All your fault

[MajGenl.Meade]

Why all this fuss about something that happened in 2011? And for which the facts may have been omitted if not just missed after a thorough search? But OTOH why does there seem to be no resolution?

Saturday, February 26, 2011
MANCHESTER – The McLaughlin Middle School students accused of bullying and bloodying a 12-year-old girl say she instigated the confrontation, which garnered wide media coverage.

"She came up to me and starting hitting me," said Ali Abdi, 14, of the incident in the school cafeteria on Feb. 15. He admits that he then hit Morgan Graveline. The blow knocked out Graveline's front teeth.

Abdi said that he had been friends with Graveline, but that she started harassing him after he and his friends rebuffed her advances. "She was bullying me and my friends," he said. He said he felt embarrassed for hitting a girl and that he has tried to apologize.

Abdi was suspended from school for at least a week. He said Graveline also was suspended. This was confirmed by a faculty member who was upset over how Ali and another student were portrayed in the media. The faculty member did not want to be identified because of the school's confidentiality policies. Danielle Gauthier, Graveline's mother, denies Morgan was suspended.

District officials and police have refused to comment on the allegations, citing an ongoing investigation and rules concerning juveniles. Manchester School Superintendent Thomas Brennan said he hopes to conclude the district's investigation of the fight and events leading up to it next week. So far police have not filed any charges in the incident.

Abdi's account is in stark contrast to the version of events presented by Gauthier in a blog and in subsequent TV interviews. She said her daughter was picked on over the course of several weeks by two "refugee boys" who were upset that she spurned their affections. Abdi and another student accused in the attack are refugees from Somalia.

Two weeks before the cafeteria incident, Gauthier said, another boy hit Graveline on the bus. The student, Abdi Karim Maalo, insists he hardly knows Morgan, and that he was not involved in the cafeteria fight. He said he hit her on the bus after she started hitting him and wouldn't let him off the bus.

"I asked to move, and she said, 'No, you get in the last row,' " Maalo said.
Maalo said the principal ended up suspending him for three days over the incident.

Gauthier defended her daughter's version of events, insisting that she's a "nice, kind girl" and that she's "not even allowed to have a boyfriend." As for the boys, she said: "They should be careful with what they say because this is being investigated by the police."

But Gauthier stressed that her greatest concern was how school officials handled the treatment of her daughter. She insists she was never informed about the first hitting incident on the bus, and that neither the police nor an ambulance was called to the cafeteria after her daughter was struck. Graveline suffered a concussion and needs to undergo painful medical procedures to get teeth fixed, Gauthier said. Gauthier has retained a lawyer, but she said she's still weighing how to proceed.

Gauthier herself has been accused of engaging in threatening behavior. She was found guilty of two counts of criminal threatening last year for telling a neighbor that she would "slit her throat" as her pit bull allegedly attacked the neighbor's dog. In December, Gauthier filed for bankruptcy, claiming debts totaling $467,094.

Gauthier defended citing the origin of the students in her blog, which begins with the headline: "My 12 year old daughter brutally attacked by refugee boys at school."

"I don't want anyone thinking this is a racist thing," Gauthier said. "The refugees come from a terrible situation. I have advocated for them. But to punch a girl in the face, to knock her teeth out -- maybe these boys are not being taught the right coping skills."

Hassan Baruki, the father of Abdi Karim Maalo, said the events at the school had more to do with kids being kids than the Somali refugee community. "My son is a good boy," he said through a translator. "We come from refugee camps, but we are American now. We love Manchester. People have been very good to us here."
Baruki added, however, that Ali, his son's friend, was "a troublemaker."

http://www.hiiraan.com/news2_rss/2011/F ... _side.aspx

Superior Court upholds part of anti-bully suit against Manchester School District By TED SIEFERNew Hampshire Union Leader
MANCHESTER - A Hillsborough County Superior Court judge has upheld part of a lawsuit against the school district brought by the mother of a middle school student who, in a widely publicized incident nearly two years ago, was punched in the face by another student. The suit was brought by Danielle Gauthier, the mother of the girl, Morgan Graveline, against the Manchester School District.

In a ruling earlier this month, the judge found that the principal of McLaughlin Middle School failed in his duty to ensure the safety of Graveline by not telling her mother about bullying incidents that preceded the altercation in the cafeteria. The punch resulted in Graveline's two front teeth being jarred loose.The ruling may mark the first time such a case has been allowed to proceed since the state passed its anti-bullying law in 2010.

The judge did grant the district's motion to dismiss another charge in the case, that the principal did not do enough to prevent the attack in the cafeteria. Gauthier's attorney, BJ Branch, said that prior to the cafeteria incident, Graveline was punched on a school bus by a friend of the person who allegedly attacked her in the cafeteria. The attack was severe enough that the bus driver made a report, in writing, to school leaders. That event was followed by harassing and vulgar Facebook messages from the boys to Graveline.

However, school principal Barry Albert never told Graveline's mother about the incidents, contrary to the district's anti-bullying policy, which required parents of alleged victims and perpetrators of bullying to be informed "within 48 hours" of the incident, said Branch. Manchester passed its policy in response to the state anti-bullying law, which required all districts to enact policies based on a common model. "

The school district took that information (about the bus incident) and never brought it the attention of the parent and left it to a 13-year-old to make the right decision, which is rarely a good move," Branch said. "I think the whole purpose of the statute is to at least make sure the parents are in the loop. The parent could have kept the kid at home until this gets straightened out.

"Manchester Superintendent Thomas Brennan did not return a call for comment. Among the evidence Branch cited in the case was the report from the school bus driver and copies of the Facebook messages. Branch said Gauthier is seeking compensation for dental and medical bills and for her daughter's emotional suffering. The Feb. 15, 2011, incident, in which Graveline was punched in the cafeteria, garnered wide news media attention, with Gauthier and Graveline appearing in television and newspaper interviews.

Graveline's alleged tormentors, who are refugees from Kenya, gave their own interviews with the New Hampshire Union Leader, in which they claimed that they were the victims of harassment on the part of Graveline. Brennan had said in a TV interview at the time that he believed the incident in the cafeteria did not qualify as bullying. He also issued a statement that the district "has taken all necessary steps to prevent bullying in our schools and to ensure that a safe and secure learning environment is being provided to all of our students."

Branch said he was surprised that the district did not agree to settle the matter outside of court, and he said he still hoped officials would be willing to talk following the latest ruling. "I'm confident we could at least narrow the dispute, if not resolve it completely," he said. "My client feels strongly that schools should error on the side of calling parents."A trial is expected to be scheduled beyond the spring of 2013

http://www.unionleader.com/apps/pbcs.dl ... 229596[url][/url]

New Hampshire Supreme Court Case Acceptance List
2014-0496 Danielle (Graveline) Gauthier m/n/f Morgan Graveline v. Manchester School District, SAU #37 09/02/2014 Hillsborough County Superior Court North

And I can't find anything after that. You can find video/audio of the 15 minute argument presented to the Supreme Court of NH if you care to.

[Guinevere]

Argument was in April. The NH Supreme Court is still in the process of deciding the case. Unlikely there will be resolution before September - summers at the state Supreme courts are usually pretty quiet (my summer clerking at the Vt Supreme Court being a fair indication).

As for the delay - there was a trial in the Superior Court, then an appeal. These things take time. Is that a "fuss?"

[MajGenl.Meade]

Ah, "fuss" referred to all the "kill the darkies" comments and pseudo-rage about an almost five year old event that was presented as if it was something new.

[wesw]

well I agree that it was presented in a deceptive and possibly racist way, but I do not think that my comment had any "kill the darkies' tone.

who were you quoting? one of the presidents Botha?

I realize that my comment was not very Christian, thus the going "to hell" part.

but "the thief does not come to the strong man s house".....

this is the same crap that Gob has posted about that went on in Britain, with the Pakistani men abusing british girls. it must be stopped, stopped cold. if it were irish thugs in boston s south side , and they did this to my daughter, they would get the same buckshot.

[MajGenl.Meade]

It the cap doesn't fit, you must acquit

[wesw]

thank you, sir.

[liberty]

Why all this fuss about something that happened in 2011? And for which the facts may have been omitted if not just missed after a thorough search? But OTOH why does there seem to be no resolution?

.

Well, Neade I realize that you Yankees have a different culture. I see on the news a lot of women being knocked around up north and I reckon that is fine if that is how you all want to treat your women, after all they are not my people. But as I was growing up I was taught that boys do not hit girls and men do not hit women and a man that hits a woman is scum. Of course there are exceptions to protect life and limb, but for that to come into play the woman must tower over the man. But most women are not much of a physical threat to most men. However, a boy knocking out the teeth of a girl is a big deal to me. Why did I post the story? Well, I have no emotional attachment to the story, but somebody has to care about the people and things no one else cares about. That’s my job.

[MajGenl.Meade]

You selectively missed my point. This was a 2011 story that you put forward, frothing with indignation, without mentioning how old it was. I think everyone here knows that your purpose has more to do with fomenting anti-black/anti-immigrant emotional responses (well done - you got a couple) than it has to do with caring about an injured girl.

What will you post next - Nat Turner's rebellion?

[liberty]

[quote="MajGenl.Meade"]You selectively missed my point. This was a 2011 story that you put forward, frothing with indignation, without mentioning how old it was. I think everyone here knows that your purpose has more to do with fomenting anti-black/anti-immigrant emotional responses (well done - you got a couple) than it has to do with caring about an injured girl.

quote]

The answer is no. I have no interest in instigating animosity, but the truth is the truth. The truth is it’s own defense.

I didn’t know that it went back to 2011 unlike you I don’t have a surplus of time to do web searches. And the fact that it is that old makes it more interesting to me. I want to know what the outcome was.

If the races had been reversed I think that I would have heard about it much earlier. Whites have done bad things, but so have blacks. No one has a monopoly on virtue.

[MajGenl.Meade]

What a pile of lies.

You had plenty of time to dredge it up from memory. You hade time to type up an entire article (if you copy/pasted you didn't put it in quotes or give a source). You had time to find a Facebook page. And you had time (but preferred to ignore it) you'd see on it this date:

Monday, February 21, 2011

And you closed with a remark that if Obama had a son, yes, he'd look like these two thugs.

I don't think anyone is fooled by your claiming innocence

[Scooter]

Maybe that's why you didn't hear about the girl blocking the path of a black kid and telling him he had to sit at the back of the bus before he hit her. Or why you didn't hear that she instigated the fight in the cafeteria, which is why she was suspended as well. Or why you didn't hear that the vicious bitch is a racist cunt cut from the same cloth as her mother.

Even if you had heard it, you would have dismissed it because it didn't fit your narrative of those savage black baboons straight out of Africa beating on that pure lily white girl.

[MajGenl.Meade]

While I posted the boys' accusations against the girl and her suspension as Scooter mentions above, I don't think those accusations were determined to be accurate as the case seems to have gone on against the school permitting the boys to bully her

Therefore the intemperate language and unsubstantiated assumptions of our resident wit are perhaps unfortunate, though his conclusion seems accurate.

[Gob]

What is it like to be white in the United States today?

It may seem like a silly question given the current climate, in which most every racial group except Caucasians has come under some form of attack from institutions meant to serve and protect. And that’s not to discount the reprehensible actions of individuals like gun-toting Confederate Flag-waver Dylann Roof and Mexico-deriding billionaire (and unlikely future president) Donald Trump, each perpetuating hate in his own way. But journalist-filmmaker Jose Antonio Vargas thinks there’s something to the query, and he attempts to parse it in the sadly flimsy MTV-produced doc White People.

Vargas is front and center in the film — which runs a scant 40 minutes in an hourlong slot — and he has a brash yet cordial screen presence. You get the sense he could easily dig to the heart of any story (he won a Pulitzer Prize for his co-coverage of the 2007 Virginia Tech shootings), though he spreads himself way too thin here. There are a number of stories touched on in White People that would make for strong documentaries by themselves, starting with Vargas’ own history as a Philippines-born, Spanish-named immigrant who has lived undocumented in the United States since the age of 12.


He brings up his intricate heritage at the start of the film while addressing several groups of young people who have gathered to share their race-related experiences. This is his way of showing how a simple glance at a person never gives you the whole picture — a provocative opening salvo that is then blunted (as is so much else) by the doc’s aesthetic. It’s MTV house style all the way: The cuts are rapid-fire, the music — always leading you to the easiest emotion — is wall-to-wall, and drama is constantly manufactured from situations that likely had more nuance or raw discord than the corporate overlords were comfortable showing to an ADD-addled audience.

It’s a shame considering the people and places Vargas visits, all of them potentially more interesting than they come off in this context. The most fascinating stopover is at a South Dakota Indian reservation where the school is entirely Native American but for a number of Caucasian teachers. The irony of the situation is not lost on the white interviewees, who do their best to balance the harsh truths of American history with their own nagging sense of pride. (Is some overarching sense of liberal guilt keeping the white privilege at bay?)

Similar complexities are visible, if only cursorily, in many of the other stories: A gay Southern man chooses to go to a predominantly black college, then brings two of his new friends back to his primarily white hometown for a tense dinner. A Bensonhurst 20-something wonders, not without some I’m-not-racist hesitation, whether an influx of Chinese immigrants will irrevocably change his historically Italian neighborhood. And an effusive white collegian tries to get his conservative parents to attend a seminar he’s holding on racial entitlement, all in an effort to open their minds.

There’s so much prospect for challenge and stimulation here, yet Vargas never digs deep, jumping away from these varying tales right when they’re getting interesting (and just in time for commercial break). White People wants to be an agent of change, but it would first need to have more than the ephemeral quality of a Twitter hashtag.

[MajGenl.Meade]

The most fascinating stopover is at a South Dakota Indian reservation where the school is entirely Native American but for a number of Caucasian teachers. The irony of the situation is not lost on the white interviewees, who do their best to balance the harsh truths of American history with their own nagging sense of pride. (Is some overarching sense of liberal guilt keeping the white privilege at bay?)

One sees a similar effect in South Africa. An all-black school with white teachers and administrators is not unusual. The reason is that the parents want the whites to be in those jobs because they are better at it. The reasons they are better are complex - not least is the long-term legacy of apartheid not only on education but also on socialization.

The perceived "best norm" for black parents is that their children should adopt the ethics and cultural values of "European" society and not the ethics and values of unemployed township street culture. An ongoing struggle is to preserve what is valuable in ethnic culture while at the same time inculcating values that are frequently antagonistic to tradition.

The black parents didn't want their children to "be white" - they wanted them to have the same knowledge and opportunities. They feared, rightly or wrongly, that would not happen in black-run schools. "White" was better.

So it is true that the privilege of a good education, good societal values is often viewed as "white" privilege. There is enough evidence to satisfy. But it is an accident of history, not an attribute of whiteness. The fortunate should never feel guilty for being "better" or better off - they should instead be part of the effort to raise all to the same condition. One doesn't have to liberal in order to do so.

I can tell you from experience that while the majority of white teachers of South Africa are not anti-black Nats, they are far from being liberal. They are conservative traditionalists who seem to believe that children should be taught well and succeed.

Vargas is in the country illegally. He should be arrested and deported.

[Big RR]

http://joseantoniovargas.com/bio

http://joseantoniovargas.com/bio

Meade--the guy arrived here as a child in the mid 90s and has lived here since. He attended college and is the holder of many journalistic honors including a Pulitzer Prize. He has provided a point of view which is useful to the dialog of the 'American Dream'. And yet all you see is an undocumented immigrant who you maintain should be sent to a country that he has not lived in for more than 30 years?

Certainly we have room here for him.

[MajGenl.Meade]

Jail then.

[Big RR]

Being an undocumented alien is not a crime; it is a civil violation. One is not jailed for civil violations.

[MajGenl.Meade]

Result!

[Big RR]

Isn't that nice; silly cartoons instead of discussion. And you attack wes for posting videos.

Sorry I took your post at face value and thought you wanted to enter into a discussion, but I'll try not to make that mistake again. Oh, and thanks for playing.

[Econoline]

Meade, Jose Antonio Vargas found out he was illegally here during high school, when he went to apply for a driver's license at the age of 16 and was told by the clerk that his green card (obtained for him by his grandfather, a naturalized U.S. citizen) was fake. Read his autobiographical essay, and tell us just what you think Vargas should have done, at what point in his life. (And what do you think you would have done, under similar circumstances?)