Can't blame the educational establishment for all the problems with schools.

A brave Baltimore teacher speaks the truth about schools, students

Wow, mpetrie98,

That is some racist shit right there. Jesus Christ, that is some really racist shit. You're probably thinking that I'm being sarcastic. I'm not. That is some really racist shit that you've posted. Fuck you.

@WD...which part was racist? The teacher's original letter never mentioned a race and the guy writing the column only did at the end...and what part of what he wrote wasn't true? Can people just get their nickers out of a wad and realize we aren't doing anybody any favors by covering up the truth? Oh yeah, and Gregory Kane, the columnist who wrote the column is black. Can I use that term, or should I use the BS PC African-American?

And before anyone jumps down my throat, I am not a racist. I just get so tired of the double standard - the one applied to African-Americans and the one applied to everyone else. There will eventually be an uprising and the race wars will erupt again. You can only beat a person (or class of people) down for so long before they start fighting back.

I'm gonna have to agree whistledick, I didnt see anything racist in the letter of the commentary

"Miceli didn't bring up the issue of race in his letter, but you can bet that, somewhere in Baltimore, someone or a bunch of someones are chomping at the bit to call him a racist for his observations."

Add whistleDick to that long list of people who, when they cannot refute the citations, are reduced to yelling "racist!"

wD: if it's not true, you should be able to refute the claims. Show that thugs in Baltimore schools do NOT abuse teachers and destroy taxpayer-funded equipment. Show that there is another cause of violence in Baltimore schools.

I don't think you can. Have at it. Shoot, blame George Bush. It shouldn't matter that he's no longer in office - the current guy can't fix things because of him.

Over in Seattle, the term "brown bag" (as in lunch), is now racist. Also, the term "citizen" is now a no-no. (Apologies for the less than awesome link. I did read a better write-up on this yesterday, but can't find the link).

http://now.msn.com/seattle-says-words-citizen-and-brown-bag-could-be-offensive

Having dreams of an abusive "ex"?

Ask your spirit guide for a better dream.

There. All better.

Controversy! Controversy!

Getcher media-generated gotta-be-outraged controversy here! We'll even throw in Harrison Ford, free.

What, you're not outraged?

Hater!

There was nothing in the letter from the teacher that was racist. The racism comes from the commentary.

The letter reads, "So, go blame other root causes, but please leave our city police, prosecutors and teachers out of the finger wagging."

Apparently, the columnist has found an appropriate root cause -- the color of the student's skin. Not poverty, not fatherless homes, not violent neighborhoods or drugs, nothing else that plagues the poor communities of Baltimore.

I grew up in a wealthy neighborhood in Washington D.C. that was majority black. Most everyone had fathers at home, plenty of food on the table, and no violence to deal with. Teachers there were not affected by bad students. Quite the opposite. Poverty is the problem in the neighborhoods to which this teacher refers.

"wD: if it's not true, you should be able to refute the claims. Show that thugs in Baltimore schools do NOT abuse teachers and destroy taxpayer-funded equipment. Show that there is another cause of violence in Baltimore schools."

Rad, I'm not refuting the claims and have no issue with the letter cited in the column. I have a problem with the conclusion that the trouble is that the students are black. Yes, Rad, I think that there are a lot of other causes of violence in Baltimore schools. You really believe that the color of the students' skin is the cause? Okay, you'll say it's a cultural thing. Well, where I grew up, there was plenty of black culture and also plenty of wealth. Those things aren't mutually exclusive, you know.

I get tired of hearing that "black culture" involves fatherless homes, hopeless futures, violence, etc. Those things all come from poverty culture. Black, white, hispanic, you don't see kids from good homes fucking around with gangs and attacking their teachers.

That's why I said the column was racist. It attributed these troubles solely to skin color. The original letter certainly did not.

I'm particularly sensitive to this kind of shit because I've regularly seen friends of mine, people that had the same sort of upbringing from a good family that I enjoyed, lumped right in with the teacher attacking ne'er-do-wells because of their color the moment they come through the door. It's bullshit and we're better than that.

whistleDick you've missed the point. The columnist wasnt saying the color of their skin was the cause of their problems.

He was saying their problems were being amplified and exaggerated because it is verboten to point out the problems because anyone who does is accused of being racist.

@whistleDick LOLOL!!!