Time Warp

Yesterday I arrived to my Vampires in Slavic Cultures class about 15 minutes early, as usual, and silly me, I was under the impression that we were in the day of December 3, 2013 -- not the 1950's. 

Each week while in lecture hall, made to accommodate 150 or so students, waiting for the previous class to clear out and for my class to make their way in, I always notice the same thing: a special needs dude from the class before being rolled out in his wheelchair by his aid, often engaging in communication. Except for this fellow student, communicating enlists more of grunting noises than recognized english vocabulary. While I am never sure of what his noises mean, his aid sure seems to know -- he tends to respond with a sassy, jesting comment (displaying their positive relationship). Yesterday started off to be no different. I was in the lecture hall in between classes with about 10 other students. However, as the aid was wheeling the guy out of the lecture hall and as the guy was communicating in his own manner... a 20-30 year old male student spoke the following words: "Shhh! Either get out a word or shut up." Without thinking I responded with my own 'word vomit' -- "You are a disgrace to this university." Next thing I knew, the idiot had packed up his bag and was walking out. I was literally shaking from rage, disbelief, shock... you name it, and I promise you, I was feeling it. Seriously, dude? That guy you told to "get out a word or shut up" could very easily sit at home, file for disability checks, and never aspire to do much else. Instead, he is at The University of Texas, in the Communications School, a nationally top-ranked school, and in the same exact class as you! Yet, you still somehow found the audacity to throw such a jab? Yeah, the guy chooses to make vowel sounds on purpose instead of formulating words -- not. You attacked a guy who 1. has a hell of a lot more tenacity and ambition than you do, and 2. clearly does not have the ability to defend himself in a way that we could understand. My blog this week is supposed to have a discussion point as well as an observation. However, I believe that this horrible occurrence is too much of an abomination to just be disclosed in a sentence or two. Something absolutely HAS to be done. I am not sure what that something is yet, but its going to bring light to this incident. It is going to bring light to the fact that the other people in the lecture hall did not flinch when they heard the atrocious comment to "shut up," but went on to stare me down as soon as I gave my thoughts on being a disgrace. We are in Austin, Texas, The United States of America, in the year 2013, almost 2014 -- there is NO excuse