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It doesn't matter to me. I'm just saying they should be able to do what they want. Maybe they have more classes on gay rights history etc. I'm just saying there should be an option if that's what they want to have, even if I think its unnecessary. It's called free choice.
:rolleyes: You're not seeing it from the straight vs gay point of view. If there were to be a school to do with homosexuality, what if there was a straight school, then everyone would be like you can't do that! whinge whinge whinge :P
If you had a system where the education money follows the student, instead of pouring it into government schools, then the parents would decide what school to send their kids to. More private schools would be made to compete for the students/parents business. It would create choice and competition instaed of government bureaucracies that fight over what to put in textbooks.
A parent already has the choice to send their child to a private school if they wish. There are problems with the public school system yes, but the solution isn't a knee-jerk "government = bad" reaction.
A parent already has the choice to send their child to a private school if they wish. There are problems with the public school system yes, but the solution isn't a knee-jerk "government = bad" reaction.
Not all have a choice, that is why in New York they hold lotteries
In a country where 58% of African American 4th graders are functionally illiterate, The Lottery uncovers the failures of the traditional public school system and reveals that hundreds of thousands of parents attempt to flee the system every year. The Lottery follows four of these families from Harlem and the Bronx who have entered their children in a charter school lottery. Out of thousands of hopefuls, only a small minority will win the chance of a better future.
Directed by Madeleine Sackler and shot by award-winning cinematographer Wolfgang Held, The Lottery uncovers a ferocious debate surrounding the education reform movement. Interviews with politicians and educators explain not only the crisis in public education, but also why it is fixable. A call to action to avert a catastrophe in the education of American children, The Lottery makes the case that any child can succeed.
"The Lottery" is one of the more persuasive documentaries of recent months. It deals with the issue of charter schools in New York City's Harlem, about their great success and about the families that wait in hope of the annual lottery, by which children gain admittance. Three thousand apply for fewer than 500 openings.
They're called "charter" schools because they operate according to a five-year charter with the city or state, and if they don't get results at the end of that period, they're closed. Though funded by government money, they operate outside the teachers unions. The school year and the class days are longer, and teachers who are underperforming are fired. According to the documentary, it's almost impossible to get rid of a bad teacher under the union system, and even when it happens, the process costs the city approximately $250,000.
The documentary shows the stranglehold that the teachers union has on politicians, particularly Democratic politicians.
The Houston Independent School District just cut down the barbed wire surrounding the their schools. They have a prison-like disposition, and are riddled with gangs and drugs.
The government is a corrupt institution and should not be trusted. My wife taught public school high school for 8 years before she couldn't take it anymore and quit, and I currently work for a federal government contractor. It is a joke. Whoever has any confidence in the current establishment is a fool, imo.
Our only hope is smaller government. Much smaller.
:rolleyes: You're not seeing it from the straight vs gay point of view. If there were to be a school to do with homosexuality, what if there was a straight school, then everyone would be like you can't do that! whinge whinge whinge :P
It wouldn't bother me. I am a firm believer in freedom of association.
:rolleyes: You're not seeing it from the straight vs gay point of view. If there were to be a school to do with homosexuality, what if there was a straight school, then everyone would be like you can't do that! whinge whinge whinge :P
most of the laws in america were put into place for what our forefathers thought of as the ultimate freedom. they protect those whose views you agree with as well as those whose views you don't. there is no other way.
a downside i didn't mention to my gay-friendly town is that we semi-frequently have christian protesters with the usual anti-gay picket signs. but we also get a good deal of protesters protesting the war and other things that i happen to agree with. so while i am sometimes perturbed by their display of hatred, i still respect their right to do so.
and actually, they do have straight schools. i have two examples.
firstly, catholic/christian high schools hold to christian beliefs which typically do not condone homosexuality. parents send their kids to these schools for a variety of reasons. my two best friends went to the same catholic school. one, because he was catholic and his parents wanted him to have a "good catholic upbringing". and my other friend, because the public school in her area was very bad and her parents wanted to send her to a good academic school so she had a chance to go to college.
and secondly, a friend of mine went to a christian college that made them sign a contract with a bunch of things they could and could not do, one of which was be a homosexual. but i'm pretty sure "sex before marriage" and "drinking alcohol" were also on that list. and, as my girlfriend's mother keeps telling us, "the sin isn't being gay, it's having sex!" so perhaps the restriction should be read more like "having homosexual sex."
and btw, the argument you have is the same one i keep hearing straight people griping about every year when it gets around june (unofficial gay pride month). they always say, "well, we should be able to have a straight pride festival!" but they cool down pretty quickly when you tell them they have every right to do so, hah. i have yet to see one actually take place...
Yes, but I disagree with exclusively straight schools! As well as... oh it doesn't matter, I'm going to be late for school.
hahaha. i'm not DISAGREEING with you per se, it's just that at the moment, there is no legislation to bar something like this. obviously, these days you can no longer make an "all white" or "all black" school, and that is because there are laws passed against racial discrimination. until there are laws passed barring "discrimination based upon sexuality" (gay OR straight), schools like this can and will exist. but i do think that coincidentally, after a certain period of time after this legislation IS passed, the need for gay-only schools will probably disappear as well.
Yes, but I disagree with exclusively straight schools! As well as... oh it doesn't matter, I'm going to be late for school.
And make sure you go STRAIGHT to school, young man!
Buddha Rocket, it is clear from reading your posts that you have absolutely no idea at all why public schools were created in this country. I would suggest you go read some history. What you're espousing is just the same old Libertarian nonsense that has no ground in reality.
Sorry, but your statist, liberal bullshit has no ground in reality. The reality now is government schools ruled by teachers unions, barbed wire and metal detectors.
hahaha. i'm not DISAGREEING with you per se, it's just that at the moment, there is no legislation to bar something like this. obviously, these days you can no longer make an "all white" or "all black" school, and that is because there are laws passed against racial discrimination. until there are laws passed barring "discrimination based upon sexuality" (gay OR straight), schools like this can and will exist. but i do think that coincidentally, after a certain period of time after this legislation IS passed, the need for gay-only schools will probably disappear as well.
sucks waiting for that day though.
The world is getting less homophobic though. But did you know that the ONLY countries that give gays the EXACTLY IDENTICAL rights as heteros are South Africa, Canada, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Belgium, Netherlands and Spain. I was actually quite surprised at some of them actually... But it isn't many :-/
And sorry about my post before, I didn't have time to give a proper answer.
Sorry, but your statist, liberal bullshit has no ground in reality. The reality now is government schools ruled by teachers unions, barbed wire and metal detectors.
Say I'd just got a civil partnership or marriage or "vassever" as Bruno would say, and decided, if a partner and me turned to be a happy-go-lucky sort took the first available flight and you had a choice between Stockholm or Islamabad you'd have a clue of which one supplies equal rights and which one would end with you buried up to you neck in sand with people throwing stones at your head.
Did I save something hurtful or are you saying ouch at the stoning? Actually I'm not sure about the Islamabad laws, but I don't think they're very good.
Sorry, but your statist, liberal bullshit has no ground in reality. The reality now is government schools ruled by teachers unions, barbed wire and metal detectors.
i think you're being a little pessimistic here. some inner cities do have a very real problem and might fall under what you describe above. (my best friend's mother is a teacher for Detroit Public Schools, and she definitely has some stories.) but that is not all of america by a long shot.
although my public school may have had minority problems, it was by all educational standards a very good school. we had neither barbed wire nor metal detectors.
i don't think the problem is the schools so much as it is the problem of what's going on at home. poverty makes people desperate, end of story.
In a country where 58% of African American 4th graders are functionally illiterate, The Lottery uncovers the failures of the traditional public school system and reveals that hundreds of thousands of parents attempt to flee the system every year. The Lottery follows four of these families from Harlem and the Bronx who have entered their children in a charter school lottery. Out of thousands of hopefuls, only a small minority will win the chance of a better future.
Directed by Madeleine Sackler and shot by award-winning cinematographer Wolfgang Held, The Lottery uncovers a ferocious debate surrounding the education reform movement. Interviews with politicians and educators explain not only the crisis in public education, but also why it is fixable. A call to action to avert a catastrophe in the education of American children, The Lottery makes the case that any child can succeed.
"The Lottery" is one of the more persuasive documentaries of recent months. It deals with the issue of charter schools in New York City's Harlem, about their great success and about the families that wait in hope of the annual lottery, by which children gain admittance. Three thousand apply for fewer than 500 openings.
They're called "charter" schools because they operate according to a five-year charter with the city or state, and if they don't get results at the end of that period, they're closed. Though funded by government money, they operate outside the teachers unions. The school year and the class days are longer, and teachers who are underperforming are fired. According to the documentary, it's almost impossible to get rid of a bad teacher under the union system, and even when it happens, the process costs the city approximately $250,000.
The documentary shows the stranglehold that the teachers union has on politicians, particularly Democratic politicians.
The Houston Independent School District just cut down the barbed wire surrounding the their schools. They have a prison-like disposition, and are riddled with gangs and drugs.
The government is a corrupt institution and should not be trusted. My wife taught public school high school for 8 years before she couldn't take it anymore and quit, and I currently work for a federal government contractor. It is a joke. Whoever has any confidence in the current establishment is a fool, imo.
Our only hope is smaller government. Much smaller.
Yeah, not everyone has the choice to send their kids to private schools. So how would an entire system consisting of private schools fix this?
:rolleyes: You're not seeing it from the straight vs gay point of view. If there were to be a school to do with homosexuality, what if there was a straight school, then everyone would be like you can't do that! whinge whinge whinge :P
add to that... there would be school where only Muslims would go, schools where only Christians would go and then there would be hospitals where only Muslims would go, hospitals where only gay people would go.....next thing they would be demanding their own country.
hahaha. i'm not DISAGREEING with you per se, it's just that at the moment, there is no legislation to bar something like this. obviously, these days you can no longer make an "all white" or "all black" school, and that is because there are laws passed against racial discrimination. until there are laws passed barring "discrimination based upon sexuality" (gay OR straight), schools like this can and will exist. but i do think that coincidentally, after a certain period of time after this legislation IS passed, the need for gay-only schools will probably disappear as well.
sucks waiting for that day though.
People try to see the big picture, now it is schools, tomorrow it would be hospitals, next would be malls and multiplexes,.... then there would be a whole separate county. DO you Want that??????????
Can't we peacefully co-exist?
Sorry, but your statist, liberal bullshit has no ground in reality. The reality now is government schools ruled by teachers unions, barbed wire and metal detectors.
Did I save something hurtful or are you saying ouch at the stoning? Actually I'm not sure about the Islamabad laws, but I don't think they're very good.
I am talking about the stoning part buddy. and yes the east- Arabian countries are um... shit. they cut your hand for stealing, cut your tongue if you told lie, cut your.... well you get the general idea.
Statistical? Don't you mean skeptic? And we would you say hrm? But I would like an explanation (I ask both lightheartedly but seriously )
yes I meant skeptical,, (was sleepy) and I said hrm. because I had not given thought to the conversion camps thingy. They are stupid and they do more harm than they do good. Being gay is not a disease, it is a life choice.
===================================================
a personal question (you don't have to answer if you don't want to) - do you regret that you are gay?
Yeah, not everyone has the choice to send their kids to private schools. So how would an entire system consisting of private schools fix this?
The students get the money directly instead of the government schools. Private schools compete for their business. From there the options are limitless, hopefully free from bureaucrats.
TROPHY CLUB, Texas - Government Worker Administrators at Government Byron Nelson High School in Trophy Club suspended a 16-year-old boy on Tuesday because his eyes were bloodshot and they thought he might have been smoking marijuana.
The teen said he was not high. Instead his eyes were red because he had been grieving the loss of his murdered father.
Kyler Robertson’s father was stabbed to death on Sunday. His mother honored his wishes and let him go to government school on Tuesday to be with his friends.
“I am sure he had a lot on his mind going to school. I had asked him not to go to school,” said Cristy Fritz.
Before returning to class Kyler had to go to the office to get a tardy slip. That’s when government worker school employees accused him of being high because he had red and watery eyes.
Fritz said she got a call from government worker administrators who told her Kyler would be suspended for three days.
“I was pleading with her to understand the severity of the situation, his emotional well being. How could they do this to him at this time? What are the alternatives?” she said.
District spokeswoman Lesley Weaver would not discuss the case with FOX 4, but said when administrators suspect a student is under the influence, a school nurse will observe symptoms like their behavior, odor and their eyes.
The district does not actually test students, though. That’s left to the parents.
Fritz said she was told by the assistant principal that she could have Kyler tested for drugs within two hours and if it was negative he could return to school. She did just that.
Kyler was allowed to return to class after he showed school administrators a copy of his negative test results.
The teen’s mom still wants an apology from government worker administrators and she wants the district to remove the suspension from his permanent record. She is in the process of appealing it.
“We had other things to do this week than worry about a three day window for an appeal, a two hour window for a drug test and my son’s reputation and government high school career,” she said.
add to that... there would be school where only Muslims would go, schools where only Christians would go and then there would be hospitals where only Muslims would go, hospitals where only gay people would go.....next thing they would be demanding their own country.
That's why all the gays, Muslims and Christians should be chucked on a bonfire, to save the world from that horrible fate.
People try to see the big picture, now it is schools, tomorrow it would be hospitals, next would be malls and multiplexes,.... then there would be a whole separate county. DO you Want that??????????
Can't we peacefully co-exist?
I am talking about the stoning part buddy. and yes the east- Arabian countries are um... shit. they cut your hand for stealing, cut your tongue if you told lie, cut your.... well you get the general idea.
I once read about a torture to do with glue and laxitive, I won't go into details...
TROPHY CLUB, Texas - Government Worker Administrators at Government Byron Nelson High School in Trophy Club suspended a 16-year-old boy on Tuesday because his eyes were bloodshot and they thought he might have been smoking marijuana.
The teen said he was not high. Instead his eyes were red because he had been grieving the loss of his murdered father.
Kyler Robertson’s father was stabbed to death on Sunday. His mother honored his wishes and let him go to government school on Tuesday to be with his friends.
“I am sure he had a lot on his mind going to school. I had asked him not to go to school,” said Cristy Fritz.
Before returning to class Kyler had to go to the office to get a tardy slip. That’s when government worker school employees accused him of being high because he had red and watery eyes.
Fritz said she got a call from government worker administrators who told her Kyler would be suspended for three days.
“I was pleading with her to understand the severity of the situation, his emotional well being. How could they do this to him at this time? What are the alternatives?” she said.
District spokeswoman Lesley Weaver would not discuss the case with FOX 4, but said when administrators suspect a student is under the influence, a school nurse will observe symptoms like their behavior, odor and their eyes.
The district does not actually test students, though. That’s left to the parents.
Fritz said she was told by the assistant principal that she could have Kyler tested for drugs within two hours and if it was negative he could return to school. She did just that.
Kyler was allowed to return to class after he showed school administrators a copy of his negative test results.
The teen’s mom still wants an apology from government worker administrators and she wants the district to remove the suspension from his permanent record. She is in the process of appealing it.
“We had other things to do this week than worry about a three day window for an appeal, a two hour window for a drug test and my son’s reputation and government high school career,” she said. <object width="480" height="385"></object>
Nice incendiary rhetoric added by you there. It's easy to add buzzwords to someone else's writing to make it appear more inflammatory. And you accuse others of "bullshit"? This is more because of ill-advised actions of a particular school, not because it's a public school. There's nothing to guarantee that this would not happen in a private school.
Honestly, I don't know why I'm wasting my time here. If 12 years of being on the internet have taught me anything it's that debating with libertarians is a futile effort. There's no reasoning with a mindset that believes that profit-driven corporations will somehow, against all evidence to the contrary, work for the benefit of people rather than just to increase shareholder's net worth.
I agree with you, Takeahnase. You can't argue with a closed mind. It doesn't matter whether their arguments don't make any sense at all. If you know you're right, you're right. Don't confuse them with the facts!
“Let me explain to you how this works: you see, the corporations finance Team America, and then Team America goes out... and the corporations sit there in their... in their corporation buildings, and... and, and see, they’re all corporation-y... and they make money.”
Tim Robbins, Team America
At least I have a mind, unlike Liberals. Hope and change....yay....
A private school would lose business if it acts stupid. The government doesn't have to worry about that. They just get sued and we pay more taxes.
So basically you're fine with tax dollars being used to prop up private businesses (in this case vouchers for private schools) but not fine with taxpayer dollars being used to finance a taxpayer controlled public system? Figures.
I just added the words that were left out. And, btw, nothing is a bigger buzzword for Liberals than "corporation".
No, you altered someone else's writing and added your own bugaboo at every possible point. It's intellectually lazy and dishonest.
At least I have a mind, unlike Liberals. Hope and change....yay....
You have a mind so that's why you're altering articles and using a dumb quote from a dumb film made by some guys who's sole purpose is to be outlandish as possible for your argument?
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zombiegirlbeating the drum of the lifelessin a dry wastelandVeteran
You have a mind so that's why you're altering articles and using a dumb quote from a dumb film made by some guys who's sole purpose is to be outlandish as possible for your argument?
don't forget some guy's blog. he also referenced a blog titled "stuff white people like" lmao. a credible source if i've ever heard of one! another example of confirmation bias and the fact that you can find literally ANYTHING on the internet.
this is when the internet fails...
Buddha_Rocket, i hope that you let go of your anger and try to give a little respect to others. namaste.
don't forget some guy's blog. he also referenced a blog titled "stuff white people like" lmao. a credible source if i've ever heard of one! another example of confirmation bias and the fact that you can find literally ANYTHING on the internet.
this is when the internet fails...
Buddha_Rocket, i hope that you let go of your anger and try to give a little respect to others. namaste.
people these days have the power to say and publish anything and it is doing more harm than it is doing good.
don't forget some guy's blog. he also referenced a blog titled "stuff white people like" lmao. a credible source if i've ever heard of one! another example of confirmation bias and the fact that you can find literally ANYTHING on the internet.
this is when the internet fails...
Buddha_Rocket, i hope that you let go of your anger and try to give a little respect to others. namaste.
So basically you're fine with tax dollars being used to prop up private businesses (in this case vouchers for private schools) but not fine with taxpayer dollars being used to finance a taxpayer controlled public system? Figures.
No, you altered someone else's writing and added your own bugaboo at every possible point. It's intellectually lazy and dishonest.
You have a mind so that's why you're altering articles and using a dumb quote from a dumb film made by some guys who's sole purpose is to be outlandish as possible for your argument?
Actually, I kind of do have a problem with it, but it would be much, much better than what we have now.
Yes, I altered the writing. I made it much more precise.
Matt Stone and Trey Parker of South Park create great social commentary, and I think you know that.
oh, i missed that somewhere. didn't know it was a book or collection of writings constituting the sacred text of a religion. guess i'll have to look closer next time i check out a blog(a journal written on-line and accessible to users of the internet).
oh, i missed that somewhere. didn't know it was a book or collection of writings constituting the sacred text of a religion. guess i'll have to look closer next time i check out a blog(a journal written on-line and accessible to users of the internet).
You could buy the book if it would make you feel better:
They love nothing better than sipping free-trade gourmet coffee, leafing through the Sunday New York Times, and listening to David Sedaris on NPR (ideally all at the same time). Apple products, indie music, food co-ops, and vintage T-shirts make them weak in the knees.
They believe they’re unique, yet somehow they’re all exactly the same, talking about how they “get” Sarah Silverman’s “subversive” comedy and Wes Anderson’s “droll” films. They’re also down with diversity and up on all the best microbrews, breakfast spots, foreign cinema, and authentic sushi. They’re organic, ironic, and do not own TVs.
You know who they are: They’re white people. And they’re here, and you’re gonna have to deal. Fortunately, here’s a book that investigates, explains, and offers advice for finding social success with the Caucasian persuasion. So kick back on your IKEA couch and lose yourself in the ultimate guide to the unbearable whiteness of being.
Praise for STUFF WHITE PEOPLE LIKE:
“The best of a hilarious Web site: an uncannily accurate catalog of dead-on predilections. The Criterion Collection of classic films? Haircuts with bangs? Expensive fruit juice? ‘Blonde on Blonde’ on the iPod? The author knows who reads The New Yorker and who wears plaid.”
–Janet Maslin’s summer picks, CBS.com
“The author of "Stuff White People Like" skewers the sacred cows of lefty Caucasian culture, from the Prius to David Sedaris. . . . It gently mocks the habits and pretensions of urbane, educated, left-leaning whites, skewering their passion for Barack Obama and public transportation (as long as it's not a bus), their idle threats to move to Canada, and joy in playing children's games as adults. Kickball, anyone?”
–Salon.com
“A handy reference guide with which you can check just how white you are. Hint: If you like only documentaries and think your child is gifted, you glow in the dark, buddy.” –NY Daily News
In the middle of a Ph.D. in film studies, Lander realized that his students and colleagues were locked in a mental cage-match of judgment. Everyone was competing over things that didn’t really matter—like how many languages their kids spoke or what “corporate sell out” bands they were currently not listening to. The people who spent the most time talking about class and race were upper class white people who knew nothing about minorities. One look in the mirror confirmed Lander’s participation in the elitist rat race, so he quit. Just ten months later, Lander’s Guide to the Unique Taste of Millions is currently #35 on the New York Times’ list of bestselling nonfiction paperbacks, and his website has logged over forty million hits.
There are also some good on-line interviews with the author, Christan Lander:
AVC: What items on the list hit too close to home for you?
CL: "Knowing what's best for poor people." That was the one where I went right after myself big time––because I'm so fucking guilty of that. So much of my life, I believed that people in these situations had no free will, like they shopped at Wal-Mart just because they have no choice. It was unbelievable, and I thought, "Oh, if only they had money and education, they could be just like me."
And I was like, "How arrogant and awful is that?" So I had to call myself out on that one. Fixed-gear bicycles, I'm really bad on that one. And indie music, these are some of my most obnoxious traits that I have to call out. I will talk to you for an hour about my bicycle, why it's so great, and why I love it. And we could go out on the street and I will review everyone's fixed-gear bicycle that goes by, and tell you everything that I like and dislike about it. So, yeah, it's pretty pretentious. And indie music, I'm such a fucking dick about it, just judging people immediately on the music that they like. Like I say in the book, if I know a band you like, I own you, it's over, it's over, it's done.
AVC: Obviously the site is meant as a joke, but how much anger is there behind that joke?
CL: It's comedy first and foremost. I value humor over all else in this book. I just want it to be funny. But yeah, there's anger about it, there's a lot of things I'm angry about. One of them is sort of saying, "Look at our generation. What do we have? What's left?" Stuff is all we have. We can have music, and we can have fixed-gear bikes, but at the same time, there are people exactly like us in every city and college town in the whole country, Canada, and parts of Europe. And we're being sold to in the same way as everyone in the mass media sells to everyone that we sort of despise.
But you're just as guilty of the keeping-up-with-the-Joneses' mentality as your parents or grandparents. It's not a display of wealth. It's about a display of authenticity and taste. And so it's just my anger about that competition. And what I'm angry about is, I just can't stop myself from doing it.
It's like what else do I do? Just move to a gated community? Just lock it up and call it a life, and say, "The rest of the world can just burn to the ground. I don't care. I'm safe here"? I don't know any other way. What's the alternative?
They love nothing better than sipping free-trade gourmet coffee, leafing through the Sunday New York Times, and listening to David Sedaris on NPR (ideally all at the same time). Apple products, indie music, food co-ops, and vintage T-shirts make them weak in the knees.
They believe they’re unique, yet somehow they’re all exactly the same, talking about how they “get” Sarah Silverman’s “subversive” comedy and Wes Anderson’s “droll” films. They’re also down with diversity and up on all the best microbrews, breakfast spots, foreign cinema, and authentic sushi. They’re organic, ironic, and do not own TVs.
You know who they are: They’re white people. And they’re here, and you’re gonna have to deal. Fortunately, here’s a book that investigates, explains, and offers advice for finding social success with the Caucasian persuasion. So kick back on your IKEA couch and lose yourself in the ultimate guide to the unbearable whiteness of being.
Praise for STUFF WHITE PEOPLE LIKE:
“The best of a hilarious Web site: an uncannily accurate catalog of dead-on predilections. The Criterion Collection of classic films? Haircuts with bangs? Expensive fruit juice? ‘Blonde on Blonde’ on the iPod? The author knows who reads The New Yorker and who wears plaid.”
–Janet Maslin’s summer picks, CBS.com
“The author of "Stuff White People Like" skewers the sacred cows of lefty Caucasian culture, from the Prius to David Sedaris. . . . It gently mocks the habits and pretensions of urbane, educated, left-leaning whites, skewering their passion for Barack Obama and public transportation (as long as it's not a bus), their idle threats to move to Canada, and joy in playing children's games as adults. Kickball, anyone?”
–Salon.com
“A handy reference guide with which you can check just how white you are. Hint: If you like only documentaries and think your child is gifted, you glow in the dark, buddy.” –NY Daily News
In the middle of a Ph.D. in film studies, Lander realized that his students and colleagues were locked in a mental cage-match of judgment. Everyone was competing over things that didn’t really matter—like how many languages their kids spoke or what “corporate sell out” bands they were currently not listening to. The people who spent the most time talking about class and race were upper class white people who knew nothing about minorities. One look in the mirror confirmed Lander’s participation in the elitist rat race, so he quit. Just ten months later, Lander’s Guide to the Unique Taste of Millions is currently #35 on the New York Times’ list of bestselling nonfiction paperbacks, and his website has logged over forty million hits.
There are also some good on-line interviews with the author, Christan Lander:
AVC: What items on the list hit too close to home for you?
CL: "Knowing what's best for poor people." That was the one where I went right after myself big time––because I'm so fucking guilty of that. So much of my life, I believed that people in these situations had no free will, like they shopped at Wal-Mart just because they have no choice. It was unbelievable, and I thought, "Oh, if only they had money and education, they could be just like me."
And I was like, "How arrogant and awful is that?" So I had to call myself out on that one. Fixed-gear bicycles, I'm really bad on that one. And indie music, these are some of my most obnoxious traits that I have to call out. I will talk to you for an hour about my bicycle, why it's so great, and why I love it. And we could go out on the street and I will review everyone's fixed-gear bicycle that goes by, and tell you everything that I like and dislike about it. So, yeah, it's pretty pretentious. And indie music, I'm such a fucking dick about it, just judging people immediately on the music that they like. Like I say in the book, if I know a band you like, I own you, it's over, it's over, it's done.
AVC: Obviously the site is meant as a joke, but how much anger is there behind that joke?
CL: It's comedy first and foremost. I value humor over all else in this book. I just want it to be funny. But yeah, there's anger about it, there's a lot of things I'm angry about. One of them is sort of saying, "Look at our generation. What do we have? What's left?" Stuff is all we have. We can have music, and we can have fixed-gear bikes, but at the same time, there are people exactly like us in every city and college town in the whole country, Canada, and parts of Europe. And we're being sold to in the same way as everyone in the mass media sells to everyone that we sort of despise.
But you're just as guilty of the keeping-up-with-the-Joneses' mentality as your parents or grandparents. It's not a display of wealth. It's about a display of authenticity and taste. And so it's just my anger about that competition. And what I'm angry about is, I just can't stop myself from doing it.
It's like what else do I do? Just move to a gated community? Just lock it up and call it a life, and say, "The rest of the world can just burn to the ground. I don't care. I'm safe here"? I don't know any other way. What's the alternative?
OMG OMG! I can't get on amazon! Where's WHSmith? The library's closed! Oh, what will we do *raises eyebrow seriously*
EDIT- but seriously, the most offending, stupid and ignorant book I've ever seen. By that classifaction I'm black. And let me tell you, being part English/Irish/Scotish/Dutch, I'm not not caucasian
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zombiegirlbeating the drum of the lifelessin a dry wastelandVeteran
By that classifaction I'm black. And let me tell you, being part English/Irish/Scotish/Dutch, I'm not not caucasian
that's funny, i just learned i'm white! hahaha.
i find it interesting that they put "getting sarah silverman" as one of the things that "white people like" when i feel like this book is a very similar type of humor.
i still feel like it falls very short of a "bible" though. i mean, it just seems kinda odd that you consider anything that's written as comedy and whose main title suggests segregation as a "bible". i mean, i feel ya, i laughed at a few of the topics because people can be silly and i'm chillin on a chair from IKEA as we speak (although fyi, they are way cheaper and better made than any of the competition)... but it's ultimately comedy. to laugh at "stuff white people like" either makes you laugh at yourself or laugh at others and as a result, feel more superior than them. only the first is acceptable in my book.
Comments
A parent already has the choice to send their child to a private school if they wish. There are problems with the public school system yes, but the solution isn't a knee-jerk "government = bad" reaction.
Not all have a choice, that is why in New York they hold lotteries
Check out the movie "the lottery" http://thelotteryfilm.com/ :
In a country where 58% of African American 4th graders are functionally illiterate, The Lottery uncovers the failures of the traditional public school system and reveals that hundreds of thousands of parents attempt to flee the system every year. The Lottery follows four of these families from Harlem and the Bronx who have entered their children in a charter school lottery. Out of thousands of hopefuls, only a small minority will win the chance of a better future.
Directed by Madeleine Sackler and shot by award-winning cinematographer Wolfgang Held, The Lottery uncovers a ferocious debate surrounding the education reform movement. Interviews with politicians and educators explain not only the crisis in public education, but also why it is fixable. A call to action to avert a catastrophe in the education of American children, The Lottery makes the case that any child can succeed.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=%2Fc%2Fa%2F2010%2F07%2F22%2FMV171EH2SV.DTL
They're called "charter" schools because they operate according to a five-year charter with the city or state, and if they don't get results at the end of that period, they're closed. Though funded by government money, they operate outside the teachers unions. The school year and the class days are longer, and teachers who are underperforming are fired. According to the documentary, it's almost impossible to get rid of a bad teacher under the union system, and even when it happens, the process costs the city approximately $250,000.
The Houston Independent School District just cut down the barbed wire surrounding the their schools. They have a prison-like disposition, and are riddled with gangs and drugs.
The government is a corrupt institution and should not be trusted. My wife taught public school high school for 8 years before she couldn't take it anymore and quit, and I currently work for a federal government contractor. It is a joke. Whoever has any confidence in the current establishment is a fool, imo.
Our only hope is smaller government. Much smaller.
It wouldn't bother me. I am a firm believer in freedom of association.
most of the laws in america were put into place for what our forefathers thought of as the ultimate freedom. they protect those whose views you agree with as well as those whose views you don't. there is no other way.
a downside i didn't mention to my gay-friendly town is that we semi-frequently have christian protesters with the usual anti-gay picket signs. but we also get a good deal of protesters protesting the war and other things that i happen to agree with. so while i am sometimes perturbed by their display of hatred, i still respect their right to do so.
and actually, they do have straight schools. i have two examples.
firstly, catholic/christian high schools hold to christian beliefs which typically do not condone homosexuality. parents send their kids to these schools for a variety of reasons. my two best friends went to the same catholic school. one, because he was catholic and his parents wanted him to have a "good catholic upbringing". and my other friend, because the public school in her area was very bad and her parents wanted to send her to a good academic school so she had a chance to go to college.
and secondly, a friend of mine went to a christian college that made them sign a contract with a bunch of things they could and could not do, one of which was be a homosexual. but i'm pretty sure "sex before marriage" and "drinking alcohol" were also on that list. and, as my girlfriend's mother keeps telling us, "the sin isn't being gay, it's having sex!" so perhaps the restriction should be read more like "having homosexual sex."
and btw, the argument you have is the same one i keep hearing straight people griping about every year when it gets around june (unofficial gay pride month). they always say, "well, we should be able to have a straight pride festival!" but they cool down pretty quickly when you tell them they have every right to do so, hah. i have yet to see one actually take place...
hahaha. i'm not DISAGREEING with you per se, it's just that at the moment, there is no legislation to bar something like this. obviously, these days you can no longer make an "all white" or "all black" school, and that is because there are laws passed against racial discrimination. until there are laws passed barring "discrimination based upon sexuality" (gay OR straight), schools like this can and will exist. but i do think that coincidentally, after a certain period of time after this legislation IS passed, the need for gay-only schools will probably disappear as well.
sucks waiting for that day though.
And make sure you go STRAIGHT to school, young man!
Buddha Rocket, it is clear from reading your posts that you have absolutely no idea at all why public schools were created in this country. I would suggest you go read some history. What you're espousing is just the same old Libertarian nonsense that has no ground in reality.
Palzang
And sorry about my post before, I didn't have time to give a proper answer.
ouch.
Statistical? Don't you mean skeptic? And we would you say hrm?
i think you're being a little pessimistic here. some inner cities do have a very real problem and might fall under what you describe above. (my best friend's mother is a teacher for Detroit Public Schools, and she definitely has some stories.) but that is not all of america by a long shot.
although my public school may have had minority problems, it was by all educational standards a very good school. we had neither barbed wire nor metal detectors.
i don't think the problem is the schools so much as it is the problem of what's going on at home. poverty makes people desperate, end of story.
Yeah, not everyone has the choice to send their kids to private schools. So how would an entire system consisting of private schools fix this?
add to that... there would be school where only Muslims would go, schools where only Christians would go and then there would be hospitals where only Muslims would go, hospitals where only gay people would go.....next thing they would be demanding their own country.
People try to see the big picture, now it is schools, tomorrow it would be hospitals, next would be malls and multiplexes,.... then there would be a whole separate county. DO you Want that??????????
Can't we peacefully co-exist?
I agree with you...
I just have one word for all of this - DISCRIMINATION.
Arg... unions and politics.
I am talking about the stoning part buddy. and yes the east- Arabian countries are um... shit. they cut your hand for stealing, cut your tongue if you told lie, cut your.... well you get the general idea.
yes I meant skeptical,, (was sleepy) and I said hrm. because I had not given thought to the conversion camps thingy. They are stupid and they do more harm than they do good. Being gay is not a disease, it is a life choice.
===================================================
a personal question (you don't have to answer if you don't want to) - do you regret that you are gay?
The students get the money directly instead of the government schools. Private schools compete for their business. From there the options are limitless, hopefully free from bureaucrats.
Thursday, 09 Sept. 2010, 9:32 PM CDT
TROPHY CLUB, Texas - Government Worker Administrators at Government Byron Nelson High School in Trophy Club suspended a 16-year-old boy on Tuesday because his eyes were bloodshot and they thought he might have been smoking marijuana.
The teen said he was not high. Instead his eyes were red because he had been grieving the loss of his murdered father.
Kyler Robertson’s father was stabbed to death on Sunday. His mother honored his wishes and let him go to government school on Tuesday to be with his friends.
“I am sure he had a lot on his mind going to school. I had asked him not to go to school,” said Cristy Fritz.
Before returning to class Kyler had to go to the office to get a tardy slip. That’s when government worker school employees accused him of being high because he had red and watery eyes.
Fritz said she got a call from government worker administrators who told her Kyler would be suspended for three days.
“I was pleading with her to understand the severity of the situation, his emotional well being. How could they do this to him at this time? What are the alternatives?” she said.
District spokeswoman Lesley Weaver would not discuss the case with FOX 4, but said when administrators suspect a student is under the influence, a school nurse will observe symptoms like their behavior, odor and their eyes.
The district does not actually test students, though. That’s left to the parents.
Fritz said she was told by the assistant principal that she could have Kyler tested for drugs within two hours and if it was negative he could return to school. She did just that.
Kyler was allowed to return to class after he showed school administrators a copy of his negative test results.
The teen’s mom still wants an apology from government worker administrators and she wants the district to remove the suspension from his permanent record. She is in the process of appealing it.
“We had other things to do this week than worry about a three day window for an appeal, a two hour window for a drug test and my son’s reputation and government high school career,” she said.
http://www.myfoxdfw.com/dpp/news/090910-school-suspends-boy-for-bloodshot-eyes
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Nice incendiary rhetoric added by you there. It's easy to add buzzwords to someone else's writing to make it appear more inflammatory. And you accuse others of "bullshit"? This is more because of ill-advised actions of a particular school, not because it's a public school. There's nothing to guarantee that this would not happen in a private school.
Honestly, I don't know why I'm wasting my time here. If 12 years of being on the internet have taught me anything it's that debating with libertarians is a futile effort. There's no reasoning with a mindset that believes that profit-driven corporations will somehow, against all evidence to the contrary, work for the benefit of people rather than just to increase shareholder's net worth.
Palzang
I just added the words that were left out. And, btw, nothing is a bigger buzzword for Liberals than "corporation".
http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/2008/03/05/82-hating-corporations/
“Let me explain to you how this works: you see, the corporations finance Team America, and then Team America goes out... and the corporations sit there in their... in their corporation buildings, and... and, and see, they’re all corporation-y... and they make money.”
Tim Robbins, Team America
At least I have a mind, unlike Liberals. Hope and change....yay....
So basically you're fine with tax dollars being used to prop up private businesses (in this case vouchers for private schools) but not fine with taxpayer dollars being used to finance a taxpayer controlled public system? Figures.
No, you altered someone else's writing and added your own bugaboo at every possible point. It's intellectually lazy and dishonest.
You have a mind so that's why you're altering articles and using a dumb quote from a dumb film made by some guys who's sole purpose is to be outlandish as possible for your argument?
don't forget some guy's blog. he also referenced a blog titled "stuff white people like" lmao. a credible source if i've ever heard of one! another example of confirmation bias and the fact that you can find literally ANYTHING on the internet.
this is when the internet fails...
Buddha_Rocket, i hope that you let go of your anger and try to give a little respect to others. namaste.
I wonder wtf they are going to with a whole new country.
intrigued buy yeah don't go into the details. :doh:
people these days have the power to say and publish anything and it is doing more harm than it is doing good.
It's not a blog. It's a bible.
Actually, I kind of do have a problem with it, but it would be much, much better than what we have now.
Yes, I altered the writing. I made it much more precise.
Matt Stone and Trey Parker of South Park create great social commentary, and I think you know that.
http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig5/cust1.html
And Matt Stone is also the author of one my all-time favorite quotes - "I hate conservatives, but I really fu****** hate liberals."
oh, i missed that somewhere. didn't know it was a book or collection of writings constituting the sacred text of a religion. guess i'll have to look closer next time i check out a blog(a journal written on-line and accessible to users of the internet).
You could buy the book if it would make you feel better:
http://www.amazon.com/Stuff-White-People-Like-Definitive/dp/0812979915/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1284741043&sr=8-1
Editorial Reviews
They love nothing better than sipping free-trade gourmet coffee, leafing through the Sunday New York Times, and listening to David Sedaris on NPR (ideally all at the same time). Apple products, indie music, food co-ops, and vintage T-shirts make them weak in the knees.
They believe they’re unique, yet somehow they’re all exactly the same, talking about how they “get” Sarah Silverman’s “subversive” comedy and Wes Anderson’s “droll” films. They’re also down with diversity and up on all the best microbrews, breakfast spots, foreign cinema, and authentic sushi. They’re organic, ironic, and do not own TVs.
You know who they are: They’re white people. And they’re here, and you’re gonna have to deal. Fortunately, here’s a book that investigates, explains, and offers advice for finding social success with the Caucasian persuasion. So kick back on your IKEA couch and lose yourself in the ultimate guide to the unbearable whiteness of being.
Praise for STUFF WHITE PEOPLE LIKE:
“The best of a hilarious Web site: an uncannily accurate catalog of dead-on predilections. The Criterion Collection of classic films? Haircuts with bangs? Expensive fruit juice? ‘Blonde on Blonde’ on the iPod? The author knows who reads The New Yorker and who wears plaid.”
–Janet Maslin’s summer picks, CBS.com
“The author of "Stuff White People Like" skewers the sacred cows of lefty Caucasian culture, from the Prius to David Sedaris. . . . It gently mocks the habits and pretensions of urbane, educated, left-leaning whites, skewering their passion for Barack Obama and public transportation (as long as it's not a bus), their idle threats to move to Canada, and joy in playing children's games as adults. Kickball, anyone?”
–Salon.com
“A handy reference guide with which you can check just how white you are. Hint: If you like only documentaries and think your child is gifted, you glow in the dark, buddy.”
–NY Daily News
In the middle of a Ph.D. in film studies, Lander realized that his students and colleagues were locked in a mental cage-match of judgment. Everyone was competing over things that didn’t really matter—like how many languages their kids spoke or what “corporate sell out” bands they were currently not listening to. The people who spent the most time talking about class and race were upper class white people who knew nothing about minorities. One look in the mirror confirmed Lander’s participation in the elitist rat race, so he quit. Just ten months later, Lander’s Guide to the Unique Taste of Millions is currently #35 on the New York Times’ list of bestselling nonfiction paperbacks, and his website has logged over forty million hits.
There are also some good on-line interviews with the author, Christan Lander:
http://www.avclub.com/articles/christian-lander,14296/
AVC: What items on the list hit too close to home for you?
CL: "Knowing what's best for poor people." That was the one where I went right after myself big time––because I'm so fucking guilty of that. So much of my life, I believed that people in these situations had no free will, like they shopped at Wal-Mart just because they have no choice. It was unbelievable, and I thought, "Oh, if only they had money and education, they could be just like me."
And I was like, "How arrogant and awful is that?" So I had to call myself out on that one. Fixed-gear bicycles, I'm really bad on that one. And indie music, these are some of my most obnoxious traits that I have to call out. I will talk to you for an hour about my bicycle, why it's so great, and why I love it. And we could go out on the street and I will review everyone's fixed-gear bicycle that goes by, and tell you everything that I like and dislike about it. So, yeah, it's pretty pretentious. And indie music, I'm such a fucking dick about it, just judging people immediately on the music that they like. Like I say in the book, if I know a band you like, I own you, it's over, it's over, it's done.
AVC: Obviously the site is meant as a joke, but how much anger is there behind that joke?
CL: It's comedy first and foremost. I value humor over all else in this book. I just want it to be funny. But yeah, there's anger about it, there's a lot of things I'm angry about. One of them is sort of saying, "Look at our generation. What do we have? What's left?" Stuff is all we have. We can have music, and we can have fixed-gear bikes, but at the same time, there are people exactly like us in every city and college town in the whole country, Canada, and parts of Europe. And we're being sold to in the same way as everyone in the mass media sells to everyone that we sort of despise.
But you're just as guilty of the keeping-up-with-the-Joneses' mentality as your parents or grandparents. It's not a display of wealth. It's about a display of authenticity and taste. And so it's just my anger about that competition. And what I'm angry about is, I just can't stop myself from doing it.
It's like what else do I do? Just move to a gated community? Just lock it up and call it a life, and say, "The rest of the world can just burn to the ground. I don't care. I'm safe here"? I don't know any other way. What's the alternative?
EDIT- but seriously, the most offending, stupid and ignorant book I've ever seen. By that classifaction I'm black. And let me tell you, being part English/Irish/Scotish/Dutch, I'm not not caucasian
that's funny, i just learned i'm white! hahaha.
i find it interesting that they put "getting sarah silverman" as one of the things that "white people like" when i feel like this book is a very similar type of humor.
i still feel like it falls very short of a "bible" though. i mean, it just seems kinda odd that you consider anything that's written as comedy and whose main title suggests segregation as a "bible". i mean, i feel ya, i laughed at a few of the topics because people can be silly and i'm chillin on a chair from IKEA as we speak (although fyi, they are way cheaper and better made than any of the competition)... but it's ultimately comedy. to laugh at "stuff white people like" either makes you laugh at yourself or laugh at others and as a result, feel more superior than them. only the first is acceptable in my book.