Mississippi’s Itawamba Agricultural High School has been roundly condemned for canceling a school prom in order to avoid having lesbian student Constance McMillen appear in a tux with her girlfriend. Now, the school is accused of an astonishing act of duplicity to add to its earlier act of discrimination. McMillen says that she was invited to a prom arranged with officials off school grounds only to find it was just her and seven other revelers, including two learning disabled students. She later says that she learned that the rest of the student body was attending the real prom across town with the knowledge of school officials.
McMillen claims “They had two proms and I was only invited to one of them … everyone went to the other one I wasn’t invited to.”
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Sally,
Lest you forget, my blood is pure Southern. Born in Louisiana, lived all over, back in the bayou now. Are all Southerners backward, racist hicks? Not at all. I’m not a racist because as soon as I could understand my grandfather taught me one of the most important lessons he learned in WWII well before MLK so well elucidated the idea that one should judge a man by the content of his character and his actions, nothing else. And my grandfather was rural Louisiana born and raised with sixth grade education – a scenario that could have ended creating a Klan member, but it didn’t. There are a lot of racist clowns here in the South. But you know what, Sally? I’ve met them everywhere I’ve ever been. And everywhere I’ve been, including “home”, they deserve scorn for their retrograde and ultimately self-destructive behavior and ignorance.
“But as a southerner myself, I get pretty sick of people assuming that the south is full of a bunch of racist, homophobic, discriminating hicks. There’s also racist, homophobic discriminating people in the north as well.”
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Certainly would agree with Buddha that racism knows no boundaries, but let’s not deify the South when most of the history of racism finds its home there. Since I live here, I get reminded all the time. Note Gov. Bob’s recent apology for “forgetting about” slavery. Oh, really.
Well I figured as much.
But as a southerner myself, I get pretty sick of people assuming that the south is full of a bunch of racist, homophobic, discriminating hicks. There’s also racist, homophobic discriminating people in the north as well.
People need to realize that there are all types all over America, not just in a general area of America.
Sally,
Not to speak for mespo, but I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t disagree with the assertion that racism is a knife that cuts not just both ways, but all ways always.
Mepso….goes both ways…discriminating and racist groups exsist all over our country, north and south
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmrDIFWd6cM&hl=en_US&fs=1&]
Black Panther Party: This was probably one of the most violently racist black groups. It was founded in 1966 and they sold their organization as one that promoted self-help and keeping drugs out of the black communities, but they developed the ‘don’t need whitey’s help’ attitude. On the one hand, they advocated personal responsibility, while at the same time; they espouse racial hatred and separatism. Like white hate groups, such as the KKK, they try to mainstream their racial agenda. The original Panthers combined militant Black Nationalism with Marxism and advocated black empowerment and self-defense, often through confrontation.
” Southerners … the warmest, most welcoming, common- sense people around.”
This is a real shame. I’ve been around Southerners all my life and we are generally the warmest, most welcoming, common- sense people around. Sad that stories like thus tend to ruin it for the whole region.
Buddha,
Yikes! Your so bad, your good!
Mike,
If it’s one thing I learned from the Germans, it’s efficiency.
Once again, Buddha, you have demonstrated your ability to take ideas to their logical conclusion without boring all of us with those plodding, intermediate steps.
One lives to be of service, Blouise.