Back in Louisiana …

[uwe]

... only one fearless Principal stands between the corrosive-corrupting, frankly diabolical influence of negro 'dancing' (twerking!) and the virtue of our Southern daughters!

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12604349/amp/Kaylee-Timonet-homecoming-video-scholarship-president-Walker-High-School-Louisiana.html

?

I hope she sues the school administration to hell and back.

[doombass]

This guy needs a good punishment also:

[westen44]

The redneck Louisiana principal lives pretty far away from New Orleans, Louisiana, a place i lived for four years that has things going on every day far more scandalous than twerking.  This is especially true during Mardi Gras.  Also, he seems to be totally unfamiliar with the concept do not judge, or you too will be judged. I hope the country will react to her plight and contribute money to her that will go way beyond what would be needed for her college scholarship.   

One school board member had this to say:"I think there comes a time and a place for reprimanding our kids, but she's an exemplary student," Dickerson said. "I do not think her dancing after school at her home with her parents there is a problem. I have a problem with that. We're not talking about causing harm to anyone. The child was dancing.

"I'm a Christian, I believe in morals, respect, and integrity, but we also cannot cross a line," she added. "Kids have to be kids. Who am I to judge someone?"

This quote came from a Baton Rouge site, but now I can't find it.

[uwe]

I had frankly thought that in the Year of our Lord 2023, that type of culture battle should be behind us - unless you are unfortunate enough to be forced to live in Afghanistan that is. Forbidding certain types of dance or specific dance moves is probably as old as dance itself, at one point the Waltz, the Can-Can, the Tango, the Charleston, Rock'n'Roll or the Disco Bump to name but a few should have all been prohibited according to the views of some people. It's ironic that twerking/twitching your butt/pulsating your hips is one of the oldest forms of dance, a look at many tribal dance patterns in Black Africa (lest we forget: where mankind originated) will tell you that.

[westen44]

Out of those dances mentioned, it's the Charleston which has always fascinated me the most.  I think even as a child, I sometimes wished I had lived in the 1920s. 

[Dave W]

This is in Walker, in Livingston Parish. It's definitely not Baton Rouge, even though it's in its metro statistical area. Strong Southern Baptist/anti-dancing sentiment. Of course what the school administration did is inexcusable in a public school.

[uwe]

Well, at least Walker High School is now world-famous and if they wanted to turn a former goody-goody student into a future activist, they have done everything right.

Some of the readers' opinions in the comments section to that Daily Mail article are stomach-churning, there is actually people out there who agree with the school decision and write inane and misogynist crap like "she looks like a slut" when she's the archetypical naturally pretty neighborhood girl.

[westen44]

This is in Walker, in Livingston Parish. It's definitely not Baton Rouge, even though it's in its metro statistical area. Strong Southern Baptist/anti-dancing sentiment. Of course what the school administration did is inexcusable in a public school.

I'm not very familiar with Baton Rouge or any of those cities around it like the one Walker High School is in.  But I agree that what the school administration did should be inexcusable anywhere.  This reminds me of the plot to the movie Footloose, except this is even worse.  Judgmentalism has to be one of my main pet peeves. I find it unbearable. 

[Pilgrim]

There was a VERY interesting story on the CBS Sunday Morning program today. It covered part of the Nazi party buildup in the US in the late 30s and start of WWII. It was a significant movement; more than I had understood before.  That has me in an unusually reflective mood.

Facism has always led to anti-Semitic actions, and today's right wing verges on facism (and sometimes crosses over into it overtly.)

One of the strange places it's showing up is in schools, where some people are determined that no one should read, see or hear anything they don't like. They're welcome to make that judgement for their children (let's just call it private, rather than public, child abuse) but they dam sure aren't entitled to tell anyone else's kids what they can read. Propaganda of omission starts young.

We also have problems with school districts telling teachers that they can't mention black oppression, parts of history that don't cast the US in a negative light, and even content that might lead children to question their parents.

Facism is very much alive and active in the US, and it have become increasingly visible since 2016.

Dave, let me know if I'm out of line.  This concerns me, and I assume it concerns all of us.

[westen44]

Some new info on the matter has now come out.  For starters, the principal is trying to apologize, but the family is refusing his apology.  So it looks like the principal now realizes he f***ed up, but it's too late. 

https://unfilteredwithkiran.com/walker-highs-principal-apologizes-scholarship-family-refuses-to-accept-apology/

[westen44]

There was a VERY interesting story on the CBS Sunday Morning program today. It covered part of the Nazi party buildup in the US in the late 30s and start of WWII. It was a significant movement; more than I had understood before.  That has me in an unusually reflective mood.

Facism has always led to anti-Semitic actions, and today's right wing verges on facism (and sometimes crosses over into it overtly.)

One of the strange places it's showing up is in schools, where some people are determined that no one should read, see or hear anything they don't like. They're welcome to make that judgement for their children (let's just call it private, rather than public, child abuse) but they dam sure aren't entitled to tell anyone else's kids what they can read. Propaganda of omission starts young.

We also have problems with school districts telling teachers that they can't mention black oppression, parts of history that don't cast the US in a negative light, and even content that might lead children to question their parents.

Facism is very much alive and active in the US, and it have become increasingly visible since 2016.

Dave, let me know if I'm out of line.  This concerns me, and I assume it concerns all of us.

If you're talking about that documentary with Rachel Maddow about fascism, that's pretty good.  But I thought it was too short.  However, this situation in Louisiana has nothing to do with political ideologies.  I think Dave has analyzed the core problem accurately. 

[4stringer77]

Fascism and antisemitism is also prevalent on the political left Pilgrim. The folks cheering on the atrocities in times Square are known as socialist democrats. The word nazi itself refers to national socialism.

[Pilgrim]

Fascism and antisemitism is also prevalent on the political left Pilgrim. The folks cheering on the atrocities in times Square are known as socialist democrats. The word nazi itself refers to national socialism.

Agreed, there are facists across the political spectrum. But let's be clear: the vast majority of them are on the far right.

That Rachel Maddow piece was very well structured, and a great reminder that the nuts are always with us, looking for a way to exclude and dominate people they think are inferior.  It's a scary part of the human equation.

[4stringer77]

Essentialy any state apparatus derives it's power from force. If you want to experience fascism, simply stop paying your taxes.

[uwe]

Some new info on the matter has now come out.  For starters, the principal is trying to apologize, but the family is refusing his apology.  So it looks like the principal now realizes he f***ed up, but it's too late. 

https://unfilteredwithkiran.com/walker-highs-principal-apologizes-scholarship-family-refuses-to-accept-apology/

Ok, the principal (whether due to media and/or school authorities pressure or genuine remorse/second thoughts) has recanted in full, you can't ask for more, we all err sometimes. The Timonets should be able to get over it. They (rightly) rallied public support and it worked, Mama Bear can settle down.

Good afternoon WHS Family,

I believe it is necessary to respond to the public attention that has resulted from my actions regarding Kaylee Timonet'sparticipation in a dance party that was sponsored at an off-site location following WHS Homecoming.

I have had time to consider my actions, have conversations with the Timonets, and meet with district staff.

First, let me say that I have apologized to the Timonets and I am hopeful that my scheduled meeting with Kaylee's mom will rectify this situation and allow Kaylee to enjoy the remainder of her senior year at Walker High School.

I will be reinstating Kaylee's position on the Student Government Association. The SGA was created to give students a voice in their school and their community, to promote leadership qualities, and to represent their school with pride, enthusiasm, and respect. Our student government members are held to a high standard of student behavior. While I stand by that premise, I do believe that standard deserves the input of not just myself and top administrators, but also those student leaders. I hope to create a path moving forward where we can work together to create clear expectations for all.

I will be reinstating my scholarship endorsement for Kaylee. At Walker High, we strive to place our students first in every decision so they may be prepared for whatever career path they may aspire to take, and I believe my action will assist in doing that.

Finally, during my conversation with Kaylee regarding the dance party, the subject of religious beliefs was broached by Kaylee and myself. While that conversation was meant with the best intentions, I do understand it is not my responsibility to determine what students' or others' religious beliefs may be – that should be the responsibility of the individual

As principal of Walker High School, I am faced daily with many difficult decisions for the interest of our students and employees that are never taken lightly. Please know that I always strive to place our students first in every decision. It is for that reason that I have taken this corrective action.

As we move forward, I ask for your continued support of Walker High School, our amazing teachers, and outstanding students.

Thank you,

Jason St. Pierre, Principal
Walker High School



* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


Different subject, I share Pilgrim's/Al's concerns, but I think the use of historic labels doesn't really help. Fascism was a popular movement merging nationalism and an authoritarian approach with some collectivist goodies and it gained traction especially in Europe about a hundred years ago. It originated with Mussolini (to his movement, being referred to as fascists wasn't an insult, they invented that name) and inspired people like Hitler and Franco. It was a populist movement and hence you will always find partial parallels to populist movements today, but branding these as Fascism or National Socialism (which despite its name contained very little socialism; the Nazi Party's actual rule of Germany was happy to use the old economic order for its own purposes and radically curbed worker rights, a classless society was never the goal, supposed "natural" hierarchy was everything) attempts to alert perhaps justified attention, but mostly ends up as an empty insult to the other side. Let's put it this way: Principal Jason St. Pierre might be the most bigoted person on earth re two elated teenage girls mock-bumping their respective pubic mounds and butts, but that doesn't mean he couldn't have risked his life wearing a GI inform liberating a concentration camp in Germany in 1945 and being aghast at what he found there. (Don't rule out any humanity with your opponents.)

What I am most concerned about in the last 20 years or so is the mounting inability of people to accept confrontation with views other than their own. We've become warring baboon hordes yelling and screaming and throwing shit at each other. I find the amount of political segregation in social media unbearable - I sometimes post a comment in places that are diametrically opposed to my own views, the reaction is neither discussion, not even insults lobbed at me, it's complete intellectual apathy, the caravan moves on acting like nothing has been said, I'm the liberal troll that is best ignored. There is no willingness for a political discourse whatsoever - what are people afraid of? That they might learn or think twice about something or - shudder the thought - gain an understanding to where the other side is coming from? People stay in their silos and echo chambers to an extent that they actually delude themselves into thinking that everyone (they know) is holding all their views too and that by necessity any democratic outcome not to their liking can only be the product of a "rigged" system. Democracy is based on the principle that you may not be right all the time (and your antagonists not always wrong) and that having a certain view you consider to be the only right one does not automatically entail ensuring majority support for it.

Cancellation is another scourge that stems from the above. It's not an invention of the populist right, but by golly they sure picked up quickly on it! One (wo)man's tearing down of a statue (where perhaps an explanatory plaque about the issues might have served a more educational purpose and make people think about history rather than wiping it from collective memory) of a historical individual is another (wo)man's banning of a graphic novel about Anne Frank and her not always so chaste - shock, horror! - thoughts during her puberty.

It's kind of surreal that I'm writing this while in Israel and Gaza all hell has broken loose and unreflected hate reigns supreme and the Russia-Ukraine conflict not too far away from where I live has come to a festering standstill with apparently no one knowing what to do about it. And yesterday, Alternative für Deutschland, a populist party mostly against things (and very little agreement on what they want in the alternative) + disturbingly unconcerned about flirting with the darkest aspects of Germany's past, won a so far unheard of 18% of the state election vote in Hesse where I live. Worrisome times indeed.