The Armenian Bar Association condemns the hateful flyers targeting Armenians, including children, that were found near Glenoaks Elementary School. School officials and members of the public discovered flyers on vehicles and scattered near school grounds bearing the message: “STUPIDIANS THIS IS AMERICA NOT STUPID ARMENIA.”
Schools are meant to be sanctuaries – places of learning, safety, and curiosity. To preserve those qualities, schools must remain safe zones in the strictest sense, welcoming to all students regardless of their ethnic background or national identity. Armenian American children between the ages of 4 and 12, like all students who wake up in the morning to make their daily commute, deserve to arrive at school greeted by familiar faces and a supportive environment, not by hateful material targeting their identity.
Moreover, vague and demeaning language that broadly attacks an entire subset of elementary students has an obvious tendency to intimidate, provoke fear, and generate stress and anxiety. If the individual or individuals responsible for this flyer intended to convey a cheap political message, the flyer itself makes no such message clear. What is clear is that the content is hateful, directed at Armenians, and wholly incompatible with the mission of any educational institution.
While the ABA recognizes the importance of First Amendment protections, those are neither relevant here nor do such protections extend to conduct or speech that threatens, intimidates, or disrupts the functioning of a school environment.
The ABA expects a thorough and expeditious investigation into this incident. We appreciate the efforts of the Glendale Police Department to identify the individual or individuals who created, printed, and distributed this material. We also call on Glenoaks Elementary School officials to exercise heightened diligence to ensure that their campus remains a place of learning, safety, and respect, and not of ethnic hostility.