good kid
but none-the-less a dumbass
he goes onto some teen/younger crowd internet bulletin boards. like many of his contemporaries he wants to a bit of a badass. irreverence is the word of the day...
on one board in particular the word "nigger" or "nigga" is used freely and gratuitously (and in my opinion inappropriately). the social sting of such usage is taken away somewhat by the use of the word in popular culture such as in in Hip Hop and Rap music, and in TV shows like the Boondocks.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Boondocks_(TV_series)
"Aaron has defended the show's heavy and at times gratuitous use of the word "nigga", by arguing that the large-scale usage of the word provides the show with a level of realism, due to the fact that the word is commonly used in the everyday conversations of some African Americans."
I have warned him about using the word and demanded that it not be used in my presence. He does not use it much in everyday usage (that i am aware of).
He is not overtly racist to my perception, and has both black and north american indian friends.
however, my dumbassed son put the subject line "niggaz everywhere" into an email to himself, when he emailed himself a school assignment as an attachment ("niggaz everywhere" is a quote from Rampage the Last Boyscout - Take it to the Streets, the ever tasteful lyrics: "Niggaz everywhere, bitches everywhere rockin to ramp’s new beat; When I hear his music I can’t help but get down like they do"). his story as to why he chose to put the line there is a little confused and will not detail it here - suffice it to say his judgement at 2AM after finishing the assignment, was lacking... i suspect it was to congratulate himself on a job well done
anyway, son was pulling up his assignment in school from email to show it to the class when the teacher projected his mailbox onto the big screen. and there was the subject line. there is one black girl in the class. one of the many ironies is that this was christian ethics class (catholic school [they're govt/publicly funded here])
son got interviewed by the administration and i got called. he's being suspended for two days, and serving a 3rd in school suspension day. i agree with the suspension and actually had the words "this will require a suspension" out of my mouth before the principal did. son will also be giving a re-approved apology to the class including the girl.
they think it was "an error in judgement" (read: dumbassery) and not overt racism as son has been in trouble in both elementary school and high school for fights and altercations where he has been intervening in racial catcalling to stop the catcalling. they want to reduce the incident to a minor one - hence the 3 days of suspension - school is out starting friday until sometime in january.
my son
the dumbass
now, the suspended dumbass...
7 comments:
See, this is where the line becomes blurred.
I can see your son's point for wanting to use the word in the context he did. He hears/sees it used in everyday speaking, movies and music and feels the need to be like everyone else. It's not his fault that he isn't aware of the "rules" for such usage.
I've had the very same conversation with my oldest daughter about why "we" can't use that term.
It's a tough world out there for our kids.
you are so correct, signgurl
that is part of what i tried to explain to him
"you [son] can't 'claim the word back' because you aren't black. best to avoid it entirely"
OHHH MAN that boy just can not cut a break can he??? glad u agree with his suspension.. as I always say Every action has a consequence even those we mean for no one to see... to me I find it highly offensive.. and I never use the word.. ...
Hey, haven't been by in a while, but looked like I chose a good time. Kids are stupid, their brains are wired to be smart in academic but stupid everywhere else. I could tell you a good story about my son and harassment. In any case, it's probably no big deal. He was just trying to be what he perceived as cool. He knows the consequences now and will be smarter next time.
Mr. C. . . He is a kid . . . he will learn what is appropriate. . . when it is appropriate. . . and he will not forget this incident. . . It is kind of like having a family issue. . . it is ok for you to talk about your own family, but don't dare let someone else chime in. . . not a big deal. . . you handled it well.
Ciao
Exactly....he IS a kid....these things happen.
He'll learn....
As a teacher, I come across this situation more often than I'd like to admit.
I've had the conversation about using ANY part or variation of the N word with all of my students. I've used the dictionary definition to explain things, used historical background, and present-day violence and problems as well.
My students know that it's unacceptable. The other side of the coin is that there are too many mainstream musicians, writers, and BUSINESS-people who make a ton of money off of using the word while inadvertantly teaching kids that's it's an ok thing.
Tough life lesson better learned now than later. I'm proud of you for being firm and supportive at the very same time.
Post a Comment