I'm still waiting to hear from someone if they are offended by the name Odin.....

Buckwheat was an innocent, loving character. He displayed no racism and got along with white people. Why would they be allowed to insult Buckwheat? Terrible,Terrible.

This has all been blown completely out of proportion. Do I think Dr. Schroeder did the right thing by pulling it so no one would be offended? Absolutely. Did the Odin staff do an excellent job by going to the advisories and personally apologizing for this? Absolutely. Are people in the City of Janesville still "out of the loop" involving a lot of things? You bet.

I've not indicated any belief on my part of my importance, only pointed out that you've apparently placed a lot of weight in my opinion as a reflection of society. I'm your chosen standard by which you justify your opinion, after all.
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What you did was lazily cite my posts to justify your opinion that, as a larger trend, "it's all good when the target of satire or smear is a Republican." Which posts of mine, specifically? You claim "all...for the last year," but this is not true. And, again, I am one example, so if as a single example you view me as indicative of a more general acceptance among the public, then you clearly view me as holding weight.
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If your argument was worth it, you might attempt to justify it by explaining it beyond simply reiterating that it's an opinion you have so it should therefore be self-evident. Apparently you feel more comfortable claiming it as nothing but opinion, indicating that you (by your own standards) shouldn't be taken as anything but so much more gas.

Incontinent, if it makes you feel more important, by all means, go right on believing that you are important.

What I did was upoint out that your posts are an example of postings by a few that have, in the past, been heavily laced with anti-republican vitriol.

Am I going to spend an hour or so reading your drivel, again, just to pick out quotations? No-you aren't worth it.

If you havent' noticed that somehow most media outlets seem to favor Osama over Bush, then you are truly blind.

Or just a fellow-traveler.

Thank you Copper! I went to the NSPA website and it sounds like this is an issue nationwide, Maybe not the same exact issue. I encourage everyone to go to the website and read up on what they do and some of the different news story from school newspapers around the country. Thank you copper and SarahB for bringing this up!

BrewCrew: One of the biggest is NSPA - National Scholastic Press Association. There are many others, including state organizations.

There's also Quill and Scroll, which is "encouraging and recognizing individual student achievement in journalism and scholastic publication."

I don't know if PHS has a Q&S charter, or if it participates in any awards contests, but I hope so.

Ok sarahb If I was just assuming then I apoligize thats my fault. What organization gives out these awards to school newspapers?

"It's not that I put any weight in what you say or think..."
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Then maybe you can explain why I'm the apparent standard by which you justify your opinion that it's generally O.K. for Republicans to be ridiculed, but not Democrats?
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"...it's just that I'm not even going to dignify a request to document instances of repubs being smeared online here."
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Technically you have, by citing me and my posts. Granted it was a lazy and inaccurate attempt, so it's almost like you didn't document anything...
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"It is very common, and all you need to do is read a bit to see it."
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In other words, this is just your belief - an opinion - and one you'd rather not justify by explaining why you have it other than by reiterating that it's an opinion you have. By your stated standard, this means you shouldn't be taken as anything but so much more gas.

Like I posted on a different article, there are posters on here that only write to start an argument. If we ignore them, maybe they will go away! Probably not, but we can try! These posts belong to all of us, not just a select few who turn them into boxing rings!

The reason some are being so critical of this being in the odin with or without the caption is because of the history of minority relations or the lack there of @ parker.

justme46: Thank you! BrewCrew81 has been berating me on many blogs. I think he has a problem.

BrewCrew81: You're wrong to assume the reasons for my question re: awards. I am not obligated to explain myself, but I will anyways. I've never seen the Parker newspaper, but I have helped oversee high school newspapers and know a lot about the process of putting out an edition. Also, I worked on my high school paper for three years, two UW-Madison student newspapers for four years, the Wisconsin State Journal for two years and The Mason City (IA) Gazette for eight years. I have a bachelor's degree in journalism from UW-Madison. I'd like to know more about the Parker newspaper. Area high school newspapers are known for winning state awards. For example, the Beloit Memorial High School newspaper has been voted best student paper at least a few times. My question was in no way meant to discredit the Parker newspaper. If you read too much into my question, then that is your problem.

The issue is Satire, so lets get over this already. We have been comparing President's to animals and other people for the past 200 years and now because we have an African-American president it looks racist. The Odin made a mistake by not having the caption but every single national paper put the quote, a story and some also put the pictures of Obama and Buckwheat in after the politician from Florida made the comment. So why is the Odin the only one being put on the spot?

She was just asking a question, irrevelant or not! Leave her alone Brewcrew. We all have a right to our opinion and the right to ask questions. There are a few posters that turn every article into their own private battlefield. Would you guys let us all know when this is going to happen so we can go on to a different article? Thanks!

re: our discussion on kdjmpg's comment: "And you should know that most high schoolers are more intelligent than most adults"

Goldenboy: Really? Kdjmpg was just making a point? Its untrue, at least in a sense. High schoolers sometimes don't give us enough credit. And some adults understood what the satire was but some didnt. And those "some" didnt understand because high schoolers don't even now what it means.

Goldenboy-I hope you don't mind my twisting your words like that-it just worked out so well! But I just wanted you to know that you have nothing to worry about; you don't actually graduate from high school and then turn stupid.

SarahB1
May 5, 2010 at 9:52 a.m.
Suggest removal Has this school paper ever won any awards?
What difference does it make? What a total irrelavant question. Here we go with your radical,ignorant comments. To even hint at saying one must win an award to be good is just plain idiodic, I guess I am wrong though for expecting more from you.

Has this school paper ever won any awards?

So - every newspaper in every school and every city should have staffers of each and every race, ethnicity, socio economic background, religion, and gender preference - and they should all edit every story in every paper - so as not to offend anyone? Geez. Maybe high school kids really ARE smarter.......

Hey!!! Wait a minute!!! Was anyone offended when we compared Bush to the monkey?!?!?! If we are going to say that this is wrong, shouldn't that be wrong too?!?!?! People are getting WAY to worked up about this. The Odin made a small mistake, people are taking this WAY to far.

Incontinent, don't pat yourself on the back too much. It's not that I put any weight in what you say or think, it's just that I'm not even going to dignify a request to document instances of repubs being smeared online here. It is very common, and all you need to do is read a bit to see it.

No matter, really, there is no real difference betwixt republicrat and demican anymore, the parties are just dofferent enough to keep the sheeple dancing and arguing.

jvillerdr
May 4, 2010 at 6:38 p.m.
Suggest removal BrewCrew, somehow I doubt you will be receiving any scholarship funds, whether intended for minorities or not, so your complaint is probably moot. I know -- I'm making a stereotypical assumption about you based on your comments -- but since you defend stereotypes, you shouldn't have any cause to complain.
At what point did I state I wanted any type of scholarship? Thats the exact stupidity that has these poor kids having to apoligize in the 1st place. Also
"my complaint is moot" according to who? you?

inconvenienttruth: Yes, they apologized like they wanted to. They knew they made a mistake and fixed it to the best of their abilities. The fact that the odin was pulled and an article in the gazette was just over-kill.

"Second, satire if it is good satire, makes people think and that is exactly what we are doing."
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Provocation of thought is an intended result of satire, not the definition of it. A lot of things make people think, kdjmpg11. For example, the Odin staff's error regarding the inadvertent omission of the Portier quote that prevented succesful satire from being achieved, yet still generated a lot of thought.
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"and those 'some' didnt understand because ADULTS dont even now what it means."
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No, goldenboy92, "some" didn't understand because of The Odin's error, which is why an apology was warranted and issued by its staff.

RUSerious: Really? Kdjmpg was just making a point, not satire. Its true, atleast in a sense. Adults sometimes dont give us enough credit. And students understood what the satire was but some didnt. and those "some" didnt understand because ADULTS dont even now what it means.

kdjmpg...."And you should know that most high schoolers are more intelligent than most adults"....satire, right?

kd: No one has said that The Odin or its staff/advisor is racist. You mention that, "if we had a black odin staff member, we would have seen that it was wrong." That is the precise point of mentioning in the article that there are no black Odin staffers. It's not calling ANYONE racist. It's simply pointing out that the staff did not have the advantage of a black staffer who MIGHT have helped avoid this incident. I hope that - as a journalist - you can see how important that fact is to the story.

As to other posts here...isn't it ironic that a poster will rail against stereotypes and yet, in the very same post, state that all of Janesville is bigoted?

Not all students are taught satire. And you should know that most high schoolers are more intelligent than most adults, how is it a blanket statement when someone picks up the paper and thinks everything we are saying is true because they dont know what satire is. Now were racist because we do not have a black odin member? First of all like i said before, the odin is open to anyone who wants to join. Second, satire if it is good satire, makes people think and that is exactly what we are doing. Third, we are aware now that it was wrong and we never meant it to be racist, if we had a black odin staff member, we would have seen that it was wrong.

Well said billnewbie.

BrewCrew, somehow I doubt you will be receiving any scholarship funds, whether intended for minorities or not, so your complaint is probably moot. I know -- I'm making a stereotypical assumption about you based on your comments -- but since you defend stereotypes, you shouldn't have any cause to complain.

Actually kdjmpg11, satire is taught at your school. According to several students I know from PHS, Mark Twain's satire Huckleberry Finn is taught to all juniors and satire is again dealt with senior year in a variety of the courses. Students mentioned Canterbury Tales, A Modest Proposal, and stories by Thurber and Austen. How much is taught in 9th and 10th, I don't know; however, let's not make a blanket statement that your school does not include satire in the curriculum!

Sorry, SG, but lazily citing "all of (my) writings in these virtual pages for the last year" does not explain or justify your opinion that, as a larger trend, "it's all good when the target of satire or smear is a Republican." First, not all of my posts deal with politics, and even less "target" Republicans. Second, I'm one person - one example. So either you put A LOT of weight in my opinion as a reflection of society, or you've just shown that you should be taken as nothing but so much more gas (in your own estimation, of course).

Student newspapers are suppose to be vehicles meant to teach students about newspaper publishing but they are also used to distribute school news. Excursions into satire, as fun as that may be, is a little beyond the purview of a high school newspaper. After all, editorial comment such as that about national news items seems a bit beyond the scope and understanding of high schoolers as is evidenced by this debacle. There’s no shortage of satire in journalism, but there is a need for student and school system news which a school newspaper is uniquely positioned to handle.

Satire is meant as a tool to censure by ridicule, a device that is overused in political discourse these days. Sadly, such discourse has become the mainstay of politics. Even in personal repartees such as some of the comments below, many discussions seem centered around attempting to shame, ridicule and humiliate those who hold opposing viewpoints into silence. A school newspaper seems a poor candidate for satirical content, to me. First, they should learn how to construct an interesting publication. They can delve into such devices as satire after they’ve mastered the basics. Aside from that, shouldn’t a high school newspaper concentrate on uplifting accounts and stories?

As for the “buckwheat” problem, it seems obvious that the newspaper staff meant no harm, at least not to our President. Candidate Carey Portier however is another matter. But the fact that none of The Odin staffers is black does have a bearing here. If there had been a black staffer that was in a position to review the section in question, maybe that person’s perspective would have identified both the mistake and the racial insult delivered by the original intent as well. I mean, really, does anyone think that a black staffer, or any African - American would appreciate a picture of the President next to a picture of “Buckwheat” as anything but a racist slam no matter what the captions should have read? But lacking any black perspective, the item went to press unquestioned with the racist overtones undetected. So now, instead of “The Odin”, the school’s paper may as well be called “The Redneck”, since that is what now inadvertently and insensitively appears to comprise the whole of the paper’s staff concerning racial subjects.

Kdjmpg11, I realize you are a youngster but I must comment about a couple of things that you wrote. First, if you really had done such a great job with your satire, the whole thing wouldn’t have blown up in your face the way it did.

Secondly, where you wrote “just because an advisor hands them out, does not mean the student has to read it, it is still their choice” is a strange thing to write. How would a student know that the content of your paper may be offensive or objectionable to him if he doesn’t read it? How can you choose to read it or not if you don’t yet know the content of it? Isn’t the purpose of the yellow warning message an effort to prevent misunderstanding of the satirical substance of the piece, not an effort to warn prospective readers of the objectionable nature of the content? When you print a paper, expect people to read it. When they find its contents offensive, saying you didn’t have to read it is no defense, but it does suggest contempt for those who may object. I realize that a school newspaper has no profit margin, no circulation pressures, but disregard for your reader’s sensibilities is no way to run a newspaper.

There was a message in yellow in the top right corner of the issue that said it was satire and gave the definition with caution signs all over the paper, just because an advisor hands them out, does not mean the student has to read it, it is still their choice. We know it was wrong and we went around and gave apologies to the entire school.

I am on the Odin staff at Parker. For those of you who think that we are immature and dont know how to write, satire is the hardest writing to do and obviously we did a great job. Satire is meant to pin point hot button issues and by causing a controversy, we did a very good job. Satire is to make fun of something ridiculous to try and change it.
My second issue with these comments is the fact that we "inadvertently left out the caption." We forgot to put it in, we made a mistake, people make mistakes all the time and they learn from them, which is what we are doing.
Third, it really wasnt necessary to comment on the fact that none of our Odin staff is black. The Odin accepts anyone that wishes to apply. Because we left out a quote, we are now considered racist and make it seem like it was our intention to do so. You say one thing but mean another.
Our advisor took full responsibility for the picture,as did Dr. Shroeder. However; in my opinion it is the Odin staff's responsibility as a whole. We brought it up at story planning so in reality, it was our fault.
Maybe if satire was still taught in the English curriculum, people would understand it. And with the lesbian pictures on the front mentioning the death penalty, if people would have read all of it instead of bits of it and trying to make us look bad, they would see that we were supporting the girls in Mississippi to go to their prom.
I have been on the Odin for my enire high school career and we have never had the papers pulled.

Not going to attempt to argue with any of you but here are my thoughts...
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Parker students may not understand the humor that was attempting to be used. Considering the climate of that school (see recent articles about racial issues at Parker) I completely understand and agree with Dr. Schroeder being conservative on this issue.
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I am hoping that all english/current event teachers are using this as a teachable moment and discussing what was done and why. Many great discussion could result (hopefully they aren't as personal and full of hate as this one).
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Take all that and add the ommission of a caption and this was, IMO, a no-brainer.
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Those making the point that attacks against the right are often over the line. I agree, that doesn't make this any more or less appropriate.
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Bottomline, we have to remember these are kids. They are still learning and yes, sometimes safe is better than sorry when dealing with young adults. This wasn't the Gazette, that people choose to view deciding to take down a potentially offensive cartoon...this was a school sponsored newspaper, given to each and every student at the school.
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Look, if the gazette or any newspaper/anything offends me I have the choice to not view it again. To some degree, a student doesn't have that same choice. When it is distributed and Sponsored by the school it changes everything.
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I believe all school newspapers should have a different standard than corporate newspapers do.

LMAO!!!! Run circles around me and make me look foolish!! Ok lets go one by one to answer your questions. #1 I am not defensive I am comforatble with my position on this issue, If you would take some time and read back I also stated that I personally can at times be part of the problem. #2 Once again read the debate at the time, I made no case in point why the white man should be empowered, I simply stated that white privelege is no longer a trend. #3 Is just as ignorant of a question as most yours are, I said he has big ears kinda like ross perot who is a white man so i said the comment about both not just a black man. You know the old cliche "think before you speak" you sir are a perfect example of why anyone thought of that line. I have listened and commented with respect to Haveconcerns,copperguy and several other posters on this story, If at anytime one of them was offended I do please with all respect ask you to call me out on it. Unlike you joker I look at the issues through an open mind, not a pipe dreamers fantasy world.

IncontinentTruth, I provided all the substantiation you could ask for. Just read your posts over the last year vis-a-vis the republicans, and you cann find all the vitriol you want.

Brew Crew, I am not going to run circles around you any more and make you look even more foolish. Just admit that I am right, I am deadly serious and that Janesville has race relation problems.

Your comments prove that you are uncomfortable with black people. When you use the word "they" and make that worn out argument that black people play the race card every chance they can get, you prove my point. Why so defensive? Why so angry and bitter? Why talk about empowering the white man?! Why make comments on the physical appearance of a black man?!

I bet you will not answer the questions. Instead, you will attack me with negative comments,etc.

I agree with you copper. I honestly wish that the Odin had a more diverse staff because then we would get multiple views on topics and articles.
I commented on this article in hopes to clear up that it was not our intent to come across as racist. I also want to thank everyone for posting their views over the topic; it has definitely given not only myself, but many others, food for thought.

Some are totally missing the point that the character Buckwheat was a racial sterotype to begin with - then AND today. To compare any real person to a sterotype representing a similar race, gender, religion, etc. is insulting to the individual and is not appropriate. In this case, the students and staff might have had some point they were trying to make, but that point was lost.

Unfortunately for you, SG, my conclusion was derived by applying your own stated logic. Whether you want to accept it or not, by your criteria, you have admitted that you should be taken as nothing but so much more gas.
: )

TheJoker
May 4, 2010 at 10:24 a.m.
Suggest removal Brew Crew, your comments on my post make no sense. You are ignorant if you think this student attempt at humor is just fine and not offensive. It is totally offensive and wrong. There is no need to mock people that are different than others or continue to perpetuate racial stereotypes. The students and staff at Parker should be punished for this bigoted article. That is my stand on this issue. Looks like you have drank too many brews!
1st off read the artiicle, It was an attempt to show show the ignorance in the comment by portier in the 1st place. The point that you are missing is it is only a "Perpetual racial sterotype" if you take it that way. At no point in my posts have I made one racial comment. I have voiced my opinion about certain people not groups jumping on the race card as soon as they see something like that. For you to comment on this story and then bring in the redneck fest as part of your argument make you a part od the problem. SO until you read and make a valid point nobody is gonna take you seriously.

It is a crying shame that the Gazette had to make this such a big deal. As Sarai said, it was not meant as a racial cartoon. I agree the Gazette could have left out that there are no black kids on the Odin staff. Who cares? I experienced the race card this weekend with my 8 year old granddaughter. They were at my home for a b-day party, she went 2 houses down to play with a little girl she always plays with when at grandmas house. That little girl had a friend over, this friend told my granddaughter that she was different (biracial) so she did not want to play with her!!!! I cried as did my daughter and granddaughter. My daughter wanted to go confront this girls parents but I stopped her, what good would it do? I sat for 1 hour explaining to Tatiana what she may face in her life and just to take it with a grain of salt. An 8 year old does not comprehend this. It really hurt her feelings. We all, everyone in this nation, need to stop with the race card. What is going to happen with our future generations? JMO

OK, here's the definition of "satire" from American Heritage Dictionary, as cited at dictionary.com:

"Irony, sarcasm, or caustic wit used to attack or expose folly, vice, or stupidity."

Satire is NOT the same as every day humor. The Odin staff was using the cartoon (along with its omitted caption) to "expose stupidity" of Portier's comments.

They weren't laughing WITH Portier. They were pointing out the "stupidity" of his comment about President Obama. It was not an attempt at humor. It was attacking someone (Portier) who made a racist comment.

So, to those who oppose racism, this effort by The Odin staff to point out the "stupidity" of a racist comment should be applauded, not condemned.

IncontinentTruth, you are certainly welcome to your opinion. Fortunately for me, it's not one I value.

Brew Crew, your comments on my post make no sense. You are ignorant if you think this student attempt at humor is just fine and not offensive. It is totally offensive and wrong. There is no need to mock people that are different than others or continue to perpetuate racial stereotypes. The students and staff at Parker should be punished for this bigoted article. That is my stand on this issue. Looks like you have drank too many brews!

I agree as well copper. maybe african american students should try to join the odin staff. and as far as mr. shultz adding the fact that there is no blacks staffed with the odin...he answered it before it was asked.

Ah, well if that's the case, SG, you've merely exposed your biased ignorance rather than justified yourself through explanation.
Thanks for admitting you're nothing but so much more gas!

Very well said copper! Sara good for you voicing your side!!

Sarai: As a former high school journalist (editor-in-chief), I can identify with and applaud your efforts and those of your fellow staffers. I hope you will re-visit your thoughts about this Gazette article. There is no indication that Mr. Schultz was being critical of The Odin, simply stating a fact about the composition of the staff. It's appropriate to his article.

Just as with police departments, a staff can only be as diverse as its members. No one can blame The Odin's staff, Mr. Hall, or PHS for the fact that there are no black staffers. It is POSSIBLE that a black student on the staff MAY have brought a different perspective prior to the cartoon being published. The same holds true with diversity in policing. Each member of a different demographic group can help the other officers better understand the various segments of the community they serve.

Publication of this article by The Gazette was entirely appropriate. It has opened up a valuable discussion.

Thanks for your perspective, Sarai! What you have run into at school, as well as here, is the orthodox-left. Remember it well-if you think this is bad, just wait until they can make pronunciamentos that can truly affect your life. Keep up the good work, and don't let the bullies of political correctness dictate what you can or cannot publish.

Oh my, the HATE being spewed here-I think it's hurt my feelings!

Well, that's because only liberals have a sense of humor, of course...that's why they're getting so worked up about a cartoon in a kids school paper, right?!

Inconvenient, to back up my assertion that "it's all good to smear Republicans", I give you all of your writings in these virtual pages for the last year.

MooShoo, wow-what can I say, you've just got me backed into a corner!

The fill-in-the-blank space was for YOU to fill in, because I don't know what YOUR opinion of Blacks is.

What do I think of Blacks?

I don't. I form opinions of individual people, not groups. Of cultures, not races.

I imagine you'll have a hard time with that, but give it a shot.

Hello, my name is Sarai Butcher and I am In-Depth Editor in the Parker Odin. I would just like to say that we have been doing our Satire issue for many years now and the past two years have been the ones we have had the most trouble with. I personally believe that it is not because we have poor reporters (we have amazing ones)but more that the whole topic of "satire" has slipped from our school curriculum. Yes, articles were provocative, and yes they offended at least one group of people but that is the point of satire; it is to make people think, make them feel some emotion towards the topic. The "political look-alike" was not to make fun of our president, or to be racist but was to make fun of and show how wrong Carey Portier was about President Obama.

In addition I find it wrong and offensive that this article by Frank Schultz has stated that "None of The Odin staffers is black," That is out of our control. Anyone can get into the Parker Odin by signing up for the class and having a good English grade. The fact that Mr. Schultz has made it a point to say this almost seems as if he is insinuating that we (The Odin Staff) are racist because no African Americans have applied for the class. That is hardly fair now is it?

Please know that we are taking care to be more gentle with our readers, but also know that we are a news paper. We report, we give opinions, and we write as is our passion. No matter what we do, someone will always be offended. We will take this as a learning lesson, but we will keep writing.

WOW. Really? It's bad enough that Schroeder pulled the papers because a TEACHER NOT A STUDENT thought it might be offensive. But now the gazette has to say something about it. If this had happened at Craig, none of this would have been said.
First thing: The students that the staff went to apologize to, said that they didnt undersdtand why the staff members were there." Some even said "Why are you here? No one cares".
Second: If it was about President Bush, like it was originally going to be, according to some staff members, there wouldn't be one problem with it.
Third: The whole BROs and SES thing... Schroeder said that with the President Obama-Buckwheat being allowed to be shown to the students that "it would be taking steps backward with what they have already achieved with equality at Parker". But if thats true, then why do we have those two clubs for African-American students to go to once or twice a week, being pulled out of their class, to go and talk with each other. The groups were created to make sure that they were fitting in well with others and making enough friends. HOW IS THAT EQUALITY? Why aren't their clubs for the white, chinese, japanese, or latino students?????
Fourth: The fact that "none of the odin staff members is black" is not necessary. Why does it matter? If it was purposely racist then i understand, but it was a complete mistake. There was supposed to be the quote the Senator said but it was accidentally removed. So no need to state the fact that there are no black students on the staffing board.
Fifth: The fact that Mr. Hall is taking complete resposibility for this proves his faith and pride in his staff. He is in danger of being fired over this. Its ridiculous. It was a simple mistake.
This was blown way out of proportion. I personally know many staff members and they are furious that it was made into this big of a problem. They went to every advisory and apologized for their mistake. This problem is over now. Not that many kids even seen it. I personally have a copy and i saw what was wrong with it. The apology was even too much but the staff felt bad about the mistake and fixed it. There is no need for an article in the Gazette about it.
The Odin is for what the kids believe and see, plus the fact that this was the satire issue. It wasn't that inappropriate. If no one had said anything about it or complained, nothing would have happened. Not one person, besides the teachers that complained about it, seemed the slightest bit upset about this. This is just, once again, Parker over reacting to some small problem.

"but instead it had to be thrown in my daughters face and all others that found it offensive."
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Portier's comment should offend you, and the offensiveness was cause for his comment to be mocked by some of your daughter's classmates. The world's an offensive place and you'd do your daughter a disservice to allow her to believe it can be avoided rather than confronted, which the staff of the Odin attempted to do.

Let's not forget that this article was written because students were writing satire for the school newspaper in which they wanted to point out the stupidity of the statement made by a politician directed at Barrack Obama because of his race. The students wanted to point out how wrong it was of the candidate to make the racial comment. The politician himself is a black man, which makes the comment even more wrong. Yes the Odin advisor and staff made a mistake, but they were not at any point condoning racial remarks. The school acted in the way it did to ensure the public knew the Odin was not condoning racial remarks. Of course they had to print the article explaining the incident to cover itself. I really wish Janesville was both smart enough to get satire and smart enough to realize the color of one's skin does not determine intellect, values, or intentions. I also wish people were smart enough to know that republican does not equal racist, and that republicans would realize that even though Bush was attacked all the time by the media, the office of the President should be respected even if you don't like the guy (or someday, woman!) Why can't we just all realize that because a person is a person, they deserve the same civil rights as the next person. I have a 5-year-old, and it is amazing that even though she notices that people all look different and may act different, they are people and deserve a chance. Funny how little kids are so much more human than adults, educated or not!

SG said: "I could say "it's my OPINION that all Blacks are (fill in whatever you like here) and that would be okay, cause, hey-it's just my OPINION, right?"
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Certainly SG, go ahead and fill the blank in about all Blacks, after all, it is alright just because its just your OPINION.
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Really, please do, show us your clever enlightened side. After all, hey-its just your OPINION.
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You dance close to the edge in the shrowd of Internet anomynity, so don't be a big chicken, cross the line and fill in the blank for us. Give us your OPINION about all Blacks.
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What you really tell us SG is you do not know the difference between ignorant OPINION and prejudice.

Brewcrew, I was going to say the same about Mr.Joker. No one is commenting on the Redneck Fest article anymore, so they decided to bring it here. Give it up man! This fest will go on no matter what one lonely poster says. You really need to get a life! Go fishing or something, it's a nice day!

Whether its mocking a racist comment or not it should have been left to the one ignorant person that said it. but instead it had to be thrown in my daughters face and all others that found it offensive.

I also thinks it is funny that you are bringing up a total diffrent story on here, is that seriously all you can come up with? You are very fast to try and bring down a group that you dont believe in, kinda hypocritical huh?

Would you please point out wich of my comments are ignorant joker? Seems to me that you have a bad case of tunnel vision. You look at everything from the negative point of view, wich is fine, I am just wondering where you stand on the issue? you are quick to point out everyone elses faults.

Comedians do rip on liberals and democrats, but Republicans don't get the humor or jokes. They think it is serious, cry the sky is falling and shout socialism. They don't do laughter, just anger.

Brew Crew, I hope you are joking when you say I prove your point. Your hateful comments need to go. You and your ignorant thinking prove my point!

"...it's all good when the target of satire or smear is a Republican...", "...if you wish it to be taken as anything but so much more gas, you should at least justify (an opinion) by explaining why you have it."
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So, is it just an opinion that "it's all good" to smear Republicans, or would you care to justify by explaining?

Be like a lovefest if one of those young White kids walked through the 4th Ward at night, right, Joker?

As noted by several posters, it's all good when the target of satire or smear is a Republican, especially if his name is Bush, but let anyone say a word about the Annointed One, and oh, lordy!

And that whole "opinion" thing...

No one has to "substantiate" an opinion, but if you wish it to be taken as anything but so much more gas, you should at least justify it by explaining why you have it.

If you don't have to even do that, then I could say "it's my OPINION that all Blacks are (fill in whatever you like here) and that would be okay, cause, hey-it's just my OPINION, right?

What's "Janesville" High School? The school is named "J. A. Craig High School," Heath Ledger...
I suggest you give proofreading a try before posting next time, as your errors make your illogical arguments look even worse.

The joker proves my point exaclty!!! It was never meant to be a racist picture but certain people with narrow minds like yourself have to turn it into just that. Maybe you should be ashamed that you are to ignorant and self centered to be able to look at it as just people mocking people. Tell me please how is it racist? I can also sense a little bit of jelousy in the redneck fest deal? Is it the fact that you arent the one that came up with it? Unless you can come up with something new and add to the debate, nobody wants to hear your whining crap!

This incident and the hateful and ignorant comments for this article just prove my point about how racist Janesville still is. But don't worry, Redneck Fest will be a love fest for all races. I bet some of the students who were involved with this incident at Parker have parents who have or will be going to Redneck Fest. Janesville and Parker High School should be ashamed of themselves!

"the whole thing was uncalled for caption or not."
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Why would the mocking of a racist comment by a public figure about the PotUS be uncalled for in a student newspaper devoted to satire?

"Its an opinion she shouldnt have to substantiate it."
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It's an opinion stated as fact ("It is just the way it is." - haveconcerns) - she should have to substantiate it.

I found it distasteful that my kids were saying "that's so gay" to denote something they didn't care for, and I forbade them to say it.

Now they say "THAT'S SO DIVERSE!"

Schools teach children about all forms of art, so satire is perfectly acceptable along with parody and farce. The problem is that comedy is a tough nut to crack and it isn't always funny. However, that doesn't mean they shouldn't try. It was a typographical error, let's move on.

Sorry Copperguy-I thought I'd seen that, but later it looked like there was some question about it. And the name itself could be misleading (United Negro College Fund) on several fronts. But maybe it's a relic from the past-like part of their identity-which, I suppose, they've kept because of their long history. But I believe some, but not all, of their focus has changed over the years.

BRO and SES were profiled in the Gazette a month ago.
http://gazettextra.com/news/2009/apr/01/...

I find it crazy that after this some people still dont see there is a problem in our schools. the whole thing was uncalled for caption or not. then if an african american is offended their using the race as a crutch!

Just read the article today. All I can say is "WHAT"? So it was a cartoon. Yes, they should have explained it. What's with these groups? BRO and SES? And why point out the Odin has no black kids on staff? To me BRO is a racial comment. Do you go up to anyone and say "hey bro"? I know I don't! Another part of our great city blown way, way out of proportion! What next? Anyone know?

RU: I know. I posted a small bit of the same thing at 8:56 am.

skinnypuppy - thank you for your honest observation of Mr. Hall.
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Simon and dragonfly - You questioned why the adviser of the Odin (Mr. Hall) was absent on Friday. Before you "throw Mr. Hall under the bus," please don't make any assumptions. Mr. Hall had no malicious intent and had a planned personal day scheduled for Friday. His personal day was approved weeks before (long before this issue came up) and he spent it with his family - which I believe no one should argue. Simon and dragonfly - you criticize Mr. Hall for "throwing his students under the bus" when realistically, you are throwing Mr. Hall under the bus with no knowledge of the actual situation.

copperguy, the information I posted IS from UNCF.

inconvenienttruth
May 3, 2010 at 11:47 a.m.
Suggest removal Personally, I find haveconcerns' unsubstantiated opinion.

Its an opinion she shouldnt have to substantiate it.

Personally, I find haveconcerns' unsubstantiated opinion, "for many high school age students, the whole idea of sarcasm and satire is a milestone that has not yet been reached," to be condescending.

Personally, I don't find haveconcern's posts to be condescending, nor do I find Brewcrew's posts to be racist. All in all, I think this has been a rather strong debate (as compared to may on these forums). Both haveconern's and Brewcrew's posts have caused me to pause and consider. I hope that the same can be said for at least one of my posts.

RUSerious: There's no date to indicate when that article was posted on eHow, and its author is uncredited. I will certainly share UNCF's response to my email.

Just as with Wikipedia and other Internet sources, I don't accept eHow's published articles as 100% accurate. That's why I went to UNCF for clarification. To quote Anderson Cooper, "Just keeing them honest!"

And I'll thank you, haveconcerns, to not misrepresent what I said.
I said that, regardless of your intent (not that intent isn't of consideration), your stated opinion was perceivable as condescending - just as, regardless of their intent, The Odin's staff printed something that was perceivable as racist.
However, though the appearance of racism resulted, considering the staff's intent, we know that the appearance was due to a mistake. But, whereas the staff's case resulted from an editing error that contradicted their planned result, the appearance of condescension in your case resulted from your own ignorant opinion, which you unapologetically stand by despite no evidence to support it. In other words, your statement was intentional even if the perception of condescension that resulted (and your apparent inability to perceive why it did) was not. The Odin's statement was not intentional and therefore neither was the perception of racism that resulted.

I do realize that copper as I am not attacking anyone elses, thank you for that. The point I am trying to make is that people tend to set a lot of situations up for failure.If people took a step back and looked at things from a way outside point of view then they would look at this as a nonsense argument in the 1st place. I am not perfect I also judge people and am part of the problem, but when I make fun of someone no matter what color they are I do it to an individual not a group. I just get tired of hearing that because the individiual that i poked fun at was a diff color that must mean i am racist. It takes me back to the if you wanna be treated fair or equal then take situations like this story as fair and equal. Honestly if it was a picture of Obama next to Martin luther king would it have drawn this much attention?

Just to show that I'm sympathetic to your argument, Brewcrew, consider this true and personal encounter I had...

I lived in Madison for a few years, near a park that was not open to pets. The head of Madison's animal control department was in the park one day, and we struck up a conversation (this was before I became a cop). After she learned that I was frequently at the park, she asked if I would consider handing out informational fliers outlining the rules against - and penalties for - having pets in the park. I happily agreed.

On one day in particular, I encountered three violators; two white and one black. I explained to all three that I had been asked to hand out the fliers to promote awareness. All went without a hitch until the third person, who as black. Without pause or hesitation, he exclaimed, "You're nothing but a racist!"

I was both offended and saddened at his reaction. To this day (some ten years or more later), I am still perplexed at how I earned such an attack. It would be easy for me to use that as an example that ALL claims of racism are unfounded. I know better than that, though. I doubt that he had any thoughts of being unfairly singled out because of his race. I believe he used racism as a way of deflecting the subject from his violation of the law. But, I don't minimize the existence of racism based on that encounter.

I think Brewcrew got hold of some very old information looking for student aid in general-at some third party site. I believe UNCF was originally intended to help African American students in an era that no one could deny was most difficult for them. But-now it has changed because the "playing field" is more level.
Here is a link with info straight from UNCF's mouth: http://www.uncf.org/aboutus/faqs.asp
And the specific question(s):
Does UNCF only support African American education?
A:UNCF was founded to address inequities in the educational opportunities afforded to African Americans. UNCF believes in higher education opportunities for all Americans. UNCF-member schools do not discriminate and UNCF-administered scholarships are open to all.
Q: Do students have to attend a UNCF-member college to receive financial support?
A:No. UNCF provides support to students at approximately 900 colleges across the country—including almost all public and private historically black colleges and universities—and other schools including Harvard, Princeton and MIT.

Thanks for that link, Brewcrew. I've dropped an email to UNCF seeking clarification.

I'm not attacking your views, Brewcrew. I do hope you understand that.

A family member who is very near and dear to me is also very bigoted. That bigotry is very hurtful to me because of my strident efforts to treat all people equally and fairly. She is very anti-Obama, and flatly states that the reason for it is that he is black. I know other people who are equally unapologetic for their opposition based solely on his being black. The point is that racism IS the one factor that SOME people base their opposition on. Does that mean that all anti-Obama folks are bigots? Absolutely not. What it does mean is that racism is a factor to be considered.

On another note, I have a number of friends in their early twenties. Tolerance is one of many topics that I sometimes discuss with them. I don't simply reprimand them when they make an intolerant statement. Rather, I talk them through why that statement is intolerant and unacceptable.

A great example of this is the use of the expression, "That's so gay," which is highly used by youth. The thing is, they say it without thinking about what they are saying. When we talk through the implication, they understand that they are relating "gay" to "stupid" (for example). That's not their intent, and once they begin thinking about it, they become more aware of the use of that phrase. It slowly works its way out of their vocabulary.

It's all about awareness. That includes an awareness of how the things we say can be construed by others.

http://www.ehow.com/how_11602_apply-scho...
Try this copper I dunno how i got back to it but i did.

What if the Obama / Buckwheat comparison was based upon their perceived lack of intelligence as opposed to their color? What if it was Al Gore next to Buckwheat - would that be OK?

Brewcrew: We all sometimes forget to add links for our references. I'm curious about the conflict between what you posted and what the UNCF has posted. If there are conflicting messages, then I would personally drop an email to UNCF asking for clarification. It's impossible to do that without a source, though. So, I have to agree with haveconcern's assertion (as confirmed in my previously posted link) that UNCF-administered scholarship programs are not limited to black Americans.

Years ago I heard a black friend of mine refer to his black friends by the N word. When I asked why it is okay for them to call eachother that, but not white people to use that term he really did not have an answer for me. I do agree that we have to be sensitive to the words that we use, but I don't feel that we get the same respect. Why is there groups that work with students of color, but no group for the white children when they have to deal with difficult situations? Why do they call each other brothers and sisters?? Shouldn't we all be brothers and sisters of America??

Hell I dont remember every link I followed, I gave you the source of my data.If it is wrong than I made a mistake, my fault. Whatever it is you are trying to prove is straying from the point that racism is a issues brought on by the minorities in most cases. When its all said and done it was a picture of a black man and because it is a black man automatically makes it racist right? People wanna be treated as equals fine, then treat every situation equally as people not black and white.

I went to that site, and searched on UNCF, but got zero results. Can you give the link where you found those particular steps?

www.studentscholarshipsearch.com Followed various links.

BrewCrew: Please cite the source for your 8:26 am post.

This is from the FAQ page at UNCF.ORG:

"UNCF-administered scholarships are open to all."

Here's the link:

http://www.uncf.org/aboutus/faqs.asp

SarahB1
May 2, 2010 at 11:27 p.m.
Suggest removal BrewCrew81: Who or what ever gave you the idea that privilege is based on knowledge? Again, do your research please.
This is just a ignorant statement, Would you care to elaborate?

Step 1Make sure you meet the eligibility criteria: Be an African-American college student enrolled at a UNCF member institution; have a minimum GPA of 2.5; be nominated by your school's financial-aid director; and have an "unmet financial need," to which your financial aid director will attest.

Step 2Contact your school's financial-aid director to get his or her nomination for the scholarship.

Step 3Fill out and send in a Financial Aid Form (FAF) or Family Financial Statement (FFS). List your school's financial-aid office as a destination for the report.

Step 4Get a scholarship application from UNCF.org.

Step 5Notify professors, teaching assistants and employers well ahead of time for any letters of recommendation you need from them.

Step 6Gather the required materials, which will include at least an official transcript, an essay, a recommendation letter and a photograph. Materials vary with the particular scholarship.

Step 7Send in the materials before the deadline. Deadlines vary depending on the particular program but usually fall between September and December. Apply well before the application deadline to avoid the risk of missing it.

So what is the point of satire if people can't be made fun of? Everyone is trying to be so PC all of the time that no one stops to laugh at life anymore. Would they have tried this hard to retract a cartoon depicting Muhammed? Life doesn't have to be serious all of the time, and cartoons are a great way to express opinions with others. Last I knew, we did have the right to free speech in the US....

haveconcerns
May 2, 2010 at 8:56 p.m.
Suggest removal So Brewcrew, your assumption is that people of color (with the exception of Asian Americans) don't try? And Inconvenient Truth: PIAGET.
No, What i am trying to point out is that it is not white privlege anymore, yes it used to be, but its not anymore. We are all struggling right now hard times hold no predjeduice. You wanna make the argument that the white man still "holds you back" People wanna take no responsibility for their own issues.

BrewCrew81: Who or what ever gave you the idea that privilege is based on knowledge? Again, do your research please.

BrewCrew81: Please do your research. Anyone, NO MATTER THEIR COLOR, can apply for and be awarded a scholarship from the United Negro College Fund. In addition, one does not need to be black or African-American to join the NAACP.

Several years ago, during the Bush administration, an Odin editorialist commented on the many accomplishments of then-Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice but then went on to write, "Yet I still despise her." The writer went on to speculate that, among other things, Rice might become Bush's "Ms. Lewinsky." Keep in mind, this was NOT a satire piece, but a serious commentary insinuating that an African-American woman who was a former university provost and national security advisor was the equivalent of an intern a president would have a tawdry fling with. Not only was this never even addressed or publicized, the student writer went on to accomplish much and is holding elective office today. The error(s) that were made in the current incident are certainly no worse than letting that earlier editorial be published, yet it is not race (Rice and Obama are both black) but political correctness that wins out: Any Republican is fair game for smearing; Democrats are untouchable.

Oh, and by "you" I did not mean, you personally, Inconvenient Truth, I meant any person who comes across as racist.

But, thank you Inconvenient Truth, because you stated exactly what I meant. Intention isn't the issue. It is the result that matters. So even if you aren't intending to sound racist: you do.

So Brewcrew, your assumption is that people of color (with the exception of Asian Americans) don't try? And Inconvenient Truth: PIAGET.

haveconcerns, given that apparently this view point of yours is opinion only, backed by no evidence (whereas your puberty comparison is backed by science), it is condescending, intentional or not.

Just a thought regarding the comment that the newspaper advisor left the kids out to dry by being gone the next day...isn't it possible he had a "planned absence" in the form of a personal day or family medical leave? Do you know for sure he ditched the kids because of this issue? Since we don't know, I don't think it's fair to speculate.

The whole "white man left me behind" argument is getting old, Our public schools are open to all people, white,black,brown,purple,blue,straight,gay,bisexual. You are free to choose the education and career you want. It is up to you personally to grant yourself more privelege, sitting back on your ass and whining about what happened many years ago isnt gonna get anybody anywhere. In this day and age the race card is irrelevant.

The whole "white man left me behind" argument is getting old, Our public schools are open to all people, white,black,brown,purple,blue,straight,gay,bisexual. You are free to choose the education and career you want. It is up to you personally to grant yourself more privelege, sitting back on your ass and whining about what happened many years ago isnt gonna get anybody anywhere. In this day and age the race card is irrelevant.

SAT Ethnic Group Scores (Math/Verbal+total)

• American Indian---482/480 (962)
• Asian American-----575/508 (1083)
• African American-----426/431 (857)
• Puerto Rican----457/448 (905)

Other Hispanic----464/457 (921)

• White-----534/529 (1063)
• Other ----513/501 (1014)
Since we are using statistics now. Privelege is based on knowledge. Maybe if people would make the effort in the 1st place the "privelege" would be there.

Mentor, if the statistics don't mean anything to you, then you won't understand what I am talking about. I am talking big picture. There are always exceptions. White people living in poverty often want to point that out as a way of negating white privilege. The interesting thing about that, is that racism, historically was designed by wealthy whites looking for support from poorer whites to help keep the status quo. (In other words, trying to fool people into believing that the color of their skin is more important than the size of their bank book). I am not discounting that your family has worked hard, nor that your family was not privileged in certain aspects. There are all types of power privilege at play in our society (male privilege for example) ...Race is a factor in the big picture. Statistics point out that whites living below the poverty rate have twice the wealth of blacks living below the poverty rate. I know you don't care about stats, but I just thought I'd throw another one out there quickly before you totally shut me down.

It is clear that the student staff did not intent to offend anyone and even thought it appropriate themselves to apologize. I also have to commend the administration and the desire to use this as an educational opportunity that will benefit the students in their future years of adulthood.
In life, sometimes it is not fair, sometimes we don't always think of what others may think, or if our beliefs may offend someone else. And this issue can be debated and discussed and at the end of the day, we still have not come to a conclusion that we have all agreed is right or wrong. Is there a right or wrong in this situation? Sometimes we never know.

Haveconcerns - privilege afflicts the non-privileged. Race in this case isn't intended but percieved. My family as far as I can see my tree have been poor to lower middle class. I know what privilege is and white or black, I know I don't have it. That absence may be unfortunate, but it's not racism.

My point is that it may not be nice to have a picnic that gets rained out, but the rain isn't racist. Telling me that I just don't percieve something being there doesn't mean it's there either. You can throw all the statistics you want out there, but it only shows that segments of the population aren't faring so well. That's not racist either - While I was growing up, the most well off household that lived on our entire block was a Black family. Did that mean they were racist? No, that just meant they had better jobs than my family did.

And Sarah Palin on a stripper pole...sorry, it's been done. NOTHING the radical left can or would do should surprise anyone. The personal attacks thrown at G.W. Bush were, and continue to be, beyond the Pale of anything previously seen in American politics.

We have seen this in these remarks over and over.

"cocaine-using, drunk, stupid"

Now, what would the response be if I mentioned that I believe Obama to be a lying, cheating, adulterous, stealing, ghetto shuck? Oh yes-I'm a racist, I forgot. If you criticize the annointed one in any way, of course you're racist, silly boy!

Personally, I'd druther have Buckwheat as President any day, Darla, than the Chicago Machine Aparatchik we have now.

But that's just my druthers.

“the potential was there for some very angry, hurt feelings,” Superintendent Karen Schulte said.

Heaven forfend someone's feelings should be hurt!

Pitiful.

HaveConcerns, some of your concerns may even be valid. You can, of course, substantiate your statement that the G.I. Bill was only available to Whites after WWII, correct? That will come as a surprise to some of the vets I know who were helped by it.

As to LOCAL officials not allowing Blacks to buy homes in their area, yes, that happened quite often. That has, however, nothing at all to do with the G.I. Bill, and has been addressed by Federal law.

And more scholarships are awarded to Whites...really? Gee, does the fact that Blacks are only something like 12%-20% of the population have something to do with that? Or the disintigration of the Black family following the welfare "reforms" of the sixties? Could it be even remotely possible that in trying to assist Blacks-in their own benevolent way, of course-liberals have sown the seeds of the destruction of the Black race in the US? That isn't very far-fetched, statistics and projections bear it out, if you care to look at them.

Someday, ALL of the people here, White, Black, Pink, whatever, will have to stop using race as an excuse for sub-par behaviour.

It was the advisor's idea to put the pictures in the newspaper according to a friend's child on the Odin staff. The newspaper students apologized on Friday and he's was not there??...way to hang your students out to dry!

Oops again, that was "Mentor" that pointed out my mistake. Not Brewcrew.

Inconvenient Truth, I was not trying to be condescending. I was simply pointing out the language milestones are part of human development, and that on average, understanding sarcasm and satire usually develops during mid to late adolescence. That should not be seen as anymore condescending than to point out that boys often don't finish growing until late adolescence. It is just the way it is.

Brewcrew, you are absolutely correct. I did say that no one is apologizing. That doesn't matter as much as trying to work for a solution. Thank you for reading my post so carefully.

"As far as satire goes, it should be noted that for many high school age students, the whole idea of sarcasm and satire is a milestone that has not yet been reached."
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How condescending. Satire and sarcasm use is hardly a "milestone," and is a form of humor that, given my experience, a vast majority of teens wield quite easily.
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"Teachers are discouraged from using sarcasm with students because that is a developmental milestone that many people don't reach until their late teens or early adulthood."
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Discouraged by whom? Who/what has stated that the use of sarcasm is the result of a developmental milestone not achieved until the teenage years, and what is their evidence? Are high school students not in "their late teens or early adulthood"?
If teachers are "discouraged" from being sarcastic with their students, I'd wager it's more in regards to the position of trust and authority held by a teacher. Consistent use of sarcasm hardly engenders sincerity.

Those who have said that high school papers are protected in the same way as community papers are incorrect. The Hazelwood decision changed all of that. Principal Schroeder's decision was totally within his role as principal.

http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/articl...

True, Brewcrew, but I'm sure if you research the thousands of other scholarships available that do not mention race, by far, the majority are given to white students. The fact of the matter is that white people in our society, have an advantage. A lot of scholarships are awarded to people who have relatives in higher positions of power or influence, and since the majority of powerful positions in our society are held by white people, it doesn't take a lot to realize those connections are helping other white people. There is privilege. For starters, just read Peggy McIntosh's "Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack." I'm sure you can just put that in any search engine and you will find a link to the article. It isn't any easy thing to open your mind to. I know. But the privilege is real. I'm not saying intentional; it is real. Intent is not the issue, the issue is the result. Most car accidents are not caused by drivers intentionally crashing into another car, but the result is still damage.

Haveconcerns: You wrote "Unfortunately, no one is apologizing, or even looking at the truth."(0502-10A) Then you write: "If I go to the doctor with a tumor, I don't want her to tell me, "Gee, I'm sorry. No, I'm really sorry. How many times do I have to apologize?"(0502-1153A)

Which is it? First you say no one is apologizing, then you say that apologies are not enough? Precisely what is it that you want? This to never happen again? Well, it was a missing caption that caused it. It wasn't intended to be offensive to anyone. No more comparisions of sitting presidents? Where were you when W. was being compared to a monkey? If this article wasn't the source of your current anger, then why post?

I'm not arguing that there isn't racism in the world. My argument is that when that is your focus, you tend to see it whether it's there or not. This road goes both ways.

haveconcerns
May 2, 2010 at 9:07 a.m.
Suggest removal Brewcrew, You are obviously very upset about your intentions being questioned. The problem is that if your INTENTIONS are questioned, it doesn't effect your freedom, your housing, your wealth, your educational opportunities
How is it honestly affected? I understand that some people think it is because of the color of their skin, and in some cases it is but why should i have to be afraid to offend a
'minority" Obama looks personally to me like ross perot :dont know the spelling) does tham make me racist not im just pointing out that they both have hideoulsly huge ears, but there is always a set group of people that wanna cry racism, Im not allowed to recieve a scholarship from the united negro fund how is that fair?

As far as satire goes, it should be noted that for many high school age students, the whole idea of sarcasm and satire is a milestone that has not yet been reached. Teachers are discouraged from using sarcasm with students because that is a developmental milestone that many people don't reach until their late teens or early adulthood. Satire can be taught, and students can learn it, but I think it would be better explained in the classroom (not just left for chance in a student publication). I really hope that the schools use this as a teaching tool, and don't just sweep it under the rug.

If not for the mistaken exclusion of a pertinent quote that, with the use of the pictures that were included, was an attempt to mock the racist comment of Portier, there'd be no complaints. While the error made it appear there was racism on the Odin's end, the intent is what should be considered, and the student staff should not have to be thrown under the bus by school officials claiming, "with or without the caption, the attempt at satire was not appropriate." With the caption, as intended, the attempt at satire would've been nothing but appropriate.

It is not about being politically correct. It is not about making a bigger divide. It is about how institutional racism permeates our culture. Pointing it out doesn't make a bigger divide. Believe me, people of color KNOW it is there. It just makes it more obvious (and uncomfortable) for white people. No, I don't think the Parker students intended to hurt anyone. I don't think they realized they were being racist. The racism that really hurts people today is not the pre-civil rights "in your face" KKK racism. Those racists are obvious. It is the racism that permeates our society that we aren't even aware of, but it still does a huge amount of damage. It is the type of damage that causes our students of color to internalize racist attitudes. It is the reason there are such disparities in our students' of color reading and math scores; the achievement gap not only in Janesville, but nationally. It is the cause of the disproportional number of African Americans in poverty, jail, prison, unemployment. If you don't see that as a symptom of institutional racism (and the numbers are REAL) then you must believe that the disparity is a result of genetic inferiority. And if that is the case, you just promoted (actually demoted) yourself to an "in your face" racist. The only way to end institutional racism is to see it for what it is. It is an ill of our society. We have to fix it. If I go to the doctor with a tumor, I don't want her to tell me, "Gee, I'm sorry. No, I'm really sorry. How many times do I have to apologize?" I know SHE didn't cause it. But it is there. I hope she would find a way to remedy it, to work towards a solution.
We might not have CAUSED the problem. But if we ignore it, or say it is imagined or made into too big of a deal; WHO will remedy it? WHO? The problem is real.

"With or without the caption, the attempt at satire was not appropriate, officials said Friday." BS! The school system is just trying to cover it's A$$. The level of political correctness being required is just stupid. Hopefully, the lesson the students will learn from this is that the "establishment" needs to be thrown out and that they need to be activists to make it happen. Children of the '60s, where are you? What have we become?

BTW,
Some of you didn't read the entire article.
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The picture was missing a caption. Satirical picture without a caption is a mistake.
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I just don't understand those of you playing the "too sensitive, P/C" card in this situation.
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haveconcerns...You are exactly correct. Unfortunately the white sheets still cloud the thinking of some people...right facts101...does your sheet still fit?

Gosh people get over yourselves, I was sooo offended. Black, white, indian, female, gay whatever... Somebody is going to find offense in whatever is put out for public consumption. Since I did not personally see this issue of the Odin I will not pass judgement, however I do understand the meaning and the spirit of the word satire. As for the lesbian couple and prom, was the entire issue to be a satire? If so that would explain the comments.

Uh wait, HaveConcerns. Do you honestly believe, anywhere, at any time, that there EVER was a group of people who took over land and DIDN'T think they were superior in some way, shape, or form to the people who had previously inhabited it?

Seriously, get off the anti-European bandwagon. We get it. You think they were bad people. I know - they were bad people. Don't put other people on that same pedestal and expect people not to call you on it.

Ethnocentrism has been going on for at least as long as there were Ethnos to be centric about and probably for longer than that. The inability of either side to let the matter drop only means that the matter will never drop.

I would just like to say, I have a child on the Odin staff. It was not their intention to make fun of Obama, they were making fun of the Senator from Fl. who put the pics. in a newspaper in the first place. The senator was comparing Obama to Buckwheat because he believes the President has the same intelligence of Buckwheat. The students thought that was ridiculous being as though he is the President!! Those same students went to classrooms and apologized for offending anyone which was NOT their intention. The newspaper advisor did not even bother to come to school the day the apologies took place.

BrewCrew81
May 1, 2010 at 10:09 p.m.
Suggest removal Why is everyone so worried about offending people?
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It is called progress...it is called being human...it is called not be an jerk
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Dr. Schroeder and his staff did a great job of dealing with what could have been a huge mistake.
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Seabee
May 1, 2010 at 4:37 p.m.
Suggest removal Let the indoctrination begin!
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Yes, isn't it great that Janesville indoctrination no longer involves hate and a WHITE SHEET.
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Anyone complaining about an indoctrination that teachers comparing President Obama to Buckwheat...I can't...or this entire post will be removed.

Unfortunately, no one is apologizing, or even looking at the truth. There is a book called, "Lies My Teacher Told Me" that will open your eyes to some of the myths that we believe are history. And as far as taking over lands, yes, that does happen everywhere. However, in terms of Europeans (not just in the Americas) race and the belief that "natives" were inferior, made it a "destiny." As though anyone who is not of European decent is not deserving of the land and power. It wasn't over political or religious differences. The American Indian was seen as a savage, and well into the last century, American Indian children were removed from their homes and forced into schools where they were expected to give up their history and feel ashamed of their culture. That isn't just taking land.

We have a great nation and we should feel pride. However, to celebrate the successes and overlook the mistakes is just asking to repeat them. This isn't about guilt or shame. It is about learning from our mistakes and moving forward; and understanding that we are not all starting from the same start line. What is equitable is not always equal. There is a history of hate and domination involved with racial stereotyping. That can't be ignored. No one would ask a Holocaust survivor (or descendant) to just laugh off a Hitler reference. Why can't we apply the same sensitivity to issues of race. I think the answer is this sense of guilt and shame because we know we haven't learned from our mistakes. This isn't about saying, "I'm sorry."

Part of the problem with that mindset, Haveconcerns is the other side of that coin. Those who constantly remind themselves of race in general are reminded of race even when it is not appropriate or intended. Regardless of how many words we bury, this issue will not die because it is being resurrected every single day by so many people.

The land thing? How many other nations in how many other places have taken their land from other people who were there before them? I'll give you a hint - ALL of them. Every single one. It is the nature of humankind and the nature of war that makes land something worth fighting, killing, and cheating for.

Unlike those countries in those places, we're again, constantly being forced to apologize for it. Honestly, do you think, if the Europeans had decided to stay home, that the indigenous peoples of the Americas would have survived? Sure, perhaps a hundred more years, maybe even two. Then they would have died when Asian colonists, African colonists, or even Indian colonists brought their diseases over. Insularity brings weakness, and the people living here never knew it until it was too late.

Brewcrew, You are obviously very upset about your intentions being questioned. The problem is that if your INTENTIONS are questioned, it doesn't effect your freedom, your housing, your wealth, your educational opportunities... I could go on and on. Part of the problem with white privilege is the invisibility of it to the privileged. You can blindly go about your life imagining that everything you have is due solely to your hard work and "bootstrap pulling." However, the land that we live on was forcibly taken and given to white people. A lot of the government loans (especially veteran wars post WWII) were only offered to white people. Southern law makes would not stand for their black veterans to buy homes in their neighborhoods, so the law was only passed if non-whites were excluded. Much of our middle class was built on the wealth from those home owners.
You mentioned black people being pulled over, fired, etc and questioning the reason behind it. That is just another example of white privilege. How often do you think about your race? You have the privilege to not think about it if you choose, because you are not an "other."

By all means...get the "Bro" and "Ses" involved. Now your stirring the pot!

You all have to remember that the writers/editors of the Odin are kids. They do have the right to free speech and their writing is protected under freedom of the press...to an extent. I am sure it was not their intention to offend anyone. Satire is tricky to write, but it is an important tool in our society. Great American writers like Mark Twain have used it with success in our country. It is something students should learn to write and learn to understand. BTW, I don't find these important learning experiences as a waste of taxpayer's money. Also, I think that there are activity fees that pay for these plays and papers which don't come from people simply paying their taxes. The adviser and the principal did a great job in handling the situation. To put notes in their files would serve NO purpose.

And it goes beyond skin color. "like me" is the measure that far too many people use in judging others. Whether it's the clothes one wears, the political views one holds, the gender one shares their life with, the religious views and dogma to which one ascribes, or even the way one drives their car (among countless other factors, I'm sure), people in today's society rail against those who are not "like me." The only acceptable definition of "normal" or "acceptable" is "sharing my beliefs and principles."

How far we have strayed from our founding fathers who believed that individual liberties were more important than majority views and attitudes.

You call that a voice of reason? U say the white man doesnt get his humanity challeneged everyday, maybe not but we get out intentions questioned everyday. iIf a cop pulls a black man over-racism if a employer fired a black man-racism if a levy in the 9th ward of new orleans fails during a hurricane-racism. I am so sick and tired of hearing how it is the white mans fault that everything happens in your life. Its a picture!!!!!! if it was a picture of obama net to bill clinton it would be could racism some how. Its the minority that automatically views it as a racial sterotype. Cant you just view it as another human knocking you??

haveconcerns: Thank goodness for your voice of reason.

It is very easy for white people in our society to cry out how ridiculously sensitive we are all being. The problem is that our culture has equated white with normal, and all of the stereotypes just reinforce that. Anything that falls outside of the "normalness" of white, is different; less "us." The person who mentioned the chimp example is perfect (albeit disgusting) example. Not even HUMAN!!! It is all a way to dehumanize and make hate ok. We should all be offended by dehumanizing stereotypes. People should read up on white privilege. Of course these things don't offend white people. White people's humanity and "Americaness" aren't being challenged on a regular basis.

You raise a good point, Domino. Is the term "indian" offensive to native Americans? If so, why have we not changed the name of the US Bureau of Indian Affairs? I know that "Indian" is technically incorrect, but is it viewed as offensive?

SATIRE!!!!!!!!! bigteva has it correct...it is meant to get a reaction so that people CHANGE their beliefs. This goes back to Swift's A Modest Proposal where he recommended EATING POOR IRISH CHILDREN to save the economy and rid the country of the blight from poor people. He wasn't actually proposing this; he meant to point out the poor treatment...If we go this far, who says we won't go even further? This is what is intended by satire. Sadly, MOST adults don't even get it. AND when you are a member of the group that the satire is incorporating, you bet it feels personal and offensive. But, if satire is not done properly, then it is simply mean and harmful.

Hey JV Born,
You are worried about stereotypes about "Indians?" Last I checked the proper term is Native Americans! I guess your not so proper yourself!

How about in the next Odin issue the staff prints a picture of Sarah Palin on a stripper pole with Presidential seal on it.
Think THAT would fly?

So freedom of press and expression don't apply to high school? When you write satire it is meant to get a reation. So, to offend is the purpose. Good writng Parker Odin staff you got your reaction.

Regarding the Parker students and the comic with the President & the character buckwheat - that's the type of behavior that fits with the Redneckfest that will take place in this city. This should NEVER have been put in the school newspaper! The teacher advisor and principal should have letters put in their files. I find this DISGUSTING and in VERY POOR taste.

Oh woe is me, alak and alas. Where oh where are the counselors? Please Call in the counselors ! how will we ever get through this? This is truly a disaster. Oh the hunanity ! The gnashing of teeth, The wringing of hands ! The children ! Remember the children !

Political correctness run amok

Regarding the paper and the play: Don't the students have something better to do with the taxpayers' money?

I saw the play at Craig yesterday which was so offensive we almost left early. Terrible stereotypes about indians. What teachers are in charge of these things and why aren't they making better decisions? I hope my kids would refuse to participate if it happens when they are older.

Seabee: What's with the bee in your bonnet? This is far from indoctrination--learning the historical significance of Buckwheat is not the same as forcing someone to accept a set of beliefs uncritically.

What surprises me is how the students couldn't tell that how racist Carey Portier behaved when he said that.

Why is everyone so worried about offending people? Is it the fact that the only way a picture like this is when they play the race card? there was plenty of pictures of all the other presidents mocking them and did anyone have to apoligize for that? No! The only ones that view it as racism are the ones that are obviously insecure with who they are. You people just cant view it as another human mocking a human, nope its a black man so it has to be racist, but they can have groups that empower the black man and its ok but if i created a group empowering the white man its racist!

I think Principal Schroeder handled it well. Kids sometimes do stupid things...that's why they are still called students. Although I am quite sure, according to other blogs on this site, that some folks in Janesville believe that the photos were ok, and the distribution of the paper should not have been halted.

There was more than the picture that was offensive. There was an article about two lesbians going to prom and it stated that the death penalty should be used for them. Just curious why that wasnt mentioned?

Most disturbing to me is the fact that administrators seem to think only people of color would take offense. Intentions aside (and the best of intentions would never warrant this kind of display), any decent human being should be offended.

LOLOL

Let the indoctrination begin!