"I had a torrent of emotions," said Adrian Iraola. "I wanted to respond in a vile way and let him know how much it hurt me. But I recognized that is not the right thing to do."
A Latino father says he was "tremendously shocked" when he was interrupted by a white man's discriminatory question at a Michigan school meeting on racism and inclusion.
Video shows Adrian Iraola telling a crowd of parents about bullying his son had faced at Saline High School, including racist taunts that left his son in tears.
"When I went to his bedroom to say good night, he was crying because of the abuse he was enduring in this school system," said Iraola, who immigrated to the United States from Mexico four decades ago.
Then, another man at the meeting interjected to ask, "Then why didn't you stay in Mexico?"
Many in the crowd gasped at the remark as Iraola stood with his mouth open.
"I had a torrent of emotions," Iraola told Inside Edition. "I wanted to respond in a vile way and let him know how much it hurt me. But I recognized that is not the right thing to do."
Iraola then offered the microphone to the man. Several parents came to Iraola's defense and one is captured on camera saying, "That's indicative of what our kids are experiencing."
The meeting was put on to address another instance of racism between students at the school and find solutions moving forward, the Washington Post reported.
On Wednesday, an association for the superintendents of Saline Area Schools and eight other school districts released a statement condemning the recent incidents
"Our diversity is what makes us stronger, and we will not accept educational environments where students are subject to conditions where their identity makes them a target of abuse," it said.
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