Bullpen Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 http://www.krdo.com/community/31073392/detail.html Students asked to portray a person from history they as a part of "Wax Museum Day." A member of the staff took exception to this child (second grader) coming school in makeup to appear like Dr. Martin Luther King because it might be offensive to other children. My co-worker said it best, "This is not what Martin Luther King's dream was I don't think." Just like youth sports, schools are becoming things that are great ideas that adults just screw up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KD in CA Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 Yet another victory for "tolerance"! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wooderson Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 Ugh. They pull out the "dress code policy" in order to try and enforce the issue. I don't understand people these days. A second grader putting on face paint to impersonate a black leader...this is where they want to draw the line? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boyst Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 Only fair if a student can dress up as Jefferson Davis, general Lee, Hitler, or Kim Jong Il Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CosmicBills Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 The fault lies with the parents on this one. You can't send your kid to school in blackface. It's wrong on so many levels and incredibly offensive -- even though it was most likely unintentionally so. But know your history. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrDawkinstein Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 (edited) The fault lies with the parents on this one. You can't send your kid to school in blackface. It's wrong on so many levels and incredibly offensive -- even though it was most likely unintentionally so. But know your history. Agreed here. Anyone who doesnt know that blackface is considered offensive, and has been for 50+ years, just isnt paying attention. Whoever assigned the child to come dressed as MLK should have known better too. Is it growing more common to see people in blackface? Yes. Should it be ok, since no one cares if people dress in whiteface? Maybe. But it is what it is, thanks to history. Edited May 17, 2012 by DrDareustein Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CosmicBills Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 Agreed here. Anyone who doesnt know that blackface is considered offensive, and has been for 50+ years, just isnt paying attention. Is it growing more common to see people in blackface? Yes. Should it be ok, since no one cares if people dress in whiteface? Maybe. But it is what it is, thanks to history. It's confounded by the fact the kid was portraying MLK. A white kid dressing as MLK in blackface, unknowingly or not, is the opposite of the message MLK preached. It would have been a more profound statement for him to wear the suit and tie and mustache but forgo the blackface since MLK's message was one of color blindness. Putting on blackface defines MLK as a black man rather than a human being which was his central message. Again, not the kid's fault. It's the parents. Personally I would have handled the situation differently as I don't think the kid (or the parents) meant any harm ... but it's not an excuse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrDawkinstein Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 Yep, parents shouldnt have let the kid out of the house like that. And the teacher should have covered the stigma around blackface when assigning. Im actually surprised this made the news though. It's not the end of the world, or the worst thing that couldve happened. Not sure where the controversy comes from, other than a kid got their feelings hurt, and the parents are up in arms about it. Again. "Think of the kids! The Kids!" Yeesh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Poojer Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 yeah, i agree, as a parent i would be proud of my kid for wanting to portray someone like MLK Jr. but i'd be sensible enough to not let them go in black face....granted if the kid is white, the costume loses a lot, but come on...its been historically offensive to black people...people really need to stop using kids as their instrument to prove social points...the kid is in second grade, he/she would understand if you explained why it wasn't a good idea...i don't really blame this on the PC movement..i blame this on stupidity of adults. The fault lies with the parents on this one. You can't send your kid to school in blackface. It's wrong on so many levels and incredibly offensive -- even though it was most likely unintentionally so. But know your history. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CosmicBills Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 Yep, parents shouldnt have let the kid out of the house like that. And the teacher should have covered the stigma around blackface when assigning. Im actually surprised this made the news though. It's not the end of the world, or the worst thing that couldve happened. Not sure where the controversy comes from, other than a kid got their feelings hurt, and the parents are up in arms about it. Again. "Think of the kids! The Kids!" Yeesh. According to the article the parents waited for the news to arrive. So money's on them calling it in. Which makes it worse. DC Tom is right. People are idiots. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Poojer Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 2nd grader with either a pony tail or a pretty massive mullet.... According to the article the parents waited for the news to arrive. So money's on them calling it in. Which makes it worse. DC Tom is right. People are idiots. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CosmicBills Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 2nd grader with either a pony tail or a pretty massive mullet.... :lol: I just noticed that too. Hilarious. Kid's got style and guts. I'll give him that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Poojer Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 please...second graders aren't that savvy...it appears to me that this poor kid is his parents way of showing how cool, open minded, liberal(not in political way) they are.... :lol: I just noticed that too. Hilarious. Kid's got style and guts. I'll give him that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrDawkinstein Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 According to the article the parents waited for the news to arrive. So money's on them calling it in. Which makes it worse. DC Tom is right. People are idiots. Ugh... This generation of parents will be the downfall of our society. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erynthered Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 Ugh... This generation of parents will be the downfall of our society. Gen X'rs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SageAgainstTheMachine Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 It's confounded by the fact the kid was portraying MLK. A white kid dressing as MLK in blackface, unknowingly or not, is the opposite of the message MLK preached. It would have been a more profound statement for him to wear the suit and tie and mustache but forgo the blackface since MLK's message was one of color blindness. Putting on blackface defines MLK as a black man rather than a human being which was his central message. Again, not the kid's fault. It's the parents. Personally I would have handled the situation differently as I don't think the kid (or the parents) meant any harm ... but it's not an excuse. That's not really my interpretation of the phrase "color blindness". There's nothing wrong with physically identifying a person by race, so long as there's not prejudice. A: Which guy over there is Mike? B: Oh, Mike's the black guy. or A: Which guy over there is Mike? B: Oh, Mike's the tall guy. No difference, right? So, in such a way, using black makeup to portray MLK isn't inherently offensive. It's just an identifying factor. By your logic, wouldn't a suit/tie/mustache similarly identify him by something other than content of character? Now, the whole situation is muddled by the history of blackface, I'll give you that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ieatcrayonz Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 It's confounded by the fact the kid was portraying MLK. A white kid dressing as MLK in blackface, unknowingly or not, is the opposite of the message MLK preached. It would have been a more profound statement for him to wear the suit and tie and mustache but forgo the blackface since MLK's message was one of color blindness. Putting on blackface defines MLK as a black man rather than a human being which was his central message. Again, not the kid's fault. It's the parents. Personally I would have handled the situation differently as I don't think the kid (or the parents) meant any harm ... but it's not an excuse. Nice selective outrage there chief. It's ok for black people to be offended by this? I tend to agree but then you go ahead and act as if people with mustaches are some sort of second class citizens. What if some Armenian kid in the class had a mustache and was offended? It is second grade so most Armenians have mustaches by then. Nobody cares about that, right? What if the kid was assigned to be Tim Conway and he came in dressed as a jockey like that character Conway used to play? Should short people be offended? Don't get me wrong, I understand the outrage, just not the selective outrage. Example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhO7dMEthK4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrDawkinstein Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 (edited) Gen X'rs? I guess that seems to be the generation in question. Whoever is responsible for the coddling, sheltering, over-protection, and complete lack of responsibility for their own child nowadays. Edited May 17, 2012 by DrDareustein Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-9 Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 Next thing you know they won't be able to teach some classic American literature because the main character has a name like !@#$ Jim. We are failing our children on so many levels. Especially those we fail in the name of protecting them so much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrDawkinstein Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 Next thing you know they won't be able to teach some classic American literature because the main character has a name like !@#$ Jim. We are failing our children on so many levels. Especially those we fail in the name of protecting them so much. Found a term for it, Helicopter Parent Im trying to search reddit for a number of stories posted recently that detail accounts of parents calling college professors to yell at them for their kid's failing grades, and even stories about parents calling the Human Resources department at their "child"'s new job to complain about the workload given to their "child". It's a mess. A big, spoiled mess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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