SouthernN'Proud
Southern Discomfort
Florida Today is reporting that the family of one graduating high school senior in that state wants its child’s graduation moved from a local chapel to a more secular venue.
The parents of a Palm Bay High School student, with the help of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, are threatening to sue unless the school district covers up all religious symbols at Calvary Chapel in West Melbourne for the ceremony. Barring that, they say they want the ceremony moved.
"Nobody wants this graduation to be disrupted," said Alex Luchenitser, senior litigation counsel for AUSCS. "We just want this to take place in a way that all students feel comfortable, no matter what religion they believe in."
School officials say moving the ceremony would disrupt three more public school graduations scheduled at the church, and have said they will not change their plans.
**end*
The mother of a Florida high school student who posed for a photograph with his girlfriend holding a leash attached to his neck for a yearbook gag is demanding that all copies of the book be recalled because she finds the image offensive, according to the Palm Beach Post.
Robert Richards was voted the school’s “Most Whipped by his Girlfriend” and appeared with Melissa Finley in the Boynton Beach High School 2005 yearbook to celebrate it.
But Richards’ mother, Jacqueline Nobles, has a problem with the image.
"I know it's supposed to be in fun, but there are people still having trouble with African-Americans' past and this will be offensive," said Nobles, who said the picture reminded her of the poster for the 1970s miniseries Roots, which featured a manacled slave. "This picture, to me, is very distasteful."
Richards himself, however, is clearly in the post-racial frame of mind about the whole thing. He believes his mother and those who might share her anxiety think differently about racism and slavery because of their age. He and his peers aren't as conscious of race, he said.
**end**
[rant]Finally. A public school who refuses to change every plan made for the whim of one goofball. Let her keep her precious little darling at home; if the kid is anything like the mother no one will miss the absence.
As for article two...exactly when did we as a society surrender our sense of humor and the adventurous spirit of youth in the name of offendedness? I must have been fishing that day, cuz I damn sure don't recall it. At least the kid knows what's going on, has his head on right, and isn't caught up in the trappings of whining and puling. Kudos.[/rant]
The parents of a Palm Bay High School student, with the help of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, are threatening to sue unless the school district covers up all religious symbols at Calvary Chapel in West Melbourne for the ceremony. Barring that, they say they want the ceremony moved.
"Nobody wants this graduation to be disrupted," said Alex Luchenitser, senior litigation counsel for AUSCS. "We just want this to take place in a way that all students feel comfortable, no matter what religion they believe in."
School officials say moving the ceremony would disrupt three more public school graduations scheduled at the church, and have said they will not change their plans.
**end*
The mother of a Florida high school student who posed for a photograph with his girlfriend holding a leash attached to his neck for a yearbook gag is demanding that all copies of the book be recalled because she finds the image offensive, according to the Palm Beach Post.
Robert Richards was voted the school’s “Most Whipped by his Girlfriend” and appeared with Melissa Finley in the Boynton Beach High School 2005 yearbook to celebrate it.
But Richards’ mother, Jacqueline Nobles, has a problem with the image.
"I know it's supposed to be in fun, but there are people still having trouble with African-Americans' past and this will be offensive," said Nobles, who said the picture reminded her of the poster for the 1970s miniseries Roots, which featured a manacled slave. "This picture, to me, is very distasteful."
Richards himself, however, is clearly in the post-racial frame of mind about the whole thing. He believes his mother and those who might share her anxiety think differently about racism and slavery because of their age. He and his peers aren't as conscious of race, he said.
**end**
[rant]Finally. A public school who refuses to change every plan made for the whim of one goofball. Let her keep her precious little darling at home; if the kid is anything like the mother no one will miss the absence.
As for article two...exactly when did we as a society surrender our sense of humor and the adventurous spirit of youth in the name of offendedness? I must have been fishing that day, cuz I damn sure don't recall it. At least the kid knows what's going on, has his head on right, and isn't caught up in the trappings of whining and puling. Kudos.[/rant]
Some people just have to overreact.
