Strollerderby : bigotry

WTF: KKK Selling Kids T-Shirts

JeanneSager — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 14:03:00 GMT

I'm vacillating between speechless and spitting with venom. How else do you respond to news that the Ku Klux Klan is selling t-shirts for kids?

T-shirts at a Website that actually trumpets itself as a go-to source for "Christian" purchases.

I'm not sure if I should be thanking my husband for pointing this one out to me (he found it while working on a paper about domestic terrorism, FYI), but I guess the news that the KKK is targeting kids is hardly new. Kids don't come out of the womb seething with hate, so it does have to come from adults peddling bigotry to little kids. Remember, kids learn by imitating.

But making the hard Aryan sell face-to-face is disgusting enough. Sharing with the world that "Klan Kids Kare" is absolutely terrifying.

I've got to wonder, honestly, what Klan Kids Kare about. I was thinking Lynching, but according to the t-shirt, they "kare" about loving Jesus, white power and their heritage. Note to the Klan: Jesus lived in the Middle East - it's highly unlikely that his skin was white. And he certainly wasn't Aryan.

My big question, of course, is where are these kids going to wear these shirts? Besides Klan rallies, of course. Is there anywhere in public that they wouldn't be told to leave? I'm all for free speech, but if a kid walks into a school wearing a shirt that says "white power," I'd hope they get sent home to change. It's a gang symbol (yes, similar to the red of the Bloods - albeit on the opposite end).

And perhaps even more shocking here (to some of you anyway), this t-shirt is being sold by a Christian bookstore, a site that proudly proclaims itself as the "exclusive distributor of the Knights Party designs" (yes those Knights - the white ones). This to go with their "wide variety of Christian oriented t-shirts and sweatshirts." And no, I didn't find a "turn the other cheek" tee - the kind you'd sort of expect out of a Christian t-shirt selling site (OK, maybe only I would?).

Honestly, I'm not going to provide you with a link to this site. But if you REALLY need to find it for yourself (for some voyeuristic pleasure, we hope, rather than to make your purchase), enter the words "Christian books and things" into Google. It's the fourth site in the list.

Image: Christian books and things

Ethnic Unity 101: Coming to China's Schools

JeanneSager — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 13:28:00 GMT

The country that's spent years playing its xenophbic reputation to the fullest is about to cut ethnic intolerance off at the knees. Yes, China, a place not exactly celebrated for its views on human rights, is introducing "ethnic unity" classes in its primary schools.

It will depend on its execution, but promoting the melting pot theory to the youngest members of a society is really the best way to guarantee future generations will have a more tolerant viewpoint than their elders (my generation included).

A Reuters report, quoting a translation of the Chinese government's announcement, says school kids will get up to fourteen hours of school-based education to promote the "basic awareness of the vital nature of 'encouraging ethnic unity, protecting national unity and opposing ethnic separatism'."

Technically, China's constitution guarantees religious freedom and equal treatment for all minorities, including the country's 56 different recognized minority groups. Where have we heard that before? Oh yeah, the United States Constitution - you know, the one that people conveniently forget when they put into place regulations like the atrocity that is Prop 8.

Would something like this fly in U.S. schools?

Image: TWR

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Mom Gets Hate Mail for Ending Kids Thanksgiving Party

JeanneSager — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 16:08:00 GMT

The mom who put an end to the kindergarten Thanksgiving traditions at two California elementary schools this year has been getting some pretty nasty holiday greetings. Racial epithets, wishes that her daughter (a member of one of the kindergarten classes) would be beat up.

I shared Michelle Raheja's fight and her comments here on the 'Derby right before Thanksgiving, opening up the question to the readers of whether the old standby "Pilgrims and Indians" recreations in kindergartens are really racist or not. A host of opinions came down on either side of the fence, but I'm happy to say not one reader took Raheja's defenseless five-year-old to task.

You can read the original post for the whole story, but basically the professor who spends a portion of her teaching focusing on Native American literature told the school district that the four-decades old event was racist. She likened kids from one school dressing as "Indians" and walking to the other school where kids were dressed as "Pilgrims" to enjoy a meal was like replicating a meeting of the Jews and the Nazis and trying to put a happy face on it.

It's an emotional issue, to be sure, and one that gave me conflicting feelings (thus my original headline, Are Elementary School Thanksgivings Racist Or Just Outdated?). There are members of my own family who are Native American, who live on reservations, who are feeling today's affects of yesterday's injustices visited upon their culture as a whole. We can't brush the more sordid bits of American history under the rug. On the other hand, these are five year olds learning about multi-culturalism. You do have to simplify things a bit. And dressing up to break bread doesn't have to be entirely devoid of teachable moments regarding Native American history.

Either way, I thought I wanted to hear other opinions as I tried to make my own. But even in thinking there might be some merit to these sorts of traditions - even if they are updated to be more racially appropriate - I'm with the readers. I didn't think Michelle Raheja deserved to be have her daugher threatened, to be maligned for her own Native American heritage.

Have we really gone so far that we vent our frustrations on other parents by bashing their kids? I'm not defending the racial comments, but at least they were attacks on an adult. To focus your most hateful thoughts on a child is disturbing, but to do so because you hate their parents' decisions simply makes no sense.

My daughter is only three at this point, so I am only beginning to navigate the world of "other parents." I've tried my best to separate kids in my daughter's nursery school from what I might think of their parents. But is this kind of attitude what I have to look forward to?

Image: Los Angeles Times

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Are Elementary School Thanksgivings Racist Or Just Outdated?

JeanneSager — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 14:35:00 GMT

Every November when I was a kid, we spent at least one day cutting out brightly colored "feathers" to afix to a band of brown construction paper and stick on our heads, another snipping white, yellow and black squares to form the "buckles" for our faux hats. But an increasing number of elementary schools are saying goodbye to the Thanksgiving play in favor of political correctness.

In Claremont, Calif., parents were fighting this week over a tradition that dates back to the days when little boys still played "war" and "cowboys and Indians" in their backyards and no one gave a second thought. Leading the charge is Michelle Raheja, whose mother hails from the Seneca tribe. The mother of a kindergartner and professor of Native American literature, Raheja called for an end this year to a four-decade long practice of five-year-olds dressing as Native Americans and walking to a nearby school to join another set of five-year-olds (dressed as Pilgrims, naturally) for a meal. Rajeha likened the practice to dressing children as slaves and slaveowners or Jews and Nazis.

On the other side? Parents like Kathleen Lucas, who is proud of her Choctow heritage, and prouder still that her son still wears the construction paper garb crafted last year in kindergarten when it was his school's turn to play the role of the Native Americans at the feast. She and other parents have complained that the school's decision to put the kibosh on costumes means they're bending too far for political correctness. Some parents have even accused Raheja, who called on several other professors to speak with her on the issue in front of the school board, of using her five year old to further her own political agenda.

I'll go out on a limb and guess the Native Americans didn't sport brown paper vests at the first Thanksgiving, but I will admit to seeing some merit to having the kids dress up as two distinct groups then bringing them together for the Thanksgiving lesson. It's a chance to learn about accepting each other's differences - especially in schools that lack diversity. Setting that aside, however, we need to stop glossing over the nasty bits of America's history regarding treatment of Native Americans. It may not be the lesson plan for Thanksgiving Day - it is, after all, a day for positive thinking. But where German children should spend a portion of their education on the Holocaust to understand their nation's past, we need to ensure our children learn about the Trail of Tears and the countless other atrocities we subjected fellow human beings to in the name of enlightenment and spreading the American ideals (hmmm, sound familiar, Iraq?).

Should part of that education include setting aside the paper head dresses too?

Image: Los Angeles Times (Kathleen Lucas' son in his construction paper outfit with a "Pilgrim" friend)

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Sixth Graders Disciplined for Hit a Jew Day

JeanneSager — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 19:07:00 GMT

I'm not a big fan of corporal punishment, but there are days its tempting to hit a kid. Specifically ones who would come up with "Hit a Jew Day" to celebrate their school's spirit week.

The goal of "spirit week" was to encourage celebrations like "hug a friend day" and "high five day" at a Missouri middle school. But the sixth graders who coined "Hit a Jew Day" decided to slap one Jewish student across the face and smack two others on the arm. The incident was turned into a chance for the principal to talk about the Holocaust, multi-culturalism and acceptance of others, and the kids were suspended.

The principal did the right thing, but I wonder what else can be done. I don't honestly think corporal punishment is in order - that was a knee-jerk reaction to the horror of the headline at CNN. What's needed is tolerance and compassion, modeling of behaviors that these children apparently don't see every day. I can't believe intolerance is inate. Kids don't come up with this kind of hatred on their own (even if the means of carrying it out are their own creation). Suspension usually means days spent at home, more time spent in a household where they're being raised to think up "Hit a Jew Day." What's next? Crosses blazing on the middle school lawn? An Australian study showed we're likely to become less tolerant as we age, not more, so this isn't that much of an overreaction.

So how do you reverse it? Counseling? Maybe. Putting thse kids in the other kids' shoes? How? As I said, hitting back isn't the answer.

It's a reminder that we're responsible for modeling the right behavior for our kids. A lot of people assume they can tell an off color joke as long as they don't "really" believe it. Guess what; kids can't tell the difference. Literally and figuratively mean nothing to them. Everything you say, they hear. Everything they hear gets filed away, and when it starts piling up in there, they start forming their opinions on life based on all of that stored up information. We have to give them the "right" information if we expect the "right" decisions.

Image: FamilyCrafts

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An Open Letter To The Boy Scouts Of America

makeitadouble — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 16:59:00 GMT

Dear Robert Mazzuca,

Congratulations on your new appointment as Chief Scout Executive of the Boy Scouts of America. I read on the BSA website that as you look at the future of scouting in the next millennium you believe that to be successful you cannot simply rest on the rich heritage and history of the Boy Scouts; which is why I propose you update the Boy Scout motto.

I understand your hesitation to modify the very motto that has been with the BSA since it was founded in 1910, but “Be Prepared” no longer reflects the character and reputation your organization passively condones. Therefore I submit you immediately adopt the following motto as your primary guiding ideal, “Be Prepared to Defend Yourself Against the Sexually Predatory Advances of Your Scoutmaster”.

Your initial reaction to this suggestion may be to give me a modified Scout Salute minus the index and ring fingers, but as you have probably been swamped in paperwork since taking office in September grant me the opportunity to help get you up to speed with some information about your organization that may change your mind.

Last week, for starters, yet another one of your Scoutmasters was arrested on felony charges of molesting and sexually abusing young males in the troops they led. This particular Scout Leader was in your affiliate Sea Scout Program and once actually sued the city of Berkley for successfully challenging your organization’s ban on homosexuals, atheists, and agnostics. I was not aware that the Boy Scouts or any of its affiliate programs offered an Irony Badge.

Moreover, were you aware Mr. Mazzuca that since 1991 a scout leader has been thrown out of the BSA for charges or accussations of child molestation at an alarming rate of one every two days? Before you tell me that your child abuse prevention program is the best in the country or that the entire first chapter of the Boy Scout handbook is dedicated to child abuse prevention I would like to remind you that in 2005 the man entrusted to run the child abuse protection program was sentenced to eight years in federal prison for trafficking in child pornography on the Internet.

Speaking of the internet, I’d like to go back to something attributed to you on the BSA website. You said, “We will continue to reach out to our millions of alumni and to rapidly growing and dynamic segments of our population. I believe that the BSA can guide today's diverse youth into adulthood through mentoring and individual attention. Scouting teaches values, leadership, and character that help shape a better future for every young person in our country.”

This statement must mean that you have decided to finally do away with some of the Boy Scout’s long-standing discriminatory policies like the one that requires a religious test for new members and the one that prohibits atheists, agnostics, girls and homosexuals from membership in your Scouting program. If that is what you meant, then I say it’s about time. On the other hand, if that is not what you meant then I also propose you add homogeneous to your Scout Law along with trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent.

Don’t worry, it doesn’t mean what you think it does.

You espoused in your keynote speech that the BSA needs to “…take back the agenda and begin to define ourselves rather than let others define us.” I strongly urge you to adopt the motto I submitted as it will be the first step in accurately defining your organization.

Good luck in your new position as Chief Scout Executive Mr. Mazzuca

Best Regards,

A Former Boy Scout

It's a Straight World After All: When Will You Teach Your Child About Homosexuality?

Rachael Brownell (Redsy) — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 22:13:00 GMT

I consider myself quite liberal... defender of public education, gay rights, and the importance of helping others who cannot always help themselves. So I have been somewhat ~~embarrassed~~ surprised by my latent conservative tendencies evoked by motherhood.

When one of my best friends visited last week and began explaining to my daughters how her life partner is a woman, there was a little part of me that cringed. Not that there's anything wrong with that (a la Seinfeld)! It's just that I want to be the one to teach my children about life partners, and choices, and sexuality and marriage. It's my job, not the job of my parents or friends or anyone else.

A few days later, the girls' Kindergarten teacher emailed me to tell me that she'd set my daughters "straight" about their desire to marry each other. This time it was more than a cringe. I was totally horrified. I don't want them set straight about whether girls can marry one another. Furthermore, I want to hang onto every lovely vestige of childhood innocence as long as humanly possible. After all, they're only 5 and they think when you love someone, you marry them.

I was hoping to delay any discussion about certain elements of sexuality (at least the basic differences between straight and gay people) for at least another 3 - 5 years. But I'm beginning to think this is too long to wait... If I want to be in charge of what they learn...

Strollerderby : bigotry

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