Students don Klan robes.

hool10

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Of course where else but Georgia:

DAHLONEGA, Ga. - A north Georgia history teacher faces punishment after administrators say she let four students wear Ku Klux Klan-like robes for a historical reenactment.

Lumpkin County Schools superintendent Dewey Moye told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that teacher Catherine Ariemma made a poor decision.
Poor indeed. :rolleyes:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37323706/ns/us_news-life/
 
You're taking that way out of context. It's for a RE ENACTMENT. How is that so bad? If they were holding rallies and lynching people, sure, but this is harmless.
 
I expected the students wore the Klan robes to school and actually carried out some racist act. All this was was a re-enactment; no punishment really should have been given to the teacher, like Ace said... Just an overreaction. Kind of fits in with the theme of the oversensitive racial compassion that caused the kids to be suspended for wearing American flag bandanas on Cinco de Mayo.
 
Historical reenactment.

The Klan are, like it or not, part of US history. I don't see a problem with this. Massive overreaction.
 
I don't see any reason for students to reenact this. It's insensitive.
 
Would you folks say it's ok to re-enact a Nazi march? I can't believe you guys would say it's overreaction to somebody off-line or you guys are trolling.
 
Would you folks say it's ok to re-enact a Nazi march? I can't believe you guys would say it's overreaction to somebody off-line or you guys are trolling.

They reenact civil war battles too, and that is the LOW POINT of American history. Again; you're taking this out of context. It's not a bunch of racist adults running around pretending to be the Klan, it's a few students in a history class re-enacting historical events.
 
They were wearing costumes for a film project. How is this any different than wearing Nazi uniforms in a WW2 film? It's a college campus for gods sake, they shouldn't have to tip-toe around sensitive topics.

If I was a teacher I probably wouldn't have even considered telling students they couldn't wear those costumes for a film about racism in the United States.
 
Don't agree. People were offended and complained. That's reason enough right there to show that it is offensive and inappropriate.

I don't care what the context is when I go to school and my peers are dressed up as Nazis.
 
Would you folks say it's ok to re-enact a Nazi march? I can't believe you guys would say it's overreaction to somebody off-line or you guys are trolling.

Yeah, that'd be fine. Living history groups reenact all sorts of things. There are numerous WWII German reenactment groups in the UK. Infact, the UK hosts the world's largest military vehicle show, War and Peace, where reenactors show up from all sorts of groups. WWII Germans, Soviets in Afghanistan, Americans in Vietnam, etc

It is a part of history. It happened. reenactment is fine, its not the same as glorifiying the ideal.
 
No, it's not fine. Students were frightened and upset. The students in the re-enactment are now upset as well and feel bad about it, and it's the fault of the teacher.

If you wanted, you can be a member of the KKK and that's your decision; it's a free country. But this is a public school and you've got students walking around in the cafeteria in Klu-Klux-Klan outfits. I'm offended by this, and almost nothing offends me. I would have been like "what in the mother****?"

There should be no 'costume' worn in public school that wouldn't be allowed in school for other students to wear at any other time. If any student wore a Klu-Klux-Klan outfit to classes on Monday, do you think that's OK? Well, it's not, there's a dress code.

I agree with the Superintendent's decision.
 
No, it's not fine. Students were frightened and upset. The students in the re-enactment are now upset as well and feel bad about it, and it's the fault of the teacher.

If you wanted, you can be a member of the KKK and that's your decision; it's a free country. But this is a public school and you've got students walking around in the cafeteria in Klu-Klux-Klan outfits. I'm offended by this, and almost nothing offends me. I would have been like "what in the mother****?"

There should be no 'costume' worn in public school that wouldn't be allowed in school for other students to wear at any other time. If any student wore a Klu-Klux-Klan outfit to classes on Monday, do you think that's OK? Well, it's not, there's a dress code.

I agree with the Superintendent's decision.

I very much doubt they were wearing it around school. They walked through a cafeteria. And then probably took it off after filming was done. Woopie.

The students in the re-enactmentt feel bad about it because THEY JUST GOT CALLED ON AND NOW ALL THIS ATTENTION IS ON THEM. I would feel bad if I did something innocent and harmless and someone yelled at me for something I didn't intend, and then they go and tell news stations and they start writing it up.
 
I don't think the teacher deserves very drastic punishment, but letting people walk through the cafeteria in white robes without anyone knowing what's going on does deserve reprimand of some kind. The KKK's history is such that for some people (BLACK PEOPLE??!?) their presence amounts to assault law's demand that a victim "apprehend immediate force". It should be possible to make such a film without causing upset.
 
Like others have said, how's it any different than making a Hollywood film? It's a simple reenactment, nothing more. If anything, remembering the bad points of history is a good thing, lest we forget the atrocities humanity has committed in the past. Just my 2-cents.
 
It's time for another Good Idea / Bad Idea

Good Idea: Performing a historical re-enactment for a film project.
Bad Idea: Wearing potentially offensive costumes out of the context of people that know what's going on.
 
Like others have said, how's it any different than making a Hollywood film? It's a simple reenactment, nothing more. If anything, remembering the bad points of history is a good thing, lest we forget the atrocities humanity has committed in the past. Just my 2-cents.

I'm sure they're reenacting stuffing jews into railroad cars in Hebrew school or putting on a play based on Roe vs Wade in a christian school. it's history!


the least the teacher could have done is gotten premission. really would that have been so hard to do? it's form letter. it takes a few secs to fill out
 
To be fair, all the teacher had to do was run through the idea with the principle and ensure every student in the school knows there is going to be a reenactment of a very sensitive topic.

The teacher deserved to be punished. Although no malice was intended, a teacher should know better than to allow students to walk around in KKK robes. This is irresponsibility and a lack of empathy on the teacher's behalf.
 
I'm sure they're reenacting stuffing jews into railroad cars in Hebrew school or putting on a play based on Roe vs Wade in a christian school. it's history!


the least the teacher could have done is gotten premission. really would that have been so hard to do? it's form letter. it takes a few secs to fill out
Well, the school system could at least bust them for breaking dress code outside of class. They probably wouldn't let dance/drill team members parade around in leotards all day after all.

True too that some kind of permission form should have been filled out first. It seems like people these days will agree to anything that's written in ink.
 
Don't agree. People were offended and complained. That's reason enough right there to show that it is offensive and inappropriate.

I don't care what the context is when I go to school and my peers are dressed up as Nazis.

Cry me a f*cking river, you're a twat.

The school had no right to decide that it was insensitive because it was a RE-ENACTMENT.
 
Cry me a f*cking river, you're a twat.

The school had no right to decide that it was insensitive because it was a RE-ENACTMENT.

The problem is, you've got a smelly twat, and you don't make any sense because you can't think over the smell. Let us know if you plan on making any sense, and when you aren't having PMS.

There, that's on your level. I guess you don't agree with what I said (because you're wrong), but you weren't intelligent enough to make a point, or any sense for that matter.
 
To be fair, all the teacher had to do was run through the idea with the principle and ensure every student in the school knows there is going to be a reenactment of a very sensitive topic.

The teacher deserved to be punished. Although no malice was intended, a teacher should know better than to allow students to walk around in KKK robes. This is irresponsibility and a lack of empathy on the teacher's behalf.
Exactly.

Also, Virus, the "it offended people!" argument is never valid. Freedom of speech means you no longer have the freedom from being offended.
 
As smw said, I wouldn't have even thought to tell students what would be considered inappropriate for a class like this. You can say the idea was somewhat boneheaded, and maybe the teacher should have set restrictions. Beyond that, what was the harm, really?
 
You've got a smelly twat, and you don't make any sense because you can't think over the smell. Come back when you have a point to make, and when you aren't having PMS.

Witty.

Also, Virus, the "it offended people!" argument is never valid. Freedom of speech means you no longer have the freedom from being offended.

Exactly! When someone uses free speech, it's bound to offend some (or in this case a lot of) people, but I still think this shouldn't be punished.
 
Klu klux klan is a hate group. You can't wear that in public school. Free speech doesn't cover that, Jesus.

Though it wasn't my decision to make, I don't disagree with the paid suspension of the teacher, due to the circumstances.\
 
I don't think the tone of the opening post helps.

Regardless of how you think the situation should be handled, I think we can all agree that this wasn't exactly the "hurr south is racist" event we may have been led to believe it was.
 
I don't think the tone of the opening post helps.

Regardless of how you think the situation should be handled, I think we can all agree that this wasn't exactly the "hurr south is racist" event we may have been led to believe it was.
I'll admit, I didn't plan to get too involved and didn't read the article until after posting (as per usual). After reading the article, I'm still in agreement with Sulkdodds. He said essentially the same thing I did in my second post, but was much cooler-headed about it -
I don't think the teacher deserves very drastic punishment, but letting people walk through the cafeteria in white robes without anyone knowing what's going on does deserve reprimand of some kind. The KKK's history is such that for some people (BLACK PEOPLE??!?) their presence amounts to assault law's demand that a victim "apprehend immediate force". It should be possible to make such a film without causing upset.
 
Klu klux klan is a hate group. You can't wear that in public school. Free speech doesn't cover that, Jesus.
Well yeah, but context is king. Wearing a KKK robe on its own in a school with no rhyme or reason, is likely racist, and indeed can really only be interpreted as racism. But the instant the words "for a film" or "for a school project" enter the phrase, then the whole dichotomy is out the window. Now there's wiggle room, both in interpretation and in intent. This saves it from being criminal, and IMO opens such things to classroom use. I won't derail the thread, so I'll suffice by saying that such offensive events and ideas need to be learned about in contexts that differ from most course material. Learning about the Holocaust in History class is basically a handful of statistics; learning about it through thematic group activity, or collaborative work, really helps drive the emotionality of it home.

Anyway. Poor taste? Absolutely. Lack of oversight and foresight? Totally. Hate speech crime? Not quite.
 
Your the kind of people who wore a t-shirt at school that was so bad that you had to go to the deans office. Then the dean would hand you a t-shirt to wear for the rest of the day and got a detention. Or you refused to not wear it because you have "freedom of speech" so you got sent home for the day (with detention). Then you might cry to your parents and if you got really crafty parents, they sue the school for violating the first amendment and get on the local news. You may even create such a scene at school that the cops had to arrest you but before they did that, they tasered you making an even larger scene and forever tarring the history of the school. Also somebody recorded and uploaded the thing on youtube so it's shown across the nation.

See where I'm going with that over exaggeration? Thing is you are on government property or otherwise known as a school where things such as weapons aren't allowed, alcohol, and tobacco among other things. Other rules can be made up by private schools and if you cannot abide by them, then gtfo.

Now if this was done on some controlled stage with a documentary then sure. If this was done on public streets, randomly, then it would be also illegal because that is state/government owned. The reason the "God hates fags" people can pull off their junk is that they notify police ahead of time but they obviously don't get any brownie points for doing their protests.

You people gotta know what you can and cannot. That's how normal society functions. :LOL:
 
So... is your issue with what you perceive as racial insensitivity (which is what your first post heavily implies) or is this now just a matter of what can/should be enforced by a school's jurisdiction.
 
This was a rather a dumb idea to wear these in school.
 
I'm just going to say that if we can put on Korean People's Revolutionary Army uniforms on for a school event, wearing KKK robes for a reenactment shouldn't really be punished.
 
Your the kind of people who wore a t-shirt at school that was so bad that you had to go to the deans office. Then the dean would hand you a t-shirt to wear for the rest of the day and got a detention. Or you refused to not wear it because you have "freedom of speech" so you got sent home for the day (with detention). Then you might cry to your parents and if you got really crafty parents, they sue the school for violating the first amendment and get on the local news. You may even create such a scene at school that the cops had to arrest you but before they did that, they tasered you making an even larger scene and forever tarring the history of the school. Also somebody recorded and uploaded the thing on youtube so it's shown across the nation.
I was one of the nerdiest, quietest, most unassuming kids at school, and I hate the idea of anarchy. :p

And we're not turning this into a debate over the free legitimacy of private rules and regulations. I know the rules, and they exist for a reason, I just think they're overly broad and overapplied.
 
Freedom of speech (but not to the point where it could be offensive or upsetting to anyone) kind of defeats the purpose.
 
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