Gotta love American society…

[Aku Necromancer]

I recently read this article written by Bill O'Reilly. Is it any wonder why I try to avoid the newspaper, current events, etc?

Crap like this sure can put a hamper on your day, every day it becomes a little bit easier to get disgusted with American society…

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Prom Night - All White
By: Bill O'Reilly for BillOReilly.com
Thursday, May 08, 2003

Put yourself in the shoes of a 17-year-old black student at Taylor County High School in Butler, Georgia about 150 miles south of Atlanta.

For weeks you watch the news and see an integrated American military machine take apart Saddam Hussein's regime.

You read on the BlackAmerica website that about 18% of U-S casualties in Iraq were African-American.

You see the country celebrating a great victory and waving the flags of patriotism.

Then you come to school and find out some students in your class are holding an all white junior prom.

How would you react if you were that kid?

You can't sue because the event is being held off campus. It's a private party and no person of color is welcome.

Yet the party is being held under the banner of Taylor High's junior prom.

Yes, there is an alternative prom where everyone is welcome, but still a number of your classmates do not want to celebrate with you.

The night the all white prom happened, May 2, I sent a producer and camera crew to interview the all white party goers.

Guess what? None of them would talk to us.

Neither would the adults who chaperoned the event.

But the students did express themselves in another way - they made a wide variety of obscene gestures in front of the camera.

Now, this white prom nonsense is a small story on the landscape of America. But what is not a small story is the way the powers that be in Georgia reacted.

The principal of Taylor High, Bonnie Branan, would not comment publicly.

The Superintendent of Schools, Wayne Smith, told me the prom was legal and that's that.

And the Governor of Georgia, Sonny Perdue, sent his press secretary out to say he was "disappointed" in the event.

But Perdue would not answer questions or condemn the prom. His spokeswoman says he is too busy.

In reality, he is hiding.

So if I'm a 17-year-old black student, I am getting the message. Nobody in power is on my side.

Nobody is willing to state that a segregated school event in the year 2003 is unacceptable behavior.

Nobody really cares.

Stunningly, some people criticized me for even talking about the story. The rationalizations came so fast I thought I was playing goalie for the Philadelphia Flyers.

"Blacks have private events too." "How dare you criticize the Governor, he doesn't answer to you." "You are anti-south!"

The issue of course was never addressed. So here it is in black and white: Holding an event organized within a public school that excludes students on the basis of skin color, ethnicity, religion, or any other defining characteristic is cruel, unAmerican, and should be condemned by all responsible public officials including teachers and administrators.

Got it?

Here's what I don't get. What is it about the UNITED States that folks don't understand? United means we are all in this together.

The killers on 9/11 were after Americans of all colors.

The soldiers who are defending us against those killers and their enablers are all colors.

So why are we dancing around this prom issue?

Americans who love their country will speak out against injustice and cruelty to fellow citizens especially children and teenagers.

That 17-year-old black student at Taylor High has been taught a lesson that will stay with him the rest of his or her life.

And that lesson is that skin color can disqualify you from attending a social event.

The night of that all white prom was, indeed, a rainy night in Georgia.
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I suppose what pisses me off the most is these are people around my age. Wow,…some people have no concept of kindness and respect…

Lets take a good look at their parents… heaven forbid these kids have children of their own someday....

 

[Spiderman]

I read a more "unbiased" article of the event. Are you surprised to learn that last year (2002) was the first time that there was an integrated prom at that school and all the time before that there were two proms? Did this guy write anything about it back then?

I agree that it's sad that some students felt they had to hold their own prom, especially after last year's integrated one and when everyone thought it was going to continue. But you can be a 17 year old black person who looks at that group and feels "put down" or look at the white students who DID go to the integrated prom and see that there are still some decent people "on your side".

And from the other article, the integrated prom was the "main" one with the all-white one being the "alternate", as in the minority.

 

[whuppinboy]

even though it's a typical circumstance here in America, the day we become true United States of America is the day Peace becomes a reality and not a fantasy or a catch phrase.
when i was in school, i was the minority, i didn't get invited to the other color's parties. Where was Mr O'Rielly then? where were my camera crews, my governor, my superintendant? No where. did it scar me psycologically? nope. am i bitter? sounds like it doesn't it? can i keep asking questions? i'm done.

i guess what i'm trying to say is that there is no such thing as journalism anymore, it's all tabloid reporting, about who can get the scoop first and broadcast without researching the details, then issuing a retraction later. stuff like this article goes on in America probably everyday, it just doesn't get the national attention it should because it's old news, it reminds us of our past and no one wants that.

anyhoo, i don't like Bill O'Rielly for just that reason, he gets press because he asks the "hard" questions and badgers people he interviews, it's all BS if you ask me, it's a nationally televised show, of course he's going to be mean, it gets ratings!

geesh.

 

[Shiro, Time Devourer]

Tabloid journalism, a scourge of the 21st century.

It was just as bad reading lamers yelling "War-mongering bloodlusters" and "Saddam-loving peaceniks!" at each other back when the US was still fighting in Iraq.

 

[Aku Necromancer]

Well, are you still going to complain,…he wrote an article about it? He at least says something about this, better late than never? I am happy someone actually speaks up, and reserves their disgust for crap like this…

I grow tired of the press/radio talk show hosts discussing American Idol or some other lame show…

Hopefully now some form of vigilance will be directed at the brat kids…how can people tolerate this? Or do people now prefer the, 'I don’t mind, I'll let them piss on me in hopes we can get a long after' strategy?

 

[Spiderman]

My point was that you ought to find more information about the event, especially after reading such a slanted article. My opinion is that he's making it bigger than it needs to be.

 

[whuppinboy]

Originally posted by Aku Necromancer
Well, are you still going to complain,…he wrote an article about it? He at least says something about this, better late than never? I am happy someone actually speaks up, and reserves their disgust for crap like this…

I grow tired of the press/radio talk show hosts discussing American Idol or some other lame show…

Hopefully now some form of vigilance will be directed at the brat kids…how can people tolerate this? Or do people now prefer the, 'I don’t mind, I'll let them piss on me in hopes we can get a long after' strategy?

who's complaining? did he do any research on this subject before he wrote it? or in his haste to exploit someone he just thought it'd be a great poker in someone's side? granted, yes the situation needs to be brought to light but how about some investigative journalism first? and i for one have never adopted the "piss on me and let's be friends" attitude. no one who has pissed on me is my friend, then or now.

 

[Aku Necromancer]

Originally posted by Spiderman
My point was that you ought to find more information about the event, especially after reading such a slanted article. My opinion is that he's making it bigger than it needs to be.

You are a bit to subtle for me then…

Whatever the case, I know all I need to know (I hope)…of course I realize the world is filled with jerks, this case caught my attention, it is not cool putting down other people. And it just so happens to be other people in my age group…yay…

Perhaps Bill O'Reilly isn't making it bigger than it needs to be, maybe I am the culprit?

Stuff like this will do nothing but reimburse us with more pain in the future…

 

[Spiderman]

If the guy doesn't report ALL of the facts or allows to be misleading (I'll repeat my one statement that the integrated prom was the main event and the all-white one was the "alternate", attended by the minority, not the other way around), then it's his fault. Whether you take him at face value or do some investigating of your own to see whether this is worth your time is up to you...

 

[EricBess]

But Perdue would not answer questions or condemn the prom. His spokeswoman says he is too busy.

In reality, he is hiding.

Originally posted by Spiderman
And from the other article, the integrated prom was the "main" one with the all-white one being the "alternate", as in the minority.

My understanding of the event was that the all-white prom was not "officially" sanctioned as the prom. The student's called it the prom, but the real prom that the school sanctioned was the integrated one.

So, where does the problem lie? With the leaders who didn't have anything to say? Bill O'Reily would have you believe so, but as long as it is done legally, what do you want them to say? Perdue said he was disappointed. Considering most of these leaders are elected officials, do you want them to publicly say that it was an abominable act?

The point is, it's not the leaders that are the problem here. It is the students who decided that they don't want their "prom" to have any non-whites. And, as Aku pointed out, that reflects badly on the parents.

Now, perhaps the leaders of the community are also parents of these students, perhaps they are not. But, from what I can see, the kids (student body) organized this themselves. I suspect that if you ask the leaders, they didn't recognize the event as the prom.

 

[Spiderman]

Exactly.

Along a related note, what about that hazing incident with the girls? Now that seems to have been a bad scene...

 

[Apollo]

Spidey: I didn't hear about the girls, can you elaborate?

As for the topic at hand, it may be shoddy journalism, and it may have just been a minority of kids organizing the all-white prom... but the mere fact that there are enough kids that feel that way to organize it is disappointing. I like to think of my generation as more open-minded than previous ones, but obviously we have our groups of stupid people just like every generation before us.

 

[Ferret]

It helps to prove a point: nothing divides us better than having someone point out how different we are - instead of how alike we are.

You always hear about white cops shooting "Minority"-Americans - yet, you rarely hear about any white people getting shot while commiting a crime - unless, they're racists, of course. The "all-knowing, all-seeing" media is always saying how poor race relations are, but they never seem to show large groups of people of all races getting together (and pointing out this fact) to make a point of unity...

...and, of course, you know why, don't you? Because no one will watch those kind of stories. The news shows have to sell advertising for products and they have to make money for their giant corporate networks - even PBS. This is why many journalists have started making up facts to sell a story (and more advertising dollars). This is why it's nearly impossible to find truly "honest" journalism when you read the paper (even the so-called Indy-papers), listen to the radio, or watch Tv.

Your best bet is to read/listen to/watch all of it and filter through it for the facts. Then, do some independent research of more sources to come up w/ what the closest thing to the actual truth is.

Find Your Own Truth

-Ferret

 

[Svenmonkey]

We can't do that. We must accept the media's viewpoint. Accept it. Resistance is futile.

Accept...accept...accept...accept...do not question...

 

[Spiderman]

Apollo: Somewhere, sometime in the US within the past two or three weeks, a bunch of students gathered in some field for some "ritual" that involved seniors initiating juniors for I think a sports team. This was an unwritten, understood annual type thing among the students but apparently this year it got out of hand. One girl had her hed covered with a bucket and hit on with a bat until she lost unconsciousness and got a severe concussion. Most, if not all, of the girls were pelted/fed maggots and some type of feces. More might have happened but that's what I recall. Only girls were supposed to be there yet there was a mix of the sexes. Some parents were accused of either being there and passively aiding (i.e. cheering), providing alcohol and the "foreign substances", or some combination. The school was aware that this type of thing happened and always tried to find out where it was, but this year apparently it was better organized and evaded them; the junior participants didn't find out where it was until an hour before the event and all communication was through IM or text messaging. There may have been a revenge/grudge factor between some senior and junior girls that would have dated back to junior high. A video was made and has been circulated; there is evidence that some spectators tried to protect some of those being abused and get them away. One reaction of a participant was "So a girl got her head split open, so what?" Lawsuits are pending.

As for the topic at hand, it may be shoddy journalism, and it may have just been a minority of kids organizing the all-white prom... but the mere fact that there are enough kids that feel that way to organize it is disappointing. I like to think of my generation as more open-minded than previous ones, but obviously we have our groups of stupid people just like every generation before us.

One problem is that no real numbers are given. Was the percentage of white students 49%, 20%, a handful? Is this like a case of 1 KKK marching and 500 non-KKK surrounding him? Your last statement is pretty much a given - there will always be stupid people, either intellect-challenged or physically-challenged as in doing Jackoink type stunts, just like there will always be people who commit crimes

Ferret:

This is why many journalists have started making up facts to sell a story

I really have only heard of the recent case of Blair and the "long-ago" but come back to light case of Glass. Making that statement sort of turns your own post against you - apparently you think it's a lot when its the case of the media making a big story out of one guy. Check for the facts....

Unless you have information that there's more that I didn't mention and am unaware of...

 

[DÛke]

...

Ferret:

It helps to prove a point: nothing divides us better than having someone point out how different we are - instead of how alike we are.

We are, perhaps, more different than we are alike. The only thing that enforces us to be "alike" are the modern liberties that want all men and women to look exactly the same, namely by having them "tolerate" each other - including each other's idiocy, bad manners, bad tastes...etc.

There is no common good - no common purpose, and no common reason. Every "universality" is a lie believed by people who try to make us look and feel the same, or want us to "tolerate" each other...

I will remain the last man to be tolerant of..."equality."

As for the subject matter of this topic: stop whining, wheather your are black or white...it does not matter. You feel that you are being treated unfairly? Good! - it is about time you get what you deserve: surely enough, you have treated the world around you unfairly.

 

[Ferret]

Originally posted by DÛke
...We are, perhaps, more different than we are alike. The only thing that enforces us to be "alike" are the modern liberties that want all men and women to look exactly the same, namely by having them "tolerate" each other - including each other's idiocy, bad manners, bad tastes...etc.

I see your point, but it's not the point I was making. I was speaking of the simple things that make all humanity equal: the need for food, air, and water. The rest is up for grabs to the ones w/ the strongest wills...

-Ferret

"there are no true rules to society - just the ones that we choose to listen to..."