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800 Maynard Ave S, Suite 200, Seattle, WA 98134
800 Maynard Ave S, Suite 200, Seattle, WA 98134
Mississippi is full of racists?!? This is shocking news. SHOCKING!
The.
Fuck.
Everyone involved in the writing, typing, printing, reviewing, and disseminating of that memo needs to be unemployed as of right this minute.
Not.
WHAT THE FUCK
After all, our President is black ...
(But that would desecrate the sewers.)
While your point applies far too often, this doesn't appear to be the usual indignation against an infringement on white privilege.
@20: Yeah, it's amazing.
I'm still waiting for more straight couples to sue the government because they're not allowed to get a civil union or domestic partnership.
From the school district's web site, this is what they said when announcing that they were dropping the policy:
"It is felt the intent of these election procedures was to ensure African-American representation in each student office category through an annual rotation basis. It is our hope and desire that these practices and procedures are no longer needed to help ensure minority representation and involvement. Furthermore, the Nettleton School District acknowledges and embraces the fact that we are growing in ethnic diversity and that the classifications of Caucasian and African-American no longer reflect our entire student body. Therefore, beginning immediately, student elections at Nettleton School District will no longer have a classification of ethnicity."
Which means next year, ALL the class presidents would have been BLACK!!! Good thing we nipped that in the bud, eh?!
(And great work not thinkin' it all the way through, liberal reactionaries!)
a. There are other ways to ensure officer integration through an alternate policy.
b. What about Latinos, Asians, and other races?
c. The mother in question had mixed-race children (white/black and white/Native American). So where do they fall? Evidently, it depends on how they look. Not cool.
Can you please explain to us the merits of the system, against which we're all misguidedly reacting?
How in the unholy fuck does a system of governance (regardless of its relative power, or whether or not the system is a rotating one) that is based *predominantly* upon the participants' racial category set any kind of positive precedent for the children of the 21st century?
It's a trick question, of course, since those children are being brought up in the middle of the19th century...
No, but calling it racist without reading the article is. And saying it's a "whites only policy for class presidents"... that's pretty dumb too.
@36 - MSNBC has been changing that article all day. The first paragraph (about this being a 30-year policy designed to achieve equality) wasn't there this morning. They also changed the headline.
I'm with @32. Whatever the intent of the policy 30 years ago, it's insane that it's still being implemented this way in 2010.
I agree that quotas are stupid. They seem to have good intentions, at least, though there are probably better ways to implement such a quota that don't create mandated white-only presidents in certain years. If the quota isn't met naturally, for instance, they could start at the least powerful position and switch to the minority with the most votes, then move up doing the same until the quota is met (grade 7 seems to have a 2-2 quota). Some poor victorious white treasurer gets to be a victim of affirmative action, but at least everyone can run for every position.
Depending on how, er, "race-oriented" these students are, lack of a quota is probably even more of a de facto "whites only" policy, and one that never rotates. Someone should hang on to this and report back on the election results after a few years.
Regardless, the fact is that if the positions were indeed rotated as the school claims, an actual human read and edited the memo (rather than sending out a photocopy from 1980), and presumably it was approved. A rational person would (or should) have seen the problem long before now.
As @38 said, this is not an appropriate policy for 2010.
BY TOM ALEX • TALEX@DMREG.COM • AUGUST 24, 2010
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Des Moines police are trying to determine what led to a series of attacks outside the Iowa State Fairgrounds over the weekend that included the assault of two police officers.
At least three people were arrested Friday through early Monday morning. Other arrests may occur as officers investigate the incidents, officials said.
There are indications that some of the fights - which appear to involve mostly teenagers and young adults - were racially motivated, police said.
"We don't know if this was juveniles fighting or a group of kids singling out white citizens leaving the fairgrounds," Sgt. Lori Lavorato said. "It's all under investigation, but it's very possible it has racial overtones."
Officials announced last week that they were stepping up security outside the fairgrounds after a series of attacks Aug. 14 that included a pair of stabbings. Investigators are still investigating those assaults and victims intend to pursue charges.
AUDIO: Des Moines Police Sgt. Richard Schuett describes a situation near the Iowa State Fairgrounds Sunday night in which he and other officers were attacked.
Sgt. David Murillo stated in a report on Friday night, "On-duty officers at the fairgrounds advise there was a group of 30 to 40 individuals roaming the fairgrounds openly calling it 'beat whitey night.' "
Jammie Carroll, 36, of Polk City, was seriously injured in the 3000 block of East Grand Avenue Friday night after a group of people beat him up, causing severe injuries to his eyes, cheekbones and nose, Murillo wrote. Carroll is white, and many of the suspects are black, police said.
State Rep. Ako Abdul-Samad, D-Des Moines, who has worked to fight gang-related violence, said he doesn't have enough information to decide if the fights were racially motivated. He said police comments that race was involved could miss other factors, such as nonracial taunting.
"Unfortunately, like any other city, you have certain parts of town that individuals congregate in," Abdul-Samad said. "You have those that go into that area with no problem, and those who cannot."
He added, "We of course need to work on race relations. If anyone says we don't, they are playing games with themselves."
http://tinyurl.com/36cx88y
State Fair spokeswoman Lori Chappell said she had few details about the incidents. Police had increased security near the western edge of the fairgrounds specifically, she said.
The fair, which drew more than 960,000 visitors over 11 days, ended when the gates closed at 1 a.m. Monday.
About 10:30 p.m. Sunday, two police officers were attacked as they waded into a combative crowd outside the fairgrounds' main gates at East 30th Street and Grand Avenue.
Sgt. Richard Schuett and reserve Officer Lynn Hubbs both complained of head, neck and back pain after being punched from behind while trying to make arrests.
"There were pockets of people fighting," Schuett said. "People were leaving the fair and they were walking into the middle of them. We were trying to move people along but some of them wouldn't move."
A police report says Schuett "was on the ground fighting with his suspect, and several other females began to attack him." Another officer grabbed one of the attackers and tried to make an arrest, but she spun away.
Officers sprayed chemical deterrent and deployed a stun gun while trying to gain control. Two teenage girls were taken into custody for questioning following that incident.
Also Sunday night and early Monday:
- Beth Longen, 25, of Des Moines was at the gas pumps at the QuikTrip store, East 30th Street and University Avenue, taking video of the crowd when she was assaulted about 11:20 p.m., police said. A 17-year-old girl allegedly slapped Longen and threatened her in front of police officers. The teen was one of several taken to police headquarters and later released to parents.
- Earl Tice, 17, of Des Moines was attacked near East 30th Street and Grand Avenue about 9:45 p.m. Sunday. He told officers he was jumped while leaving the fair. Tice was having X-rays taken at a hospital when police took a report from his mother. Officials said he had been kicked and punched.
- Officers arrested Daveion Trell Smith, 18, of Des Moines on a charge of disorderly conduct. Police said they observed him with a large group of people, yelling and gesturing and trying to start a fight with another group of people. He was warned and told to leave the area, police said.
- Kiera Agee, 18, of Des Moines was charged with disorderly conduct. Police said they told her several times to leave the area. She allegedly responded by swearing at police. She was arrested and was taken to jail.
- Ashley Robinson, 18, of Des Moines was charged with interference with official acts. Police said they were doing paperwork in the parking lot of a fast-food restaurant near the fairgrounds when Robinson walked up demanding answers to questions. Police were holding several suspects there at the time. She was ordered to leave the area. When she refused, she was taken into custody.
Laurie Christensen, a resident of Walker Street near the fairgrounds, said she's never seen such hostility around the fairgrounds.
Groups "have been openly taunting the police - in the street right to their faces," she said. "We found some of them that ran from the police hiding in our backyard."
Register staff writer Perry Beeman contributed to this article
Hey! You NAIVE reality-ignoring wimpy white-guilt fags missed out on "Beat Whitey Night" at the Iowa State Fair! I wish you all had been there!!!! Would this story have been covered by MSNBC and CNN if racist whites had attacked the Police and blacks while shouting "beat the n-words" at a state fair in the USA last weekend?