“I went to the bathroom one time, and one of the sp*d kids was in there on all fours drinking out of the toilet, like a f**king dog. NO PARAPRO.”
This is just one example of the hate speech that was posted by a student-run Instagram account called @Groves.Confessions. While not every student followed the account, it was followed by more than 624 students, which is 56% of the student population at Wylie E. Groves High School. People involved in clubs, sports teams and extracurricular activities that represent the Groves community have shown support for the hate speech, by liking the posts and staying silent. Characterizing someone by giving them dog characteristics, such as “licking” water in the toilet and on “all fours” is dehumanizing due to their disability; this also indicates that they are incompetent without a paraprofessional by describing them as “sp*d.”
A school that claims to foster an environment where every student feels safe, valued and respected, must hold its leaders accountable for their actions—both online and offline.
“We welcome and celebrate diversity by honoring the dignity of every human being,” Groves High School web page states under ‘Our Core Values’. While the school may have no control over what students post on social media, they cannot ignore that student leaders— students who have been chosen to be representatives of the school— are not “honoring the dignity of every human.” While the account biography stated it was not affiliated with Groves, it used the name of the school in its handle; as well as the school logo for their profile photo. This was a student-run page and a Google Form was used to make anonymous “confessions,” taking advantage of Birmingham Public Schools systems’ partnership with Google — meaning the student that ran this account used their school email to receive the “humorous statements.”
“This form was created inside Birmingham Public Schools.” This is stated at the bottom of the Google Form in irremovable text. Underneath is a hyperlink to report the form for promoting hate “violence” or “illegal/offensive” content against “race, ethnicity, religion, disabilities, gender, age, veteran status or sexual identity,” according to Birmingham School’s Google Forms’ reporting policy. The students responsible for promoting this page are certainly breaking the school’s code of conduct by using offensive language toward people with disabilities.
Imagine walking into school, knowing your peers are using slurs that describe someone with a disability as a dehumanizing and degrading joke. Imagine classmates you look up to or those you considered a friend showing support for it by liking and/or following it. Would you want to be described as a “dog licking a toilet?” Would you want to be reduced to a punchline, targeting something about yourself that you cannot change, like a disability? For the students at Groves, this is not a hypothetical situation.
Another post made by @Groves.Confessions shares a scenario in which a student walked in on another student with autism while they were using the restroom.
“I was in class and I need[ed] to take a p*ss and I went to the unisex bathroom and I accidentally walked in on an autistic kid and she screamed I just ran away laughing i seen her butt cheeks and all i’m traumatized,” this is directly quoted from one of the “confessions” posted. Using the words “autistic kid” reduces them to nothing more than a label. Apparently, students with disabilities’ pain and discomfort are a source of amusement for others to share and post about.
Groves High School is a place where students are supposed to learn in a safe environment. It is time to draw the line of what behavior we tolerate from our student body. The students accountable weren’t just people who viewed the post and did not take part in it. They contributed to the problem; by clicking the like button, commenting on the posts and going as far as to create confessions —real or fake— about other people. If the school does not take a stand now, it will send a loud and clear message: hate speech and bullying are acceptable at Groves High School. It shows that students with disabilities are less human than other students in the community. Groves should end this endorsement of hate by standing up against the use of slurs and bullying, and not ignoring this harmful behavior.
One option to create an environment where every student feels safe, valued and respected, would be to remove students from leadership positions who condoned the hate speech. This is more than just a call for sensitivity training or policies—it’s a call for immediate change. It’s about creating a space where everyone can walk through the doors of Groves High School without fear of being targeted, ridiculed or dismissed.
If the school fails to act, it will demonstrate that Groves High School believes there is no need to take action. More than half of the student population was a part of bigotry, which validated the use of hate speech and bullying. However, if they take a stand, Groves High School can become a place where all students can be treated with the dignity they deserve; no matter their differences. Cruelty has no place in any school. Anyone who chooses to vocalize and support hate needs to face serious consequences. Leadership is not just about titles; it’s about being someone who others can look up to for guidance and integrity. Students in leadership roles are trusted with the responsibility to lead by example. Liking these posts does far more than merely support the hatred— it amplifies it.
No one should ever feel like they are beneath anyone else—especially when it comes to the way you are born. Let’s draw a comparison: the N-word and the word sp*d are both calling someone out for the way they were born, insulting and degrading them. One is a racial slur directed at people who are Black and one is a slur directed towards people with disabilities. Both of these aspects of someone’s identity are uncontrollable. People who do not accept that both of these words are wrong, recognize these “jokes” by not addressing a person by using the word their name but instead using a word that is insulting to a group of people. The word “sp*d” started as a way to describe a department in which special education is taught. People use it now like the R-word, something that is offensive to the disabled community as a whole. The department is called Special Education. No child is Sp*d. People aren’t Sp*d. People are failing to recognize the weight of the words they are using. These “confessions” are liked, commented on and endorsed by students who have the power to influence others, and represent what will be tolerated and or amplified in this community. These students know what they are doing. Unless the school finds this behavior acceptable, there needs to be repercussions. A change must happen.
