I have some personal experience with a similar situation, where a few years ago a Philadelphia kid stayed at my parents house for several months, because with a little help he left north Philly public schools to go a private school in the burbs. He was a light-skinned black kid, who was repeatedly given crap at school for 'acting white' (aka getting good grades), and was literally jumped at a school ceremony once when he received an academic award.
It's a crazy world we live in.
I can only imagine what it's like to see your son go through it.
It is sad. My father is black and my mom is a white women of Irish decent. They are 85 years old and have been married 66 years. I know my father has seen and delt with worse,but I'm damn sure he didn't think his grandson would have to deal with it from other blacks in 2008.
My wife's mother was Jamaican and her father was from Perth Australia. Our family is a melting pot. Dom should not have to be ashamed or ridiculed for his family tree. It's a shame in a year our country has elected it's first black/bi-racial President some of the same people that helped get him elected choose to mess with my son over his race and feelings about politics and such.
I'm listening to the podcast right now. Dominic sounds just like the thoughtful, well-spoken young man that he is. You sound like the functionally illiterate fool that you are.
Seriously, you and Carol should be very proud of Dom. To hear an eighth-grade talk so rationally and intelligently, and without saying "like" every other word, is quite a compliment to both of you.
But why did you have to unveil Dom's Sinatra fetish on the air?
Hang in there. Good luck in the fight against the school.
Take care,
PK
Thanks man. At times like this I really dig on the fact I have friends on this forum. Most of my military friends are dead or trying to get killed. It feels good to vent a bit with my cyber buds.
Dom started digging on Sinatra when he watched a movie marathon with my dad a few years back. He thinks Frank was one of the coolest guy's ever. It doesn't hurt that he also found out Franks had millions of women at his beck and call.
Don't take this personally. Why didn't you take this up with administration after the 1st incident. Most school districts have rules against politics. Most have a zero tolerance policy like they do knives and guns. The zero tolerance is towards kids but also teachers.
Even if you were pro-Obama and you found out your kid was doing pro-Obama stuff...that would make me call the Principle or higher ups. Now if the music teacher said, kids are supposed to make a commander-in-chief song and that happened to be Obama that would be a bit different. But that definitely wasn't the case here.
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Your family sounds like a very cool combination and it truly sucks that your son has been put in this situation. The kids who start stuff with him must really be extra stupid since they seem to end up getting their ass kicked. Of course, it's not surprising that there are kids who would act that badly, it's the bullshit attitude of the teacher that's shocking.
Don't take this personally. Why didn't you take this up with administration after the 1st incident. Most school districts have rules against politics. Most have a zero tolerance policy like they do knives and guns. The zero tolerance is towards kids but also teachers.
Even if you were pro-Obama and you found out your kid was doing pro-Obama stuff...that would make me call the Principle or higher ups. Now if the music teacher said, kids are supposed to make a commander-in-chief song and that happened to be Obama that would be a bit different. But that definitely wasn't the case here.
We have taken it up with the administration many times. We are active parents in the PTA and most school fuctions. The union protects the teachers. It is what it is these days.
JD, you know what's even stranger about these stories? Obama is of mixed race himself. How much more ignorant can these kids (and teacher) be?
Stay strong man. Sounds like you and your family are the ones with their heads on straight. Don't let anything anyone else says ever change what you believe in. You've always got plenty of support here.
matthewk wrote:JD, you know what's even stranger about these stories? Obama is of mixed race himself. How much more ignorant can these kids (and teacher) be?
Stay strong man. Sounds like you and your family are the ones with their heads on straight. Don't let anything anyone else says ever change what you believe in. You've always got plenty of support here.
JackDog wrote:[ Dom should not have to be ashamed or ridiculed for his family tree.
Well maybe nothing except the Irish part.
Jack,
It sounds like you've done a hell of a good job raising Dom. It takes some maturity for a kid his age to succeed in school, have opinions and be willing to defend them. He's lucky to have you and Carol as parents.
As shitty as it is for him to have to go through all this, he's lucky in a perverse way. He's clearly intelligent enough to understand what's going on and why, and that will certainly give him greater wisdom and insight into not only racial tension but human nature in general. That's certainly scant consolation, but it will make him a special adult in the long run.
You have a PM regarding your legal situation.
XBL Gamertag: RobVarak
"Ok I'm an elitist, but I have a healthy respect for people who don't measure up." --Aaron Sorkin
Feanor wrote:Your family sounds like a very cool combination and it truly sucks that your son has been put in this situation. The kids who start stuff with him must really be extra stupid since they seem to end up getting their ass kicked. Of course, it's not surprising that there are kids who would act that badly, it's the bullshit attitude of the teacher that's shocking.
Thanks man. The teachers actions have us fuming. The two words that describe why he can do what he did are Tenure and Union. Sad stuff man.
JackDog wrote:[ Dom should not have to be ashamed or ridiculed for his family tree.
Well maybe nothing except the Irish part.
Jack,
It sounds like you've done a hell of a good job raising Dom. It takes some maturity for a kid his age to succeed in school, have opinions and be willing to defend them.
Not to mention being able to hand out a good ass-whipping as needed...
I'm listening to the podcast right now. Dominic sounds just like the thoughtful, well-spoken young man that he is. You sound like the functionally illiterate fool that you are.
JackDog wrote:
I got one for you. Battlecreek Middle School in St Paul. Carol and I pulled Dominic out of the school yesterday for his own safety. He got into his third fight since September on Monday. He will be homeschooled online for the rest of his eighth grade year. It all stems from two things. Race and Politics............
Geeeeez Jack I dont know where to begin. For one, you should be VERY proud of your boy, who sticks to his principles regardless of very powerful peer pressure. You guys must have done a great job of raising him! Second, how the heck is this teacher even allowed to do a "campaign songs for Obama"...thing in the 1st place? And then all these fellow kids who are supporting Obama ONLY BECAUSE he's Black???
Sounds like your boy is the only one with a brain! It also sounds like this scumbag teacher is at the root of a lot of this problem. I don't blame you for pulling your kid out of that school. I hope they investigate this teacher who allows all this crap to go on. I am also proud of you for showing such restaint. It must be tough to control yourself when the well being of your son is at stake...although it sounds like he does a pretty good job himself
Good luck with that situation and hopefully you will be able to get Dom back in school again with better results. This kind of stuff shows what a how we still have a long ways to go.
Last edited by JackB1 on Fri Nov 14, 2008 5:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.
matthewk wrote:
Stay strong man. Sounds like you and your family are the ones with their heads on straight. Don't let anything anyone else says ever change what you believe in. You've always got plenty of support here.
JackDog wrote:
I got one for you. Battlecreek Middle School in St Paul. Carol and I pulled Dominic out of the school yesterday for his own safety. He got into his third fight since September on Monday. He will be homeschooled online for the rest of his eighth grade year. It all stems from two things. Race and Politics............
Geeeeez Jack I dont know where to begin. For one, you should be VERY proud of your boy, who sticks to his principles regardless of very powerful peer pressure. You guys must have did a great job of raising him! Second, how the heck does this teacher even allowed to do a "campaign songs for Obama"...thing in the 1st place? And then all these fellow kids who are supporting Obama ONLY BECAUSE he's Black???
Sounds like this scumbag teacher is at the root of a lot of this problem.
I don't blame you for pulling your kid out of that school. I hope they investigate this teacher who allows all this crap to go on. I am also proud of you for showing such restaint. It must be tough to control yourself when the well being of your son is at stake...although it sounds like he does a pretty good job himself
Good luck with that situation and hopefully you will be able to get Dom back in school again with better results. This kind of stuff shows what a how we still have a long ways to go.
Thank you Jack. It's was very tough trying to keep my emotions in check. The one thing that makes this easy is my son. He's 13 going on 30. He's a very independent kid. He's kind and caring,but he also will drop the hammer on someone if he has too. He's completed his first day of homeschooling and the only regret he has is braking his hand in the fight.
JackDog wrote:
Thank you Jack. It's was very tough trying to keep my emotions in check. The one thing that makes this easy is my son. He's 13 going on 30. He's a very independent kid. He's kind and caring,but he also will drop the hammer on someone if he has too. He's completed his first day of homeschooling and the only regret he has is braking his hand in the fight.
Thanks again for your very kind words.
He learning a great (albeit tough) lesson at very young age....it's worth fighting for things you believe in. It's kids like him that will make a difference someday...not the other family's kids, who parents teach them to just see black or white. His hand will heal. Tell him we're all on his side!
Tell Dom that this entire experience will make great background material for HBO's "Dingess 24/7" series in 2020 when he's fighting for the middleweight championship of the world on HBO PPV!
I can just imagine Lampley's voiceover: "This is the fuel that fires Dingess' rage in the ring ... "
Take care,
PK
"You know why I love boxers? I love them because they face fear. And they face it alone." - Nick Charles
"First on the throttle, last on the brakes." - @MotoGP Twitter signature
JackDog wrote:
Thank you Jack. It's was very tough trying to keep my emotions in check. The one thing that makes this easy is my son. He's 13 going on 30. He's a very independent kid. He's kind and caring,but he also will drop the hammer on someone if he has too. He's completed his first day of homeschooling and the only regret he has is braking his hand in the fight.
Thanks again for your very kind words.
He learning a great (albeit tough) lesson at very young age....it's worth fighting for things you believe in. It's kids like him that will make a difference someday...not the other family's kids, who parents teach them to just see black or white. His hand will heal. Tell him we're all on his side!
JD, as someone who has had to deal with it from all sides, I'm sorry your little man has to deal with this. He sounds like a great kid with his head in the right place.
TheGamer wrote:JD, as someone who has had to deal with it from all sides, I'm sorry your little man has to deal with this. He sounds like a great kid with his head in the right place.
Thanks brother. Maybe his kids won't have to deal with this kind of bullshit to the degree he has. That would be cool. As of this morning life is back to usual for our family. That's a good thing.
I want to take the time to thank all of you for your support and encouragement. If anything, Dom's problem gave us all something we can agree on in this thread. That might be a first!
Quick update: Dominic was accepted to Saint Thomas Academy yesterday. http://www.cadets.com/ He was given an academic scholarship 2 hours after receiving his transcripts. That saves us tuition fees of $15,225 a year. So much for homeschool. PK,you were right. It's an all male school.
Thanks again to all of you.
Last edited by Jackdog on Sat Nov 15, 2008 11:12 am, edited 1 time in total.
JackDog wrote:Quick update: Dominic was accepted to Saint Thomas Academy yesterday. http://www.cadets.com/ He was given an academic scholarship 2 hours after receiving his transcripts. That saves us tuition fees of $15,225 a year. So much for homeschool. PK,you were right. It's an all male school.
Thanks again to all of you.
Jack-diggity:
That's GREAT news about Dom. Hell, I went to four years of all-male Catholic high school, and I turned out great. Yeah, RIGHT!
Seriously, if Dom needs someone to talk with about what it's like to go to an all-dude Catholic high school, have him give me a jingle this weekend. He'll adjust just fine. In fact, I think he'll dig it.
Take care,
PK
"You know why I love boxers? I love them because they face fear. And they face it alone." - Nick Charles
"First on the throttle, last on the brakes." - @MotoGP Twitter signature
TheGamer wrote:JD, as someone who has had to deal with it from all sides, I'm sorry your little man has to deal with this. He sounds like a great kid with his head in the right place.
Thanks brother. Maybe his kids won't have to deal with this kind of bullshit to the degree he has. That would be cool. As of this morning life is back to usual for our family. That's a good thing.
I want to take the time to thank all of you for your support and encouragement. If anything, Dom's problem gave us all something we can agree on in this thread. That might be a first!
Quick update: Dominic was accepted to Saint Thomas Academy yesterday. http://www.cadets.com/ He was given an academic scholarship 2 hours after receiving his transcripts. That saves us tuition fees of $15,225 a year. So much for homeschool. PK,you were right. It's an all male school.
Thanks again to all of you.
Congrats Jack and sorry to hear about all the bullshit Dom and your family have had to put up with! I went to an all male school for a couple of years and that has its good and bad points - but I'll always remember the incredible camraderie of the place.
Best wishes,
Doug
"Every major sport has come under the influence of organized crime. FIFA actually is organized crime" - Charles Pierce
