What's in the News? 2.0

[Sara Nilsson]

https://www.theroot.com/11-year-old-boy-arrested-for-refusing-to-recite-racist-1832685230

On February 4th, the 11-year-old student at Lawton Chiles Middle Academy in Lakeland, Fla., was asked, along with his classmates, to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance, according to Bay News 9. Instead, the boy told his substitute teacher that the American flag is racist against black people.

    The teacher recapped everything in a handwritten statement to the district. “Why if it was so bad here he did not go to another place to live,” she reportedly told him, and the boy responded, “They brought me here.”

    She said, “Well you can always go back, because I came here from Cuba and the day I feel I’m not welcome here anymore I would find another place to live.” She added, “Then I had to call the office because I did not want to continue dealing with him.”

And that ladies and gentlemen is how you totally fuck it up as a teacher. Thankfully the substitute teacher is no longer welcome but the school hasn't dropped the bs charges against the boy yet. How do you even if you are a racist idiot think.. yeah ill call the cops on an 11 year old student because I didnt want to deal with him? THE COPS?! Why not the marines while you are at it. Fucking idiots.

[Beorning]

Still, I admit I don't understand how the American flag is racist against black people..?

[Oniya]

The flag is a symbol of the nation.
During the founding of the nation, black slaves were not even counted as people.
It took amending the Constitution to recognize that African Americans were, in fact, equal to white people.
There is still a significant portion of the population that thinks that anyone not white is somehow inferior.


Choosing not to pledge allegiance 'to the republic, for which it stands' when that republic has not delivered on 'liberty and justice for all' is well within anyone's rights.

[RedRose]

Banning nude statues is really… Weird. Facebook has so much worse. Also dices LOL. That's weirddd.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3aFPjpxRZrU
Wonder why people are surprised. From start the gilets jaunes were racist, targeting black people, Asians...

[Yvellakitsune]

https://www.theroot.com/11-year-old-boy-arrested-for-refusing-to-recite-racist-1832685230

And that ladies and gentlemen is how you totally fuck it up as a teacher. Thankfully the substitute teacher is no longer welcome but the school hasn't dropped the bs charges against the boy yet. How do you even if you are a racist idiot think.. yeah ill call the cops on an 11 year old student because I didnt want to deal with him? THE COPS?! Why not the marines while you are at it. Fucking idiots.

This is only part of the story though.  Someone doesn’t get charged for just disrupting a class or even yelling at a teacher.  For the police to have been called, there has to be more.  Every article I saw on it says they cannot cite the specific charges because he was a minor.  Yes, the substitute teacher cannot force something, but that still doesn’t not mean a student gets to “disrupt” things to a point that school administrators had to call the police.  If the police were called, that means both the teacher and the principal(s) were not able to settle it.  I am sure there has to be more not being told. Did he start breaking things, hit the teachers or principal?  Did it get to the point it dragged in other students?  Every source I have seen only gives the mother’s side of it.   

[Beorning]

The flag is a symbol of the nation.
During the founding of the nation, black slaves were not even counted as people.
It took amending the Constitution to recognize that African Americans were, in fact, equal to white people.
There is still a significant portion of the population that thinks that anyone not white is somehow inferior.

Choosing not to pledge allegiance 'to the republic, for which it stands' when that republic has not delivered on 'liberty and justice for all' is well within anyone's rights.

Hm. I admit I don't know what are the customs regarding such things in the States, so let me apologize beforehand if I end up saying something ignorant... My questions is: wouldn't a pledge of allegiance be part of the whole citizenship package? If you are a country's citizen, you are kind of expected to pledge loyalty to it...

I mean, isn't it something like singing the national anthem? Again, I'm not sure about the attitudes in the States, but back here, if a kid in school declined to sing the national anthem, there would be a ruckus, too.

Not saying that calling cops on a kid is okay, though...

Banning nude statues is really… Weird. Facebook has so much worse. Also dices LOL. That's weirddd.

Regarding dice: you know why that happens? It's because in Polish, the word for dice (kości) is the same as the word for bones. So, if you post an ad about selling dice, the FB filters think you might be selling human or animal remains... *facepalms*

Overall, things have gotten really weird when it comes to marketplace ads on FB regarding hobbies such as RPGs, wargaming or even board games. I once heard of a woman who got an ad blocked when she was trying to sell a completely innocent boardgame about railroad construction... I didn't hear any good explanation what kind of FB filter she triggered with that.

[Sara Nilsson]

Hm. I admit I don't know what are the customs regarding such things in the States, so let me apologize beforehand if I end up saying something ignorant... My questions is: wouldn't a pledge of allegiance be part of the whole citizenship package? If you are a country's citizen, you are kind of expected to pledge loyalty to it...

I mean, isn't it something like singing the national anthem? Again, I'm not sure about the attitudes in the States, but back here, if a kid in school declined to sing the national anthem, there would be a ruckus, too.

Courts have ruled you cant be forced to say the pledge of allegiance in many many states. And in this case the school doesn't force you to, it is perfectly ok to not do it.

This is only part of the story though.  Someone doesn’t get charged for just disrupting a class or even yelling at a teacher.  For the police to have been called, there has to be more.  Every article I saw on it says they cannot cite the specific charges because he was a minor.  Yes, the substitute teacher cannot force something, but that still doesn’t not mean a student gets to “disrupt” things to a point that school administrators had to call the police.  If the police were called, that means both the teacher and the principal(s) were not able to settle it.  I am sure there has to be more not being told. Did he start breaking things, hit the teachers or principal?  Did it get to the point it dragged in other students?  Every source I have seen only gives the mother’s side of it.   

Considering we have had a black girl tasered in school for stealing a chewing gum this year, I do not see why there has to be all that more to the story. You basically have to be black and the police will be called.

[Beorning]

Courts have ruled you cant be forced to say the pledge of allegiance in many many states. And in this case the school doesn't force you to, it is perfectly ok to not do it.

Ah, I see. I didn't know that.

Considering we have had a black girl tasered in school for stealing a chewing gum this year, I do not see why there has to be all that more to the story. You basically have to be black and the police will be called.

Whaaaaaaaat???  :o  :o  :o

[Yvellakitsune]

Considering we have had a black girl tasered in school for stealing a chewing gum this year, I do not see why there has to be all that more to the story. You basically have to be black and the police will be called.

After I left the Army, I worked in a school district as a paraeducator for a while.  The specific school district I worked at also handled a special program for the country for second chance adults to get their high school diploma as well as the special education that included children prone to violence for the county.  There are processes that take place before police are called.  Our district even had specific trained personnel for manhandling and if need be mechanically restraining students because of the special programs we had.  There are protocols.  The police are not just called because a student is disruptive.  I saw many incidents where students were disruptive and even violent, to include black students, where no police were called.  I was attacked by a student one time and no police were called.  Having worked on the inside, I am sure there is more to the story.  Every article I saw on this incident would not publish the charges the student was cited for. 

I am not sure if this is story you are talking about or not (Burnsville High School in Minnesota).  The story I found from the local paper says the student became "combative" with the officer.  The officer apparently did not know the student had an Individual Education Plan under the special education program at the school, and why would they know specifics anyway.  The officer was following the two students because the student apparently was bullying the other student over the gum for quite a while and continued to harass the other student outside the building.  Apparently these two students had a history from what was said in the article.
The officer made several attempts to de-escalate the situation before using the taser according to the story again.   It was not just a tasering because he took a stick of gum, there was a whole series of events leading to it.  What the word "combative" specifically means the article didn't specify.  It was not just an officer showing up and tasing a student over a stick of gum if this is the sam event.   It was also not a police officer called.  It was an officer on duty at the school who came across the situation while inside the school and followed it as it continued outside the school. 
http://www.startribune.com/burnsville-police-use-taser-on-student-but-was-it-excessive/477770633/

There are at least two sides to every story.  I still feel it was wrong for the substitute teacher to confront the student and how the substitute teacher handled it initially.  That still does not exempt a student if they threaten or resort to violence.   I don't know if we will hear it or not, but what was the actual trigger justifying the call to the police. That is not mentioned in the articles I have seen so far.  The trigger for calling the police was not the act of not standing for the pledge, or simply arguing with a teacher.  There has to be more like in the other story. 

[gaggedLouise]

Bernie Sanders will be making another run for president in '20. If he is nominated and wins, he would be (among other things) the oldest ever person to be sworn into the office. beating Reagan in January 1985 by almost five years.

[AmberStarfire]

Tourists exposed to radiation at the Grand Canyon:

https://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/tourists-exposed-to-radiation-at-grand-canyon-museum-worker-claims/news-story/3ea61c089ff5632bf80f0d0c84b0b8a8

[ReginaWallace]

Tourists exposed to radiation at the Grand Canyon:

https://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/tourists-exposed-to-radiation-at-grand-canyon-museum-worker-claims/news-story/3ea61c089ff5632bf80f0d0c84b0b8a8

Saw this on the 6o'clock news last night, and all I could think was, "Dang! It's Fallout time!".
but is all serious how does this happen? Wouldn't this be more of a TV show trope that a real life event? Three paint cans of ore exposing people to radiation and no one thought to see what was in those buckets? Good job US

[The Lovely Tsaritsa]

Bernie Sanders will be making another run for president in '20. If he is nominated and wins, he would be (among other things) the oldest ever person to be sworn into the office. beating Reagan in January 1985 by almost five years.

Mr Trump, he’s oldest sworn in I think?

[Oniya]

Saw this on the 6o'clock news last night, and all I could think was, "Dang! It's Fallout time!".
but is all serious how does this happen? Wouldn't this be more of a TV show trope that a real life event? Three paint cans of ore exposing people to radiation and no one thought to see what was in those buckets? Good job US

It's worse than you think - one of the 19-gallon 'paint cans' was so full of uranium samples that the lid wouldn't close.  You don't get that much uranium ore in one place without trying.  They were stored next to a taxidermy exhibit where people - including children - sat for 30 minute presentations.  Someone not only gathered that much ore, but decided to put it in insufficient containment in a public area.

[Oniya]

Mr Trump, he’s oldest sworn in I think?

Sorry for double-post - meant to hit 'Insert Quote'.  Reagan served two terms in office.  At the time of his second inauguration, he was 73 years old.  Trump was older at his inauguration than Reagan was at the beginning of his first term.

[ShadowFox89]

Mr Trump, he’s oldest sworn in I think?

Age 70, yeah

[The Lovely Tsaritsa]

Sorry for double-post - meant to hit 'Insert Quote'.  Reagan served two terms in office.  At the time of his second inauguration, he was 73 years old.  Trump was older at his inauguration than Reagan was at the beginning of his first term.

Oh ok, I didn’t understand. Thank you! :-)

[gaggedLouise]

Mr Trump, he’s oldest sworn in I think?

Reagan was within a few weeks of 74 when he began his second period in early 1985, Trump was "only" seventy years and a half. If Trump does win the next election too and enters a second term though, he would be the   alderman, well past 74. (God help us if that happens, but I really doubt that he will win another term!)

[TheGlyphstone]

I'll admit I'm not as enthused about Bernie's odds now as I was last election. He's still the same person, but four years older; with the stresses of the presidency, I'd be genuinely worried we were electing his vice-presidential pick instead. Plus he's now one of a whole gaggle of candidates across varying points of the socialist spectrum, rather than being the lone-wolf fighting the establishment. He might be better off serving as a kingmaker and throwing his gargantuan grassroots organization behind one of the other candidates.

[Blythe]

I'll admit I'm not as enthused about Bernie's odds now as I was last election. He's still the same person, but four years older; with the stresses of the presidency, I'd be genuinely worried we were electing his vice-presidential pick instead. Plus he's now one of a whole gaggle of candidates across varying points of the socialist spectrum, rather than being the lone-wolf fighting the establishment. He might be better off serving as a kingmaker and throwing his gargantuan grassroots organization behind one of the other candidates.

Yeah, I really like Sanders, generally speaking, but....I pretty much completely agree with you here.

[Sara Nilsson]

https://www.npr.org/2019/02/20/696360090/supreme-court-limits-civil-asset-forfeiture-rules-excessive-fines-apply-to-state

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously Wednesday that the Constitution's ban on excessive fines applies to state and local governments, thus limiting their ability to use fines to raise revenue.

This is a massive win. Absolutely massive.

No longer can cops use the civil forfeiture rules to take expensive items from people who cannot pay a fine. Something that they have more and more been doing as a means of securing funds for their own use. John Oliver had a program on this very problem.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kEpZWGgJks

[Twisted Crow]

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cnn.com/cnn/2019/02/20/entertainment/jussie-smollett-attack/index.html


Hmmm. Not sure what I think or feel about this right now, honestly.

[Lustful Bride]

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cnn.com/cnn/2019/02/20/entertainment/jussie-smollett-attack/index.html


Hmmm. Not sure what I think or feel about this right now, honestly.

Best thing to do is wait till the investigations are done and to hear the evidence presented.

[Twisted Crow]

What triggers me, I think, is that we do have legit cases of violence against gays all the time. Like... real cases. It is definitely an issue.

If this is in fact, some elaborate publicity sham, then it only gives fuel to the fire and works against cases like this. It gives bigots something to gloat about and use as "cry wolf" ammunition in future incidents that are indeed real hate crimes.

I feel bad because on one hand, I hope Smollet wasn't just doing this for publicity. Except that would mean that all of this really happened to him. On the other hand... it would be relieving that he wasn't attacked in such a manner, yet upsetting that such deception hinders those that are actually assaulted in the future.

:-\

[AmberStarfire]

Saw this on the 6o'clock news last night, and all I could think was, "Dang! It's Fallout time!".
but is all serious how does this happen? Wouldn't this be more of a TV show trope that a real life event? Three paint cans of ore exposing people to radiation and no one thought to see what was in those buckets? Good job US

Sorry, I only just saw your reply. All I can think is they had so much 'stuff' that they never paid all that much attention to the buckets of ore. So many people were likely exposed over the years.  I wonder who was the first to figure it out/realised.