Lynette Gaymon, the Pennsylvania teacher accused of ridiculing one of her sophomore geometry students for wearing a pink Mitt Romney/Paul Ryan T-shirt during Charles Carroll High School’s dress-down day, has received threatening phone calls, her relatives tell the Philadelphia Inquirer.
The first call that came friday evening said, "watch your back, [racist slur]. I'mma blow your [profanity] brains out," one of Gaymon’s aunts told the Inquirer.
An aunt, who asked not to be identified given the alleged threat, said the family stopped answering the phone after the first harassing call, eventually unplugging it following several profanity-laden and racist messages.
According to the teacher’s relatives, Gaymon took refuge with friends after the story broke that she had called out 16-year-old Samantha Pawlucy for wearing a pro-Romney shirt, claiming it was akin to Gaymon, who is black, wearing a KKK shirt.
Gaymon has since apologized to Pawlucy, and maintains that she was joking when she gave the student a hard time about her Republican attire.
“She's a jokester. Lynn is like the family clown," one of the aunts told the Inquirer. "When it comes to entertainment, she's the one."
Fox 29 reports that students at Carroll High have rallied in support of Gaymon, who is reportedly afraid to return to the school due to all the harassment. The students, who wore buttons and made signs to show their support, echoed sentiments by the teacher's aunt, telling the station that Gaymon would never intentionally humiliate a student.
When Pawlucy's parents dropped off complaint forms regarding the incident at the school on Friday, they were greeted with obscenities from students.
"I want [Sam] to come back and stand up for what's right," Kristine Pawlucy said, according to United Press International, "but I'm afraid she'll be physically assaulted."
Samantha Pawlucy has been taunted by some of her classmates on Facebook, who have publicized their support for Gaymon — setting up a Facebook page titled "Keep Gaymon" and referring to themselves as "#TeamGaymon" on Twitter.
Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Daily News reports that Pennsylvania House GOP candidate Dave Kralle has called for supporters to gather at the school at 7:45 a.m. on Tuesday for a peaceful rally on behalf of Pawlucy, who will be making her return to Carroll.
"We have been told there isn't a single American flag at the school and the Pledge is NEVER recited. This gives you an indication of how far our public education system has fallen," the event listing posted on Kralle’s website claims.
The flier asks supporters to bring American flags for purposes of loudly reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.
According to the Inquirer, Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter met with Pawlucy and Gaymon separately over the weekend, though neither party would comment on the mayor’s visit. Nutter also told the Inquirer he had no comment in a brief telephone interview.
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