  Zulu_warrior Member Username: Zulu_warrior Post Number: 2717 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 152.163.100.8 |
Teacher Upset After Photo Incident By Peggy Agar Web produced by Sarah Morgan April 7, 2006 Fifteen minutes of fame turned into weeks of pain for a teacher who was honored by a national magazine for her work in a local school. Huron High School teacher Lauretta Flowers was the only teacher in the country to be in Parade Magazine’s salary issue. When another teacher clipped her photo from inside the magazine and pasted in on the front page next to King Kong she was humiliated. The teacher said he wanted to showcase Flowers and wasn’t trying to be racist. William Hampton, Ann Arbor NAACP, said, "I think in the year 2006, anybody who doesn’t know that were have historically been compared to apes to gorillas and to monkeys has had their head in the sand some place." Flowers was also upset because after she complained, it took five days for the principal to respond. Deputy Superintendent Bob Garardi said, "He attempted to investigate it; whether that was sufficient or not for her." Garardi said he has recommended discipline for the other teacher, but the district has yet to decide what that should be. After 25 years with the district, Flowers is so upset, she said she can’t return to school. The NAACP is now involved in the matter. http://www.wxyztv.com/wxyz/nw_ local_news/article/0,2132,WXYZ _15924_4604699,00.html | ||
Tndetroiter Member Username: Tndetroiter Post Number: 42 Registered: 12-2005 Posted From: 149.149.5.5 |
Sounds like the guy was pasting the picture on the cover to identify what publication Ms. Flowers appeared in and it just so happened that King Kong was on the cover. Sounds like a big to do about nothing to me. Seems like people are just itching to find something they can whine about and jump on it these days. | ||
The_aram Member Username: The_aram Post Number: 4772 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 141.213.175.233 |
Good to see she's putting the children first in a situation that isn't all that she claims it to be. The race card, played again. How long before people figure out that calling everything "racist" is going to detract attention from things that actually are? | ||
Hornwrecker Member Username: Hornwrecker Post Number: 1021 Registered: 04-2005 Posted From: 66.2.148.21 |
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321brian Member Username: 321brian Post Number: 107 Registered: 02-2006 Posted From: 68.62.6.147 |
Poorly written article. Who knows what the other teacher was trying to do? | ||
Lmichigan Member Username: Lmichigan Post Number: 3501 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 67.172.95.197 |
Am I the only one badly confused? | ||
321brian Member Username: 321brian Post Number: 109 Registered: 02-2006 Posted From: 68.62.6.147 |
My impression is that she wasn't on the cover but was only mentioned and pictured in the article. Another teacher at her school cut and pasted her photo on the cover next to Kong. Poorly written. Probably better to watch if your computer allows. Mined does not. | ||
Lmichigan Member Username: Lmichigan Post Number: 3502 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 67.172.95.197 |
Thanks. If that's the case, this sounds like a classic case of overreaction. We really must start picking our battles better. If we don't, we end up looking the boy who called wolf, and then it becomes a question of our own credibility. (Message edited by lmichigan on April 08, 2006) | ||
321brian Member Username: 321brian Post Number: 110 Registered: 02-2006 Posted From: 68.62.6.147 |
I think King Kong was already on the cover. It would seem to me that the teacher was just working from left to right and pasted her picture on the top left. Who knows if Ms. Flowers had had issues with others at the school in the past? Maybe there is a history, but I would think if there was it would have been discussed in the article. She may just be a little too sensitive and that other teacher may not be too funny. | ||
Lmichigan Member Username: Lmichigan Post Number: 3504 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 67.172.95.197 |
Yeah, there isn't much here to judge from, except the little bit you can judge at face value. This still reekes of a slow news day, even if it turns out that the two share a storied past. I guess it may be because a cop recently shot himself, here, in my town, and gave a detailed description of a Black man, that didn't exist. Turns out the officer shot himself in the arm. They had an entire neighborhood locked down for hours. I guess I'm just use to the less ambiguous claims. (Message edited by lmichigan on April 08, 2006) | ||
Noggin Member Username: Noggin Post Number: 59 Registered: 09-2004 Posted From: 69.241.253.36 |
King Kong was at the top of the page and Ms. Flowers was at the bottom of the page not next to it as reported. She was so upset she could not go to school? This overeaction is so plain you can just smell the money coming from this lawsuit. | ||
Shark Member Username: Shark Post Number: 206 Registered: 12-2003 Posted From: 65.43.37.8 |
If you watch the newsreport is is obvious that the teacher's picture was on the inside of the magazine. The other teacher cut it out and put it on the front cover. One could *assume* that he pasted it over the first picture on the cover. The second picture is of King Kong. How is that comparison? Or maybe it was posted over someone elses picture on the cover, who cares? There are two other African Americans who share the cover with Kong, are they traumatized too? It will take some balls for a teacher who was in a national magazine for earning $75K to sue a school district, if that is what she plans on doing. | ||
321brian Member Username: 321brian Post Number: 113 Registered: 02-2006 Posted From: 68.62.6.147 |
Like I said I couldn't get the video to work. I was just assuming that she was actually next to Kong. She has even less beef if shes not next to him. But, she has to have something to do all summer vacation instead of just collecting a paycheck. | ||
Miss_cleo Member Username: Miss_cleo Post Number: 152 Registered: 05-2005 Posted From: 69.47.85.139 |
Build a bridge and get over it damn whiners, this country will never be right til blacks stop crying racist at every turn. *yawn* I am sick of it! | ||
Hooha Member Username: Hooha Post Number: 105 Registered: 06-2005 Posted From: 69.81.52.28 |
I really wish they would show it, or at least indicate how the picture was arranged. To be one of all of the little wallet-sized photos on the cover, I don't see how you could draw a direct comparison. If he had pasted her picture on top of Kong's, so that it said "King Kong" beneath her picture, I could see her getting angry. | ||
Hysteria Member Username: Hysteria Post Number: 39 Registered: 02-2006 Posted From: 152.163.100.8 |
Another case of making mountains out of mole hills. Give it up ... | ||
Rjk Member Username: Rjk Post Number: 274 Registered: 11-2003 Posted From: 68.41.145.5 |
According to an article in the Ann Arbor News she's seeing a counselor as part of her effort to recover from the emotional trauma she’s suffered. | ||
English Member Username: English Post Number: 499 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 69.221.68.219 |
From my understanding, the teacher *was* on the front cover of the magazine, but on the bottom row of it. Her colleague allegedly cut her picture out of the bottom row, and pasted it at the top, over the picture of Alicia Keys, next to King Kong, without a note of explanation. It seems odd that a woman who has worked in a district for 25 years is only now "whining and complaining and playing the race card." We in the district heard about this long before you did. The teacher's reputation is impeccable--trust me, incompetent and/or whining black teachers do NOT survive in the suburbs. They disappear within a few weeks of the first complaints. If this woman could withstand two and a half decades of what I've dealt with in just one school year, why this now? What I laugh bitterly about is this. People tell African Americans to work hard, assimiliate, and pretend as if this is a colorblind society. I did that, and when I first joined this forum, that was my belief about the world. But your inner beliefs can only go so far. One may believe he or she is a bird, a butterfly, or a stapler, but the actual conditions of one's existence are inescapable. So we run into others' conception of ourselves. MOST of the time, we remain silent. When incredible things come out of the mouths of my colleagues and my students, I don't say a word--just talk about them behind their backs to people who understand (other black teachers, family, friends of all races). Because when we *do* dare to protest any outrages, people think we're whiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiining. What amnesia we Americans have! A generation ago, Martin, Malcolm, Rosa, and Coretta were seen as whiiiiiiiiiners too. Revisionist history now has the majority throwing them into our faces. "See how nobly they endured! Why can't YOU be more like them?" Such a comment reveals abject ignorance of their life, their works, and the contemporary response to both. Also, what one black person does has consequences for us all. If Cynthia McKinney is a fool, then obviously, this woman in our district is a fool too. If Tawana Brawley lied about being raped damn near 20 years ago, then gosh, that young sister who was allegedly raped by the Duke lacrosse team is a lying wonder too! Part of white skin privilege and entitlement is the freedom to be an individual, judged by one's own talents, merits, character, etc. Part and parcel of being black or brown is having the burden to continuously prove yourself--perpetually guilty until proven innocent. Suggested reading on this topic is Harvard professor Mica Pollack's groundbreaking *Colormute: Race Talk Dilemmas in an American High School*. Or Georgia State University professor Lisa Delpit's *Other People's Children: Cultural Conflict in the Classroom*. Do some reading, and then get on your soapbox. Or come into my classroom, and sit for a spell with my student teachers and Michigan researcher, all of them white, all of them who have corroborated my experience. This district is undergoing a tremendous amount of racial and class stress this school year. (If I shared, you wouldn't believe me, or you'd just explain it away, so don't ask. Or should I have some of my *white* colleagues post to verify it for you?) Here's the bottom line: the percentage of non-Hispanic whites in the school system is trending towards two-thirds. and education researchers and sociologists have much to say about the anxiety and hysteria that even the most well-meaning and liberal whites undergo when this happens. Poor things! Forumers are forever pontificating about what they don't know anything about. That would be like me commenting on the auto industry, or the inner workings of the Super Bowl, or Detroit development/building permits through 2010. And it burns many of us up when people who do not share our collective experience disbelieve what we have to say until they are presented with irrefutable evidence. We would be less than human if we did not loathe and despise people like this. (Message edited by English on April 08, 2006) | ||
321brian Member Username: 321brian Post Number: 118 Registered: 02-2006 Posted From: 68.62.6.147 |
Qoute "Part of white skin privilege and entitlement is the freedom to be an individual, judged by one's own talents, merits, character, etc." Unless that privilege is taken away from you when applying for admission to, or a job at an institution that gives extra merit to persons of a minority. You said you don't want forumers pontificating about what they don't know anything about and you just did. What do you know about white privilege? I'm white. What privilges have I had? | ||
Hysteria Member Username: Hysteria Post Number: 41 Registered: 02-2006 Posted From: 205.188.116.137 |
WHO gives a fu _ _ if this lady's picture was pasted next to King Kong. What if she was pasted next to Martin Luther King, Jr. - she would say she was pasted next to him because she was black. If she was pasted next to Hillary Clinton she would say that people just 'assumed' she was a Democrat ... blah blah blah ... It gets SO old after a while. | ||
321brian Member Username: 321brian Post Number: 120 Registered: 02-2006 Posted From: 68.62.6.147 |
I'm waiting for the lawsuit from Alicia Keys. | ||
Shark Member Username: Shark Post Number: 208 Registered: 12-2003 Posted From: 68.255.80.60 |
If you check out the photo and video from the news story, it seems like she is not on the cover in the first place. | ||
Hysteria Member Username: Hysteria Post Number: 42 Registered: 02-2006 Posted From: 205.188.116.137 |
Oh no ! So, she was really exploited ! The shame, my God, the shame !!! | ||
Romanized Member Username: Romanized Post Number: 207 Registered: 02-2005 Posted From: 71.4.97.70 |
321brian, "What do you know about white privilege?" A hell of a lot more than your dumbass. You told on yourself with your admissions diatribe. Outside a scant few of colleges and government program, affirmative action doesn't exist. Quite they opposite exist. Yet Rush can whip you and they rest of the mouth-breathing hillbillies into a collective hissyfit over some bullsh*t. So what do you know about being black in this country? Answer: Not damn thing. | ||
Rberlin Member Username: Rberlin Post Number: 475 Registered: 06-2005 Posted From: 65.43.45.201 |
For the most part the kind of discrimination you're talking about doesn't exist anymore. Granted there's still the die hard Klan/Nazi types, but honestly, how often do you see these types of men in any kind of leadership position. Hell, how often do you see them with a job of any kind? You don't, they either live off the government, or end up in jail. In fact most white people are so afraid of being called a racist that they will put up with a lot more crap from a minority than a white person could get away with. Most white people are also constantly over cautious around black people because they're always afraid of something like the article happening. I'm speaking of course, from my own personal experiences and making a lot of generalizations. The vast majority of the injustice against blacks isn't based on their ethnicity but their place in society. Many blacks suffer from higher rates of poverty and the problems stemming from poverty because that is what they were born into and most people stay in the same income bracket as their parents. I guess it's hard to expect any kind of meaningful advances when, instead of confronting the true causes of social inequity, we pay more attention to, what seems to me at least, a harmless mistake that only someone obsessed with racism would notice. | ||
Hysteria Member Username: Hysteria Post Number: 44 Registered: 02-2006 Posted From: 64.12.116.204 |
Rberlin, Very well said. I agree. | ||
Neilr Member Username: Neilr Post Number: 229 Registered: 06-2005 Posted From: 69.242.218.76 |
Brian321, in your post #118 you asked, "I'm white. What privilege do I have?" I believe that you were asking a serious question, so I'll try to give you a serious answer. A number of months ago, Rasputin cited this article by Dr. Peggy McIntosh from Wellesley College on the topic. When reading the article, I was not threatened nor were my accomplishments and hard work degraded. I recommend the article to you. If you have the time and desire to do so, please share your reactions. http://72.14.203.104/search?q= cache:WsRQNV9U0sAJ:www.case.ed u/president/aaction/UnpackingT heKnapsack.pdf+%22white+privil ege%22&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd= 9&ie=UTF-8 As a tangent to this topic, the issue of heterosexual privilege is being discussed on the gay bashing thread. | ||
Hysteria Member Username: Hysteria Post Number: 45 Registered: 02-2006 Posted From: 152.163.100.8 |
And we're supposed to believe that? It'd be like attending a trial and hearing only the prosecuting side speak and provide evidence. Whatever ! Duh! | ||
321brian Member Username: 321brian Post Number: 122 Registered: 02-2006 Posted From: 68.62.6.147 |
Romanized, Never said I knew anything about being black. Just tired of being blamed for every thing that doesn't go a black persons way. If affirmative action hardly exists why are people fighting so hard to keep the initative to repeal it off the ballot? I know this about being white: I didn't get any help because of it. I also know your going to say that I did. Now you start with name calling "mouth-breathing hillbillies". I know this about being black. You don't like being calld names but you don't mind throwing around ones like that at others. I know Rberlin is right on. Neilr, I think the article is one persons opinion and looks like something that would be on the back page of the New Your Times Magazine. Not a single fact or example to be found. All I can speak from is my personal experience. From that I know for a FACT that I have not advanced just because I am white. I believe just the opposite. I believe certain doors have been shut for me because I am a white male. All things being equal I'm not getting hired over any minority. | ||
Hysteria Member Username: Hysteria Post Number: 46 Registered: 02-2006 Posted From: 152.163.100.8 |
Romanized: "So what do you know about being black in this country? " "Answer: Not damn thing." _________________________ What if a black 'person' pasted the teacher's picture next to King Kong ... OMF'nG ... Not an issue anymore. Quit blaming people for stupid things that mean absolutely nothing to those not looking to label others as racists. | ||
Angry_dad Member Username: Angry_dad Post Number: 45 Registered: 02-2006 Posted From: 71.227.48.51 |
What would apes being saying if Kong's picture was the one covered up? | ||
Swingline Member Username: Swingline Post Number: 440 Registered: 11-2003 Posted From: 172.130.122.157 |
English, I find everything you say in the last nine paragraphs of your post above as perceptive and spot on. But I think that you avoided the more difficult issue. That is, was the teacher's reaction reasonable? Certainly there may be more to the story than reported by WXYZ. Local television news outlets rarely provide a full and complete report of any story that possesses any degree of nuance. But what is clear from the report is that the teacher's "wallet" picture was taken from the inside of the magazine and placed on the cover with over 20 other "wallet" pictures of other individuals, some famous and some not. Her picture was placed over that of Alicia Keys, another African American. Her picture was placed next to King Kong the movie character. The story reports no editorial comment made by the white teacher in the course of placing the picture next to King Kong. There is no report indicating an intent to make any kind of direct comparison between the black teacher and King Kong. So, where is the line? The line may not be blindingly bright, but I think some determinations can be made. For example, is it inappropriate for a station to send a black reporter to report on the opening of a new ape exhibit at the local zoo? Is it inappropriate for a black reporter to report on research involving monkeys? Was it inappropriate to use black actors in the movie Gorillas in the Mist? I sincerely believe that the answer to these questions is no. Would most black folks disagree? Maybe. And maybe a closer question might involve something like that very funny Monster.com commercial where the young white guy is working in an office full of chimpanzees and needs to find a new job. If the guy was black, would that cross the line? Also, would it make a difference if the picture had been of a person of mixed race with some Caucasian facial features a lighter complexion? What does Sharon McPhail think? Yes, there has to be sensitivity to the ape comparison matter but I don't think that the standard has become that persons of black African ethnicity are to be shielded or excluded from everything having to do with apes. For however little it's worth, had I, a white guy, seen the cover with 20 pictures on it and the black teacher's picture next to King Kong's picture, I would have been completely oblivious to an issue of racial insensitivity. If I'm just plain wrong, I suppose that I can accept that. I certainly learned from the recent flap over the Dutch cartoon depictions of Mohammed. However, I haven't yet seen a standard articulated that justifies the teacher's reaction (although a shotgun blast from Rasputin should be coming anytime soon that advises me that I'm not entitled to any kind of justfication). So, English, thank you for sharing your views. But if the extent of the story is that the white teacher had no hidden agenda in putting his colleague's picture on the cover next to King Kong, I do wonder if you believe that the African-American teacher's reaction was reasonable. (While I may be interested in your response, I understand that you don't owe me any kind of a answer.) (Message edited by swingline on April 09, 2006) | ||
Opus Member Username: Opus Post Number: 18 Registered: 08-2005 Posted From: 72.241.50.213 |
So is Alicia Keyes (sp?) going to sue Parade for placing her next to King Kong? I mean she is of mixed racial parentage, but still she is of African American descent. There is something else behind this, it will come out sooner or later. This teacher is using this to accomplish some agenda item, we just don't know what it is right now. | ||
Rasputin Member Username: Rasputin Post Number: 3587 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 152.163.100.8 |
Black-atcha ..... just luvs litigation. It's the Amerikkkan way! | ||
Ray Member Username: Ray Post Number: 664 Registered: 06-2004 Posted From: 69.209.169.47 |
Why did the teacher cut out the picture, though? It is strange. Why didn't she just leave the cover page as is? | ||
Southwestmap Member Username: Southwestmap Post Number: 450 Registered: 01-2005 Posted From: 64.79.90.206 |
I think its funny that the teacher is described as being "honored" by the appearance in Parade Magazine's "salary" issue. What was the "honor"? She simply appeared in a survey of what various people in various professions make. By the way, she was happy to share with the world that she makes $78,000 annually. For providing this little insight into her private affairs, she is "honored" and then devastated? | ||
623kraw Member Username: 623kraw Post Number: 887 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 68.41.224.200 |
I am still not getting this, and as 321Brian said, it is a poorly written article.
After this event, what happened next? How was the alleged altered magazine displayed? Where is it now? OK, the pic was cut and pasted and displayed to whom? Just Lauretta Flowers? The kids? The media? The world? WTF? Too many grey areas in this story. More details, PLEASE! The video doesn't even begin to tell the tale, either. (Message edited by 623kraw on April 11, 2006) (Message edited by 623kraw on April 11, 2006) | ||
Gambling_man Member Username: Gambling_man Post Number: 696 Registered: 11-2003 Posted From: 199.178.193.5 |
In the immmortal words of Charlton himself, Get Your Stinkin' Paws off me you Damned....Dirty....Ape! | ||
Perfectgentleman Member Username: Perfectgentleman Post Number: 34 Registered: 03-2006 Posted From: 67.63.232.195 |
The story clearly states that her picture was taken from the inside of the magazine and pasted on the front cover, in the first spot. Either way, it seems that whoever did it was merely trying to ensure that anyone viewing the page would be sure to see the teacher's picture by putting in the most prominent spot. It isn't as if the person took the King Kong pic out of nowhere and placed next to hers, it was already there. The story is incomplete, probably because a story about racism plays better than one about an unfortunate, unintended gaff by someone who was probably trying to pay homage to a fellow teacher, not compare her to an ape. I can imagine all of the "teasers" they were able to milk out of this story. I find it hard to believe that a teacher in Ann Arbor of all places would go out of their way to ridicule a fellow teacher in a racial manner, even if they had some latent racist feelings or dislike for her. You would have to be an idiot to do that and jeopardize you job. On the other hand, I have met quite a few teachers who are idiots, but most of them are VERY politically correct. | ||
Track75 Member Username: Track75 Post Number: 2289 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 12.75.21.210 |
Here's the cover.  I can't make out the caption for the black woman in the bottom row, it that her, English? If so, there's no good reason to move her photo up to the top row next to King Kong. If that's what happened then I guess racism could be the reason but it would be IMWO (in my white opinion) a pretty obtuse statement of racism. There were already two photos next to Kong. Do either of those people suffer from the proximity. I don't think so, but others may be more sensitive to it, rightly or wrongly. On the other hand, if the photo was originally inside the magazine this is much ado about nothing. | ||
Rjk Member Username: Rjk Post Number: 280 Registered: 11-2003 Posted From: 68.41.145.5 |
"On the other hand, if the photo was originally inside the magazine this is much ado about nothing." The article above states that this is the case. | ||
Track75 Member Username: Track75 Post Number: 2290 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 12.75.21.210 |
Indeed it does but I've read too many factually incorrect accounts in the media to just assume they have it correct, hence my question to English who has reason to believe the teacher's photo is on the cover. | ||
Gumby Member Username: Gumby Post Number: 1076 Registered: 11-2003 Posted From: 68.60.143.186 |
From what can be made out of the poorly written article the lady's picture was inside of the magazine and was not on the cover. This is yet another case of overreaction. These false acusations of racism (this one, the Condi Rice one, and that congress woman one) only take away from the impact of the true ones (which do happen way to often). It is pretty obvious these people need to read about the little boy who cried wolf. | ||
Swingline Member Username: Swingline Post Number: 450 Registered: 11-2003 Posted From: 172.151.166.68 |
Gumby, there may have been an overreaction, but your "little boy who cried wolf" reference disrespects the problem of the presence of racial and cultural insensitivity in the workplace. | ||
Swingline Member Username: Swingline Post Number: 451 Registered: 11-2003 Posted From: 172.151.166.68 |
The Ann Arbor News has a more thorough story than WXYZ:
I still confess to not understanding the extent of Ms. Flowers' humiliation. It just seems like there must be something more to this story. Also, unless the white teacher, Mr. Eldon (who wrote an apology) did something in response to her complaint like say "fuck off bitch," I don't see how he can face discipline. | ||
Perfectgentleman Member Username: Perfectgentleman Post Number: 36 Registered: 03-2006 Posted From: 71.227.26.9 |
Well, an apology and explanation is not good enough. I guess the white teacher should be condemned for insensitivity and then killed. This shit about clipping pictures from magazines and pasting them in the wrong spot has gone on long enough! Maybe I am nuts, but why didn't the teacher who was offended tear the damn thing down herself and bring it to the dude and say "Hey, I don't appreciate this!" Does every f*ckin' little dispute have to turn into a news story and legal action? Unfortunately, this only makes communicating with another person who happens to be of a different background or race a nerve-racking experience. People avoid making those connections for fear that they may say the wrong thing or offend someone. Even well-meaning gestures can now result in ruining your career or being humiliated as a result of being labeled a racist. We are all doomed... | ||
623kraw Member Username: 623kraw Post Number: 888 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 68.41.224.200 |
Why would King Kong be on the cover anyway? | ||
Gumby Member Username: Gumby Post Number: 1078 Registered: 11-2003 Posted From: 68.60.143.186 |
How does my reference to the little boy who cried wolf disrespect the problem of the presence of racial and cultural insensitivity in the workplace? My assertation is that all these false accusations (crying wolf) disrespcts the problem of the presence of racial and cultural insensitivity in the workplace. By crying wolf all the time people start to say "here we go again" and doubting the accusations from the get go. |
