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The Lawyers Who Say Meep! High School Calls Police After Attorney Says Meep to Principal

Beaker_muppetFirst there were the Knights Who Say Ni! (below). Now we have the problem of the lawyers who say Meep! After reading the recent publications over the decision of the principal of Danvers High School banning students from saying the word “Meep,” Entertainment lawyer Theodora Michaels decided to act and wrote a letter using the four-letter word to Principal Thomas Murray, who comes across as a high school version of Dean Vernon Wormer from Animal House. She was immediately reported to the police for investigation by the school.

Murray stumbled on a conspiracy on Facebook where he learned that kids in the Danvers High School in Massachusetts intended to say “Meep!” in school — mimicking the lab assistant to Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, Beaker, of “The Muppet Show.”

Meep is actually in the dictionary which defines it as “whatever you want it to mean.” Murray, however, did not want it in his school and banned it — sending an automated call to parents warning that any student using “Meep!” could be suspended. His minions had uncovered a plot for students to do a “mass meep” in one part of the school.

That is when Michaels decided to nail her letter to the Internet door like a Meepish Martin Luther.

Here is the entire letter:

An open letter to Principal Murray of Danvers High School (MA):

Meep.

Sincerely,
Theodora Michaels

She says that the response was fast and furious: “Yesterday I received a reply email from Assistant Principal Mark Strout, which said (in full) “Your E-mail has been forwarded to the Danvers Police Department.”

I am pretty sure that Meep is not a form of hate speech, even under the Muppet criminal code. Methinks that Murray doth protest too much.

For her account of the controversy, click here.

For the original story, click here and here.

91 thoughts on “The Lawyers Who Say Meep! High School Calls Police After Attorney Says Meep to Principal”

  2. BIL–

    Ah, yes, Bill “The Morally Superior ‘Book of Virtues’ Author Who Is Always There to Tell Others How They Should Live Their Lives” Bennett.

    Ole poker-faced Blackjack Bill surely didn’t do anything to advance education in our country. What a waste of oxygen!

  4. No apple for the teacher ‘twoday’.

    Remember, a principle is never your pal.

    Gotta luv mnemonics, which in and of itself needs a Knew-monic to remember its spellin’

  5. Hi, all. I’m writing from inside this controversy. What you don’t know is that the media is only giving less than HALF of the story==the “funny” part. Anyone who knows Tom Murray knows:
    1. He is the most laid-back kid-friendly Principal in the state.

    2. He would not have taken the action that he did if he had not exhausted all possible avenues first.

    3. He’s a good man with a kind and generous heart.

    4. He is not a control freak–in fact,if you look up the word Laissez faire in the dictionary, you’ll probably see his picture next to it.

    5. He has an AMAZING sense of humor. As an example, in our school, we’ve had problems with beach balls and disruptions at graduations that has existed for years. On his first graduation ceremony with the high school, he talked to the graduates in small groups. He told them, “It’s about respect. Not one single one of you is bigger than the group. It’s everyone’s day and when you do something to bring things down and call attention to yourself, you are saying, in effect, that you are more important than everyone else in this room.” He then asked them to refrain from ball bouncing during student speeches etc and promised them something fun after. Even the normally most disruptive students were angels throughout the ceremony. He then purchased with his own money a bunch of giant beach balls. After the last diploma was handed out, and before they tossed their hats, the senior class officers sent the balls into the crowd of kids. They had a great time in this final class activity batting the beach balls around in joyous celebration. The dignity of the graduation ceremony was preserved, and the kids had their fun. His quote to the crowd “If you can’t beat them, join them”.

    And if the “meeping” in Danvers high school were just plain ol’ silly meeping–I’d bet that he’d laugh along with them. But it isn’t. Behind the “meep ban” is a much darker story. It’s not about meep, it’s about a host of disruptive actions,vulgar words, barnyard noises, and systematic harassment orchestrated to drive one person over the edge–and it’s about bringing down the learning environment at the same time. But that’s not “sexy” enough for the “news” media. So they left that part out. “Look at the principal! he’s banning a nonsense word” they all yelled… it is far more entertaining to the masses of sheeple than ” dark and ridiculously immature 18 year olds with no sense of boundaries plot to drive a person over the edge with systematic harassment”. And so, the whole bunch of sheeple bleated along without questioning exactly what happened.

    I’m so sad about the whole thing. It’s not about meep, it’s about teaching kids that there is a RESPONSIBILITY that goes with the freedoms they have. Unfortunately, the news media and many adults who should know better, are not setting a very good example for them to follow.

    http://salemnews.com/punews/local_story_158225341.html (the beach ball story)

  7. “Hey everybody! We’re all going to get meeped!” – Rodney Dangerfield as Al Czervik in “Caddyshack”

  8. AY,

    I can give you a more granular target than RWR.

    Ronnie’s boy, Bill Bennett.

    He did more to set back education in this country than just about anyone.

  9. Elaine M.,

    I am sorry for the young children that cannot tell their children a zany tale of some inane thing accompolished at school.

    You are correct that too much emphasis is placed on the fiscal aspect of school. I can blame RWR for the slow degradation of the public school system. That about how long ago it started.

    Too many things are too serious too not have any fun.

  12. Principal Murray has zero tolerance for humor. He must be on some kind of power trip.

    I sent an e-mail, sans MEEP, to Thomas Murray and CC’d Dr. Lisa Dana
    Superintendent of Schools. The only course of action against these power hungry types is ridicule and Principal Murray deserves all he gets.

  13. BIL–

    You should tell us what you really think.

    You said: But you don’t engage in “preemptive warfare”. I’d call it preemptive “wordfare.”

    ****************

    Honestly, schools have to deal with so many important educational/behavioral/fiscal issues these days–and this principle is concerned about a Meep-speaking conspiracy? I think Murray needs to get a life–as well as a sense of humor.

  14. I still say grow a sense of humor. Oh! The kids were planning a “mass disruption” by “saying meep”! Well Holy Crap! Let’s call the National Guard! What the Hell was a principle doing profiling his student’s online lives anyway? That’s inappropriate for so many reasons. And for essentially a harmless prank. Way to go, Jackboot! “It’s not about banning the word” blah blah blah. No, it’s not. It’s about you being a creepy old humorless bastard with ZERO respect for your students and their rights outside your direct control. If you were following MY kid online? I’d have your ass charged for stalking, you draconian creep. I was in on several really good school pranks in high school, one’s that make this one look “cute”, and if Murray doesn’t think that the administration(s) didn’t know some of those pranks were coming then he’s not very bright. I once orchestrated putting almost 100 pats of butter on the ceiling of the lunchroom. They knew “something” was coming. They knew who did it. But since they didn’t catch us red handed, we all played stupid and they had to back off. That’s the price you pay with pranks. Sometimes you catch the pranksters, sometimes you don’t. But you don’t engage in “preemptive warfare”. That’s psychological equivalent of “The Bush Doctrine” and it leads to escalation, Principle Orwell. You wanted to stop an essentially harmless prank by acting like a little Gestapo thug? You don’t understand the psychology of teenagers very well, do you? What you’ve done is invite an never ending and always escalating series of pranks from the more serious malcontents in your group – to whom you’ve telegrahped that they shouldn’t plan or coordinate online.

    I see exploding plumbing in your future, Principle Murray.

    Way to contain that sense of youthfulness, genius. Go read some Sun Tzu. You may be a good paper shuffler, but a tactician you are not.

  15. Seriously. Don’t you know that if the kids say “Meep” the terrorist win. Honestly, I thought you knew that. And you call yourself a lawyer.

  18. As a matter of full disclosure, I have a little Beaker puppet riding an unused pencil in my pen caddy. So Meep! you, Principle Murray. Grow a sense of humor.

  19. How do you say Meep?

    Meep,Meep,Meep,Meep,Meep,Meep,Meep,Meep,Meep,Meep,Meep,Meep,Meep,Meep,Meep,Meep,Meep,Meep,Meep,Meep,Meep,Meep,Meep,Meep,Meep,Meep,Meep,Meep,Meep,Meep,Meep,Meep,Meep,Meep,Meep,Meep,Meep!

    Sounds like a Yale, MIT or CalTech Students Stunt to me. None were intentionally left out or ignored only forgotten.

    Caltech is M.I.T.’s biggest rival in pranks, despite being located at opposite ends of the country. They often take potshots at one another and are especially prone to pranks at football games. Although the Great Rose Bowl prank is pretty well known, another football stunt occurred when Caltech wasn’t even playing. During the 1964 Washington vs. Illinois Rose Bowl game, the audience of 100,000 was rather bored by a somewhat lackluster game. That is, until they looked up and realized that someone had changed the electronic scoreboard to make it appear as if Caltech was putting the hurt on M.I.T. It happened again in 1984 – although the teams were UCLA and Illinois (again), it appeared as if Caltech was stomping M.I.T., 31-9.
    “We Suck”

    Link: http://www.neatorama.com/tag/yale/

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