Private-school prejudice irrelevant amid suffering

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 16/04/2010 (5812 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Prejudice is a funny old thing.

In most circles, reports that children were being sexually abused at their school would be greeted with horror. Most would view the alleged victims with supportive hearts, horrified by claims the teens had apparently been threatened with sodomy.

But when the students are part of an elite private school, some bystanders are struck with a delicious sense of schadenfreude. Since the scandal at St. John’s-Ravenscourt broke, there have been snotty remarks about rich kids and their parents.

There have been unfathomable comparisons to pervert priests and abused children. Some have suggested the abuse was somehow deserved or should have been expected.

Here’s are two comments submitted to (and rejected by) our website:

"You gotta love how private schools spin reality to suit themselves. Instead of ‘assault’ it should say ‘rape and hazing,’ " wrote one reader. "If it did, however, people might get somewhat offended that these students only got a five-day-out-of-school suspension after five months. Wonder why it took such a long time for the issue to be ‘resolved’ — were they waiting for a cheque to clear?"

Winnipeg police made four arrests in connection to the alleged assaults Thursday morning. That was less than a week after the alleged acts came to light. Four male students, 16 to 18 years old, have been charged with sexual assault with a weapon, forcible confinement and uttering threats.

Here’s another reader comment:

"(B)ullying doesn’t happen at any other school? Heck, this should be expected, especially when dealing with spoiled rich children who are the worst for this."

Let’s see: Either the alleged assailants are getting a free ride because their parents are rich or all SJR students are spoiled brats because their parents are rich. In a sense, going with this line of reasoning, they were due for their comeuppance.

Here’s full disclosure: My eldest daughter attended a private girls’ school. She was enrolled because I had received death threats from a reader. He said he knew where my six-year-old went to school.

Her elementary school said they couldn’t guarantee her safety. We found a school that could and paid through the nose for it.

Her dad and I couldn’t afford a child in private school. We lived in a small house in Elmwood, were newly back in the country and lived on the equivalent of one meagre salary. We borrowed part of the tuition, were lucky to get a bursary for some of it and squeezed blood from a turnip for the rest.

We did the same thing for the next 11 years and watched a little girl grow into a confident, well-educated young woman. I’ve never regretted it.

That’s one story. On the other hand, my lively stepdaughters are part of the public school system. They’re smart, funny and self-confident. The youngest will likely rule the world someday. Their education, chosen by a father who is a teacher, didn’t cost us a dime.

Do I view private-school kids with a less jaundiced eye than some people do? Maybe. I don’t assume all their last names end with a Roman numeral. I don’t expect all of them to come from the families who get their names in the paper for philanthropic or business reasons. Some do. Most don’t.

But this prejudice, as comforting as it might be to those who see a private-school student in a tie and tunic and curl their lips, is irrelevant here. What matters is the pain and suffering allegedly caused to the victims.

When you’re dealing with children, some of whom are in a boarding school far from their parents, what difference does the family’s net worth make?

The accusations are horrendous. If they’re proven, if means vulnerable boys were sexually terrorized. I can’t speak to the character or background of those who have been expelled and charged. If it’s true, it’s heinous.

I can imagine the reaction of most parents to this story. It’s horrendous. It turns our stomachs. We assume our children will be safe at school, whether they’re attending an inner-city public school or a posh private school.

At the end of the day, children may have been victimized. That, and not a bank balance, is what matters.

lindor.reynolds@freepress.mb.ca