News comes today that Pleasant Hill police are investigating two racially charged cases of school vandalism.
Claycord.com says that on Monday night a Mt. Diablo Unified security officer discovered that someone had damaged equipment and written racial slurs in one classroom at Gregory Gardens Elementary. Meanwhile, KTVU reports that Valley View Middle School was also a target of racist vandalism over the weekend. In the case at Valley View Middle School, according to the Mayor of Claycord, someone wrote graffiti proclaiming “White Pride,” “White Power Bitch,” “WP,” and “I love Tyler.”
These are just the latest incidents in what seems to be a disturbing trend in our community.
Martinez police are investigating the case of a teen, late last month, harassing an African-American family at the park near that town’s marina by shouting “White power!” and waving a Confederate flag in their direction.
The FBI was also investigating the discovery early last month of a "KKK-style cross" left in the driveway of a Moraga home. News reports say the home belongs to a white couple whose son was visiting over the weekend with his African-American wife. According to the blogger, the East Bay Daze, the 3-foot-tall object was a "fairly sophisticated rendering of the klan's 'flaming cross'--with this one wrapped in t-shirts and the KKK insignia.
So, what’s going on? As I wrote back after the discovery of the KKK-style cross in Moraga, I can’t help but wonder if these incidents are part of something very dark going on in our society, in the wake of the United States electing its first non-white president nearly a year ago.
I’m not alone in wondering—and worrying. Remember all the fuss about President Obama’s speech to school children last month? Well, around that time, KGO Radio host Brian Copeland, on his Sunday morning show, was expressing alarm at the hysteria surrounding the speech. He contended this hysteria represented a growing atmosphere of hate and racism in our society--sparked by some people's resentment about a black man being in office.
Copeland noted the nastiness, anger, and resentment in rhetoric behind the birther movement, the town hall shout-downs, and people showing up at Obama appearances armed with guns. Copeland also said there had been an increase in the number of threats against the president's life.
Is this something we should tolerate in our community? Absolutely not. Does anyone have any ideas about what we should do about it? Identifying and prosecuting the promoters of hate speech? Sure. And what about talking to our kids?
21 comments:
I get really worried when we start talking about "prosecuting the promoters of hate speech". I firmly believe in freedom of speech and agree with the sentiment "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."
How do we define hate speech? Is it hate speech if you disagree with Obama? What if you compare Bush to Hitler? How about the movie "Death of a President" which was about Bush being assassinated? Was that hate speech?
Who defines what is hateful? Is it a constant, or does it change with the political wind?
Anon 2:53 p.m.
You raise a good point, as much as I despise some teen yelling White Pride at a park to harass and intimidate an African-American family. Yes, that is hate speech but should someone be prosecuted for it? Hmm. Any legal, First Amendment experts out there? Remember back when the KKK or neo-Nazis were allowed to march in Skokie, because they were allowed Free Speech? Could their speech have been harassing and intimidating to that town's largely Jewish population?
Probably.
I just broke political wind and farted all this political talk gives me gas.. I may need to take a poop but I'm concerned since I had corn on the cob... Will the kernels appear in my poop
Anon 4:31
Thanks for sharing.
Corn poop is one of the greatest mysteries in life. I grew up pondering the same question. This is what I think is happening:
When we chew corn, the outer coating slips off the inner kernal. This outer yellow coating is almost entirely cellulose, and is indigestible.
It passes through the gut untouched, and emerges looking like a whole kernal, although it is mostly just the outer skin. The inside of the kernal is starchy and digestible, and that is the part that we succeed in chewing up.
For every stupid teen spray-painting silly racial slogans on the wall there are perhaps 100 mini-Reginald Denny incidents taking place that no one wants to talk about or label racist. Please...
DEFENTIONS OF Poop
# GHOST Poop: The kind where you feel the Poop come out, but there is no Poop in the toilet.
# CLEAN Poop: The kind where you Poop it out, see it in the toilet, but there is nothing on the paper.
# WET Poop: The kind where you wipe your butt 50 times and it still feels un-wiped, so you have to put some toilet paper between your butt and your underwear so you don't ruin them with a stain.
# SECOND WAVE Poop: This happens when you're done Pooping and you've pulled your pants up to your knees, and you realize that you have to Poop some more.
# POP-A-VEIN-IN-YOUR-FOREHEAD-Poop: The kind where you strain so much to get it out, you practically have a stroke.
# LINCOLN LOG Poop: The kind of Poop that is so huge you're afraid to flush without first breaking it into little pieces with the toilet brush.
# GASSEY Poop: It's so noisy, everyone within earshot giggles.
# DRINKER Poop: The kind of Poop you have the morning after a night of drinking. Its most noticeable trait is the skid marks on the bottom of the toilet.
# CORN Poop: (Self-explanatory)
# GEE-I-WISH-I-COULD-Poop-Poop: The kind where you want to Poop, but all you do is set on the toilet and fart a few times.
# SPINAL TAP Poop: This is when it hurts so badly coming out you'd swear it was leaving you sideways.
# WET CHEEKS Poop: (The Power Dump). The kind that comes out of your butt so fast, your butt cheeks get splashed with water.
# LIQUID Poop: The kind where yellowish-brown liquid shoots out of your butt and splashes all over the toilet bowl.
# MEXICAN Poop:It smells so badly that your nose burns.
# UPPER CLASS Poop: The kind of Poop that has no odor.
# THE SURPRISE Poop: You are not at the toilet because you think you are about to fart but...oops...a
# Poop!!! THE DANGLING Poop: This Poop refuses to drop into the toilet even though you know you are done Pooping it. You just pray that a shake or two will cut it loose.
Thinkin: We've all been there but don't like to admit it.
We've all kicked back in our cubicles and suddenly felt something brewing down below.
As much as we try to convince ourselves otherwise, the WORK POOP is inevitable.
For those who hate pooping at work, following is the Survival Guide for taking a dump at work.
CROP DUSTING
When farting, you walk really fast around the office so the smell is not in your area and everyone else gets a whiff but doesn't know where it came from. Be careful when you do this. Do not stop until the full fart has been expelled. Walk an extra 30 feet to make sure the smell has left your pants.
FLY BY
The act of scouting out a bathroom before pooping.
Walk in and check for other poopers. If there are others in the bathroom, leave and come
back again. Be careful not to become a FREQUENT FLYER.
People may become suspicious if they catch you constantly going into the bathroom.
ESCAPEE
A fart that slips out while taking a leak at the urinal or forcing a poop
in a stall. This is usually accompanied by a sudden wave of embarrassment.
If you release an escapee, do not acknowledge it. Pretend it did not happen.
If you are standing next to the farter in the urinal, pretend you did not hear it.
No one likes an escapee. It is uncomfortable for all involved. Making a joke or
laughing makes both parties feel uneasy.
JAILBREAK
When forcing a poop, several farts slip out at a machine gun pace.
This is usually a side effect of diarrhea or a hangover. If this should
happen, do not panic. Remain in the stall until everyone has left the bathroom to
spare everyone the awkwardness of what just occurred.
COURTESY FLUSH
The act of flushing the toilet the instant the poop hits the water.
This reduces the amount of air time the poop has to stink up the bathroom.
This can help you avoid being caught doing the WALK OF SHAME.
WALK OF SHAME
Walking from the stall, to the sink, to the door after you have just
stunk up the bathroom. This can be a very uncomfortable moment if someone
walks in and busts you. As with farts, it is best to pretend that the smell
does not exist. Can be avoided with the use of the COURTESY FLUSH.
OUT OF THE CLOSET POOPER
A colleague who poops at work and is damn proud of it. You will often
see an Out Of The Closet Pooper enter the bathroom with a newspaper or
magazine under their arm. Always look around the office for the Out Of The
Closet Pooper before entering the bathroom.
THE POOPING FRIENDS NETWORK (P.F.N)
A group of co-workers who band together to ensure emergency pooping
goes off without incident. This group can help you to monitor the where
abouts of Out Of The Closet Poopers, and identify SAFE HAVENS.
SAFE HAVENS
A seldom used bathroom somewhere in the building where you can least
expect visitors. Try floors that are predominantly of the opposite sex.
This will reduce the odds of a pooper of your sex entering the bathroom.
TURD BURGLAR
Someone who does not realize that you are in the stall and tries to
force the door open. This is one of the most shocking and vulnerable moments
that can occur when taking a poop at work. If this occurs, remain in the stall
until the Turd Burglar leaves. This way you will avoid all uncomfortable eye contact.
CAMO-COUGH
A phony cough that alerts all new entrants into the bathroom that you
are in a stall. This can be used to cover-up a WATERMELON, or to alert
potential Turd Burglars. Very effective when used in conjunction with an
ASTAIRE.
ASTAIRE
A subtle toe-tap that is used to alert potential Turd Burglars that
you are occupying a stall. This will remove all doubt that the stall is
occupied. If you hear an Astaire, leave the bathroom immediately so the pooper can poop in peace.
WATERMELON
A poop that creates a loud splash when hitting the toilet water. This is also an embarrassing incident. If you feel a Watermelon coming on, create a diversion. See CAMO-COUGH.
Hey, hey, hey,
Anon 2:53 and I were attempting to engage in a very thoughtful dialogue about hate speech and the First Amendment, and some of the rest of you go off on poop talk.
Maybe it's the storm...
Hey Soccer Mom,
The price of freedom is eternal vigilence. Why not just delete the crappy poop posts? It's your blog, after all. Then you can continue the discussion on what is obviously racist hate speech going on hereabouts.
I don't know about prosecution for some of these incidents but scolding and shunning of the perpetrators seems a minimum punishment for some of them.
Not deleting the crappy poop posts.
Free speech right?
And, when I get a chance to read them, after cleaning up my stupid rain-soaked basement, I might find them funny.
Or maybe, rather than delete them, I should move them to their own special place!
Thanks Soccer Mom ... Sometimes we just need a little laugh and the best way is to talk about and smell farts and lite farts with a match
Free speech is being able to say that when you elect a man of hate who has a wife who is a woman of hate and has a minister who is a man of hate: "GD the United States!! Then you are going to get hate.
Nothing surprising here.
These hate groups are gaining steam in the area. I saw something about them back in April and posted something on the site.
http://mayorofconcord.com/2009/nazi-meetings-in-a-place-near-you/
Definition - Hate Group:
A group of people who do not share your political philosophy.
Posts such as this seem to come right out of the PC playbook and are not up to the standard of usual posts here,you see hate from the right I from the left...who knows?
SM,
This string of comments bothers me. Can't you see the poop comments are making fun of a very serious topic (that you raise), and making light of you? And you fall right in. . . lapping it up.
I don't believe any of the 'white pride' group actions have anything to do with our current president.
Dear Thud,
The standard of the usual posts on this thread are scatalogical. My post (October 13, 2009 9:21 PM) was at a much higher level...
well, having grown up white here, I can say that the most surprising racist crap would come out after a few beers... I would be horrified and defend people or tell the guy who perhaps thought he was impressing me that he was an idiot, so I guess I am not surprised...
The so-called suicide of an AfAmerican guy in Lafayette should have been enough proof that people are still small minded and, at times, evil.
Im a recent transplant to the bay area from SoCal, and with all the politically correct, bay area liberalism, I think this area has an extremely passive aggressive racism worse than anything I've ever experienced in my entire life.
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