefore no punishment was given. A three-day suspension for the recipient, as I understand it, seemed too harsh to the administration for simply finding this letter funny. Further, while the recipient was involved with “circulating” the letter, it was not to the extent noted in Truman’s video. Only ONE copy is known to be received by the recipient (prior to the administration finding it and subsequently producing more copies), and this copy was viewed by around ten to fifteen members of the community. There was no papering or mass-distribution of the letter; far from that.
    There can be no dispute on the matter of the punishment of the accused. If the administration could not prove he wrote the letter, then how could it punish him?

    As to your third accusation: the only basis you, or any one else has for that claim is your word. Name one specific event that clearly shows the children of wealthy parents gaining more advantage than those of non-wealthy parents. Truman assumes that the wealth of the recipient’s parents could have played a role, though there is ZERO evidence of that. How in the world is his assumption a FACT?

  2. Mr. Kiley; you have got to be kidding me?! Have you not been listening to the numerous comments coming from very measured, articulate and civilized readers? You clearly are only looking for what you want to hear so that you won’t have to admit what a terrible journalist you are. Most readers have commented that the letter was indeed offensive and was not typical or reflective of the Bush community. They have clearly pointed out the reasons why it was difficult for the administration to scapegoat “Wallace” when it was clear that there were more people involved and it seemed like too heavy handed of a punishment to ruin the kid’s chances of going to college based on the little evidence they had. In addition,Truman and the two students you found that graduated in 2008 (before the letter incident even happened and most likely students that were given to you by your FB friend Truman to interview), have accused the school of giving special leeway to children of wealthy donors. Where is the evidence in that? To make an accusation does not make it fact. The teacher’s personal life is very relevant because it is true evidence in the axe he has to grind with the school that did not renew his contract due to a long history of shady behavior. So go invite your old friend Truman to your birthday party and have a good laugh about how you caused quite a stir with your half-truths.

  3. Re 44
    The only two facts are 1. the letter and 2. that the boy was not punished in the way Mr. Buffett thought he should be. What actually happened between the boy and the administration is unknown to you, Brendan Kiley, to Truman and to most others. Your conjecture about why things played out the way they did and Truman’s accusations about wealth and privilege are just that, conjectures. Also, usually facts are obtained by the reporter before the story is written, not by trolling the comment board afterward.

  4. Why is Truman’s personal life relevant? Because his issue is not racism, it’s his vendetta. Truman’s gone postal in writing and video–is it over yet? Now, supposedly, his sole purpose in life is to hound Bush and stay a thorn in its side. Done. Took his story to the public. Done. To Bush parents. Done. To anyone thinking of sending their kids there. Done. Get back at the guys who disciplined and later fired him by stirring up so much heat they’d get fired? Not Done, won’t happen. Truman or Brendan, respond, what’s your goal here. Are you finished? PS Please go investigate Dan Savage’s son’s private school (SAAS) and EVERY other school in this city while you’re at it. Or keep running the same stuff about Bush. Troll the comments and shore up your arguments. What’s your point? Please, tell us, when will you be done?

  5. During his tenure at Bush, Truman Buffett was better known for romancing an attractive female English teacher than for his commitment to diversity. His personal life is not the main story here, but his personal life is relevant because the larger topic is how we teach students good judgment and ethical conduct. Truman’s carrying on of an extramarital affair with a colleague (and in a way that was readily apparent to many students and staff alike) undercuts his credibility as a spokesperson for “truth.”

  7. Bush School community and supporters,
    I think its time to say goodbye to this forum and stop paying attention to those responsible for this moral panic. The truth as I know it is that the Bush School is committed to issues of racial identity and privilege and to teaching the subtleties of those issues to our children. It, like all institutions in the United States, is affected by the white racism which is ubiquitous in our society and internalized by all of us. However, the Bush School is actively working against this racism, not by pointing fingers and pretending that only a few “bad” people harbor racism, but through education, the extension of privilege and the expansion of empathy. I am proud to be a part of an institution which has not only has good intentions but carries them out on a regular basis for good effect.

  8. In #44, the author said:

    “…almost nobody is arguing with the relevant facts and assertions: the letter, the administration’s decision to forgo punishing the boy because they wanted to shield his behavior from a future college, and the accusation that the children of wealthy donors get more leeway from the administration than the other kids.”

    It would have been nice if you had addressed those issues more thoroughly in your article, Mr. Kiley. That way, folks would be able to address them in a manner that goes beyond questioning the credibility your one and only source. As it is, you haven’t provided any facts to back up your assertions about the way the situation was handled by the school (which is the REAL story here) aside from your blind reliance on Mr. Buffett’s claims.

    It probably would have been a good idea to ask Mr. Buffett for an introduction to another one of these teachers who, “unanimously called for the student’s suspension” – that way, your story could have been about the school, not just Mr. Buffett. Also, you should realize that it doesn’t make you a bad reporter to openly acknowledge that your source has fed you something less than the whole truth. Actually: that would make you a responsible reporter, as opposed to a person who is intentionally misleading the public by withholding relevant information.

    Let me be clear: I have no ties to the Bush School. I’ll acknowledge the possibility that there may be something worth reporting about the school’s actions. The problem is that I know almost as much about this situation as the author does – which is to say that I know all of jack fucking shit.

  9. Oh please. Can we please stop calling him Truman? HIS NAME IS NOT TRUMAN! His name is Carl. It’s actually Carl Roger Buffett and that can be confirmed with a quick call to the Oberlin registrar’s office. Check in with them at 440-775-8450.

    On another note, if you had to choose, would you choose “Truman”? I mean, I guess it’s better than “Carl” but if you got to choose, wouldn’t you choose something like “Rock” or “Prometheus” or “Captain Awesome”?

  10. Several other readers have pointed out (thank you!) that the offensive letter contains sexist language in addition to racist language. Unfortunately, Truman Buffett’s attitude toward women (beginning with his wife and moving out from there) also leaves a lot to be desired. His sexual exploits (and I use that word very intentionally) are as well known in the theatre community as they apparently are at Bush School. Is teaching respect for women any part of the school’s diversity curriculum?

  11. Brendan, Truman’s point (and yours, I assume) is that the school is not ethical. Yet, there is resounding evidence that Truman is not ethical and that you are not conforming to any standards of ethical journalism. As has been pointed out many times–there was a letter; there were proof problems; Bush does not condone racism, sexism, and homophobia and is combating prejudice and bigotry in many ways and no doubt, like the rest of this city, has miles to go. As to favoring wealthy kids, that’s Truman’s take on it–this is very disputed. The one thing Bush can’t do is completely screen out idiots–not racist students, lying teachers, naive journalists. Also, your response has a touch of sadism in it as you seem to delight in attacking Truman’s former boss and designated bad guys, not to mention the other 700 people at Bush. You defend your unethical Face book pal, but you have no problem attacking everyone else. If you’re going to hold your friend and yourself up as some kind of model of ethical standards, you have to demonstrate integrity. I’m waiting… . Still waiting. . . . Brendan? Truman? Are you there? Hello?

  12. When people say that stereotypes “may seem funny” and “may even seem true” is to get at the root of this problem. There can not be excuses for perpetuating stereotypes. That is what these kids need to learn through a creative curriculum and constant staff effort. The Bush school needs to continue to work extremely hard (HARDER!) (HARDER!) to make sure kids don’t have any kind of “it isn’t so bad” attitude. The school MUST make sure ALL kids graduate understanding (perhaps by more exposure? more volunteer work in the community?) that stereotypes are NOT truths. A professor/admissions counselor at Harvard would NOT have poor grammar. African American intellectuals must NOT be portrayed as crips and bloods. (Let’s find YOUR loser relatives and portray YOUR cultural community in terms of THEM.) Any Bush kid (or parent!) who would defend that letter or that kid NEEDS a slap in the face or two. Wallace needs a wake-up call or he is going to go through life as a biggot rather than appreciating all various peoples for their extraordinary variety and, individually, appreciate people for their individual merits. It may be true as one comment said that Bush School statistically graduates students who do BETTER in college than they did at Bush (because the grading policy at the school is so stringent and because the GPA’s are so consequently low). It may be true, obviously, that the kids at the Bush school are ALL bright and intellegent- regardless of their GPA’s – given the school’s stringent grading policy- and they may ALL come away with an extraordinary education. But on some level, I’ll say it again- that kid – and anyone making excuses for him- needs some FURTHER effort. Likewise, anyone at the school who wraps their protective arms around him and around that kind of bigotted mindset- they too need some kind of wake up call, or the Bush School is going to be left behind in the 20th Century dust. Clearly the school is in a unique situation because the school has a well known diversity director and a strong curriculum in place to continually work on and address these issues. Clearly the school should be proud of the many articulate, open-minded students who have posted here. But why should the “Wallaces” be left behind? By the time the “Wallaces” are seniors, shouldn’t they know better? Come on, Bush School, you are getting there- but you can do better.

  13. @65- stereotypes perpetuate stereotypes- as I said before in a previous post- I hear people speaking like that all the time- especially around McDonalds on 3rd & Pine… It’s sad when there are people in the US whose first (and only) language is spoken EXACTLY like that.
    People do talk that way- and not just blacks! Stupid white trash imbeciles trying to act like a badass rapper also enunciate in this appalling manner. The rap/black media glamorizes the life of a rapper and stupid people get in line trying to imitate it. The sad thing is that as soon as these rappers make a pile of $$ the get the f—%k out of the inner city and try to act like rich white folk. Case in point Queen Latifah; not only is she bleaching and straightening her hair she’s wearing lighter and lighter makeup and dropping her ghetto tough attitude. She created a tough badass rapper image, made a shit load of money from the suckers who fell for it and now she’s trying to act like a rich white woman. Word. People who enunciate like the individual in the letter exist and making fun of it is as harmless as this Onion lampoon: Ghetto Talk
    BTW, I think this kid has a future in comic writing.

  14. Truman? Truman. More a wish than a non de plume.

    Brendan, the next time to want to rip open the lived of the privileged, can you rely on sources other than a fellow theater bore?

  15. Truman responds:

    http://whatisawatbush.blogspot.com/2011/…

    So your point is that if these events are not in your employee file, they therefore must not have happened?

    Speak clearly, Truman.

    Did you push a student in anger over his reporting on grade deflation? Several students claim to have witnessed that event. Are you stating it did not happen?

    Did you have an extramarital affair with an English teacher at the school? If your answer is “no,” are you claiming that the multiple comments to that effect represent a coordinated conspiracy by people claiming to be current and former Bush students to discredit you? If your answer is “yes,” can you explain how that behavior achieves the high level of ethical teaching you hold the Bush school to, particularly with respect to the issue of “male privilege” rather than “white privilege”?

    It’s not appropriate to brush these ongoing questions off as ad hominem attacks. When presented with only one side of a story, and particularly when the accused party is ethically or legally incapable of responding, it is relevant and appropriate to question the character and motivations of the accuser.

  16. LOL at people who think that someone’s personal life has anything to do with this. It’s very tasteless.

    Also, to all those people who claim that the student didn’t come forward, or that the faculty reacted a certain way – were you there? During what was most assuredly a private conversation between the kid and McHenry? Or during the faculty meetings that followed?

    Yeah, I didn’t think so. Quit with the rage and allow that this may have very well happened.

    By the way, I’m an alumni too.

  17. The Bush school administration, students, and parents have investigated themselves and found no evidence of any privilege on their part. Now that the case is closed, it is simply unseemly for outsiders, people who by definition have received inferior educations, to stick their noses into the highly private affairs of the Bush School community.

    It’s true what they say about idleness; Clearly the very lack of industry that has resulted in your lowly stations in life has also left you with far too much time for envious gossip. Don’t you people have a trash-barrel fire to warm your hands around, or a soup-line to stand in?

  18. ##66: How is YOUR vulgar language, Mr. You Look Like, any different than the vulgar language in any rap song? People tend to swear and curse and use vulgar language, (just as you have just done), -(and as I have a guess you do often)- when they are ticked off. You are obviously ticked off. But imagine how some minority kids must feel in this white world of privilege we live in. Especially when some of us parade around acting like for some reason we think we are better than them, and can make fun of them, and criticize them. Don’t you think they might feel like swearing a LOT? And their music might express that? Their language on the street corner might express that? It’s wierd that in one way you demand that Queen Latifa behave more like oh-so-much-better you,(i.e. you think she should stop that “rude language” rapping), and then on the other hand for some reason you get really mad when she DOES (behave more like you)… I guess she can’t win. I wonder why that is? I wonder why she can’t win!? Here’s a news flash for you: You are not one iota different than her. You are not better than her. You are not better than some kids you overhear on a street corner. No. In fact, you are e x a c t l y the same. YOU are just another person. THEY are just another person. All are just human beings on this planet. Not one of you, not one of those rapper kids, none of you, none of us, are any better than the next. Here’s another guess: One day, your life will turn out in such a way that this will all become clear to you. Once it does, pass the message along. It’s the least you can do, at this point. Or else have some more kids, and this time do a better job of teaching them right from wrong.

  20. As someone with a critical eye towards journalism naturally, and someone who has had the privileged advantage to attend a private school, there are two very important takeaways I have here to defend Brendan’s story.

    1) There is no doubt that private schools, from elementary to higher ed, give a bit more room to the children of donors, from relaxed admission standards to looser disciplinary standards.

    2)All of these comments defending Bush are reactionary; attacking the source of information itself with (completely irrelevant) gossip, with nothing to say about the *actual issue itself*

    The fact that people are reacting this way makes the case even more likely, to a simple bystander reading this story. The comments are desperate, and wreak of fear the story will bring to their normally privileged bubble. For the record: Brendan did try to get in touch with the school, I am sure you have seen the phrase “no comment” before in legit news stories.

    The story could be completely false, but from my perspective, all you crazy white folk make it seem so so true…

    (and a side note: why, all of a sudden, are white people more offended by being called “racist” than they are by actual, racist behavior? sheeeesh)

  21. I came to this story with an open mind, and finished reading the story feeling like there were a lot of accusations and not a lot of concrete proof to back them up.

    And then I read the comments. I can’t believe how a sense of superiority and entitlement just drips from the Bush supporters. They sound like some 18th century baron after having his manners questioned by a chambermaid.

    So yeah, I’m firmly on the side of Truman in this. He may or may not be a jerk, and he may or may not be distorting what happened, but he’s not some prissy, snooty, pretentious rich fop. So he wins.

  23. @74 is absolutely right about one thing. I have no feelings one way or another for this Truman character or Brendan Kiley and barely even care about this story. That said, I hope the defenders of the Bush school realize that they are doing more harm to their school’s reputation than the slog post or the article could ever do. I’m pretty sure, however, they have absolutely no clue just how uncaring and pretentious they appear to some of us reading about this drama. I can only hope that with age will come wisdom and can only assume they will look back at this time in their lives with embarrassment.

    BTW – I get to say this because I’m now a 44-year-old formerly pompous jackass who has been humbled by my life’s experiences.

    “Men can starve from a lack of self realization as much as they can from a lack of bread.”
    — Richard Wright

  24. @44 Truman’s personal life should not be scrutinized for this article, yet we are asked to consider the personal lives of the students, faculty, et al? So, does The Stranger have an unspoken yet official binary system for when personal lives are not subject to scrutiny?

    My criticism of this article is not meant as turning a blind eye to the events however they may have occurred, it’s directed toward the lack of ethical journalism displayed. Knowing that the author and the teacher have a relationship previous to the publication of this article, I have to wonder how heavy a bias exists in the content.

    The comments directed toward the author clearly have an axe to grind, but really they’re only following in your footsteps, Brendan.

  25. @74 – This.

    Bush Parent – you’re an insufferable prick. And what kind of tortured bullshit is what has happened instead is that racist letter is now spread out to 100x more people than it had been previously. The net outcome has reinforced negative stereotypes and slowed down the work of anti-racism?

    Exposing racism is racist whut?

  27. “It’s not appropriate to brush these ongoing questions off as ad hominem attacks.”

    Um… Yes it is. They are the precise definition of ad hominem attacks.

  28. @80, you misunderstand. I said it was inappropriate to brush them off, not that they did not constitute ad hominem attacks. Establishing the credibility of the witness is fundamental to testimony in court, and it most certainly applies in this case as well. We’re not saying he’s an attention whore (well, some here have certainly said that); we’re saying he’s untrustworthy and that his rendition of events should therefore be greeted with a skepticism.

  29. @81:

    Proof, please.

    Seriously, this thread is HILARIOUS – and just more evidence (as if any was needed) that we should be taxing the parents of these pretentious, self-privileged little “Birth Lottery” winners at the Eisenhower-era rates of 65 years ago. Clearly that wealth, assuming it still exists by the time they graduate in the bottom third of their class at whatever Ivy League university they’re getting legacy’ed (or donation-passed) into is going to be wasted on the next generation.

  30. It is comments like number 28’s that make me think the school has a serious issue, if 28 is associated with the school. Of course, if Wallace did it, he deserves to be punished for it. Why shouldn’t he be punished for it? He spread bigotry, which is an act that harms the entire community. It is an act that spreads harm to every single person exposed to it. That letter was deplorable, and the fact that so many people commenting do not seem to see it as a massive offense is deeply troubling. And he should take responsibility for his actions. He should be punished for what he did. And then if colleges find out, they can decide what to do with that information based on the simple facts of the matter. Why should he be exempt from the consequences of his actions? Most people aren’t. If he were caught shop-lifting, would you say he should not be tried in court because it might ruin his future? Obviously if you do something horrible and stupid it might ruin your future. This is why good schools and good parents should make lots of efforts to encourage children not to do really horrible and stupid things. Besides, it’s not like his future would be over. This overly dramatic, ruin his future bs is obnoxious and annoying. Yes, it might make it harder for him to get into some universities. He’d still get in somewhere. Your whole future isn’t determined by what college you go to or even whether you go to college. That sounds like somebody bought the idea that they need to worry about everything that goes on their permanent record throughout all of their schooling. You make your future as you go, and if you’re lucky, you have many, many decades. You can fix mistakes you make when you are young. You can change course later. And he’s far better served by being punished and potentially learning something (what a novel idea, learning something while in school) than by being given a free pass and letting bad habits set in. Which could *gasp* ruin his future. Of course, he still will have more chances to learn to not be a bigoted idiot.

    Also, I don’t care in the slightest anything about the characteristics of the person who brought the matter to attention. I care about what the facts of the actual matter are. Whether the person had good or bad motives is irrelevant.

  31. One more thing:

    As Dan says, every kid is a Sociopath until it is yelled out of them. This is a prime example of parent’s viewing the psychopathic behavior of their children as a side effect to “leadership.”

    Your children are not better than other people’s children, we hold these truths to be self evident.

  34. He obviously isn’t lying about too much of the situation, because you have comments like 13’s. 13 broadly states the students aren’t racist. Clearly he or she meant to state most of the students aren’t racist. Clearly some of the students have terrible issues with bigotry, because somebody wrote that letter and others thought it was amusing and okay. So, there is a bigotry issue. Why aren’t there more comments from people representing the school saying things like:

    It is true that some person within our school did a horrible and inexcusable thing. It is deeply regrettable, but that such a thing is so uncommon in our school that it truly shocked our school to see it happen.

    Can you say that honestly? If not, you do have bigotry issues that need serious work. Yet, you attack the messengers. You try to pretend this is a small thing, a bad joke. And that is why your school looks bad. What you seem to be lacking is the comprehension that this was awful.

  35. @82 Look at the video. His name is fake, his biography is half truths (he didn’t teach in Los Angeles after the riots, the Los Angeles schools have no record of him under any of his names), he claims he resigned when he was basically fired by not having a contract renewed, he’s taught in three independent schools in Seattle in four years. None of his previous employers will say anything about his employment at all on the record. Ask yourself…if the guy is so concerned with social justice, why isn’t he teaching somewhere a good math teacher could really make the difference in a kid’s life? It’s because he’s a phony and has been since I knew him in college. He may actually have a point on this issue of the letter but the package it is wrapped in is so dishonest, even with the careful filtering of his buddy Brenden here, that it’s hard to take him seriously.

  36. It *is* relevant to consider the integrity of the whistle blower as you listen to his tale. Watching the video, my honesty-alert needle pinned when he so loftily described his decision to teach high schoolers instead of college students, because he said he felt he had so much more to give to their young minds. Yeah, when you’re a master’s degree candidate, you might do some T.A.-ing (“lecturing”) while you get your degree. But you are not a professor or associate professor or any remote glimmer in the teaching firmament until you have a Ph.D. The reason he went from the master’s degree to high school teaching is because he *wasn’t qualified* to teach at the college level. And he wasn’t qualified to teach at public school without a teaching certificate (another year program), so private was his only option. The other thing that had me suspicious of his integrity was the fact that the first 20 minutes of this 30 minute long video were taken up talking about himself. That’s a lot of self-mythologizing for someone who purports to be all about helping others. And the behest at the end, for everyone who’s watching to go on a rampage and write letters to the school administration really reeks of personal revenge. I’m sorry to say that, yes, the speaker matters. I cannot give his message a fair shake when he is so deeply flawed as a messenger.

  37. Same old shit. I went to a private school in Seattle after when redlining was still fresh in many people’s memories. Yeah, many parts of Seattle could not or would not sell homes to non-whites, including Jews (go figure).

    Let me tell you, I was a very smart kid and hard working, but some teachers were surprised that I could speak “English so well”. We are talking when I was like in 2nd grade.
    Shit, sticks to you, even when you are young.

    I had a chip on my shoulders; I had an attitude problem, but I got the A’s and
    kicked ass on the tests.

    How in the hell could these teachers, even the kind and well-meaning ones, understand what it means to be the basically the relatively poor, non-white kid in the whole school?

    My parents couldn’t help me. They were busy trying to make enough money to send me to school. God Bless them, everyday.

    So, I dealt with it by studying hard and fighting hard with my fists.
    The school administration was like, “Huh, you are really smart and most of your teachers like you, but you have an attitude problem and get into fights.”
    Weird to be the only honor student in detention. Were they just clueless or didn’t
    want to rock the boat?

    The coup de grâce event was when I was held in detention a few days before graduation. One of the administrators was in a jovial mood and wanted to mock me a bit. She basically told me that I was going to be a loser and what was I going to do with my life.
    Wait. Savor the flavor…
    Apparently, she didn’t get the memo that I was graduating with high honors and going
    to a very nice private east coast university.
    One of those moments that you click like a photo in your mind.

    If that kind of shit happened today, I would have owned that school or have a field named
    after me.

    Racism isn’t what someone does to you, but rather what you allow it to become to you.
    If I bent over and grabbed ankles, I would definitively not be the person I am today.
    But nobody leaves unscathed.

    I doubt things are as bad when I went to school. But if somebody is touched by this, do not let a bunch of assholes bring you down.
    Fight. You have the fucking right to have a good life and make the world a better place.
    Good luck.

  38. If I’m spending $30K/yr x 12 years = Over a third of a million dollars to spend my kids to this school, I’d defend the school to my death against any accusation or tarnishing of reputation. I can make myself believe whatever, in order to protect my money and time investment, and to protect the future of my child.

    Equally, if I’m a student, Bush is all I’ve ever known. Bush is my identity, and one doesn’t easily attack one’s own identity.

    What I’m saying is, you guys defend Bush all you want, it’s your right. You may be factually correct, or you may be wrong; we may never know for sure. But you are surely motivated to defend Bush. Or in so many words, your biased witnesses too.

    I can say that as a bystander, I have seen enough of your hysteria to know how I feel about your school community.

  40. well could this have happened yes do i know for a fact no but private schools do not have to deal with the same rules as public schools because its private its simply as that also remember things have been written about lakeside catholic school about the racism and favortism there so needless to say i believe something is going on at bush private school that needs to be exposed, notice how the department of justice is here because of the racism being exposed by our police officers

  41. @73 ( SAY DAT THEN ) LMAO LMAO. REALLY THOUGH I AGREE WITH U. I TO HAVE WENT TO PRIVATE SCHOOLS, AND PRIVATE SCHOOLS DO NOT FALL OR HAVE THE SAME RULES AS PUBLIC SCHOOLS ITS A FACT. DO I THINK RACIST BEHAVIOR GOES ON AT THE BUSH SCHOOL YES, DO I KNOW FOR A FACT NO. REMEMBER THIS FOLKS, ALOT OF THINGS THAT HAVE BEEN SAID ABOUT THE BUSH SCHOOL, ( MEANING THE RACISM ) HAS BEEN EXPOSED AT LAKESIDE CATHOLIC SCHOOL ALSO. THE COMMENT FROM #73, SAID IT ALL PERFECT. ADDITIONALLY KING COUNTY IS A VERY RACIST PLACE TO LIVE, AND I HAVE LIVED AND TRAVELED AROUND THE WORLD BY SERVING MY COUNTRY. JUST LOOK AT HOW RACIST OUR POLICE DEPARTMENT IS, AND SEE HOW THEY HAVE BEEN EXPOSED.

  42. @88:

    So far, all you’ve done is make accusations, but to-date, you haven’t provided any evidence that backs up those accusations, so truly, why should I accept the veracity of an anonymous poster over Mr. Buffett? At least he’s willing to publicly stand behind his statements, as well as provide evidence of misconduct, which is the REAL issue here. Either the letter is genuine or it isn’t; either the school administration did nothing to punish the author(s) or they did – which is it? That’s the only thing here that matters, and trying to obfuscate that by casting aspersions against the messenger is simply an attempt to move the spotlight away from where it rightly should be focused.

    And FWIW, people in the arts change their names all the time: Mark Twain’s real name wasn’t Mark Twain, neither was Voltaire’s nor Cary Grant’s nor Bruce Willis’ nor Jamie Fox’s nor Helen Miren’s nor – well, you get the idea.

  43. @73 yes yes YES, especially regarding your side note.

    Certain Bush students backing up their claims with rhetoric they’ve absorbed during their exceptional academic education is wonderful, but poorly executed. That’s to be expected — they haven’t left their myopic private school world for the opportunity to learn humility.

  44. Regarding the “Truman and Brendan are buddies” accusation, since it keeps coming up:

    Never met the guy. Or if I have, it was so brief and inconsequential that I don’t remember it. (And I’m a writer at The Stranger–I’m Facebook friends with hundreds of people I’ve never even met. Facebook friendship is not an indictment.)

    Moreover, I am a theater critic and he is an occasional actor: that relationship (as anyone who knows the first thing about theater can tell you) is more cobra/mongoose than “colleagues” or “buddies.”

    In fact, I reviewed a show that Truman starred in a few weeks ago. (He and I had had no contact about this story or anything else at that time).

    I pronounced it “a failure.” That’s not exactly biased writing from an old pal.

  46. @94

    As I sit here in post-rapture bliss, I cannot help but think that maybe your “PRIVATE SCHOOL” tuition may have been better spent on some other endeavor.

  47. In private schools it would seem the ones who have the gold often make the rules. With no teacher unions to act on staff members’ behalves, an administration can look at the bottom line where building mortgages and salaries need to be paid, tuitions are huge, donations as well, and families that contribute the most financially therefore have a lot of influence on what happens on campus. Which of course brings up the question “Are these schools in business to make money or to best educate their students?” Maybe that’s the real question.

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