I'm grateful I know better, but what about all those kids who don't know better and for whom this will be a dominant, if not the only, intepretation of these events to which they are exposed?

A useful corrective -- Arthur Schlesinger Jr., "The Disuniting Of America."

into "Black Progress Month" (or some such equivalent), then the quicker they will recover.

maybe you need to get laid...

Spock, that's one of the things worrying me most these daze.

young lady's teachers through the proverbial goalposts of life...

She didn't come up with this garbage by herself.  She may be exceptional in her literacy, but she's been pumped full of intellectual shit by a bunch of morons, and that does nobody any favors.

But it all works out for the best:  people pick fights, kill each other, relieve the pressure on the environment, so I can go sit peacefully in the park, without any GODDAMNED YAHOOS! bothering me [beatific smile]

this is the victa-crat mindset Dummycrats have fostered for decades and still do. from Konman West, to Rev Sharliton, to the first black president

that's what ends people up on the roof of life waiting for "brownie to chopper em out"

True, but as you note, this kid IS literate, literate persons usually read more than the norm, so chances are she'll eventually be exposed to other POVs and maybe, just maybe, have a change of heart and/or mind.

It's the less gifted I'm concerned with.  If they're paying attention, they'll buy this.  And if they're not paying attention, they're still stuck, but in a different way.  A lose-lose situation?

To think, my original intention wa a cheap laff.

those Nazi singing girls from a few months back otherwise I'll just have to assume the worst about you. I am not surprised about BILLKILE and GFD. The funny thing is that they are outraged even though they probably don't even understand the poem.
The good thing about this is that there are no more problems in the world when all we have to worry about are the political views of a seven year old girl.

I could understand Columbus, but Charles Darwin?  Why not Albert Einstein, then?  

At least she's reading at an advanced level even if her education is unbalanced.  If her reading skills are that good, they will correct what she doesn't know.

Meanwhile,  I hope no one looks at the opinion of a 7-year-old as having any bearing on political debates.  On some things, there is no substitute for time.

LOL!

It does not surprise me the import of this girls mishaped world views AND THE IMPACT THEY'LL HAVE ON HER FUTURE is lost on you...

I know MDs who consult psychics.  They call them "intuitives".  

People do things because of emotional needs.  If people identify with a group because they all claim to be persecuted, that creates group bonding as much as any fraternity.   I have no reason to think this young lady would ever learn serious investigative skills, or ever learn what primary documentation is.

If they're paying attention, they'll buy this.  And if they're not paying attention, they're still stuck, but in a different way.  A lose-lose situation?
.......................................

EXACTLY. But who cares as long as they vote Dem....

as far as it's true, what does it say for people who elected a President who couldn't remember a DUI arrest, still can't remember where he served, and for that matter, isn't as literate, or any clearer with his facts, than this young lady?

Now, shall we start in on Pat Robertson, the esteemed buddy of the President, who feels that judges are the real threat, and the WTC is God's punishment for not sending him enough money?   What exactly is the difference between him and Osama?  The beard, maybe?  

-- Modified on 3/15/2006 10:56:08 PM

We all have problems keeping up with all the people who need to be criticized.

It's sad to see a capable young lady getting filled so full of crap.

""""Now, shall we start in on Pat Robertson, the esteemed buddy of the President, who feels that judges are the real threat, and the WTC is God's punishment for not sending him enough money?   What exactly is the difference between him and Osama?  The beard, maybe?""""""""""

Talk about going far afield....how many "murder by bombings" has Robertson admitted or been linked to or ????

none as the "Olsen Twins of the White Nationalist Movement."

It is you that appear to be redefining words. Taken at face value, your words stand on their own, without need for redefinition.
The fact is every race and ethnic group can use some progress. I look at all symbols of racial or ethnic heritage as bad for the country, this covers Black pride, Irish identity, Italian identity, and so own. I think that I live in the best country on earth and everyday I wish that those that view their "homelands" as being better would go back to where "home" is.

And like the girl in NYC, they have a parent and family support structure that add to their ignorance of a larger world. Unless something change, they and the NYC girl will end up impovished, bitter, isolated adults.

has to abandon what doesn't improve their power base...the Dems tend to one angle, the Repubs to the other, both have their problems, and neither is useful unless they both cooperate AND keep the other honest - it's a delicate balance, and the solution is, just do it my way...

avaricious SOB who knows better than to spend his political capital by putting his money where his mouth is...

that they never get too old to spank...

leave their hot sisters....

What progress has your kind made -- and I don't mean nailing your sister.

We understand the poem, that's not the point. Alright, it is OK art, but the content is POO.
Her influence on society is nil...she's only 7 years old for God's sake.

There are two points to be made.
1) She's just another example of ethnic groups (black or whatever) living in history books (honest or not). Not necessarily her, but her family, her teachers....whoever and everybody that is filling her head with this crap.

2) Because of #1 she is going down a path that may at best, waste her life, at worst, ruin it. And it is just all the more tragic due to her obvious intellect.

we oughtta hope they're sufficiently inattentive so that :

1. the have no idea about the electoral process ;
2. they have no idea about their right to vote ;
3. they have no idea about how or where to register.

But this is a sad burlesque.  Not just a rhetorical question, but can a healthy society and polity long endure the presence of masses both totally disaffected and badly ignorant w/o serious long-term consequences?  Conswquences most likely to be negative?

But these things are not inherently bad.

It's the politicization of those communal symbols, and their being injected into the public square in a manner often inappropriate and unwarranted, that is what troubles me.  Black pride/Irish pride/Italian pride etc... is great, but these are things more or less relevant mainly to the community in question and of frightfully little interest to those not of the community [yes, I compose this on St. Patrick's Day in NYC, after seeing about 38,000 "Kiss Me, I'm Irish" buttons].

I have nothing against anyone having ethnic/racial pride.  I'm only against having it forced upon me, and, when I reject it, being branded a bigot for my troubles.

Didn't expect this post to pick up this much traction.

It's hard to take seriously Police Chief Tumolo's assertion that the swastikas and the bad press over the poem have no connection.  Unless Prussian Blue is planning a gig in Peekskille and this is the work of their advance team?

we'd probably be more survivable if we imitated them eh?

nazi swinging skinheads aren't all that uncommon, and they may be only philosophically connected.  

It would be entirely legitimate for a cop to say they are unconnected unless they're close enough that he would have probable cause to consider them accessories in some way...You cannot expect a cop to be a philosopher - in fact, we should be grateful when they are not.

Spock you hit me where I lve.

Many a dark emotional day, I feel as if I AM a roach -- people shun me, try to hurt me, I flee from the light of day, and emerge only very briefly into the darkness before returning to my hole.  And I don't recommend this lifestyle for he masses.

Gregor Samsa?  Who's that?

It just struck me, and perhaps I'm wrong as usual, that this was just either a very spiteful or a very inarticulate and inchoate protest comment directed at the words of the young poetess.

(1)  Only a Catholic would say, 'perhaps I'm wrong as usual';

(2)  Motives are often mixed, especially when groups of people (eg a police force) are involved; and

(3)  You don't know what other evidence they have, let alone how they are interpreting it; and

(4) Interpretation of connections (between the Prussian girls and the graffiti skinheads) is also open to interpretation - cops do rightfully tend to think in terms of "cause" as something that could support a conspiracy charge, which is hard to prove;

(5)  It's understandable that people would object to the presentation of this young lady's work (note media sloppiness - it's unclear whether she's 7, or 7th grade); and it's the school's fault for failing to recognize the inflammatory nature of the message when presented to a school audience - it is a direct and wholly unsupported and unwarranted attack on the morality of most of the parents in the audience, and teachers should have more insight than that.   I have observed comparable social stupidity in other teachers, eg insisting over the student's objection that the student publicly perform a scene, in front of parents, that student wrote regarding parents' divorce & relationships...

Why do we pay teachers (and psychrinks) who are that socially obtuse??

worried about yourself and how you feel, instead of just doing it.   Howabout just go down to the batting cage and knock a few balls, then hit a pub for a drink or 2?

Get a load of this link, (from the Dept of No Shit), and particuarly the folk remedies, like getting high & eaten out -

Treating Moms' Depression May Help Kids - Yahoo! News
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060321/ap_on_he_me/moms_and_depression

Personally, the problem I have with the involvement of psychrinks is that they diagnose for the purpose of insurance justifying their time & attention, but they won't stop there - they lead people & courts to believe that these issues are organically determined, and that pills are the only effective cure, instead of acknowledging that these are primarily social issues (with many components including the decision when & how to medicate) that have to be negotiated socially from minute to minute.  The involvement of psychrinks on the theory that they have the necessary special knowledge has the effect of excluding other necessary parties (parents, teachers, employers, friends & relatives), and is therefore generally socially destructive.

Let me add 1 more comment:  that the involvement of psychrinks (who claim organic origin of DSM diagnoses, with the effect of excluding non-psychinks from the process) is fundamentally anti-democratic, because the psychrinks claim to be the authority - when they (should) know they are arrogating a social function (ie the negotiation of appropriate behavior and response) under false pretenses (that the determinants are primarily and conclusively organic) with the result that other necessary parties keep their hands off, thus isolating patients with their labels.  

Psychrinkology has become just like every other organized religion - conceived in good intentions, and yet fundamentally incapable of changing the human condition - and when it inevitably becomes a source of misunderstanding, it is terribly evil in actual execution.

You want to make Mom happy?  Get her high and eat her out, or do whatever she likes, and understand and accept that there are many people who cannot or will not EVER be happy, and there's nothing yoou can do about it, so fuck it.

-- Modified on 3/23/2006 10:19:55 AM

Because if we didn't they would go into other careers and professions where their damage potential is even greater. Like airport security screener?  Postal worker? Matchmaker? Mohel?Presidential Adviser?

PS.  Spock, I'm only nominally Catholic.  I'm modest and I DO entertain the possiblity that I MIGHT be wrong.  UNLIKELY as that actually is. See, the sin of false pride, God I'm so terrible and worthless I deserve to be...

LE types absolutely hate bad news and will minimize pretty much anything [unless it leads to bigger budget and staffing levels] no matter how obvious the connection to illicit activity.  They're hoping this little tempest in a teapot blows over, and it pretty much has, as I think we are the only two mammals in North America with any interest in this played out tale.

the segue from my roach thing to moms' depression was breathtaking.

Speaking of Dept of No Shit, the most obvious way that treating the maternal units' depression is a boon to the offspring units is that it very likely prevents, or at least greatly delays, mom from battering the little bastards to death.

PS. Pubs are off limits due to court mandated restrictions on my activities.   The judicial system -- so judgemental and they love to label people and actions to no end.

for dealing with humans, and the attempts of psychrinkologists to create receipes seem misguided, and especially when they base their advice on BS.

I doubt there is any more correlation between depression and battering kids than anything, ie, there are many other ways to characterize the precursors of physical kid abuse.

I have observed that working effectively with a human requires close observation and some minimal intelligence, and this is the reason that psychrinkology's attempts to reduce humans to recipes seems doomed.

I will tell you Spock -- there is at least one simple cause-and-effect relationship between depression and parental units battering their woebegotten offspring.  The worse mom & dad felt about themselves, and each other, their crappy marriage, their economic inconsequentiality and a slew of other crap, the more frequently and the more savagely they would beat the shit out of moi.  [Never laid a hand on my 4 sisters however.  Hope this is not more RC guilt but perhaps I unknowingly contributed to my own physical abuse at their hands?].  They seemed to enjoy it immensely and their moods would noticeably brighten for several days following each pummelting.  Didn't do much fer me however.

So, physical violence toward children -- prozac for the medically indigent?

"depression"  (whatever the hell it is) is not the only or even most common reason people misbehave, in that particular way, or others.   It's the "assholarity index number" that determines the probability and consequences of a person misbehaving.

A new concept?

How do you compute that? {Er, excuse me, Spock, but I think it shold be "assholery index."  "Assholarity index" I bet measures one's propensity to tell and/or laff at really stupid jokes.  I think I peak off the charts there personally].

Is it something like  chronological age divided by IQ
x 0.10 for each child under 13 years old minus 10 points for each grade of schooling missed under 12th grade?  Or something equally convolutedly insane?

Spock, not everyone is logcal.  DO NOT let your preconceptions get the better of you and cause you to ignore depression as a factor in chld abuse -- you have no idea [or do you?] how great it feels to kick the shit out of the ungrateful little bastards you were foolish enough to sire.  Of course, as you get older and they become adults...aw well, that's why it's called a "cycle" of abuse.

Yours for "hands-off parenting."  Figuratively speaing of course.

No, it's assholarity.  If you ever took chemistry, it's like, related to concepts like molarity, concentration, that sort of thing.

And how do you calculate it?  Well, that's the beauty of it.  Send 'em around to old Spock, he'll assign them a number for a small fee.  He knows 'em when he sees  (or smells) 'em.

Remember, the answer's easy if you take it logically.