Earlier this year, Gregory Salcido from Pico Rivera, California, became the most hated teacher in America.
The former El Rancho High School teacher went viral after a video was released in which he makes disparaging comments about military service and calls service members “the lowest of the low”.
The incident occurred eight months ago when Salcido noticed a 17-year-old student wearing a Marine Corps shirt.
The teacher then unleashed an expletive-laced rant, secretly filmed by the student in question. When a family friend saw the teen’s footage, she uploaded it to Facebook where it immediately went viral. In the post, Kimberlie Flauto wrote: “My friend’s son was sporting his marine sweater while this liberal douche teacher rants about the military.”
In the videos, you hear Salcido telling his students that members of the military are “dumb shits” and “lower than low”.
“We’ve got a bunch of dumb shits over there,” he says.
“Think about the people who you know who are over there, your freaking stupid Uncle Louie or whatever; they’re dumb shits!”
“They’re not like high-level thinkers, they’re not academic people, they’re not intellectual people.”
“They’re the lowest of the low.”
As you can imagine, this little rant didn’t end well for him.
The community was furious, and the story made national news.
At one point, it even got the attention of White House Chief of Staff John Kelley (a retired Marine General), who publicly stated Salcido “ought to go to Hell.”
As the story spread across the nation, fury towards Salcido grew stronger:
“Our public school system has become a sanctuary for child abusers and nuts.”
“This guy is not an American, he is a coward. As a United States Marine Corps veteran, I can’t tell you how sick this guy makes me.”
“Remember Mr. Salcido, why you have the freedom of speech to say what you are saying— it’s because of the men and women who fought for freedom.”
The school district launched an investigation into the video, ultimately firing Salcido in the end.
They later released a report disclosing the full details of his termination, saying it was based on a “pattern of alleged outrageous behavior”.
Salcido’s many offenses included the bullying of students, the use of corporal punishment, improper use of a classroom computer, and the use of profanity and racial slurs in front of students and staff.
“The students that get the most bullying follow a pattern where they are white, Asian, pro-military, Christian or gay,” the investigator noted.
Salcido, who was also serving as a Pico Rivera councilman, was removed from all committees. CBS Los Angeles reported fellow council members were “unanimous in their condemnation” of his remarks.
Since the incident, Salcido has not apologized for his comments.
He later told the Washington Post his statement wasn’t meant to offend anyone. In fact, he says he was only looking out for the academic well-being of his students. “My goal as it relates to my students is to get them to do everything to get through college,” he noted.
“I don’t think it’s a revelation to anybody that those who aren’t stellar students usually find the military a better option. That’s as plain as that it’s Tuesday night.”
Somehow, despite being fired from his job and banned from City council, Salcido still doesn’t have a clue.
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