The story is about Hester Prynne, a young woman who has a child by a man other than her husband. For this transgression, she is forced to wear the scarlet letter. She is tried, judged and convicted in the court of public opinion and subsequently experiences the wrath of the people.
“The Scarlet Letter” and its look at Puritanism brings to mind the Salem witch trials of the 1600s. They were public hearings for people accused of witchcraft. This was a macabre time in colonial history and depicts one of the most famous cases of mass hysteria. What happened in Salem has been used in literature as a cautionary tale about the dangers of a rush to judgment based on emotion, bigotry, false accusations, personal agendas and lapses of due process. Throughout “The Scarlet Letter” there are subliminal warnings regarding what happened in Salem.
All of which brings me to a situation right here at home in our own school district.
I have a cursory understanding of math teacher Gabrielle Leko’s plight with the district regarding the accusations against her. Did she or didn’t she use the term “Jew Boy” referencing a student? And if she did, what was the context of her reference?
I am not insensitive to the grievous nature of her alleged remarks, especially toward someone who is Jewish. But I don’t believe in piling on, and I’ve heard from many sources that she is a great teacher.
I’m not grounded in the facts. But after the district’s investigation into this matter, she was ordered to participate in sensitivity and diversity training. However, I am aware that she also was tried, convicted and sentenced in the court of public opinion. The comments against her are fueled with emotion and vehemence. Are they proportional to her alleged transgression?
