Alarming News: I like Morgan Freeberg. A lot.
American Digest: And I like this from "The Blog That Nobody Reads", because it is -- mostly -- about me. What can I say? I'm on an ego trip today. It won't last.
Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler: We were following a trackback and thinking "hmmm... this is a bloody excellent post!", and then we realized that it was just part III of, well, three...Damn. I wish I'd written those.
Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler: ...I just remembered that I found a new blog a short while ago, House of Eratosthenes, that I really like. I like his common sense approach and his curiosity when it comes to why people believe what they believe rather than just what they believe.
Brutally Honest: Morgan Freeberg is brilliant.
Dr. Melissa Clouthier: Morgan Freeberg at House of Eratosthenes (pftthats a mouthful) honors big boned women in skimpy clothing. The picture there is priceless--keep scrolling down.
Exile in Portales: Via Gerard: Morgan Freeberg, a guy with a lot to say. And he speaks The Truth...and it's fascinating stuff. Worth a read, or three. Or six.
Just Muttering: Two nice pieces at House of Eratosthenes, one about a perhaps unintended effect of the Enron mess, and one on the Gore-y environ-movie.
Mein Blogovault: Make "the Blog that No One Reads" one of your daily reads.
The Virginian: I know this post will offend some people, but the author makes some good points.
Poetic Justice: Cletus! Ah gots a laiv one fer yew...
You can’t say that, it’s racist.
Blogger friend Phil has another viewpoint on this. Since the other school was, in fact, American, it made no sense to take “USA!” as a cheer for the victorious team, therefore it was reasonable to infer racial overtones. I have seen some comments from people who are familiar with the locality, residing there currently or having resided there previously. And their words lend weight to the notion, I must say. Although it must be said this is just a couple of people, nameless disembodied voices on the Internet, and they do seem to be packing an agenda that has something to do with finding racism everyplace they look.
None of this has to do with my complaint, however: It’s proxy, third-party offense taken. The school officials found it racist? What business do school officials have imagining racism? I’m not saying they don’t, if the evidence has arisen. This isn’t it. If it’s code for something deeper that’s a real problem, well, wait for some better evidence to come along. If there’s a real problem there, it shouldn’t be a long wait, right?
There’s another problem with this though: The students involved in the chanting were punished. Not grilled about “What t’heck did ya mean by that?” and then punished. This is a significant point. “Both districts are now trying to move past this disturbing incident,” they say…uh, waitaminnit, the districts made the incident. Seriously, what disaster would have ensued had the whole thing been let go? One team wins, a trophy is presented, the crowd chants “USA!” and nothing is done about it. Why, I believe I sat through such displays myself when I was in high school. Couldn’t tell you for sure. Didn’t pay much attention because it isn’t worth it.
If I did hear USA! USA! as the Sehome Mariners cruised on through to victory…and I’m leaning toward yes, I think that was a frequent occurrence…well, that would mean Alamo Heights fans need to work on their displays of racism because they’re sucking at it right now. They’re not changing anything in a meaningful way, to get the message across. To the best of my knowledge, while I attended Sehome, our guys didn’t play against any non-American teams.
So on the basis of my own personal experience, if on none other, I have to conclude the school officials manufactured this crisis. Unintentionally, maybe. But events are unfolding in this situation, differently from the way they used to “back in the day,” because and only because the behavior of the officials has changed.
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I opined recently that stuff like this makes me think that a cleansing asteroid would be a good thing and that humanity isn’t worth saving. Of course, that’s me being optimistic.
- Physics Geek | 03/08/2012 @ 11:00