House of Eratosthenes

One of the leitmotifs of this blog, which has not yet been worded concisely enough to make it into the list of Things I Know, is the observation that there are exactly two subjects about which people will, with great frequency, comment stupidly. That is to say, there are two subjects which invite silly, nonsensical comments, from LARGE segments of the population, notably people who take great pride in thinking out what they’re saying. These two subjects draw half-assed, surreal, other-worldly, and wholly unworkable views like barbeque sauce draws bees. Usually-intelligent people will pontificate about these two subjects, and the steady stream of crap dribbling out of their mouths, is just a wonder to behold.

Those two subjects are these: 1) The September 11 attacks, and the ensuing War on Terror; and 2) girls and young women in skimpy outfits.

As I noted in FAQ Question #11, I am in a state of perpetual and complete uncertainty as to what these two subjects have to do with each other. There must be a link somewhere, but I don’t know what it is. Nevertheless, people have a tendency to behave as if the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, came spontaneously like some kind of freak weather phenomenon, to be blamed on nobody…except perhaps the President and some of America’s foreign policy. Nobody actually did them. And as for the ladies in skimpy outfits, well — the sky is the limit as to what people can say. They can say there’s nothing wrong with a nine-year-old dressing like a whore — or they can say there is something wrong with that, but what’s wrong with it has nothing to do with bad taste, the problem is she’ll cause “eating disorders” in other nine-year-olds. See what I mean? Common sense eludes just about everyone; it’s a steady, unbroken, pure stream of doots. Very little of what anybody says, makes any sense.

I’ve commented on it here and here and here and here and here and here.

Well, now a 25-year-old teacher is in trouble for pictures she had taken during her college days. Erica Chevillar has been caught. There’s pictures on the “innernets” of her posing in skimpy bikinis.

Chevillar, using the name Erica Lee, appears in outfits ranging from cleavage-baring jackets to skimpy bikinis in about two-dozen photos.

West Boca Raton High Principal Fran Giblin said he learned about the photos Wednesday after a parent complained. He turned the matter over to the district’s professional standards department, which handles investigations of noncriminal matters.

“I would certainly hope that we set the highest standards for our students,” Giblin said. “If this in fact is true, it’s a concern. A big concern.”

The district has only a general policy that requires teachers to behave “morally and ethically,” school district spokesman Nat Harrington said.

Okay, I can see something in this. I’ve looked at some of the pictures — and then, of course, I looked again and again and again just to make sure I was getting extremely offended. I will say there are one or two “sleazy underthings” types of pictures in there. A little heat for the district? Yeah, I can see that.

Nobody’s saying she used school resources to take the pictures.

Nobody’s saying she firmly established a link between her identity as a school teacher, and her identity as a model in the pictures. Nobody is saying she made any attempt to draw attention to herself in this way.

Nobody is even sticking their neck on a block, and contradicting Chevillar’s statement about “college days”…which, I’m gathering, means nobody’s stepping up and saying these pictures were taken during a time even close to her teaching career. In effect, this is equivalent to Raquel Welch getting a teaching job, and then getting in trouble when one of the superintendents finds out about One Million Years B.C.

Let’s explore the realm of dispute a little here. I’m taking it as a given, that everyone everywhere would agree, had Erica Chevillar been at her home in a skimpy bikini and paraded around in public view — maybe, walk out of the pool area, and go water some tulip bulbs in her front lawn — this wouldn’t, and shouldn’t, get her in trouble with the district.

Ah, but there are photos. Okay, so if Chevillar wandered around to her front lawn, and someone took a picture of her and circulated it…this wouldn’t get her in trouble either.

Ah, but she posed. Okay, so if she watered her tulips and her neighbor said “hey, can I take a picture of you” and she said “sure!” and the pictures went flying around…this still wouldn’t get her in trouble. Right? Am I right?

Ah, but she posed in what we call “butt floss” in some of these pictures, deliberately making her buttocks prominent as she did so. There are other photos where, while the product iself is not “topless,” the pose definitely is — something magically obscures those all-offensive nipples. Hmmm. Is this a departure from behaving “morally and ethically”? Some would say so.

All fine and good, then. If so, let someone step out of the shadows of anonymity, and so state. You shouldn’t be able to get someone in trouble, for behaving immorally and unethically — for wearing butt floss — without stating, over some kind of virtual signature belonging to you, that it’s immoral and unethical to wear butt floss. That’s my beef.

These aren’t R-rated shots. For all practical and not-so-practical purposes, these are bikini shots.

But more on-topic from where I sit, these are once-upon-a-time shots.

Yeah, I suppose it’s the district’s decision, not mine. But one thing about that. If once-upon-a-time bikini shots are defined as something outside of good behavior, “morally and ethically,” so that the violation can be made “a big concern” — ex poste facto — who is saying so, besides Principal Giblin? Who is this parent who complained?

I’m not saying the anonymous nature of the complaining parent means the photos never existed, since obviously, they did and they do. But there’s something terribly wrong about this, when you can say “this offends me” and bring some pretty harsh consequences on someone, without even saying who you are, let alone why it offends you.

Yes, having bikini pictures of you floating around on the net isn’t the greatest thing in the world, when you’re a teacher. But Chevillar didn’t pose for the pictures when she was a teacher, it appears she posed for them years before. Contrasted to that, I don’t see what being an advocate for the angst & agitation of busybody parents, who are outspoken enough to be offended, but way too shy to say who they are — has to do with being a principal. And Fran Gevlin, it would appear, is doing that very thing right friggin’ now.

He’d have a lot more sympathy out of me if I saw some evidence — just a tiny scintilla of evidence, not an overwhelming amount — that these pictures caused a real discipline problem. I could see how maybe they could. But from what I gather from this article, it’s all theoretical, inspired by the ravings of one, solitary, anonymous parent, whose intentions could be…anything. How that might be a much bigger problem than some once-upon-a-time bikini shots, should be obvious.

Update 5/12/06: The teacher will not be facing any firing, suspension, or any other form of discipline because a school district ruling yesterday held that she “didn’t violate any school rules or laws.”

Well, duh.

Oh, my gosh! I can’t believe no one is commenting – but then, when you have the “blog no one actually reads…” [And only a few people read mine… I sympathize!]

However, will comment on this one, for my Dear Husband.

All of these “teacher” episodes – including the blonde teacher who was too pretty to go to jail, and a small handful of others – and now this one [who, thankfully only has “old” photos of herself posted and has not been accused of sleeping with any of her students!]… My husband has said more than a couple of times when these newsworthy items hit Fox that he wonders where the heck these teachers were when he was a student?!?

And, not that I would have given it much thought then – but now – hey, none of my teachers looked like any of these beauties, either.

…I remember we did have one really handsome [male, obviously] Algebra teacher in my Junior High School…
- Sabra | 06/09/2006 @ 23:48

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Flesh! Oh, No!Thursday, May 11th, 2006

Flesh! Oh, No!
Thursday, May 11th, 2006