Indian Teacher Who Threatened Student Over BTS Apologized, Fans Question His Intent
Siddhartha Misra, an educator on the online teaching platform Physicswallah recently faced heavy criticism online for threatening a student with violence over BTS on camera. As the issue got more and more public attention, ARMYs kept demanding the platform take action against him.
the video with subtitles pic.twitter.com/PadQaN7BRG
— kim tani⁷♡ (@stopbeingdelulu) August 15, 2022
In the middle of the hullabaloo, Siddhartha Misra went private on his Instagram. But soon after, he made it public and posted a video apologizing for the incident.
Translation: “Hi kids, you guys might remember that recently I was taking a class, and a kid there was commenting ‘BTS ARMY’ repeatedly. So, I scolded her. In fact, I might have scolded her a bit too much. Recently my mom, dad, wife, and family saw that video, and they said, ‘Yes, that kid was doing something wrong but did you need to scold her to that extent?’ They made me realize that I shouldn’t have scolded her that much. So, kiddo, wherever you are, I am sorry. I take my words back.
But you also need to understand that we teachers can’t even afford to spend time with our families. We spend the entire day making PPTs, taking classes, and recording classes. You guys are not in front of us, but we figure out your thought process anyway- where you might have a doubt or where you might feel confused. We try to give you the maximum benefit of our classes without you being physically present there.
We try to keep the atmosphere light and give our full concentration on teaching you. But in this situation, when you leave such comments, ‘BTS ARMY’, or anything else, imagine what the other kids might feel like. They might be posting their genuine doubts, but the teacher probably misses them. So, from that end, kiddo, you were wrong. Yeah, I was wrong, too; I shouldn’t have scolded you that much. For that, I take my words back again.
And when it comes to BTS, dude, I respect music. BTS are really good. They have done so much hard work in their field, in their industry. So, I have no reason to defame them. And I want all of you guys to achieve the same level of success in your own fields as BTS. Alright, kids?”
But this apology video has done little to avert the outrage. People are not convinced of the genuineness of the apology. Some pointed out that the majority of the video was spent on trying to justify his harsh words, diluting his action by calling what he did mere “scolding”. On the other hand, some also pointed out that saying he appreciates BTS’s hard work is hypocritical, given the borderline xenophobic comments he made in the original video.
The way he is talking now he shud have kept the same energy when he was harassing that poor girl. ''I take my words back'' bruh..where is the apology about u thrtning that girl??💀 https://t.co/QokODEj1vl
— Vamp JK's aurat⁷🌸 (@minsbyul) August 15, 2022
- “Understandable that you were annoyed but it took you 13 days to realize and apologize, only when the video went viral?”
- “Probably someone taught him that their reputation is at stake and he needs to post an apology video to save face.”
There are also some comments supporting his actions and asking him not to apologize under the apology video, which has concerned more people. They feel that as an educator, his actions may normalize violence against students within the students themselves.
- “Just look at sir’s eyes, you can see the struggle. Our PW teachers work harder than us…You have every right to scold us or even beat us up. Please don’t be tensed, you need to chill out.”
Despite being tagged in several tweets that called out their educator’s aggressive behavior, no representative or the owner of Physicswallah has given any statement regarding the issue as of yet.
