Author Topic: One of my favorite grade school teachers was found dead today (Read 2159 times)

The Fake Shemp · « **on:** April 16, 2010, 11:16:31 AM »

More at the link.

He was a really cool guy. Covered for me a few times when I pulled some stupid stunts and almost got into trouble. Really talented guy that almost everybody loved, shame he's dead at such a young age.

Positive Touch · « **Reply #1 on:** April 16, 2010, 11:22:23 AM »

that's awful. he sounded like a really amazing guy. i'm sorry man.

muckhole · « **Reply #2 on:** April 16, 2010, 11:37:22 AM »

That's terrible Willco. I hope they catch the guilty parties. Finding out someone who has directly impacted your formative years has passed is always a real shock. Even more so in this case where the police are treating it as suspicious.

Great Rumbler · « **Reply #3 on:** April 16, 2010, 11:38:52 AM »

Man, he sounded like a really cool guy that actually cared about students' welfare.

The Fake Shemp · « **Reply #4 on:** April 16, 2010, 12:11:55 PM »

He was. My Facebook is inundated with comments from grade school friends mourning his loss. He impacted a lot of people's lives, probably more than he ever knew. What a shame.

tehjaybo · « **Reply #5 on:** April 16, 2010, 12:18:41 PM »

Do they still not know exactly what happened? It said they were unsure as to the cause of death...

Sorry for your loss, man.

Cheebs · « **Reply #6 on:** April 16, 2010, 12:22:38 PM »

Wow that is awful. Really hope they figure out what happened to him.

I have had two of my teachers die, one of which facebook keeps trying to get me to reconnect with. $:-\$

The Fake Shemp · « **Reply #7 on:** April 16, 2010, 12:23:30 PM »

We don't know, yet. The police are treating it as suspicious, and I guess they're looking for his car. Also worth noting, a father and daughter were murdered in the same house about eight years ago.

TakingBackSunday · « **Reply #8 on:** April 16, 2010, 12:24:08 PM »

I loved a select few elementary school and high school teachers–but the ones that were really special meant a great deal in the development of who I am.

Teachers > Professors

tiesto · « **Reply #9 on:** April 16, 2010, 12:27:32 PM »

Sounded like a great and caring teacher, sucks that he was found dead. Condolences, Will.

Bloodwake · « **Reply #10 on:** April 17, 2010, 10:49:13 PM »

Sucks man. I can only imagine how I would feel if one of the teachers that I actually liked ended up dead.

The Fake Shemp · « **Reply #11 on:** April 17, 2010, 10:51:57 PM »

I guess they found his car abandoned. Still no idea who killed him.

Brehvolution · « **Reply #12 on:** April 18, 2010, 12:20:45 AM »

:'(

The Fake Shemp · « **Reply #13 on:** May 04, 2010, 01:02:32 PM »

Apparently, he was murdered in a robbery attempt by anonymous teenagers he met on a sex chat phone line.

The likelihood is that Betts' was gay and because the suspects are teenagers, people are ready to condemn him as a pedophile. Absolutely ridiculous.

The Fake Shemp · « **Reply #14 on:** May 04, 2010, 01:09:13 PM »

I don't begrudge the guy for being in the closet (I think we all had our suspicions) and calling a sex chat line. Reading the comments at WaPo, some gay people in the District have come out of the woodwork and said that there's not a lot of outlets for the gay community in DC, so it's not necessarily uncommon for someone to turn to phone lines.

But it was completely anonymous and he had no idea that these jerks were eighteen (and juvenile detention escapees). Some people are making it sound like he was calling up and asking for hot, young black boys to feed his sexual appetite for children.

Phoenix Dark · « **Reply #15 on:** May 04, 2010, 01:10:54 PM »

Speaking of which, I've been wondering where Junpei is

The Fake Shemp · « **Reply #16 on:** May 04, 2010, 01:15:00 PM »

Quote from: mojovonio on May 04, 2010, 01:12:33 PM

Not reading the article, but if its anonymous, how did they find him?

He obviously gave them his address to hook up. Apparently these guys were cruising the line for lonely gay dudes to rob, he just happened to take the bait.

The Fake Shemp · « **Reply #17 on:** May 04, 2010, 01:18:24 PM »

Not a smart move, but to be fair, it's not like he had a lot of places to go and hook up at. He's a very public educator, featured on NBC Nightly News, so it's not like he can do whatever he wants. I'm not going to condemn the guy for being lonely. It's a shame he was murdered still.

The Fake Shemp · « **Reply #18 on:** May 04, 2010, 01:20:17 PM »

This really highlights how bigoted the black community is when it comes to homosexuality, though. The moment this stuff came out, people in the District have been hurling all kinds of hateful shit at a dead man that only wanted to see their children succeed. Absolutely ridiculous.

You'd think of all the minorities, black people would be the most sympathetic to the uphill battle gay people face today.

The Fake Shemp · « **Reply #19 on:** May 04, 2010, 01:22:33 PM »

Uh, he'd probably lose his job you dumb shit - if not worse. Being openly gay in the District would make him susceptible to all kinds of hate crime and such.

The Fake Shemp · « **Reply #20 on:** May 04, 2010, 01:24:59 PM »

As evident by the fact that a lot of District residents are throwing him under the bus as a pedophile, how do you think they would react if an openly gay man was running a middle school in the predominantly black District?

Don't be stupid. I doubt he'd rise through the ranks so fast if he was openly gay. If you find that unfair, well duh.

The Fake Shemp · « **Reply #21 on:** May 04, 2010, 01:32:29 PM »

To be fair, being openly gay in the public school system is not an easy experience for most people where ever they live. It creates obstacles for career advancement, especially depending on the local demographics.

How many openly gay principals and superintendents have you ever heard of?

OptimoPeach · « **Reply #22 on:** May 04, 2010, 01:44:43 PM »

Quote from: mojovonio on May 04, 2010, 01:21:44 PM

He died as the result of not being open about who he was.

Haha what?

Phoenix Dark · « **Reply #23 on:** May 04, 2010, 02:09:44 PM »

When you say you suspected he might be closeted...how? Like, when you were younger or when you got older

The Fake Shemp · « **Reply #24 on:** May 04, 2010, 02:14:43 PM »

Quote from: Phoenix Dark on May 04, 2010, 02:09:44 PM

When you say you suspected he might be closeted...how? Like, when you were younger or when you got older

When we were younger, only because he was one of the few male teachers in the prime of his life that had neither wife or girlfriend. And the guy was so likable and nice, that to not have any social life, seemed a little suspicious.

After he was murdered, the only woman that spoke out on his behalf was his sister, so a bunch of us figured he was probably in the closet. I didn't think it had anything to do with this, though.

Eel O'Brian · « **Reply #25 on:** May 04, 2010, 02:56:24 PM »

Mandark · « **Reply #26 on:** May 04, 2010, 03:04:30 PM »

This completely sucks.

Working in the DC school system is a big sacrifice to make if you're good enough to get a job elsewhere. It's notoriously dysfunctional, even compared to other poor, urban districts. It's even worse when you consider that he could have probably taken a position in Montgomery County and gotten out of the closet.

The Fake Shemp · « **Reply #27 on:** May 04, 2010, 03:13:39 PM »

I don't think he would have the freedom to push some of the reforms he was enacting in the District in Montgomery County, though. The flip side is that school system in MoCo is not the train wreck that it is in the District. Bottom line, I think he really wanted to make a difference, and sacrificed his personal life for that. It's a shame, he was a great guy.

It's just disturbing to me - as a metropolitan area native - to see all these ridiculous comments coming from the WaPost readers. I halfway expected this kind of color commentary from WTOP listeners, but not WaPost readers.

Human Snorenado · « **Reply #28 on:** May 04, 2010, 05:03:21 PM »

Yes William, but... HE LIKED THE COCK.

The Fake Shemp · « **Reply #29 on:** May 04, 2010, 05:05:28 PM »

He was obviously a pedophile and deserved to die.

Phoenix Dark · « **Reply #30 on:** May 04, 2010, 05:11:39 PM »

Aren't Washington Post stories open for comments from anyone? Not just WaPo readers post. It's hard to find a blog or news (magazine, paper, etc) site that doesn't feature some ugly comments. My brother wastes a lot of time reading comments on Fox News articles and I'm just like dude come on, what do you expect it's the internet.

Mandark · « **Reply #31 on:** May 04, 2010, 05:15:59 PM »

The WaPo is the dominant major daily in the area and a national presence. The website gets a lot of traffic and it's a rule of thumb that the more popular a site, the worse the comments.

It's depressing, but unlike Willco I'm not a bit surprised.

News:

Author Topic: One of my favorite grade school teachers was found dead today (Read 2159 times)