Politician curses in front of teens at their high school

Rebellion · #1 (**permalink**) 02-13-2007, 01:23 PM

http://www.boston.com/news/local/art...talking_tough/

Quote:

Get over the words. Get over yourselves. Instead concentrate on the message of Brown's memorable little visit: If you want to be vulgar on the Internet, with him, with his family, with anyone else, it's best to wisely consider the consequences of your actions.

Here, in short, is what happened: A particularly outspoken history teacher at the public school went on a self-described rant to students about Brown's opposition to gay marriage.

So he called up the school and asked to be able to speak to students on "the legislative process and what makes people so divisive."

The night before he went in, he got a call directing him to look at a page of facebook.com created by King Philip students. The page included a slew of vulgarities about him, as well as a depiction of him with horns and a tail, all because of his stand on issues.

Then he got to class the next day and named names.

"I told them that some people really love my votes and some hate my votes," he recounted. "I said, in this class, some people appear to hate me. I said Johnny Jones has depicted me as the devil from the underworld. I can assure you I'm not the devil; I'm from right down the road. And Sally Jones says I should go [expletive] myself and I should die. And my daughter is a rich [expletive]."

When a teacher complained from the back of the room, Brown replied, "Hey, you write it, you own it."

"The real issue isn't me and my family getting kicked around," he said. "The real issue is that these kids are out of control. They cyber-bully.

"Anonymous kids gang up on other kids like packs of dogs. It's leading to depression, helplessness, and potentially to some of the suicides."

I brought this up with Richard Robbat, the sage-sounding school superintendent in the King Philip district who has been critical of Brown. He defended his students, while conceding that "it's the nature of civility today." He's right.

I'm glad a politician had the courage to give these kids the verbal slap they so obviously needed. Maybe the superintendent should stop making excuses for their behavior and instead of condemning the words that were merely repeated and condemn the actual author of them instead. Kudos to him.

Ikari · #2 (**permalink**) 02-13-2007, 01:28 PM

Direct quotes are ok, and yeah if you're gonna (*)(*)(*)(*)(*) people out, you should expect to get (*)(*)(*)(*)(*)ed at in return (kids I think need to learn this lesson so we quit churning out thin-skinned individuals who can dish it but not take it). It may not have been the best of places of a few swear words, but nothing he said was really out of line. It's not like he stood there for 10 minutes sounding like Jay.

raytri · #3 (**permalink**) 02-13-2007, 01:35 PM

It kind of detracts from the decorum of the office, but I don't have a problem with what he did. Good for him.

Rebellion · #4 (**permalink**) 02-13-2007, 01:54 PM

I think it appropriate in this situation. Maybe I'm wrong, but I picture the parents mad at Brown for repeating what their own kids wrote and said and making excuses for their behavior. Like the Superintendent. Time for someone to step up for civility. I don't care if it's Hillary, if my kid wrote something like that about her he/she'd be having an oral encounter with a bar of Dial.

Force-of-the-Truth · #5 (**permalink**) 02-13-2007, 02:38 PM

I'm for gay marriage, but clearly those students are the sort of illiberal that defends to the death ones right to agree with them. I don't blame the politician for quoting them directly, moreover, since sometimes certain things must be presented precisely as they are without any editing to drive home their enormity.

Ivan · #6 (**permalink**) 02-13-2007, 05:20 PM

If parents can't teach their children manners, teachers could step up sometimes...

JohnnyDestroyer · #7 (**permalink**) 02-14-2007, 08:51 AM

KEEP THE INTERNET FREE!!!

This is just more chest-thumping for a more privatized and censored internet...

If you did some research you might realise this..

"cyber-bullying" is just a buzzword to support heavy regulation of the internet..

censorship for all....nevermind keeping your kid from being so involved with his computer, that it will depress him..

everybody's been bullied....

KEEP THE INTERNET FREE!!!

WeShallNotBeSilent · #8 (**permalink**) 02-14-2007, 09:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ivan";p=&quot

If parents can't teach their children manners, teachers could step up sometimes...

but nice try.

parents control what's on facebook no teachers or the schools.

the teacher did the right thing by warning the politician because that happened at school.

the politician chose the wrong venue because he was not called names by the school or the teacher - he was called names over the internet on a private web site.

but, nice try anyway.

JavaBlack · #9 (**permalink**) 02-14-2007, 09:39 AM

Kids simply act on facebook as they would whenever their parents aren't looking. The unfortunate part is that facebook opens up an impersonal culture practically defined by vulgarity and mean-spiritedness. It takes regular bullying to a whole new level.
Good for Brown for pointing this out. 1. He was quoting and it is high school. 2. Maybe parents need to hear exactly the level of sickening hatred and vulgarity their kids engage in when let completely go.

liberalman · #10 (**permalink**) 02-15-2007, 11:00 AM

Regardless of how stupid or vulgar the children were on facebook the not so good congressman should have had better sense then to use the same language that they did. Tossing this out there did nothing to address the issue and everything to underscore that such words have a place in society at even its highest levels.

This was a "teaching" moment that was lost because the congressman lost his cool and resorted to teh same BS tactics as a high school student. It has been my experience that dropping to the bottomfeeder level does NOT impress upon teens anything except that they "won" the argument even if they end up in detention or suspended afterwards.

I understand his anst but this was not the proper means to address and again did nothing to help the issue....in fact my bet is you go to that schools facebook and you will see even more vulgarity directed at him and his daughter.

BTW his daughter might very well be "rich (*)(*)(*)(*)(*)" mayhap the kids were just trying to let him know that he was wrong about gay marriage and in denial about the attitude of his princess towards other students....I do wonder how long before we see a congressmans daughter on "My super Sweet 16" on Mtv!lol

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