Comments

1
No, I think this can be blamed on people that don't know how to swim playing around in an unfamiliar, natural body of water.
2
uh, 1 lifejacket for 7 people? this is the fault of what now?

3
It doesn't take a genius to know it's dangerous around water, especially if you don't swim.
4
I think the problem is based more in the fact that (in the South) it's fairly common that African American's don't learn to swim. A problem rooted in the history of segregation in America; not necessarily a weak education system.
5
Ahh segregation, what can't we blame on you?
6
"I think all of this can be blamed on America's weak commitment to providing a decent education to all of its citizen:"

Wah wah wahhhhhhhh.
7
@4, you have limited definition of education. in my understanding, an education has to be well-rounded.
9
@8 Why not? They do in a lot of places, hell some require an ability to swim in order to graduate(with reasonable exceptions). Not all schools have pools or access to them, but I don't see why it should not be part of physical education. Its a hell of a lot more useful than learning how to keep score while bowling or lifting weights.
10
this is just stupid. if you don't know how to swim stay the hell away from water.

guess what? i don't know how to swim either. and i'm a 36 yo white male. when i have to be around water i wear a life jacket. i'm sorry but these kids and their parents acted stupidly and paid the price.
11
@8: It's not really widespread due to budget issues, but yeah. In Toronto, we have schools with pools and kids tend to start swim classes around age 12 or 13 and into high school, all part of PE. Makes sense for a waterfront city.
12
i'm with you on this one charles. i've often said that schools should teach more useful skills like how to live on a budget and how to do taxes. my child, through the seattle school district, takes swimming.
needless tragedy, so sad.
13
Charles has a singular gift for striking the wrong note for every tragic news story. They couldn't swim and made some bad choices. But clearly an inadequate education system is the central problem. In Charles perfect world, the headline would read, "Teens Nearly Drown; Saved By Their Ability To Use The Quadratic Formula And One Boy's Midterm Paper Titled 'The Two July 4ths: America, The Philippines, and Our First Experiment With Empire'". [twat]

I dare say I was lucky enough to receive a better education than most, yet my school didn't have swimming lessons or water safety classes. But perhaps these are the things Charles requires in defining a good education. Put down that Shakespeare! Piss on Melville! Cut Chemistry from the curriculum! It's time life jacket class people!
14
@13 - I'm guessing more basic education such as "if you can't swim, stay outta the water" and "one lifejacket won't cut it for 7 people". But go ahead and continue being an asshat.
16
Will this be on the darwin awards?

"Its funny because I don't know them"-Homer Simpson
17
Someone mentioned bowling, so here's a bowling analogy:

Charles, this was like getting a strike...in someone else's lane.

The public education system in this country, shitty and shameful as it may be (the result of anti-intellectualism), had nothing to do with this tragedy. This is about parents not teaching their kids common sense.
18
"a 50 minute science lecture on boyance"

Nothing, not even a harmless science course, is safe from the pernicious homosexual agenda.
19
Not all schools have pools or access to them, but I don't see why it should not be part of physical education.


Um.
20
@17, the parents likely should not have had children in the first place.
21
how would Charles' comment have been different if these boys had been in a tree that collapsed? oh yeah - gummint-sponsored climbing lessons!
22
This is the dumbest post I've seen in a long, long time. Even from Charles.
23
This isn't about education - it's about common sense. The drowning victims may have been lacking in the former, but they were definitely lacking in the latter.
24
It amazes me how we use the education system to excuse poor parenting.
25
yes government should provide swimming lessons, esp. in the south where it's fucking hot and people are going to go into the water and go on boats, duh, and all you fucking morons who are against it are going to have to pay MORE MONEY for the rescue teams, the health care costs and the opportunity costs and the culture of black parents not being able to swim SO THEY CAN'T TEACH THEIR KIDS comes from slavery yes it does when blacks were not allowed to swim or to learn other things ....not allowed to have boats....certainly not allowed into swimming pools under jim crow....it's part of the legacy of racism...so opposing this is racist as well as stupid you fucking idiots btw it's also cruel as people will die and you greedily don't care because you can't stand to have the government take another $1000in taxes from the rich louisianians and oil companies ripping off the state for decades. the ones living in mansions on st. charles avenue who throw away $1000 on drinks when they go to a party at the country club.
26
Anonymous yat @25 nails it exactly. Amen and fuck yeah.
27
and more. the river is the jimmie davis river. google two minutes and you get this:
he was the prototype musician who became governor and wrote you are my sunshine...

"The two careers came together in 1943, when Davis's musical fame helped get him elected governor of Louisiana. He served a single four-year term (1944-48) while continuing to perform, even playing himself in a 1947 movie about his life, Louisiana. He served as governor again from 1960-64, a term marked by struggles over civil rights and school desegregation."

I will venture this governor was not doing anything to promote deseg and did everything he could to assist white flight white academies and defunding and closure of public schools AND PUBLIC SWIMMING POOLS

fucking ignorant racists.
28
Yat's a fucking illiterate moron, and only proves that teaching things like reading in writing in schools is no guarantee that people will actually know how to read and write.
29
@14 and a few others.

Schools are cutting the arts. The majority of first year students in a post-secondary school--or in other words most freshmen at both four year and two year schools--can only read at a 9th grade level. So just think about the ones who don't go beyond high school. Classes are overcrowded. Math and science education in the U.S. is far below just about of our global competitors. Some schools are cutting the school year and/or school week even shorter due to budget shortfalls. Classes which don't immediately instruct for the SATs or No Child Left Behind exams are being scaled back or cut altogether. So clearly what the education system needs is take the blame for this and redirect resources to swimming lessons and water safety.

And I'm the asshat here. Ok.

Public funded swimming lessons are fine. Public swimming pools are fine. But something this basic and this remedial (not to mention this superfluous to the dire educational needs of our kids) should not be thrown on the schools.

My grandfather learned greek and latin in a one room school house in rural Iowa. Wonder how many people today are learning latin and greek in public schools. He grew up nowhere near lakes, rivers or the ocean. Yet he knew how to swim, and he didn't learn it in school. Too busy with the Greek, I guess.

I'll happily continue to meet 14's definition of an asshat.
30
I'm guessing more basic education such as "if you can't swim, stay outta the water" and "one lifejacket won't cut it for 7 people".


Also, don't stick metal objects in a toaster, don't drink Draino, and don't put liquid dish detergent in the dishwasher. Any other suggestions as to what life advice schools should be obligated to teach?
31
I used to be a decent swimmer. We had a community pool near my house as a kid, and I went to a high school that required it.

I don't know what happened since, but these days, I can barely tread water to save my life. If I ever need to swim a short distance, it's all instinctual, no technique, doggy paddle/under-water frog style swimming.
32
Oh for fuck's sake, of course it's about education. Basic, survival education. It's a fuckload more important to be able to swim than to do, say algebra, and so kids in say, second grade, should be tested and if they can swim, take lessons during PE. As for the pool issue, I grew up in Sweden, where no schools have pools. We were simply bussed to the nearest public pool for a few weeks. As for money, isn't a FUCKING SURVIVAL SKILL worth prioritizing? Right? right.
33
Is government supposed to provide everything? I think you have mommy issues.
34
Just let 'em drown. If they go into the the water and know that they can't swim, it's their own stupidity.
35
Darwin strikes again....

I am sure the apes' families will sue the gub'mint , trying to win the ghetto lottery. They have a good case for a lawsuit. There were no razor-wire fences , and no warning signs saying "non-swimmers stay away" .

If they had not drowned , they might have wandered in front of a bus on the highway.
Being stupid has it's consequenses.
36
Come on Charles! Really? Itโ€™s all America's school systemsโ€™ fault? Ridiculous!
My father taught me how to swim...
37
Now everybody knows that a african rockfish cannot swim. Why spend the money to teach them.
38
In this world, if you can't swim -- you're bound to drizzown.
39
ps -- anyone that thinks this is an education issue is a fucking idiot.

who teaches your kids not to stick forks into electrical outlets?
who teaches your kids not to point the barrel of a gun in their mouth?
who teaches kids to chew their food completely before swallowing?
who teaches the kids not to hit dogs?

parenting. check it out yo... that shit is CRAZY!
40
@39... And to do this, the parents would educate their kids. I don't see "government" or "schools" in Charles' original post.
41
I taught myself how to swim spending the summers at 5 Mile Lake down by Federal Way. There were life guards on site and you had to take a swim test to get into the deep end. The county parks and recreation dept is where you need to look, not schools.

42
Charles,
I don't disagree with you, per se. It's already been mentioned more or less but, a "well-rounded education" begins at home with common sense being taught and in addition, the civil authorities disseminating information regarding hazardous situations/places (i.e. "Do not swim here" etc.). It is the number of victims that brought this story to national prominence. It would have been tragic had it been one teen. But, six were drowned. I still don't know enough to render a fair judgment on the parents or guardians of these teens but the fact that they didn't know how to swim has to be factor in responsibility for this horror. It isn't just "America's weak commitment" to education.

BTW, you don't have to disclose the answer to this question, but were you taught swimming as a youngster? Was it part of your formal early education? FTR, my parents enrolled me in swim lessons at age 7 or 8. I, for one am glad I know how to swim.
43
Wow, Charles is probably off base here in automatically making this an educational issue, but the racist drivel that many people are posting is beyond disgusting. Yat's (@25) comments are off the cuff, but much more accurate than the shit many of you are spewing.

It takes all of 15 minutes to teach someone how to tread water, and this simple skill would have likely saved each kid. You don't have to know how to swim to avoid drowning.

In Los Angeles many of our high schools (those with pools) teach kids who do not know how to swim the basics, and yes, these are predominantly hispanic and black inner city students.

I've had kids that live in central Los Angeles who have never visited the beach before. All they would have to do is hop on the metro bus and take it down Wilshire Blvd to the ocean, but some literally have never left their neighborhoods before. That's reality. You think their parents have ensured that the kids know how to swim?

To those snide assholes sitting in their snug homes and doping themselves up one way or another: go get a fucking clue and do something useful,
44
The sad thing is that the BBQ was wasted
45
Hey Chuck The Zim Smuck . I have just sent an aid to assist you in personally educating the masses that you always write about . He should arrive at at your place shortly . You should recognize him when he arrives . He is a Tokoloshe .
46
No, nigger. All of this can be blamed on the fact that niggers are stupid, don't know how to swim, are lazy; did I mention stupid yet? It is nobody's fault but their own, and any white retards that come up with other excuses should go join the dead niggers at the bottom of the Red River.
47
Hey, Chuck The Zim Smuck is from ZimBoobWay . I don't think he is an N-Word . I think he is a Kaffir .
48
As far as I'm concerned....this all comes down to one thing:

"And nothing of value was lost."

With that being said....how the hell is it the fault of anyone but the parents that these non-swimming, walking welfare-checks drowned?
49
@28 you prove it well.
50
to @28:

I know perfectly well my writing is not proofed, is emotive, and I don't give a shit what you think. I have far more education than you, I believe, the problem is, you and the folks reading this either aren't worth my time to proofread of bland it down into standard grammar etc. or it just doesn't matter you uptight seattleite.

you know what I am saying. that's what matters. you got nothing in response other than to quibble about spelling? who gives a shit? damn, talking in seattle remknds me of all that lutheran sunday doughnut brunches i had to attend you are all so fucking uptight assholes. you're more conservative than the conservatives. get that stick out your ass and fuck you i didn't capitalize "g" you moron!
51
What's next? A gaggle of nigglets falls off a cliff, then blames whity for not putting up a fence? It just never ends with knee-grows, does it? blame whity for everything! Sue those racist mu-fuggas! Nomesayin?
52
The only problem with our "education system" is that the politically correct crowd refuses to see the elephant in the room. The reason so many kids don't get a good education is because they DON'T WANT TO GET ONE! They screw off in school, or don't attend at all. No wonder they don't learn anything.

The other thing is that there are millions of students that simply don't have the ability to learn (a low IQ). This is a fact. Most blacks have an IQ of 85. That's borderline retarded. No wonder they look at you with a blank stare when you ask them to explain what F=MV means. Or what 358 minus 233 is.

Hell, I don't wonder why my dog hasn't learned to read so why wonder why these kids can't learn?

My goldfish can't sing, but I don't go around blaming our society for that. Of course, I'm not one of those politically correct whackos, either.

I'm a realist. I know that Asian kids excel at math. I don't know why, it's just a fact that has been proven time and time again. I know that homeschooled kids do a lot better at the national spelling bee. Knowing that fact doesn't make me prejudiced towards homeschoolers, it just makes me say, "Damn, them homeschooled kids can sure spell!"

Just like I say, "Damn, those black kids sure don't learn too good." Of course, it doesn't take a genius to figure out that if you can't swim, don't jum into the Red River and try and save 4 other kids that didn't realize they couldn' swim!!

It's called "Natural Selection," folks. And some genes of some very stupid kids will not be passed on due to this mass drowning. Too bad it didn't happen to their ignorant parents long ago. Just think how much money the taxpayers would've saved over the past 15 years or so!
53
Teaching a nigger to swim is like teaching a parakeet to bake a cake or teaching a rock to float. It just ain't gonna happen.

Just like trying to teach niggers to gradumicate high school. You can try and some may get a diploma, but you know that 90% of those retards can't read on a 6th grade level or do math past addition and subtraction. They have an average IQ of 85. An IQ of 80 is considered to be retarded.

Plus, they're parasites. They suck everything they can out of our society. 46% of entitlement monies in the U.S. go to 12.9% of the population - niggers. 85% of the violent crimes are committed by these same 12.9%.

AM I lying? NO! Check it out for ourselves. We need more of these feral beasts to drown themselves in their own ignorance. The fewer the better.

Uh-huh, you know dat's right!
54
Bitch cain't sweem, she boun' to drizzown. LOL.
55
How on earth are the public schools supposed to teach swimming? Half of them don't have textbooks or working computers. The only schools around here I know with pools are a) in the well-to-do suburbs, and b) high schools. That's a little late for most drowning victims.

Drowning used to be the #1 cause of accidental death for toddlers. It probably still ranks among the top killers. Many of the kids that die are too young to have ever been near a public school. It's up to the parents to teach basic common sense and water safety.

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