Ignorant White Women

[SidewinderX]

Well, recently a school group went to see a Student Matinee of Othello. And, being a studfent matinee, there were alot of immature people there. In the play, there is a point where Othello slaps Desdemona, and some people in the immature audience cheered.

So this women gets all riled up, her racist genes boiling, and sends this e-mail to the sponsers of the school groups.

IMO, she put alot of words into the actor's mouth, and it sounds like she has alot more to say than she could fit in this e-mail.


*Note* This took place in Virginia (south comment)


I jsut wanted to see what you guys thought. (And know, i'm not beth..... this was forwarded to me.

From: Laurie Baefsky
Sent: Saturday, May 01, 2004 2:40 PM
To: Wigley, Elizabeth
Subject: The slap



Dear Beth,



I have received phone calls and a stream of feedback from teachers/administrators about the student audience's surprising response (cheering) last Thursday to Othello hitting Desdemona. So much so, that I am interested in getting some specific feedback from the students themselves - it is clear that the way some of our students responded was disturbing/upsetting/inappropriate.



What Lester Purry (Othello) said about the students' response to him hitting Desdemona was thought provoking...he said several things: his biggest regret was that there wasn't a post-performance discussion about this. It needs to be talked about. He was saddened, because he really thought most of the cheering was coming from black male students, as a kind of reverse racism. Saddened because this, to him, was an indicator that the upcoming generation of young black men in our audience are continuing a pattern of/buying into nonverbal conflict resolution. This, in a way, is a reminder that we are indeed in the south, that there is still a power play going on between the races, that the slap-response served as an indicator about deeper issues of power and place and roles. He said that however upsetting the audience response was, we need to pay attention to it - to all responses - that it indicates something important about our society and the direction our society is going.



I challenge your students to explore what that "something" could possibly be? I will forward all responses to this onto Lester.



p.s. Thursday night's performance also had the displaced cheering from some students, albeit a much smaller group -- way more gasping.



Laurie Baefsky, Education Director
Virginia Arts Festival
220 Boush Street
Norfolk, VA 23510

thoughts?

 

[Xtasy0]

slap dem crackas!

 

[spookymooky]

Thats wierd, kind of off topic but: I just went to a theater workshop done by these guys. I live in Virginia Beach, where did you see it? Any good?

 

[fizzlephox]

Think of the children!

I think she's overreacting and that she should realize plays are going to be taken lightly and ridiculed by the student populace. Plays just aren't cool. I imagine if the students saw a female teacher getting hit by a guy in real life they wouldn't cheer and would know that this was inherently bad.

 

[thehunter1320]

"this is what white women call the silent treatment... and we let them think we don't like it..."

 

[DarkStar]

A friend of mine left a message on my machine the other day wanting to go to a bar. He was like "Hey Logan! Come over and we'll pick up some white women." I thought that was pretty funny.

 

[Pressure]

Think of the children!

I think she's overreacting and that she should realize plays are going to be taken lightly and ridiculed by the student populace. Plays just aren't cool. I imagine if the students saw a female teacher getting hit by a guy in real life they wouldn't cheer and would know that this was inherently bad.

Where I'm from they would. I remember back in middle school, this was years and years ago, the administration decided to have a school wide party at the end of the year in the giant field behind the school. So there we were, 2000 some students in the field. There were a whole bunch of evens and fun little things goin one, kinda like a fair. Well one student I guess had an exchange of words with one of the female teachers watching over the kids makin sure nothin happens. Needless to say the student, which I believe had failed 2 or 3 times by then, got a like angry. I think she grabbed his arm to take him to the office and the second she did that he decks her right in the face. She hit the ground and all the students were cheering for some reason. Well then she got up and he throws his hand back to hit her again. One of the male teachers grabs his hand and stops him from punching her. The kid then elbows the male teacher in the face causing him to stumble back. By then half the students in the school were circled around the fight. Well eventually the School Resource Officer got there and tackled the kid and put him in cuffs. It was crazy and yea that was the last time they did a school wide party.

Oh yea, thinkin of fights there was another one that cracked me up. This one was also in middle school. I rode the buses to school and typically they would arrive about ten minutes early. All the early buses had to sit in the unloading area until the APs said it was ok to unload the student. So on the typical day I would sit on the bus infront of the school for ten minutes everyday because they wouldn't let us off. Well the people who walked to school walk by where the buses park. One day this Korean kid was walking to school and got there early. He was walking pass our bus when he accidently bumped into this black girl who was walking with her two friends. He didn't say anything though and just kept walkin. For some reason thats considered an insult and this gets the three girls angry. They start screaming at him as hes walkin off. I didn't hear what they said but it pissed him off. He came runnin down the sidewalk and does a jump kick and knocks one of them over. She shoots up and all three of the girls mob him. So hes getting hit from all sides and then he does the craziest thing I've ever seen. The does this jumping spin kick type move making them stumble backwards and he does a backflip to get out! I was like holy shit! Then he started doing all these weird fighting moves and kicks. It was like watching a Jackie Chan movie. I was jsut amazed at how he was fighting. It had to be one of the coolest yet funniest fights I've ever seen.

Where I'm from all the kids want to act like they're from the ghetto. They wear all the stupid clothes and talk in that stupid lingo. Rap is the most widely listened to type of music where I live, I personally hate rap. Since everyone wants to be like their favorite rapper they try to act all hardcore. Because of this people are always fighting with each other. They want to make it known that they smoke weed and drink alcohol because it makes then feel tough. I wonder if any of them will ever come to their senses and realize that they're being retarded. Its considered cool to fail your classes and I think thats just stupid. Why would you ruin the rest of your life so that kids that you'll never see again after those four years will think you're the cool. They'll realize the mistake they made when they're old with no job, no house and no money.

 

[Jackal hit]

...quote quote quote...

wow man, good thing you're keeping clear of the attitudes/outlooks of some of these people. that's all pretty f*cked up.

 

[leadfish]

While hitting women is something I don't believe in, it was a play. Unfortunately though, there will always be ignorant and immature people who think it's funny or "the manly thing to do".

On the other hand, the most interesting part of that email was the "reverse racism" comment. How is this possible? Racism is racism is racism. White kids cop a huge amount from Aboriginal kids in isolated Aboriginal communities, but does that make it any less racist than us having a go at them?

 

[mrchimp]

Where I'm from all the kids want to act like they're from the ghetto. They wear all the stupid clothes and talk in that stupid lingo. Rap is the most widely listened to type of music where I live, I personally hate rap. Since everyone wants to be like their favorite rapper they try to act all hardcore. Because of this people are always fighting with each other. They want to make it known that they smoke weed and drink alcohol because it makes then feel tough. I wonder if any of them will ever come to their senses and realize that they're being retarded. Its considered cool to fail your classes and I think thats just stupid. Why would you ruin the rest of your life so that kids that you'll never see again after those four years will think you're the cool. They'll realize the mistake they made when they're old with no job, no house and no money.

Sounds like where i live.

Personally I think that woman is wasting her time unless she plans on stirring up some racial hatred. To be quite honest I would have been on the floor trying to stop my sides from splitting... regardless of whether or not somone got slapped, me and my class mates would have spent the entire play provideing running commentary.

Schools are getting bad the students even worse and there's no hope insight. Unless you can afford private education.

 

[DEATH eVADER]

Another example of cheering (By a fully grown white male party) was when the T-1000 strangled that PR women in the terminator thearter thingy in Universal Studios at Florida.

Its just the weird sense of humour that some people have, not to do with reverse rascism

 

[LoneDeranger]

It seems her position is pretty much "black students are more immature".

You decide whether that's racist or not.

 

[DEATH eVADER]

Life is just too darn confusing. Does anybody agree

 

[Sprafa]

Life is just too darn confusing. Does anybody agree

I do.

Has anyone heard about Japan?
Women can't leave panties in the laundries b/c they're stolen to make curtains.

And America, well, if I started to write about America, I think I would finish tomorrow. The simple arrogance of the majority of the People for being the "greatest country in the World" eliminates any wish to learn with different societys.
And of course, you live in an opressive system without comparison in the world that 40 years ago still split the populational mass in races.
You have the NRA, who refuses to allow any sort of limitation to the Constitutional power to own a firearm (they say they're afraid of a smowflake effect, whatever...), allowing legal possesion of AK-47s, and subsequently the kind of thing we see, where 2-year-old children play with M16s.
(...)
This kinda "macho" behaviour is heavily influenced by all sides of the "mass society" as marketing and the simple conceptthat "man is the strong sex". The fact that it was in the South and by color students is just a small detail, the caucasians probably didn't clapped b/c they saw the color ones doing it.

I'm writing a whole 500-page mother****ing book about the crap it is to live in the modern Society.

the upcoming generation of young black men in our audience are continuing a pattern of/buying into nonverbal conflict resolution

I don't see her point. I see it as good thing.

 

[RMachucaA]

see... thats the senseless stupidity going on in most of north america....

I only wish all of you could see what ihave seen, and experience what i have gone through.... put a gun to anyones face and they will pee in their pants, be it black white or yellow... and in the end, when the trigger goes off... its all the same color, grey with a bit of purple in a dash of blood.

And dont forget, some black people are racist aswell.... its not always the white man that instigates.

 

[DEATH eVADER]

The reason why Jebus is afraid of visiting Earth, because too much of this ball-shit is happening. This kind of bahaviour hasn't stopped for 2000 years, it has just changed to effect other people

 

[RMachucaA]

i dont care if you are purple..all i wanna say is treat others as you want to be treated.

 

[Farrowlesparrow]

Lets please not start bashing America...They are humans like the rest of us and are more similar to the rest of society than most people would like to think.

 

[GhostValkyrie]

Lets please not start bashing America...They are humans like the rest of us

I don't think they'll never see us like you do Farrow.

 

[himself]

she is simply overreacting.. students ridiculing plays aint that unusual, no matter if they're black or white.

did i already mention that i honestly love self-pity?

 

[CptStern]

Lets please not start bashing America...They are humans like the rest of us and are more similar to the rest of society than most people would like to think.

sorry but most people arent armed to the teeth

that said...north americans have it easy as compared to some people in the world; they're too busy wondering where their next meal is coming from to worry about which ethical guidelines to live by...all in all most young people (myself included) are spoiled. They wouldnt know hardship if it bit them in the arse

 

[GhostValkyrie]

I agree, we do have it easy. I frankly think people in this country are spoiled and greedy...I can't stand it. Selflessness and thoughtless sacrifice seem to be dying. (It doesn't mean there aren't good people here, nor does it mean the country itself is bad.)But I think it's that way all over the world, just others don't want to admit when it. Would you like it if we all layed down and died? It seems that's the only thing that would make the world happy at this point. When the US is long and forgotten, who then will be the scourge of the earth?

 

[Sprafa]

Lets please not start bashing America...They are humans like the rest of us and are more similar to the rest of society than most people would like to think.

I wasn't bashing America. America is a land. I was bashing the Modern Society, from which American society is the greatest representative.

 

[Direwolf]

sorry but most people arent armed to the teeth

Sorry, just really funny since I'm doing a paper on that right now. While theres certainly more guns per person in America than in many western countries, the stereotype of most people having a weapon is still ridiculous. Your average American doesn't own a firearm, and approximately 3/4 of those that do only have a hunting rifle.
OK, back on topic. There are always going to be people who overreact to stuff, its the price you pay for living well. Its irritating, but most of the time its better to ignore it. In those extreme cases you can always be annoying right back.

 

[Farrowlesparrow]

Im not talking about things so superficial as what they wear and what they own...I mean Americans as people. Sure they might have different laws and seemingly different ideals but they are very similar to other people when you get them on their own. Its only when the mob spirit takes over that groups of people emerge to look different. Even then though, they still act very similarly.


Most people are busy wondering where their next meal is coming from...thats one of the most basic human instincts :|

The deffinition of hardship is difficult to gauge really. People say we live easier lives than those 200 years ago. In some ways, perhaps we do...but the levels of stress that exist today are astranomical. Anti depressants are the most prescribed drugs in those part of the world (Britain). People just arent happy because thay are basically slaves to an impossible system. Ok so we might have cleaner houses and "longer" lives but most people live for work rather than work for life.

Also, generalising the country like that just doesn't work. Some Americans, granted, live in pure affluence however there are a lot of homeless people in the country, and people who live terrible lives because they just can't/won't get ahead. Its the same in a lot of developed countries around the world.

 

[GhostValkyrie]

Actually, Sprafa, have you ever been to America? Americans aren't as patriotic as you would think. Lot's of them burn flags, wear flags upside down, etc. I'm Patriotic, yes, but I try to educate myself about other cultures. I think what you've seen is a concentrated bias.

EDIT: In four miles of driving through the suburbs, my house and only about three others bear US flags. So, 4 out of 200 or so. Sounds way too patriotic to me.

And I'm not patriotic in the sense we're better, but because of what this country was founded on. The core principals and because I'm grateful to be so lucky to be living in such a country.

 

[Farrowlesparrow]

I wasn't bashing America. America is a land. I was bashing the Modern Society, from which American society is the greatest representative.

My comment wasn't directed at you. Many threads degenerate into, "lets say how much we hate Americans" slinging matches...and this one seemed to be heading that way.

Perhaps by involving myself like i did in my last post i have perpetuated that but still my statement stands.

 

[CptStern]

I wouldnt say most americans are unpatriotic...just look at the war in iraq..there are very few americans questioning the war, even after all the lies and misinformation.

The truth of the matter is that if you question the war you are often seen as unpatriotic or even downright anti-american.

There are 223 million guns in the US, that's almost one for every person. The biggest difference between gun ownership in the US and say canada is that canadians have no access to automatic weapons whereas it's fairly easy to purchase an automatic firearm in the US. Why a private citizen needs an M16 I'll never understand. There were 22,000 + handgun related murders in the US in 1995 whereas canada had aprox 800 in the same timeframe

according to this: link

by 2001 the number of gun related deaths surpassed the number of auto related deaths

sorry i dont have more current figures, I'm at work and I dont have time to hunt down current stats

 

[GhostValkyrie]

It's illegal to purchase an automatic firearm in the US, don't spread lies.
The only way to obtain such weaponry is through the black market, which is ILLEGAL.

BTW: What do you mean we barely questioned the war? Where did you hear that shit? Our congressman were questioning the war months before it started. The political dessent felt like a fallout. Millions more Americans took to the street(while causing chaos, blocking traffic, ambulances, destroying property and looting) protesting than the thousands who gathered to overtly support the war. As far as polls and such, apparently more supported than oppesed. But that's not what I saw with my eyes. Numbers on a screen and numbers in a street are different things.

EDIT: I'm not saying all of the protestors were violent, but OMG. San Francisco reported 900,000+ dollars of damage a day, for more than two weeks. That sounds liek a rather nasty protest. Let's not forget the officers assaulted with clubs, acid, rocks, bottles, etc. Yeah...Americans barely questioned the war... :hmph:

 

[DEATH eVADER]

Why a private citizen needs an M16 I'll never understand.

The government wants you be prepared for an alien invasion, lol

 

[Pitbul]

i know ALOT of Americans that question bush and the war, but maybe its just mostly the minorities who see thru the Bush party viel of forgetfulness.

 

[Direwolf]

Automatic weapons are also supposedly responsible for less than 1% of crime in the US too.
And just because theres that many guns in the country doesn't mean that most people have one. Thats a lot of weapons, but they're in the hands of relatively few people.
Edit: And if your biggest gripe with Americans is that their opinion on something is different than yours, then you need to find some new problems.
Anyways....WHAT WAS THAT TOPIC AGAIN?

 

[CptStern]

While I agree that automatic weapons are usually in the hands of collectors you cant deny the fact they are often used in crimes. Anyone remember that firefight caught on tv where the cops had to go into a gunshop so they could get bigger guns cuz they were outclassed by 2 guys armed to the teeth?

the US has more than twice the amount of gun related deaths than any other country in the world...the relatively easy availibility of guns have to play a big part of this

broken down in numbers the stats are :

the US: 83-96 guns per 100 people

Yemen (in second place) in comparison only has 33 to 50 firearms per 100 people

 

[Direwolf]

Looking at gun availability is just a cover for a deeper problem though. Since Canada has been used as an example already, its worth pointing out that weapons are at least as common (in normal society) there as in the US. The murder rate isn't equal though, as has been pointed out. I don't think anyone's quite sure why that is, but it is intriguing.
Edit: And that shootout in LA is a good example of why most police departments now have weapons that can pierce armor. But that was a single incident, and is most notable for being so unusual.

 

[GhostValkyrie]

Umm...those men got their firearms through the blackmarket; Didn't you listen to me? Anyway, collectors who own automatic weapons are violating the law. You can have a broken down/unusable automatic firearm. You're not even supposed to have weapons that can be tweaked to become automatic.

 

[GhostValkyrie]

Looking at gun availability is just a cover for a deeper problem though. Since Canada has been used as an example already, its worth pointing out that weapons are at least as common (in normal society) there as in the US. The murder rate isn't equal though, as has been pointed out. I don't think anyone's quite sure why that is, but it is intriguing.

I have no idea why it is either; The likely cause is social promotion of crime.

I'm leaving this. Sidewinder was trying to make a thread about a stupid woman's rantings and now it's turning into yet another brawl between Anti-Americans and Pro-Americans.

 

[CptStern]

it's very hard to buy a handgun in canada, also all semi-automatic or fully automatic guns are illegal unless you have a special permit which is extremely hard to get.

even if it's illegal to own an automatic gun in parts of the US, you could easily buy a conversion kit from a state that has looser gun laws (the fact that they bought the weapons through the blackmarket is of no consequence because they could have easily gone to their local gun shop and picked up every weapon they used...sure they might have had to convert them to fully automatic, but the point is that it is relatively easy to get).

 

[CptStern]

ghost valkyrie, no one here is attacking the US, just bringing up facts. I for one certainly am not anti-american. I'm sorry if I hit a little to close to home.

 

[Direwolf]

*Needs to start going to his local gunshop more if they've started selling AK-47s.
Anywho, I agree with Valkyrie that we should either let this thread die or get back on topic.

 

[Farrowlesparrow]

That is a very good point as i would be perfectly withing my rights to "trim" the thread of off topic posts...including mine i might add.