Police called over Thanksgiving dispute at Claremont elementaty school

[Are_grits_groceries]

Protesters descended Tuesday on Condit Elementary School in Claremont, tersely arguing over the construction-paper pilgrim and Native American costumes worn by kindergartners at a decades-old Thanksgiving tradition. Police were called to the school when tensions rose.

Officers also were monitoring Claremont Unified Supt. David Cash's home after he received hate mail and told police that he feared for his safety.

On Tuesday morning, some parents dressed their children in the hand-made headdresses, bonnets and fringed vests, and school officials did not force the students to remove them. Still, some parents vowed to keep their children home from school Wednesday, potentially costing the district state attendance funds.

Nearly two dozen protesters stationed themselves in front of the school, evenly split between costume supporters and opponents. The supporters set up a table with refreshments in front of the school sign, and several wore construction-paper headdresses. Foes stood about 40 feet away, carrying signs that said, "Don't Celebrate Genocide."
http://www.latimes.com/news/education/la-me-claremont26-2008nov26,0,1648912.story

Happy Holidays!! Yeeeeeeeeeeeesh!

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

1. People are sending their kids to school in "Indian" costumes?

Good lord.

[lindbergh]

6. I suppose the native Americans who dress themselves that way to put on performances

around here...for money...would be appalled.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

7. I suppose black entertainers and white people in blackface are on equal footing.

:crazy:

[lindbergh]

8. Just a guess here...you cut class of Logic 101

I'm talking about Native Americans who wear traditional costumes and do various 'Indian' dances for tourists. THEY don't seem to find it humiliating or
degrading. Or are you one of the people who think they're just a bunch of drunks and have no sense of self-esteem?

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

9. You think so?

"I'm talking about Native Americans who wear traditional costumes and do various 'Indian' dances for tourists. THEY don't seem to find it humiliating or degrading."

Yes, you're comparing people who are actually Native Americans, to what appears to be angry white conservatives who are dressing up their white kids anachronistically for school on Thanksgiving under what appears to be the motive of antagonizing people.

[lindbergh]

10. That is amazing. You have deduced their "motive" just like Bill Frist

analyzed Terri Schiavo. You're wasting valuable time farting around here at DU!

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

12. You ever dress up in costumes on Thanksgiving just for the hell of it?

As evidenced elsewhere in this thread, this was all drummed up by RW hate radio.

So, Professor Logic, what do you think the motives were?

[lindbergh]

14. I participated in Minstrel Shows as a kid in the early 1950s. They were not meant to be

racist (as the term is generally defined nowadays)...but would obviously be considered as such now with the advent of SPC.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

16. As much as it fits your character, I don't believe you.

[lindbergh]

18. Eliot Elementary School, Tulsa, OK 1951

The teacher was Mr. Kennedy. And I have no idea why I'm trying to justify myself to an idiot.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

20. Oh, I have no doubt you've attended at least some elementary school.

[Name removed]

23. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Zhade]

13. Just a guess, you cut English composition 101.

"you cut class of Logic 101" = FAIL

[lindbergh]

17. Your disapproval of my choice of prepositions is duly noted.

Doesn't it embarrass you to glom onto the juvenile "fail" silliness? It should.
:D

[scarletwoman]

11. Yeah. The nerve of those people to take it upon themselves to portray their own culture.

They obviously should just leave it to the white folks to do their own versions.

[Zhade]

15. THANK you.

NT!

[lindbergh]

19. The portrayal is the same. You're just pissed off because you imagine it to be

pejorative and you don't have the first fucking clue how actual "indians" feel about it.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

21. The portrayal is the same?

=



?

[lindbergh]

22. I don't know what your problem is...but here's one actual link to some actual Native Americans

and their activities
http://500nations.com/Oklahoma_Events.asp

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

24. Oh, lawd! Thankee, suh!

[Name removed]

25. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

26. So what are your thoughts on President Barack Hussein Obama?

I'm all ears.

[lindbergh]

28. I campaigned and voted for him. I'm very happy to call him my President.

Or will be on January 20th.
You are not Barack Obama.

[RedCappedBandit]

35. Enjoy your stay, dipshit

[scarletwoman]

27. You don't have the first fucking clue about what I know.

Hint: I'm the widow of an American Indian cultural historian and treaty rights activist.

Put THAT in your "peace pipe" and smoke it, chimook.

[Name removed]

30. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[scarletwoman]

33. Oklahoma WAS the reservation. That's where all your friends' Cherokee, Choctaw, Seminole, Chickasaw

and Creek ancestors were relocated when they were forcibly expelled from their homelands in the southeast of the continental U.S.

I would have expected that an American Indian expert like yourself would have known that. Funny, that.

[noamnety]

37. I can see Russia from my house!

(sorry, channeling.)

[scarletwoman]

38. Perfect!

:rofl:

sw

[Ian David]

2. Do they still celebrate Blood River Day in South Africa? n/t

[MichiganVote]

3. Way to set an example for the kids as in settling this thing w/o a bunch of nonsense.

[ColbertWatcher]

4. Why do some parents turn everything into a soccer game?

It seems to me that the worst obstacle to a good education is a dogmatic, ignorant parent.

[JuniperLea]

5. EW... they were whipped to a froth by some idiots on local RW radio

John and Ken... KFI... same station that plays Rush Limpwhatever... telling parents to go ahead with it after the school said no... idiots.

I'm both Pilgrim and American Indian... I think it stinks. Neither group is properly portrayed, imho.

[rug]

29. "Meanwhile, the kindergartners frolicked nearby on the playground, Smith said."

I think I'd join them and avoid this entire idiotic episode.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

31. When I taught school 20 years ago

I had colonial dress, which I would put on a kid so that they would see how it is different from today's clothes. They were always intrigued by the pockets, which were separate from the skirt and chemise. I also brought in a leather Native costume (patterned on the Shawnee tribe dress, not the Wampanoag, because I lived in the Shawnee native territory), which they also tried on. It was interesting to compare/contrast the way of dressing and why it was so. Segued into a discussion of a more "industrialized" culture vs one from a pre-industrial society, and how the Europeans treated the Native peoples in New England and later in our neck of the woods.

A lot of folks don't know this, but some of the European settlers took off from Plymouth for the Cape, where they lived with Massasoit's people rather than under the laws of the Puritan "Saints". Didn't go into the horrid details of King Phillip's War, but would have if the kiddos had been older.

I think this is a more appropriate way of talking about the dress of the "Pilgrims" and the "Indians" than having kids don paper costumes.

[Sanctified]

32. Wow glad none of those crazies were around when I was a kid.

My favorite thanksgiving when I was a kid was the one where I was the Turkey in the school play, way better than the kids that dressed as pilgrims or Indians. I had the best line in that play, "Let's eat!" only lines too.

[Pastiche423]

34. It's crazy to be upset at the genocide of the Native Americans?

That is just sick.

[Sanctified]

39. And when there is a Holiday celebrating the Genocide of Native Americans you can get outraged.

Thanksgiving is not that Holiday.

[Pastiche423]

40. Why isn't the perfect time?

The Fist Thanksgiving is all a myth. Our descendent's robbed the Native Americans of their land, their dignity and their lives. There was no sitting down together, no sharing harvests and no one sang kumbaya.

It is way past time to honestly discuss the realistic history of our country. Our descendent's decimated millions of Native Americans and you think it is fine and dandy to teach our children to carry on the facade that we were giving and loving to the Native Americans? That is spitting in the face of every Native American.

We were pillagers back then and as evidenced by the present financial crisis, we still are.

Do you believe that Christopher Columbus was a super swell guy, too?

[RedCappedBandit]

36. ""The kids were oblivious," he said, "as they should be.""

Somebody obviously does not understand children.