Did Zimmerman put hands on Martin first?

[XemaSab]

172. If Sarah Palin is asked what publications she reads

and she waves her hands and says, "I read 'em all!" and I point out how asinine that is, am I denigrating the Thrilla from Wasilla?

If W chokes on a pretzel and I point out how moronic that is, am I denigrating Pretzel Boy?

If Cheney shoots a guy in the face and I point out how totally insane that is, am I denigrating ol' Crashcart?

No! They're all idiots and criticizing them is totally valid!

So if Rachel Jeantel can't read and didn't tell the truth, how is mentioning those two facts denigrating to her?

She's a sad person and the educational system, her parents, and society have seriously let her down, but that doesn't mean that it's fine and dandy to pretend that she doesn't have very serious problems, both as a person and as a witness.

To bust out the NYTimes's summary of a speech W gave:

No child in America should be segregated by low expectations, imprisoned by illiteracy, abandoned to frustration and darkness of self-doubt. . . .

Now some say it is unfair to hold disadvantaged children to rigorous standards. I say it is discrimination to require anything less -- the soft bigotry of low expectations. . . .

It is a scandal of the first order when the average test scores of African-American and Latino students at age 17 are roughly the same as white 13-year-old's. Whatever the cause, the effect is discrimination. Children who never master reading will never master learning. They will face a life of frustration on the fringes of society. . . .

http://www.nytimes.com/1999/09/03/us/excerpts-from-bush-s-speech-on-improving-education.html

If this chick was white, would you think it was okay that she's 19 and has ostensibly passed her junior year in high school, but she can't read or write? If you wouldn't accept it from a white chick, then why is it okay from a black chick?

"Oh, but she's black and black kids all talk like that and she speaks Ebonics and she grew up in a non-English-speaking household and English is her third language and she has an underbite and she never learned cursive and she was sick and she missed three years of school... and... and... and...."

Growing up in Oakland, I went to school with kids with all these disadvantages and more, and most of them seemed to get through it okay. I also went to school with kids who were in the 6th grade and struggled to sound out simple words.

Lemme tell ya: being illiterate is more damaging to Miss Jeantel's self esteem than anything I could possibly say here.