An announcement at school

[boricua79]

I thought it would be interesting to let you guys know an announcement at my school (where I work).

After the pledge of allegiance, the vice-principal of the school made an announcement, apparently at the behest of a Colombian teacher, that she wanted us to know that right now, in Colombia, the people are marching against the "terrorist FARC group". After she was done giving the announcement over the intercom, I sat there shocked. With what gall does a vice-principal of a school in MA, make an announcement to the school about a political issue in Colombia?

I personally do not like the uribe government. I also think the FARC are narcotrafficking FAKE leftist guerrillas. While I think their actions are often terroristic, I have a problem jumping on the "their terrorists" bandwagon, because I know how easy that label is applied to any group attempting to freedom fight.

So, I'm not totally opposed to saying the FARC is out of line. But, why make such an announcement in an elementary school over the intercom. I don't like the FARC, but there's LOTS of Colombians and Latin Americans who, in the larger scheme of things, support the FARC, even after all the crap they do. I'm not one of them, but I know they exist. Why polarize a school (or worse, miseducate a totally ignorant public, since I'm sure I'm one of the few who even knows about the decades-long civil war in Colombia) with such a statement over an intercom.

That's the weirdest announcement I've ever heard. I wonder if they made such an announcement when Iraqis marched for the U.S. occupation to end. I'd like to see THAT happen.