Satire: Teacher’s Anime Twitter Post Sparks Calls for Resignation

Satire: Teacher's Anime Twitter Post Sparks Calls for Resignation

On Friday at 6:17 PM, Henry Holtz, science teacher, tweeted three words. The tweet, currently with sixteen likes and seven retweets, has been a major topic of discussion for several concerned citizens in the Marquette community ever since.

The tweet, reading “DUBS NOT SUBS,” has many wondering if Holtz is qualified for the position. There is already a Change.org petition aiming for the school to fire him, and has seventy-three signatures as of the posting of this article.

For those who are unfamiliar with basic anime terminology, “subs” refers to subtitles translating from Japanese to English, while “dubs” refers to the anime having American dubbing. The topic is already a controversial one, and is often debated on various websites around the internet. For many, the fact that a teacher would bring this topic up in the first place is shocking.

Sydney Pross, parent, is one such person and is also the creator of the Change.org petition. According to her, Holtz should never step foot in Marquette again. “The notion that we would let this slide,” she said. “is simply unacceptable. I for one watch anime often, and I know for a fact dubbed anime is the worst anime.”

She claims to have called the district thirteen times already seeking Holtz’s permanent termination.

Since the tweet was originally posted, many have called into question the validity of the tweet, including Holtz himself.

“I’ve never seen anime, I don’t watch anime, I don’t even know what that tweet means,” he said. He also blamed his son, Herbert, on posting the controversial tweet, adding that “he watches anime all the time, and knows exactly what makes other viewers tick.”

Holtz has also seen a large effort in support of his tweet. J. Edgar Hubert, anime voice artist, said that dubbing anime counts for more than half of his annual salary. “If you don’t like dubs, you don’t like me. And if you don’t like me, I don’t like you,” he said. He has seen several “great men and women” lose their jobs because of similar opinions, and said he won’t stand for it any longer.

Both parties seem to think this battle will continue for a while, but not Holtz. “This will blow over in a week. I’m not the first person who’s said something stupid on the internet.”