I am so sorry your children are suffering this kind of abuse, the school is definitely remiss for not taking this seriously . Maybe a lawsuit against the school district might wake them up.
This happened a year ago, so I've managed to cool off. We didn't ultimately file a lawsuit, but we considered it. I'm hoping we're on the verge of entering a kinder period in the US. If Harris gets in, that will be a step in the right direction. Thanks for your kind comment!
We are all hoping for Harris/ Walz to return us to what America is supposed to be. No one deserves to be treated like they are less, not blacks, not immigrants, not gays, no one, certainly not children!
First we have to produce the tsunami of votes that sweeps them in to office. Then we can begin to clean the mess. Don’t move, we need you for the tasks ahead. My relatives fought in WWII so your family could be Americans. Help us make our country a home we can all be safe in.
THANK YOU. I cant express how I felt reading this. From all the way in Aus, your words are powerful and needed. I wish you and your family all the best
Thank you very much Shay. We have to restore a bit of sanity to the USA. This country is too powerful to be run by madmen. Sigh... such frustrating times. Thanks for your kind words!
You’re a great dad! Mixed kids go through public violence. Your daughter is expected to tolerate their nasty ass inbred bullshit cuz stanky white boys are the rapists in that particular role. It’s an evil bag of tropes.
We can’t stop there. The violence continues… look at what 78-year-old Donnie tried to pull on Harris, who should never put up with that geriatric pedophile rapist trying to molest her in front of the world.
"You never placate a bully by letting him do what he wants. You always have to make him stop, or he’ll just keep doing worse and worse." Absolutely!
What is happening is that the institutions in your area are enabling the abuse to happen by not doing anything or making token responses. They have become too afraid of potential personal or institutional pushback to even consider it.
The worst offenders of the kind of thinking that results from this in action undoubtedly the people who run large companies. In many cases, they are allowed to control such a massive majority of the voting stock that nobody can ever challenge their decisions. So, if on a whim, they decide to do something with consequence, there are few available in their inner circle to challenge them. Thus we have Trump, Musk, Zuckerberg, Larry Page, etc. I know that legally public companies are legally obliged to pay their shareholders, but when you own most of the voting stock, you're making sure YOU get paid more than anyone else.
I really think than anyone taking an MBA course should be obliged to study sociology, ethics and history alongside it, because it might actually make these people actually think about the consequences of their actions. As well as, possibly, trying to prevent companies from being able to legally operate if they only consider their employees and assets notes on a ledger and not actual things or people, and prevent people and holding companies from owning more than 50% of voting shares so they can not develop the arrogant "my way or the highway" attitude so many of them have.
The entertainment companies are the worst in this regard. They are in show business, but they have completely forgotten that "show" comes first.
The punchline is that all of these companies, no matter how big, end up needing government bail outs eventually. If they take government funding, they should have to follow certain rules. But they all have this “cowboy” attitude that leads to awful decisions. You’re right, we have to stand up and be strong when there are transgressions that must not be ignored. Thanks for the comment!
Many who populate the lofty heights of obscene wealth and influence morph into even bigger sociopaths then they may have been. Musk has turned into a full-blown fascist. Zuckerberg facilitates conspiracy theorists and hate groups on his platforms. (Trust fund brats like trump, Rebekah Mercer, Tim Mellon, the Wal Mart heirs are of course in their own category.) It would be ideal if these types were concerned with the greater good rather than reveling in what havoc they can wreak just because they can. Says a lot about them as human beings. Not that they care.
I am so sad what happened to your daughter. I had an incident this week that showed me how sad things are. I grew up in a very integrated city. My mother, a Holocaust survivor, instilled in my brother and I not only to accept everyone but to become involved in other cultures, learn other languages treat everyone as equal. I moved to a small town in California. I didn’t really notice the segregation here. I eat at a Mexican restaurant near my yoga studio frequently. It is mostly Hispanic workers and no one is friendly. A few days ago the cashier ran out after me and accused me of shoplifting. I was appalled. After my angry reaction I remembered the history and appalling racism of the town. I had to face that after years of being treated like shit, I stuck my ugly white head in their territory
There's tension all around because our society is not addressing the true source of injustice. I hope it starts to get fixed this November. Thanks for your comment, wishing you the best!
It's unfortunate (worse even) that the frequency of these kinds of assaults have become normalized as simply childish behavior. But it leads to the kind of assaults waged against innocent people with AK-47s when the "boys who will be boys" become men.
Yeah, that's true. And I suspect the same kids that are allowed to spit are the ones who come back shooting later. Meanwhile, everybody says, "let them off the hook, it hurts their feelings when they're punished." The whole world is upside down. Thanks for the comment!
I am curious if you filed charges and the status of that. I know your daughter’s situation. I am Puerto Rican and spent much of my youth in a small NC town. It was not common but there were instances of whites calling me spic or the N word. So sorry this occurs.
In the end, I didn't. I'll go into details in my next newsletter. I had multiple meetings with the school and a series of phone calls with the resource officer. My biggest concern was that I'd lose self-control and end up getting arrested myself (which didn't happen). There were consequences though, and I thought those consequences were adequate. I'm sorry that you had to endure what you mentioned in your post, it's unacceptable. Thanks for your comment.
In the end though I believe my experience gave me insight and a wealth of social education. My friends ended up being the less wealthy, for the most part brown and black people. That learning is priceless.
Sadly, though it would be nice, the election of Harris will not stop the haters.
I am ashamed of your daughter's school. If anyone had spit on your daughter in my classroom they would have been written up and sent to the office. Boys will be boys is never acceptable and disgraceful.
It won't stop it, but it will be a huge step in the right direction. The worst part of this is that my community is recognized as one of the better ones. It makes me feel really bad for children out there who don't have adults to advocate for them. Our society needs to do better. Thanks for the comment!
She handled it better than I did to be honest. We got the situation handled, but I would have liked to see more accountability. Thanks for the kind words!
Needed to restack this. Not for the politicial part (as I'm not living in the US and am not an expert in this field) but for the part that you daughter was spit at in school. That's unacceptable. If this would have happened to my toddler, I would be really mad. He's 4 yo and was bitten by a boy a few weeks back. They said: That's how he expresses his emotions... well why does my boy then don't bite? What would happen if he would bite the boy?
His father said something like: It's a boy. That's what boys do...
Hugs and prayers for your family Walter. I know you're preparing your family for leaving the US.
Hope you talk with the boy and the family and school and make your daughter smile again.
Often especilly these boys are in love with someone... sounds a bit crazy but the boys that were mean to me told me in my twenties they were in love with me and wanted my attention. Irrational... but true story
Thank you Kristina. Yes, this "boys will be boys" justification needs to go extinct. We did get this situation handled to my satisfaction, but I think it is indicative of a larger problem in our society that needs to be addressed.
I'm sorry you had to deal with the unwanted attention of irrational men, but unfortunately that's too common a transgression in the world. I know my girls will have to deal with that as well. I know quite a lot of girls who had to get restraining orders against their stalkers. It's a sad and unfortunate and dangerous situation. Thanks for your kind words and your support!
A biting child is inexcusable. He should be removed from whatever daycare he is in and let the parent figure out what to do with him then. Then the parent may figure out what responsible parenting means.
Yes, for some reason "progressive" is seen as a dirty word and that's the exact opposite of how it needs to be. Like I said, I recognize that my school district is considered "better than average," so I shudder to think of what kids in bad districts have to go through. We really need to do better.
Walter, excellent article. Here is my take, you don't need to move from this city or to another country. It is they who need to move! "Build the wall" for me is in poor taste. Your daughter being spit on...I would have caused holy hell at that school. You are a better man than me. I am mixed myself and my kids are also mixed (married an asian woman) and they both speak my mother tongue (Italian) and Chinese and I hope we don't experience what I fear....I don't know that I would be able to contain myself among these stunted right wingers.
In the end, I sent in my wife. I was just really worried about losing it and making things worse. Like, I can't get thrown at jail or then who will be there to protect my kids, and I was so angry... But the other side of that is you end up having to withhold justice. It was such a difficult time. But this experience has stayed with me, and it's why I don't tolerate trumpers... at all. Thanks for the kind words.
You're welcome. The "muckraking" journalists of the early 20th century all pointed this stuff out, but the people who could have made these changes then ignored them...
Trump gave all the cretins permission to be publicly vile anywhere. That is why the person who leads our country should have impeccable character. Vote all these vile creatures out. They have built a permission structure of hate. Work to end gerrymandering and end laws designed to suppress voting. Vote blue everywhere. Let’s build a structure of kindness and vote leaders into power who will give the cretins permission to be kind. At least make them go dormant.
I am so sorry your children are suffering this kind of abuse, the school is definitely remiss for not taking this seriously . Maybe a lawsuit against the school district might wake them up.
This happened a year ago, so I've managed to cool off. We didn't ultimately file a lawsuit, but we considered it. I'm hoping we're on the verge of entering a kinder period in the US. If Harris gets in, that will be a step in the right direction. Thanks for your kind comment!
We are all hoping for Harris/ Walz to return us to what America is supposed to be. No one deserves to be treated like they are less, not blacks, not immigrants, not gays, no one, certainly not children!
First we have to produce the tsunami of votes that sweeps them in to office. Then we can begin to clean the mess. Don’t move, we need you for the tasks ahead. My relatives fought in WWII so your family could be Americans. Help us make our country a home we can all be safe in.
THANK YOU. I cant express how I felt reading this. From all the way in Aus, your words are powerful and needed. I wish you and your family all the best
Thank you very much Shay. We have to restore a bit of sanity to the USA. This country is too powerful to be run by madmen. Sigh... such frustrating times. Thanks for your kind words!
"boys will be boys" leads to subhuman piglike trumps.
no wonder many fine people hate men.
Yes. And that saying also stops people from recognizing the decent kids who are out there. It only takes one kid to spit. The rest are not like that.
You’re a great dad! Mixed kids go through public violence. Your daughter is expected to tolerate their nasty ass inbred bullshit cuz stanky white boys are the rapists in that particular role. It’s an evil bag of tropes.
That's absolute true. When we try to talk about "racism" the behavior you mention is exactly what we're trying to prevent. Thanks for the comment!
We can’t stop there. The violence continues… look at what 78-year-old Donnie tried to pull on Harris, who should never put up with that geriatric pedophile rapist trying to molest her in front of the world.
"You never placate a bully by letting him do what he wants. You always have to make him stop, or he’ll just keep doing worse and worse." Absolutely!
What is happening is that the institutions in your area are enabling the abuse to happen by not doing anything or making token responses. They have become too afraid of potential personal or institutional pushback to even consider it.
The worst offenders of the kind of thinking that results from this in action undoubtedly the people who run large companies. In many cases, they are allowed to control such a massive majority of the voting stock that nobody can ever challenge their decisions. So, if on a whim, they decide to do something with consequence, there are few available in their inner circle to challenge them. Thus we have Trump, Musk, Zuckerberg, Larry Page, etc. I know that legally public companies are legally obliged to pay their shareholders, but when you own most of the voting stock, you're making sure YOU get paid more than anyone else.
I really think than anyone taking an MBA course should be obliged to study sociology, ethics and history alongside it, because it might actually make these people actually think about the consequences of their actions. As well as, possibly, trying to prevent companies from being able to legally operate if they only consider their employees and assets notes on a ledger and not actual things or people, and prevent people and holding companies from owning more than 50% of voting shares so they can not develop the arrogant "my way or the highway" attitude so many of them have.
The entertainment companies are the worst in this regard. They are in show business, but they have completely forgotten that "show" comes first.
The punchline is that all of these companies, no matter how big, end up needing government bail outs eventually. If they take government funding, they should have to follow certain rules. But they all have this “cowboy” attitude that leads to awful decisions. You’re right, we have to stand up and be strong when there are transgressions that must not be ignored. Thanks for the comment!
Many who populate the lofty heights of obscene wealth and influence morph into even bigger sociopaths then they may have been. Musk has turned into a full-blown fascist. Zuckerberg facilitates conspiracy theorists and hate groups on his platforms. (Trust fund brats like trump, Rebekah Mercer, Tim Mellon, the Wal Mart heirs are of course in their own category.) It would be ideal if these types were concerned with the greater good rather than reveling in what havoc they can wreak just because they can. Says a lot about them as human beings. Not that they care.
Very true. This unearned wealth of the super privileged hurts the human race.
I am so sad what happened to your daughter. I had an incident this week that showed me how sad things are. I grew up in a very integrated city. My mother, a Holocaust survivor, instilled in my brother and I not only to accept everyone but to become involved in other cultures, learn other languages treat everyone as equal. I moved to a small town in California. I didn’t really notice the segregation here. I eat at a Mexican restaurant near my yoga studio frequently. It is mostly Hispanic workers and no one is friendly. A few days ago the cashier ran out after me and accused me of shoplifting. I was appalled. After my angry reaction I remembered the history and appalling racism of the town. I had to face that after years of being treated like shit, I stuck my ugly white head in their territory
There's tension all around because our society is not addressing the true source of injustice. I hope it starts to get fixed this November. Thanks for your comment, wishing you the best!
It's unfortunate (worse even) that the frequency of these kinds of assaults have become normalized as simply childish behavior. But it leads to the kind of assaults waged against innocent people with AK-47s when the "boys who will be boys" become men.
Yeah, that's true. And I suspect the same kids that are allowed to spit are the ones who come back shooting later. Meanwhile, everybody says, "let them off the hook, it hurts their feelings when they're punished." The whole world is upside down. Thanks for the comment!
I am curious if you filed charges and the status of that. I know your daughter’s situation. I am Puerto Rican and spent much of my youth in a small NC town. It was not common but there were instances of whites calling me spic or the N word. So sorry this occurs.
In the end, I didn't. I'll go into details in my next newsletter. I had multiple meetings with the school and a series of phone calls with the resource officer. My biggest concern was that I'd lose self-control and end up getting arrested myself (which didn't happen). There were consequences though, and I thought those consequences were adequate. I'm sorry that you had to endure what you mentioned in your post, it's unacceptable. Thanks for your comment.
In the end though I believe my experience gave me insight and a wealth of social education. My friends ended up being the less wealthy, for the most part brown and black people. That learning is priceless.
Sadly, though it would be nice, the election of Harris will not stop the haters.
I am ashamed of your daughter's school. If anyone had spit on your daughter in my classroom they would have been written up and sent to the office. Boys will be boys is never acceptable and disgraceful.
It won't stop it, but it will be a huge step in the right direction. The worst part of this is that my community is recognized as one of the better ones. It makes me feel really bad for children out there who don't have adults to advocate for them. Our society needs to do better. Thanks for the comment!
I’m sorry your daughter had that happen. Feels traumatic to me. I’m sure your consistent validation of her helps erase this ugly memory.
She handled it better than I did to be honest. We got the situation handled, but I would have liked to see more accountability. Thanks for the kind words!
Needed to restack this. Not for the politicial part (as I'm not living in the US and am not an expert in this field) but for the part that you daughter was spit at in school. That's unacceptable. If this would have happened to my toddler, I would be really mad. He's 4 yo and was bitten by a boy a few weeks back. They said: That's how he expresses his emotions... well why does my boy then don't bite? What would happen if he would bite the boy?
His father said something like: It's a boy. That's what boys do...
Hugs and prayers for your family Walter. I know you're preparing your family for leaving the US.
Hope you talk with the boy and the family and school and make your daughter smile again.
Often especilly these boys are in love with someone... sounds a bit crazy but the boys that were mean to me told me in my twenties they were in love with me and wanted my attention. Irrational... but true story
Thank you Kristina. Yes, this "boys will be boys" justification needs to go extinct. We did get this situation handled to my satisfaction, but I think it is indicative of a larger problem in our society that needs to be addressed.
I'm sorry you had to deal with the unwanted attention of irrational men, but unfortunately that's too common a transgression in the world. I know my girls will have to deal with that as well. I know quite a lot of girls who had to get restraining orders against their stalkers. It's a sad and unfortunate and dangerous situation. Thanks for your kind words and your support!
A biting child is inexcusable. He should be removed from whatever daycare he is in and let the parent figure out what to do with him then. Then the parent may figure out what responsible parenting means.
I agree.
'...the boys in her class who are Trump supporters because they proudly wear their “Let’s Go Brandon” T-shirts.'
Damn, that's really despicable what happened to your daughter, Walter.
It's disappointing when kids are heavily influenced by their parents' harmful political and religious beliefs.
Instead of nurturing the young generation to be more progressive and think critically, the reverse happens.
Yes, for some reason "progressive" is seen as a dirty word and that's the exact opposite of how it needs to be. Like I said, I recognize that my school district is considered "better than average," so I shudder to think of what kids in bad districts have to go through. We really need to do better.
Walter, excellent article. Here is my take, you don't need to move from this city or to another country. It is they who need to move! "Build the wall" for me is in poor taste. Your daughter being spit on...I would have caused holy hell at that school. You are a better man than me. I am mixed myself and my kids are also mixed (married an asian woman) and they both speak my mother tongue (Italian) and Chinese and I hope we don't experience what I fear....I don't know that I would be able to contain myself among these stunted right wingers.
In the end, I sent in my wife. I was just really worried about losing it and making things worse. Like, I can't get thrown at jail or then who will be there to protect my kids, and I was so angry... But the other side of that is you end up having to withhold justice. It was such a difficult time. But this experience has stayed with me, and it's why I don't tolerate trumpers... at all. Thanks for the kind words.
You're welcome. The "muckraking" journalists of the early 20th century all pointed this stuff out, but the people who could have made these changes then ignored them...
Trump gave all the cretins permission to be publicly vile anywhere. That is why the person who leads our country should have impeccable character. Vote all these vile creatures out. They have built a permission structure of hate. Work to end gerrymandering and end laws designed to suppress voting. Vote blue everywhere. Let’s build a structure of kindness and vote leaders into power who will give the cretins permission to be kind. At least make them go dormant.
Consequences..yes