Brickbat: White Like Me

Officials at Iowa's Marshalltown High School suspended Blair Van Staaldiune after they saw a picture online of him dressed all in white and forming a "W" with his fingers. Staaldiune's mother says that the principal accused him of being a racist. She tried to explain that her son was dressed in white because the photo was taken during spirit week when school officials asked each class to dress only in one color and Blair's class was told to dress in white. Instead of accepting her explanation, she says the principal called her a racist, too. School officials have declined to comment on the matter, citing student confidentiality.

Comments

[OneOut]

Life here in the US has become an episode of The Twilight Zone.

The courts say "the language is clear and we agree with the plaintiffs but we are ruling against them anyway".

A kid is told to wear white by the school and then gets suspended for doing so.

He should have flashed a gang symbol and then he would have been given a scholarship.

[nailzer]

Let me get this straight, black pride is good, white pride is racist?
From that it would seem that just being white makes one automatically racist.

[WTF]

Exactly. And just being male makes you sexist.

[Heroic Mulatto]

Oh for Christ's sake! Who said anything about Black, pride or otherwise? As I pointed out the last time this story was on Reason, the principal is Laotian.

[invisible furry hand]

"Nope, He's Laotian. Aren't yeah Mister Kahn?"

[antisocial-ist]

So is he Chinese or Japanese?

[Almanian!]

Mmmm - smooth, creamy lotion....

[Heroic Mulatto]

You can't post that without hooking a brother up with a link.

Smooth and creamy, indeed.

[Live Free Or Diet]

Laosy pics.

[Atanarjuat]

after they saw a picture online

Kids, the muckity-mucks from your school are snooping on your social media. Be warned.

[Libertarian]

This, to me, is the point of the story and the point of many similar stories. What a kid does outside of school (even if illegal!) isn't something the school should be involved in. The school is not a juvenile court.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

Yes, and even if the school were a juvie court, and even if what he did was racist, none of that is a crime or offense of school policy ( it can't be school policy for some one to hold and express racist views unless that expression proves 'disruptive')

[Atanarjuat]

I think might have told this story before. A high school friend made a video for an assignment which involved him wearing a Bill Clinton mask. The soft rubber mask had developed a fold in the chin from being smashed in a drawer somewhere. The teacher raised holy hell after seeing it and sent him to the principal. Once the principal and student realized the teacher (older woman) saw a vagina in the random fold and was inexplicably "triggered" by it, the matter was swept under the rug. I imagine if that had happened today he would have been expelled.

[invisible furry hand]

And by "triggered" you mean "aroused"

[Bobarian]

"Trigger me Xerxes!"

[Rev-Match]

Staaldiune's mother says that the principal accused him of being a racist.

In my humble opinion, charges of "racism", regardless of the context and whether it is true or not, amount to a thought-crime.

[Libertarian]

Are we at the point where racism itself, rather than "discrimination," is an actual crime?

[WTF]

Yes, badthink cannot be tolerated.

[waffles]

Racism = discrimination + POWER. What kind of power does a high school student have? If I understand this correctly then the principal has to be the racist here.

Of course this is a stupid definition. And when I read the blurb for this story I assumed the student was black. Meh.

[Free Society]

Do all Laotians look black to you, Mr Racist?

[Suthenboy]

So this is what post-racial America looks like. Who'da thunk it?

[jmomls]

George Lincoln Rockwell?

[WDATPDIM!?]

THIS WHOLE COURT IS RACIST!

[Will4Freedom]

Do black kids who wear all black get accused of being a racist?

Dancing around all these moving PC targets gives this old fart a headache.

Screw it. I am who I am. I like who I like and don't like who I don't like... for personality reasons, not color. And accusing me of being a racist usually means you have a personality I don't like.

And get off my lawn.

[robc]

I think Ive mentioned it before, but in 12th grade English I wrote an essay entitled "The Necessity of Terrorism". I didnt believe a word of it, but it was fun trying to arfue that side.

It was 1986-7. Today I figurecI would be expelled and possibly arrested.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

And the Feds would be called.

[Bobarian]

NSA is searching up the essay now. Robc should be prepared for swift and immediate extradition to Guantanamo, for a sunny vaction in a lovely Spa/Resort.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

He'll be held indefinitely without charge, but be assured that his provided copy of the Koran will be treated with the utmost respect!

[db]

I once, in AP American Government, was assigned to give a speech promoting a policy that I was strongly against personally. I wrote and delivered the speech in the manner of a nationalist authoritarian, making many references to national greatness, marginalizing opposition, etc. Got full credit.

[Almanian!]

Jesus fucking Antichrist. If this mother and her son are too stupid to pursue every legal means to shove this up the school system's and principal's collectivist asses, then fuck them for being wusses.

Putting aside how fucking stupid it was to suggest the student's act was "racist", the school, nor it's minions, have any business - nor any authoritah - to act on stuff like this that goes on outside of school. Period. Even if there's a local ordinance that says they can - cause the constitution says they can't.

Sue 'em till their eyes bleed.

Whatever....*makes W sign with hands*

[Rhywun]

We're all White today! Who's with me?

[Almanian!]

Also, big surprise it turns out robc is a fucking TERRORIST, amirite?!!

JK - fuck all of you - have a shitty Wednesday.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

I wish there were more information here. The mother says he was punished in reference to a picture on social media and that the color choice was the schools. Was the picture of something on school grounds? If it wasn't, how can he be punished? The only legal authority for punishing the expression of a view is that it could disrupt the educational environment, but that usually wouldn't apply off campus (unless this is going to be a 'Bong Hits For Jesus' type of case).

[sloopyinva (previously -inca)]

Well, if the principal was masturbating to pics of his students while in his office, then it technically happened on school grounds. If he was masturbating to the students at home, he shouldn't discipline the kid.

Oh, and causing him to lose his erection shouldn't count as "disrupting the educational environment". I don't care what his union contract says to the contrary.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Some reporters are a bit less than thorough in their research. This could be such a situation.

[Robert]

The suspension is from 3 football games, not from school generally. Kid says that if orange had been the assigned color, he'd've made an O.

[jmomls]

Maybe white Americans should start acting like Palestinians. They get nothing but respect from the media and our lawmakers.