From The Sacramento Bee:
“I let my daughter go to story hour and figured she’d be safe in a room full of librarians and parents and other children and the secretary of education,” Lila said.
“If I was in the room, I would have defended her. But she did OK without me. I’m really proud of her for standing up for herself. She’s OK. She’s moved on. It’s not like I’m going to sue to pay her therapy bills.”
The controversy began July 1 when Riordan, a wealthy venture capitalist whose foundation has spent millions of dollars promoting literacy and computer programs for minority and other children, attended a summer reading program at the Santa Barbara Central Library.
With a few dozen children seated on the floor next to Riordan, Isis D’Luciano, a blond-haired, blue-eyed little girl, asked him a question.
“Did you know that my name actually means an Egyptian goddess?” she said with noticeable pride in her voice.
Riordan looked somewhat confused for a moment or two before answering: “It means stupid, dirty girl.”
The kids groaned and giggled, before Isis again said her name was that of a goddess.
“Hey, that’s nifty,” said Riordan, who issued a statement a short time later saying he “teased” her and “immediately apologized … for misunderstanding.”
Lila said her daughter didn’t correct Riordan because “she told me she didn’t want to hurt his feelings. I got the impression she just didn’t think he was very bright.”
“I really didn’t know much about the man, so I wasn’t aware of how socially inept he is,” she said. “He’s a bureaucrat and I guess he’s a grandfather. But it doesn’t seem like he’s had a lot of exposure to kids. It was really a stupid thing to say.”
Yes, stupid. Let it go.
Link via Eschaton.