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she has risen O_O
Jul. 8th, 2003 09:39 pmyeah, it's been awhile. . . if anyone actually reads this, "best kept secret" (the epilogue to "skirt") is in a rut, waiting for me to pull it out. which i shall, i promise you. don't worry. i've been rethinking where i want to take the "moody" series. and in case anyone really cares except for me, i'm considering venturing into the crowded world of harry potter to spit out some harry/draco fics to sate my appetite for slash, which i've always loved <3
anyway, i'm *still* thinking about a contest; it depends, i suppose, on how much money i have to contribute to it. . .
oh, and unless anyone is interested in seeing my very sloppy prewriting for the rough draft of my first paper, this is where the entry ends and the prewriting is posted, more for myself than anyone who cares. however, it's there, so you're welcome to read/comment/other junk.
*prewriting, pre-editing*
if i may rant for a moment on segregated proms just to get my head together. . .
assuming that most of us have heard about the goings on of taylor county high school lately, i'm curious as to know their legitimate reasons for deciding to hold a separate, private, exclusive white prom the week before the integrated one took place. mind you, the year before, the only prom they had was an integrated prom; in fact, the first one they'd had in 30 years: since the 1970's separate proms, one for black students and one for white students, had been held.
the initial reaction of any upstanding citizen of america with a right head on his shoulders would understand and perceive this to be outright prejudice. i mean, the likelihood that the entire white school body would "just happen" to go to this dance while the entire black school body just happens to go to that dance. . . correct me if i'm wrong, but the probabilities are pretty slim. don't they have laws against the unfair treatment of people of different color/ethnicity/cultures?
yes, they do. however, it's out of the school's hands. meaning, they don't have anything to do with it. the proms are sponsored by the students and their parents: funding is raised through ticket sales for the place, the punch, the dj, you name it. pretty much the only role the school plays that has remotely anything to do with the annual prom(s) is present the writers of the invitations with an entire campus of students to extend an invite to. so, really, the school is in no position to tell them they can or can't invite blacks/whites/jews/asians/left-handed writers. if the students & parents don't want to invite them, that's their business, as these proms are private functions and not subject to school rules and regulations.
ok, so that MAY be true: that seeing as how the proms are private that they are not subject to the law and henceforth not illegal. and after all, there are a number of clubs and organizations that extend their invitation to an exclusive group of people. sororities and fraternities are made up of indian only members, asian only members, hispanic only members, and nobody's up in a tizzy over that. so what's the big deal with private segregated proms?
the big deal is that prom isn't a club you meet with in the library every second tuesday of the month; it's an event. an event that only comes around once a year. sure, it may not be illegal, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's ethically right. same thing for smaller get togethers or parties: if one white person holds a party and decides not to invite any black guests, they're certainly free to do that, but that doesn't make him right. if one was not invited to a party because their skin didn't look like the host's, wouldn't that uninvited guest immediately label this action as some form of racial discrimination, which, in and of itself, is inherently wrong in the eyes of the public?
and that there's just one person. gather up an entire school body of people--or, rather, entire white school body--that excludes non-whites from attending a private prom, and this is racial discrimination occurring on a much larger scale.
white students who attended the separate, exclusive prom argued that two proms was "just the way it has always been, a tradition."*** well, way back in the day, students used to get paddled for smoking in bathrooms or starting food fights. THAT was tradition, and, strangely enough, there aren't any hordes of students suddenly vouching for a return to "traditional" school punishment. nowadays that would qualify as child abuse. besides, just because something is a tradition doesn't imply that it's right.
another white student reportedly said to the press upon arriving at the prom that it wasn't racist because "there (were) going to be black people catering there."*** all that can really be said about that particular student's comment is that it's intrinsically ridiculous and shows that it's no wonder they decided to hold a separate white prom in the first place.
the school's argument for even starting the segregated prom "tradition" back in the 1970's is equally bizarre:
***"According to a writer from the Associated Press, 'they wanted to avoid problems arising from interracial dating.'"***
considering the atmosphere regarding this touchy subject thirty years ago, it comes across as fairly legitimate. however, it was implemented THIRTY YEARS AGO. the times have clearly changed since then. as cited (rather cynically) in Hofstetter's article, "Halle Berry, Lenny Kravitz, and Tiger Woods arose from interracial dating, and I don't see much of a problem with any of them."
anyway, i'm *still* thinking about a contest; it depends, i suppose, on how much money i have to contribute to it. . .
oh, and unless anyone is interested in seeing my very sloppy prewriting for the rough draft of my first paper, this is where the entry ends and the prewriting is posted, more for myself than anyone who cares. however, it's there, so you're welcome to read/comment/other junk.
*prewriting, pre-editing*
if i may rant for a moment on segregated proms just to get my head together. . .
assuming that most of us have heard about the goings on of taylor county high school lately, i'm curious as to know their legitimate reasons for deciding to hold a separate, private, exclusive white prom the week before the integrated one took place. mind you, the year before, the only prom they had was an integrated prom; in fact, the first one they'd had in 30 years: since the 1970's separate proms, one for black students and one for white students, had been held.
the initial reaction of any upstanding citizen of america with a right head on his shoulders would understand and perceive this to be outright prejudice. i mean, the likelihood that the entire white school body would "just happen" to go to this dance while the entire black school body just happens to go to that dance. . . correct me if i'm wrong, but the probabilities are pretty slim. don't they have laws against the unfair treatment of people of different color/ethnicity/cultures?
yes, they do. however, it's out of the school's hands. meaning, they don't have anything to do with it. the proms are sponsored by the students and their parents: funding is raised through ticket sales for the place, the punch, the dj, you name it. pretty much the only role the school plays that has remotely anything to do with the annual prom(s) is present the writers of the invitations with an entire campus of students to extend an invite to. so, really, the school is in no position to tell them they can or can't invite blacks/whites/jews/asians/left-handed writers. if the students & parents don't want to invite them, that's their business, as these proms are private functions and not subject to school rules and regulations.
ok, so that MAY be true: that seeing as how the proms are private that they are not subject to the law and henceforth not illegal. and after all, there are a number of clubs and organizations that extend their invitation to an exclusive group of people. sororities and fraternities are made up of indian only members, asian only members, hispanic only members, and nobody's up in a tizzy over that. so what's the big deal with private segregated proms?
the big deal is that prom isn't a club you meet with in the library every second tuesday of the month; it's an event. an event that only comes around once a year. sure, it may not be illegal, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's ethically right. same thing for smaller get togethers or parties: if one white person holds a party and decides not to invite any black guests, they're certainly free to do that, but that doesn't make him right. if one was not invited to a party because their skin didn't look like the host's, wouldn't that uninvited guest immediately label this action as some form of racial discrimination, which, in and of itself, is inherently wrong in the eyes of the public?
and that there's just one person. gather up an entire school body of people--or, rather, entire white school body--that excludes non-whites from attending a private prom, and this is racial discrimination occurring on a much larger scale.
white students who attended the separate, exclusive prom argued that two proms was "just the way it has always been, a tradition."*** well, way back in the day, students used to get paddled for smoking in bathrooms or starting food fights. THAT was tradition, and, strangely enough, there aren't any hordes of students suddenly vouching for a return to "traditional" school punishment. nowadays that would qualify as child abuse. besides, just because something is a tradition doesn't imply that it's right.
another white student reportedly said to the press upon arriving at the prom that it wasn't racist because "there (were) going to be black people catering there."*** all that can really be said about that particular student's comment is that it's intrinsically ridiculous and shows that it's no wonder they decided to hold a separate white prom in the first place.
the school's argument for even starting the segregated prom "tradition" back in the 1970's is equally bizarre:
***"According to a writer from the Associated Press, 'they wanted to avoid problems arising from interracial dating.'"***
considering the atmosphere regarding this touchy subject thirty years ago, it comes across as fairly legitimate. however, it was implemented THIRTY YEARS AGO. the times have clearly changed since then. as cited (rather cynically) in Hofstetter's article, "Halle Berry, Lenny Kravitz, and Tiger Woods arose from interracial dating, and I don't see much of a problem with any of them."
