Monthly Archives: October 2015

Sorry, the Slave Girl is Not the High School Student

Slave GirlThis meme is blowing up my newsfeed. The reason is obvious to me.

First, I’m sure you’ve heard about the incident in South Carolina involving a high school female who refused to turn off her cell phone. The situation escalated into a rough take-down from a corrections officer who was called in to resolve it. Much of the encounter was captured on tape; and now that recording has gone viral.

After hearing opinions on both sides, a meme has begun to circulate comparing this young high school student with the proverbial “slave girl”. The meme is written in order make an obscure, tired point on race. And it’s a real shame that the writer has to go all the way *there* with his concept in an attempt to garner our favor. Go ahead and read it; then, ask yourself where is he seeking to take you with this presentation?

This classic manipulation attempt is driven by his prompting of the shared tragic image of a collective American experience. He wants you to blend the image of a freshly beaten slave girl into the image you have in your minds of the obstinate, high school student. How are the two girls related other than skin color? Those girls are separated by more than just time, laws and societal norms. They are separated by *realities*. So, do not follow his lead. Instead, choose to honor each separate moment (the HS girl and the slave girl) by seeing each of them individually.

Although this author is physically living in this moment with us, you can see that his mind is planted, in fact, rooted back in the time of slavery. We should believe him when he shares where his mind is stuck. But we don’t have to follow him when he invites us to go back there with him.

It’s a bit offensive to see this writer minimize the collective national triumph we’ve shared over slavery by blending it into an issue of teenage rebellion and an ugly take-down of a corrections officer. The two issues he seeks to connect are not related in the slightest way. Yet, his perception has gone viral.

The tactic is the introduction of deception and confusion. He has pressed the emotional buttons stained in our minds around slavery and injustice. That action affects our rational assessment of an individual situation involving a high school student and a corrections officer. Do you want to align your thinking based on deception or confusion? Certainly not.

Remember “who is the author of confusion”.

Choose to align your thinking with reason and logic. #MemeRejected

Lesson Learned!

Ok everyone, the crisis has been averted. The correction officer who forcibly removed a disruptive, disrespectful student from a group learning environment just lost his job. Whew! The big, bad, white guy has been “dealt with”!
Now…. are we ready to deal with the obstinate attitude that led us down this path in the first place? Do the other kids in the classroom have a right to an education without it being interrupted by an insubordinate, uninterested student? Should we teach our children that their bad choices could lead to a crazy outcome that they won’t be able to control?
Nah… because she was black and he was white. And she was a little baby girl with a pink parasol… and he was a big, bad brute with fangs! All she wanted to do was play with her phone. Sheezzzz….
No! All she wanted to do was… whatever she wanted to do! That’s the problem! She is a child who is supposed to be getting a “free” education; doing what she is told to do to make the learning process successful for everyone.
So parents here is your moment to shine.
Are you going to tell your children that they can punch a correction officer without any consequence?
Or, are you going to tell them to respect the people whom you have empowered in their assigned positions of authority?
Are you going to tell them, “In a civilized, functional society, when you fail to do what you are told to do by a teacher, and you decide to punch a person, you will be physically removed from the room so that class can resume for everyone else.”
You should also tell them, “When you are removed, you will not be able to control how that removal unfolds. It may hurt! That’s why you shouldn’t go down that path! You are in control of the path that you choose.”
Hypothetical Me: What can YOU control, little Johnny?
Johnny: Myself.
Hypothetical Me: Good Boy.
*Galactic Parenting Star Awarded*