Written originally by the Times Ron Matus and Jamal Thalji, and now with helpful additions by Jack.
Pinellas School Board chairwoman Janet Clark is coming under fire for using the term “hoodlums” to describe a small group of chronically disruptive students aka Crips, Bloods, etc., in county schools.
Board members Mary Brown and Linda Lerner criticized Clark at Tuesday night’s board meeting because they feel her use of the word “hoodlum” may offend the delicate sensibilities of these youths, many of whom have long rap sheets for rape, robbery homicide and carjacking. And now Ray Tampa, president of the St. Petersburg branch of the NAACP, said Clark’s refusal to apologize has made things worse! Uh, so now she’s the problem – not the thugs she rightly called hoodlums? Brilliant.
“I was disgusted with her response,” Tampa said Wednesday.
The International People’s Democratic Uhuru Movement — better known as the Uhurus — called for Clark to resign for the statement, which it viewed as racist. Clark is white. Tampa said he thought the comment was inappropriate, but not racist. In case you didn’t know the Uhurus are a organization of blacks, some might say racist blacks, that have far more in common with violent communist dictators than our founding fathers.
Tampa said he was considering filing a complaint against Clark, who has a teaching certificate, with the Florida Department of Education’s Office of Professional Practices, which handles complaints against teachers. Of course Tampa has no record of filing any complaints against the people committing felonies as gang-bangers, but then that might get him hurt, filing a complaint against a lady school teacher is fairly safe.
“The (teacher) code of ethics says you can’t embarrass kids or make disparaging remarks about kids,” he said. ( Barf alert, sorry comes a little late )
Clark made the comment at a board workshop last week in a wide-ranging discussion about chronically disruptive ( mostly black) students at John Hopkins Middle School and other Pinellas schools.
“So much time is taken up with addressing hoodlums, with kids who don’t want to be in school,” she said. She also said, “We are talking about a small number of children.”
Brown and Lerner weighed in Tuesday night.
“They might be disruptive. They might be in gangs. They might be many things, but they are not hoodlums,” (In gangs? Whaa? But they are to be called hoodlums?) That’s what Brown said. “I feel that that statement showed insensitivity to our children, and it certainly did not offer good guidance to our staff.”
“There are people upset out there about the comment, different kinds of people, including employees,” Lerner said. “We have to be careful as board members when we speak.” Because this is the new America and using a politically incorrect word, even accidentally, can have you fired and slandered for no good reason. The inmates are truly running the asylum.
Before the meeting, Clark said the statement had nothing to do with race. “I made no mention of race,” she said. “There are hoodlums of all races and colors and ethnic backgrounds. (again…for accuracy sake…they’re mostly black) ”
But Clark may have stepped into a situation where the same word conjures up different images, depending on who hears it.
It does not appear the origins of the word “hood-lum” have any ties to race or ethnicity. It is an adaptation of a German word that meant “ragamuffin” or “good for nothing,” said Michael Adams, an associate professor of English at Indiana University and author of the 2009 book, Slang: The People’s Poetry.
But the meanings of words can change, Adams said. Over time, “hoodlum” may have become a more racially identifiable word, in part because of the slang term “hood,” short for neighborhood, and also because hood and hoodlum began to be applied to African-American youths by white people, he said. And that is why, its all your fault… he thought.
“Hoodlum, when you look it up in the dictionary, doesn’t look so bad,” Adams said. But when people in the black community hear it, “they associate it with words and meanings other than (those from) 1871 or whenever it was the word first appeared in print.” See this is why people living in the projects are so careful with the words they use. They are well known for having a refined vocabulary and contributing so much to the English languarge. (Note to PC sticklers – do not take this to mean every single person living in a run down government housing project, thanks)
The professor said the case reminds him of the uproar from a 1999 incident when a Washington D.C., city official used the term “niggardly” to describe how he was managing budget cuts. It means “miserly,” but another employee took it as a racial slur. The employee apparently never owned a dictionary… And it’s your fault again, because if you had been more caring you would have purchased more dictionaries for the hood where black gangsters are so desperate to learn good English.
Said Adams: “What people hear always means something more than what a word may mean historically.” Or people only hear what they want to hear, i.e. black congressman accusing Tea Party people of using the N word.
At Tuesday’s meeting, Clark told board members that she knew people were upset, but would not apologize. (Note: Clark is still alive…for now)
“We can’t continue making excuses when children don’t behave and disrupt the educational environment for teachers and students,” she said. “That’s all I can say on that matter.” And what a judgemental and blunt statement it was, the woman should be, um, whats the word? Ah, I got it, she should be… promoted.
The next day, the Uhurus staged a small demonstration in St. Petersburg. Eight protesters stood in front of John Hopkins and chanted as classes let out Wednesday.
They took aim (literally as well as figuratively) at Clark, the school district and St. Petersburg police, who have arrested 84 John Hopkins students this school year — the most arrests by far in any city middle school.
“Janet Clark! Must Go!” they chanted. “School board! Must go!
“First they fail black children! Then they jail black children!”
The group’s president, Chimurenga Waller, said he blames the school’s troubles on the adults who run the school system, not the children who go there. “We don’t have a John Hopkins crisis,” he said. “We have a systematic crisis.” A systematic crisis? Hmmm… another person who needs an English dictionary.
Asked how he would describe the unruly students blamed for the daily fights and misconduct that has plagued John Hopkins this year, Waller declined to answer. He only knew one word that would accurately describe the situation and that word was hoodlum and he couldn’t say it.
Billie Blackshear, 64, whose nephew attends John Hopkins, said Clark’s word choice was impolite — but not inaccurate.
“At the time I thought it was wrong,” he said. “But it describes the kids who are doing this kind of stuff.”
And now some of the reader comments…
To: nobody
Should have come with a ‘Barf Alert’ .
This is complete with a ‘Peoples Democratic xxxx’ (Communists/Socialist) and PC run amok.
To: Daffynition
“Asked how he would describe the unruly students blamed for the daily fights and misconduct that has plagued John Hopkins this year, Waller declined to answer.”
I don’t know who asked Waller the question but whoever it was…..handed Waller’s bloody butt to him.
To: Sporaticus
Get used to it. I’ve given up ….We’re not going to be able to stem the tide of PCism unless there is a way to get rid of the ACLU and their ilk.
To: Daffynition
“The International People’s Democratic Uhuru Movement — better known as the Uhurus ”
They held a parade in Oakland to celebrate the killing of four Oakland police officers by a child-raping thug:
The International People’s Democratic Uhuru Movement (InPDUM) sponsored a march, rally, and vigil for Lovelle Mixon on Wednesday, March 25th. Lovelle Mixon’s mother, his wife, several of his brothers, and at least one cousin were present. Many people were upset with the all of the official sympathies expressed for the four police officers who died Saturday, while none was offered to the family of Lovelle Mixon
Screw ’em.
Some reader comments…
To: nobody
Should have come with a ‘Barf Alert’.
This is complete with a ‘Peoples Democratic xxxx’ (Communists/Socialist) and PC run amok.
To: Daffynition
“Asked how he would describe the unruly students blamed for the daily fights and misconduct that has plagued John Hopkins this year, Waller declined to answer.”
I don’t know who asked Waller the question but whoever it was…..handed Waller’s bloody butt to him.
To: Sporaticus
Get used to it. I’ve given up ….We’re not going to be able to stem the tide of PCism unless there is a way to get rid of the ACLU and their ilk.
To: Daffynition
“The International People’s Democratic Uhuru Movement — better known as the Uhurus ”
They held a parade in Oakland to celebrate the killing of four Oakland police officers by a child-raping thug:
The International People’s Democratic Uhuru Movement (InPDUM) sponsored a march, rally, and vigil for Lovelle Mixon on Wednesday, March 25th. Lovelle Mixon’s mother, his wife, several of his brothers, and at least one cousin were present. Many people were upset with the all of the official sympathies expressed for the four police officers who died Saturday, while none was offered to the family of Lovelle Mixon
Screw ’em.