A California high school teacher who can be heard on video slamming the military and the men and women who serve in the U.S. military is now under investigation by the school board for his comments.
Following backlash from his comments, El Rancho High School teacher and city council member Gregory Salcido wrote on Facebook that he and his family “respect the rights of free expression for all individuals.”
“The Salcido 3 just got out of an excellent musical, ‘The Band’s Arrival’. I turned my phone back on to unexpectedly see a storm. I don’t think it’s wise for me to make any specific comments, but I want my friends, family, and students to know we are fine and we respect the rights of free expression for all individuals,” Salcido wrote on the Facebook post, which has since been deleted.
The teacher’s comments stemmed from seeing a student wearing a Marines sweatshirt in class. A student in the classroom recorded the teacher’s rant on their phone and the video has now reached more than 6.7 million views.
“Think about the people you know who are over there. Your freakin’ stupid Uncle Louie or whatever. They’re dumb sh*ts. They’re not high-level bankers. They’re not academic people. They’re not intellectual people. They’re the lowest of the low. They’re not talented people,” the teacher says in the video.
In the videos, the male teacher goes on a rant for several minutes. He says he doesn’t know how anyone ends up joining the military.
“It’s because you have no other options,” the teacher says.
While constantly berating the military and those who serve, the teacher also asks why anyone would “wear something you can’t even support.”
“Don’t you ever bring the military into this again,” he says. “We don’t let pimps into school. Is anyone interested in being a hoe? … They’re going to lie to you.”
American Military News spoke to the student’s mother, who confirmed that her son took videos of the teacher’s rant during class.
His mother’s friend, Kimberlie Flauto, posted the videos to Facebook asking the community to help them go viral.
The student who was wearing the Marine sweatshirt in the classroom said he was called out in class to find out why he was interested in joining the Marine Corps.
“And I told him it was a family tradition,” the student said, ABC News reported. “My dad’s done it, my two uncles have done it. And I just wanted to continue that tradition because it’s also something I wanted to do as a kid. And he said so if it was a family tradition to beat women, would you continue it too?”
At one point in the videos, the teacher also talks about those who were killed in the Twin Towers on 9/11.
“Why did people jump out of the World Trade Center on 9/11? It was so bad in there, they would rather jump and die that way than burn to death,” he says. “What option is better?”
Salcido did not return a request for comment from American Military News. Salcido is no stranger to controversy and is apparently known for his unconventional world views that he openly shares with his students. He was reportedly placed on administrative leave from the school district in August 2017 over his questionable classroom conduct.
There is now an investigation into the videos and the teacher who made those comments, according to the Los Angeles Times.
“This is not something that we are taking lightly,” Pico Rivera school board President Aurora Villon told Los Angeles Times. “I cannot discuss it because it is a personnel matter, other than we are conducting a full-blown investigation. We are moving very diligently.”
