N****R LOVER!

[WoodrowFan]

I just spoke to my cousin who lives near Dayton, ohio. She's a very active volunteer in the local Obama campaign. She told me her high school age son, who supports Obama too, took his Obama buttons off of his backpack. My cousin asked him why, assuring him that he had the right to his own opinion and that if he didn't want them anymore, that was fine. It turns out he keeps being called "N****R lover!" and other vile names at his high school, including by guys who used to be his friends.

My cousin told him if he gave in, they win, and he put his button back on his backpack.

I am shaking I am so pissed off. Little racist bastards. Good for my cousin's son, and for my cousin, in sticking to their guns!

[ej510]

1. This is taught by their parents.

[codjh9]

4. And peers. And the sad part is, for those people, it might as well be 1920. or 1870. n/t

[Ken Burch]

25. As Rodgers and Hammerstein pointed out quite a few years ago:

You've got to be taught
To hate and fear,
You've got to be taught
From year to year,
It's got to be drummed
In your dear little ear
You've got to be carefully taught.

You've got to be taught to be afraid
Of people whose eyes are oddly made,
And people whose skin is a diff'rent shade,
You've got to be carefully taught.

You've got to be taught before it's too late,
Before you are six or seven or eight,
To hate all the people your relatives hate,
You've got to be carefully taught!

(From "South Pacific", of course).

[rocktivity]

2. He should smile and say "Thank you" as if he'd been complimented.

and tell them why.

:headbang:
rocknation

[OnceUponTimeOnTheNet]

14. I've been waiting for somebloodyone to insult me with this phrase, no luck yet, but

Thanks to you I have a batter canned response now waiting.

"OOHHH, You Betcha!!" Wink! Wink! (perhaps whilst piling my hair on top my head, and striking a provocative pose)

Mind, I have sarah's speech pattern down perfectly. I'm a Yooper.

Good on the kid, but there might come a time when it really is too much for a young one.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

3. Tell your cousins that they are brave

to be standing up to racists. And it is better the lad know now the true character of those who would taunt him about this.

[Cha]

5. Wow! To be the one who

dissents in a crowd of racists! So Brave..make sure he's safe.

And, if anyone would ever call me that I would say to them .."DAMN SKIPPY."

[Phoonzang]

6. Can someone give me a definitive answer to the question "What the hell is wrong with Ohio"? nt

[gmoney]

37. we're fucking maroons

perhaps a pre-emptive strike is in order.

[WoodrowFan]

41. beats me

beats me. I was born and raised there. It had a Democratic governor, a Democratic legislature and 2 Democratic senators when I moved to Virginia (um, 20 years ago).

[asdjrocky]

7. Don't be pissed.

Just smile, and no that the time of hate is coming to an end on November 4th.

[WoodrowFan]

9. I think it'll get worse

I think it'll get worse. But if we stick to our guns we'll win.

[asdjrocky]

15. Yep. And I am so sorry for that happening to your son.

They are going to go ape shit if we win, and I do believe we will. There will be a time, perhaps, to get pissed and there may even be a time to take real action, but for right now, I'm just going to smile before, during and after I vote.

I don't know why I feel so calm when I see the hatred right in front of me, I'm not a calm person by nature, but lately, all I've done is smile.

We're going to win.

Tell your great son to keep his chin up and to keep smiling. Someone once said if they are trying to kill you, you're doing something right.

[renie408]

8. That is rough. Of course, the answer to being called a nigger lover is to say, "and your point is?"

Because the idea is that there is nothing wrong with loving black people. Or yellow people or red people. There is nothing wrong with loving ANY people.

I am sorry for your cousin's son. He is at a hard age to stand up and stand out. But this is a golden opportunity for him to grow his character.

Jeez, this makes me want to head up to Dayton and pick on a few kids my darn self.

[WoodrowFan]

10. a tough age

it's a tough time of life to feel like you're standing out. His younger sister takes a "whatever" attitude to the bigots.

[enough]

11. I remember being called this in 1959. All-white school with ONE black kid. If you

were anything other than abusive to the guy, you were called a n-l. Which to the people who said it, seemed almost worse than the original epithet.

[Dragonfli]

12. Good for Him! - Too bad he has to show bravery at such..

..an early age in the face of bigotry. I hope you will convey to him through his mother my admiration for his character in the face of such racist hatred. I know very few adults that exhibit such character and bravery. Quite commendable. I hope he doesn't get "roughed up" too much over it. I am sure there will be at least some physical abuse at the hands of bullies over his decision.

BTW The few adults I have met in my time that have shown such character, are the best friends that I have ever known.

[Clio the Leo]

13. Tell the about the REAL American hero John Lewis.....

... tell them about how John, and other students not much older than him, one day resolved that the oppression they were suffering was about more than just a hamburger.

Tell him about how they put on their Sunday best, went to a lunch counter in downtown Nashville and simply asked to be given the right to use a service allowed to other shoppers .... in the same store that would gladly take their money for clothes and school supplies.

Tell him how they were taunted, cursed at, spat upon. Tell him about how food was throw at them. Tell him about how ciggaretes were burned into their flesh.



Tell him about how, all during the episode, the maintained their dignity and they never gave up.

Tell him about how they were thrown into prison ...... tell him how they sang songs of joy so loudly that their guards threatened them with physical violence if they didn't stop. Tell him about they KEPT on singing.

Tell him about how their very lives were threatened ...... tell him about how their friends in Mississippi were murdered and how their bodies were thrown into the dump like trash.

Tell him about how these students KEPT ON FIGHTING!!!!

Tell him about how this unwavering spirit changed this nation forever. Tell him about how, because of the courage of young Americans just like him, a young man was able to grow up in a nation much different than the one they had come of age in.

Tell him about how their movement carved the path that would one day allow Barack Obama to to stand upon the precipice of history, poised to rise to the highest office in the greatest country in the world.



Then tell him what Harriet Tubman said .......

If you hear the dogs, keep going.

If you see the torches in the woods, keep going.

If they're shouting after you, keep going.

Don't ever stop. Keep going.



My prayers are you with you.

[Solomon]

22. It makes me cry everytime I read or hear that from

Tubman.

Automatic.

I start crying.

[Clio the Leo]

26. That would be two of us... I was sobbing writing the thing.....

.... I'll share some tissue with you.

"And before I'll be a slave, I'll be buried in my grave and go home to my Lord and be free......"

I think I'm gonna put on my "Voices of the Civil Rights Movement" CD and dream of November ........

[RagAss]

16. Daddy taught them this between beatings....n/m

[kestrel91316]

17. I went to HS near Dayton. And I have a couple of clients (sisters)

from there, who happen to be black. They are some of my most funny, intelligent and well-educated clients, BTW, and really NORMAL, WELL-ADJUSTED, AVERAGE Americans. They put a lot of my other clients to shame.

I TOTALLY understand why they live here now, and not there. Racism in OH. What a surprise.

[NightWatcher]

18. he's joined the crowd of Obama supporters. I have been called the same just because of bumper stix

that I had on my car here in Georgia.
We are up against a real nasty form of hate and ignorance this election. I am getting tired of it and I fear the event when I get called it again.

[progressiveforever]

19. In 2004, I had to take my son out of school

He was being hit and verbally abused for supporting Kerry---he was called a baby killer and a fag lover. The teachers said he encited it because he was expressing his political belief.
I took him out of school--he was a freshman in high school. Today he is a successful college sophomore and leading a Students for Obama group---it was the right move.

[amitten]

20. Reply: "That's right. I love everybody. Same as God".

Let 'em think on it.

[Trajan]

21. You've Got To Be Carefully Taught

You've got to be taught to hate and fear
You've got to be taught from year to year
It's got to be drummed in your dear little ear
You've got to be carefully taught.

You've got to be taught to be afraid
Of people whose eyes are oddly made
And people whose skin is a different shade
You've got to be carefully taught.

You've got to be taught before it's too late;
Before you are 6 or 7 or 8 !
To hate all the people your relatives hate.
You've got to be carefully taught.....
You've got to be carefully taught.

--Oscar Hammerstein II

[Beregond2]

23. Sigh. I really hoped I would never encounter this phrase again,

after my grandmother died.

[RetroLounge]

44. You too?

:hug:

RL

[Teaser]

24. He needs to kick their asses

.

[sandnsea]

27. I hope she calls the principle

There needs to be diversity assemblies at these schools in a hurry, along with a morning message about suspensions and hate speech.

[elleng]

29. YES SANDnSEA,

THAT's how to address it: show them that society disapproves such behavior.

[genna]

32. Call the principal and the PTA.

1. Call the school board and let them know their principal does not know who they are f*cking with...there is probably civil rights case law in OH with desegregation and with threatening/menancing other students. Tell them the ACLU (maybe the NAACP) would be happy to take up the cause.

2. Call the local district attorney.

3. Start raising the issue with local Dayton papers.

[Honeycombe8]

28. That's the sort of thing that happened 30 years ago in south La. when I was a kid.

I am surprised it's happening in this day and age, and up there in yankee territory!

He was given the right advice, though. He's got to stick to his guns and put the button back on. If he doesn't, the other guys won't respect him. They'll like him even LESS (ironic, isn't it?). And secondly, he has to learn not to let others tell him how to think and act, esp. by bigots.

It'll still be a tough time for him, because the other guys are bigots and bullies. But he should come out stronger in the end, if he stands his ground. A lot of it is attitude.

That's why I think it's best that kids not take politics to school. It's tough enough for adults to handle that volatile subject.

[Heather MC]

30. What's the name of the School, we don't need his name but we can fight the hate!!

[Blue Diadem]

31. They're taught to hate by their parents. My granddaughter came home and told me that 3 kids

came running up to her on the playground today and told her "Obama wants to kill us". She said they told her he was from that place where we are fighting the war and that he looks AA and wants to be President so he can kill Americans.

These are 9 yr old kids. My granddaughter said she tried to explain that Obama's Dad came from Kenya and his mom was from Kansas but she said they wouldn't let her talk.

I was right there with you being so pissed off I was shaking. How dare any parent terrorize their child to create racism and hate. Who would ever tell their children that Obama wants to kill them or Americans?

Good for your cousin and her son for standing up. If you talk to your cousin again, please tell her another Ohioan understands and is very proud of them for standing up.

[beachmom]

33. My niece had a button for Obama. She put it on her jacket & wore

it to school. By the end of the day it had been stolen.

[nannycee]

34. How old is he? I'm a teacher /Administrator..and...

....this is not to be tolerated. That school principal needs to call a staff meeting immediately and make sure teachers are on high alert! Please go to the Principal now! And, if necessary, the Superintendent! They can take proactive action without individual attention to any one person! But, you will need to bring it to their attention...forcefully!

[WoodrowFan]

38. 16

Hi, he's 16. I'll pass your suggestion (it's a great one) to my cousin.

[FLyellowdog]

35. Check for school district policies against harrassment.

[gmoney]

36. Ohio again? Why couldn't it be anyplace else?

I'm so ashamed of this state...

[WoodrowFan]

39. thanks

Thanks for all the suggestions. I would have responded earlier but have been away from my desk. I will pass on comments/suggestions, etc, to my cousin.

(and it's in Beavercreek Ohio, not sure exactly which high school)

[BlooInBloo]

40. It's scary the first time you hear it, but you get over it quickly.

[DrPresident]

42. Tell him that many years ago in the south, white people

who chose to sit down with blacks at lunch counters received the same treatment. They had food thrown on them, physically abused, etc. And they kept on sitting alongside their black brothers and sisters.

[TuxedoKat]

43. Good for him.

He is learning a valuable lesson in standing up to those bullies.

[bridgit]

45. I can only imagine the sick & twisted shit these little wannabe thugs are hearing at home...

:puke:

[Lilyeye]

46. Terrible!

I'm sorry your cousin's son had to be harassed by those little racist bastards. It's even sadder when young kids resort to those type of racist tactics. I'm 21 and have been seeing more people my age act like this lately. My friend's brother is 24 and is a nasty racist who pretty much learned all of his garbage from their father and grandfather. He listens to all of that right wing garbage and watches Fox News (yeah no shit). He pretty much kept his mouth shut in front of most people until this election started. My friend and I are constantly fighting with him, but even we don't even want to be around his hate anymore. It's pathetic and sad how these people have indoctrinated their young with this vicious hate. I can only hope that those kids will change their views if they were to ever get from under their hateful unbringings.

[barack the house]

47. He should just answer why would he not love black people is something more special about themselves>

than other humans who happen to be a different color.

[expatriate]

48. I grew up in Louisiana during the Civil Rights Era.

It was ugly - racism on both sides. Lots of calling of "nigger lover" from white racists. It was a hard time, and unfortunately, in some places, things haven't changed a great deal, particularly in homogenous communities where people don't come into much contact with people who aren't of the same race.

I will tell you that you must fight this. Support this young man and his parents, encourage them to do the right thing and contact the authorities. Start with the principal of his school. If no luck there, the school board. If threats are being made, the police. Things must be done according to the letter of the law, but to simply try to "ignore" what is happening or "rise above it" accomplishes nothing. People who think the way these kids have been taught to think are oblivious to moral superiority or reason. They live in a sweltering kettle of hatred and fear, and reasoning with them and ignoring them is wasted effort. They must know that the law and the authorities will not tolerate their behavior.

We had to do it in the 1960's and 1970's again and again. You had to stand up to the hatred and the cruelty and refuse to back down. You had to point it out that what was being done was wrong, against the law, and that you would continue to stand up and call upon the powers that be until they stopped the harassment.

Will it reform the young men who are harassing him? Probably not. Only they can open their minds to see beyond the ignorance and hate - but like all bullies, they will back down if they are shown, repeatedly, that they will not be allowed to do what they're doing.

Your young cousin cannot learn younger that it is things like this that let you know who your true friends are. He also cannot learn younger that sometimes you simply can't ignore things away or get people to play fair when they're determined not to do so.