My wife is a special education para (similar to a teacher's aide), my father, sister, uncle and aunt were all educators. I spent time as a substitute teacher while I was unemployed, so have direct experience with much of this.

 

Can someone please explain to me how to get the quotee's? name in red?

Is there a particular reason you want it in red? (Is red the color used by the orange-nightmare color scheme?). I use the old blue interface and the quotee's name is in bold black. This is obtained just by hitting the "Reply" button. It puts the author's name in bold followed by a link to the post being quoted.

You can highlight a word or phrase and use the formatting tools to control the font characteristics, as I did at the beginning of this sentence. You can also use the COLOR BB tag and express the color as a 24-bit hex value with the first two characters being red, then next being green, and the last two being blue. But personally I find it to be a waste of time that adds little to the discussion. Using font attributes within tags (such as quote tags) is ticky because nested BB code tags don't always work as you might like or expect.

 

I had two complaints lodged against me in the 80s. One tried to claim harassment because I held her to the same standards I held everyone else. The complaint came after I did not recommend her for re-enlistment. I told the Executive Officer to send me the complaint letter and I'll respond. I had transferred out, on leave, prior to departing for to Alaska. My response letter cited specific examples of her poor technical ability.

The second complain was when I placed one on report. She claimed I did it because she was black. When the MasterChief, her and I sat down, I point blank told her I didn't give a shit if she was white, brown, black or polka dotted. What I do care about is her doing her job and not running to sickbay when she was scheduled to teach. The perception is she was absent from the duty for another reason then health. Her attitude turned right around. I transferred to a staff job and came back to inspect an installation at the school. I wrote in my report on how well she understood this new equipment without the benefit of a school (they just got the equipment and were designing the class). Of the six women that worked for me, one got out because of her pregnancy, one was worthless, and four finished their career.

I'd say when you have a PITA, document it. Then if they complain, you can pull out your documents and cite away.

When I was teaching in 1979, a young man was in my class and the first thing he stated to me that "Ensign so and so was his cousin." What he didn't know was his cousin taught me in 1974 when the Ensign was an ET2. So, told him to straighten he little ass out because I really didn't care who his cousin was and if his cousin had a problem with it, I would have a chat with him. I said I'd bet his cousin doesn't appreciate him "throwing his name around" in an attempt to bully someone and I will be speaking to the Ensign later today on this topic.. That young man was very meek the remainder of that three week course.

Establish standards and enforce them. Even the course syllabus is a standard. If they want a whinny bitch wall ... give them one, but make them sign their name to their complaint.

 

If they want a whinny bitch wall ... give them one

That's the way I feel too. Let them complain (respectuly) if they want, but let them also know where the authority lies, and that freedom of speech works both ways.

 

That's the way I feel too. Let them complain (respectuly) if they want, but let them also know where the authority lies, and that freedom of speech works both ways.

That's the problem. Increasingly the authority lies with THEM! And freedom of speech DOESN'T work both ways.

 

That's the problem. Increasingly the authority lies with THEM! And freedom of speech DOESN'T work both ways.

I hear, and acknowledge, your frustration. What we're discussing here is very similar to the history of my own country. We are a nation in which customs and traditions, instead of laws, rule everyday life. And when someone with a more advanced concept of justice comes and tries to set some order, then a very loud minority starts to scream and pound their fists on the table, arguing that a huge abuse of authority and injustice is being done upon them.... So they block highways, burn government buildings, and destroy property. They hijack buses, and make violent demonstrations that very negatively affect every citizen but them. And in the end our government yields to their ridiculous demands so as to "preserve the peace"... which in the short run only emboldens them even more.
You've said it twice already, huge gonads are needed to, as we say here, grab the bull by the horns. But unfortunately, the size of those gonads are normally inversely proportional to the salary of the people that are supposed to wield them. What we need are leaders that are not too interested in short term income and economic results, but rather in an outstanding academic contribution... and while we're dreaming here, I'd also like a pink pony this Christmas for my daughter... yeah, right...

 

With all the pink horseshit going on around around the world, you'd think there must be a pony in here somewhere.

 

With all the pink horseshit going on around around the world, you'd think there must be a pony in here somewhere.

Thanks Papabravo... I'm still laughing here. Now I can hit the sac with a smile... nighty night.

 

With all the pink horseshit going on around around the world, you'd think there must be a pony in here somewhere.

I dunno whether this is pink horseshit or the pony itself, but radical students at the Harvard Law School have posted their own loony list of diversity demands:

RECLAIM HARVARD LAW SCHOOL

 

I dunno whether this is pink horseshit or the pony itself, but radical students at the Harvard Law School have posted their own loony list of diversity demands:

RECLAIM HARVARD LAW SCHOOL

Reclaim is an interesting predicate since as far as I know they never had it in the first place.

 

I dunno whether this is pink horseshit or the pony itself, but radical students at the Harvard Law School have posted their own loony list of diversity demands:

RECLAIM HARVARD LAW SCHOOL

And the scary part is that these are the next batch of self-righteous lawyers that are going to be forcing their views down everyone's throats.

 

a very loud minority starts to scream and pound their fists on the table, arguing that a huge abuse of authority and injustice is being done upon them.... So they block highways, burn government buildings, and destroy property. They hijack buses, and make violent demonstrations that very negatively affect every citizen but them. And in the end our government yields to their ridiculous demands so as to "preserve the peace"... which in the short run only emboldens them even more.

This is related to what I was talking about in post #32. We don't have quite as bad symptoms I think, but the root cause is there. I failed to cite more examples, but we have...

The LGBT group; they fought for gay marriage (and I supported them) and they got it. But they didn't stop there. Now they are emboldened and suing churches and small businesses and boycotting (I guess that's the gay equivalent of hijacking buses) for not honoring their unions. They go out looking for trouble and when they find it, it's all over the news.

We have Muslims who "fish" for persecution (ex: the Muslim clock boy) and then scream about it when they catch it.

We have the illegal immigrants who fight for access to our tax-funded social programs and then publicly decry any attempt the government makes to prevent it. And they get a lot of support for their cause, from the media, the people, and even from the government. In addition, we have Nth generation Americans also fighting for the "right" to live on welfare, and crying "racism" or "sexism" or "animosity-toward-drug-abuser-ism" when they don't get their way.

There are the militant feminists, who shun all aspects of the traditional sense of womanhood (cooking, cleaning, rearing children, etc.) and claim to be deprived of all the same benefits of being a man (salary, career, respect, etc.). They claim that anything a man can do, they can do, but "the man" prevents it. And if you try to disagree with them, you are a misogynistic asshole, deserving of some kind of report being filed or official complaint lodged against you (ask one of them why there are no females in the NFL and then sit back with a bag of popcorn and a beer and watch the show that unfolds ).

We have the angry Atheists, whose righteous cause I have never understood. They can be unbelievably malicious people when they take up a fight. I have seen some things posted on the internet that are literary arts of spite. To hear them decry a public display of a nativity scene on Christmas, you would think that they were protesting a grotesque public display of dismembered children. They have a love-to-hate relationship with Chik-Fil-A that I keep hearing about. And for what? I could (almost) understand if you were of another religion and you felt that a display of a Christian symbol was offensive to your own religion, but when you don't have any religion, where does the offense play in? I don't practice any religion, and I don't have any problem with nativities. I hope these militant Atheists don't think that they're fighting a cause on my behalf, because I wish they would just STFU. And P.S. why do they only attack Christianity? I've never heard them attack Islam or Wicca or Bhuddists, etc.

Then we have this latest batch of college kids whose cause is .... , well, WTF exactly is their cause? Is it like a compilation of all the above or what? It just sounds like generalized whininess. Are they complaining and fighting for the right to complain and fight? Because they already have that right. I fought for them to have that right by serving in the military. If they really want to preserve that right, they have other more noble options.

And who could forget the self-proclaimed 99%? Their anger and their protests are directed at anyone the see as "rich."

I could go into all the groups, but I don't have time and you probably don't have patience. The point is, there are a lot of groups playing this gigantic "victim card." Not just college kids and not just blacks.




Just about every minority has within it another minority, which serves as some sort of militant agency of irritation enforcement. It's this minority-minority whose job it is to whine and cry about every little perceived injustice (real or otherwise) and demand recompense from "them/they." It seems to me that members of minorities are excluded from the war waged on "them/they" by other minorities.

A gay man's rage isn't directed at illegal Mexican in the food stamp line. It's directed at "they."
Who is the Muslim clock boy's beef with? Is it with the lady lumberjack? No, it's with "they."
Is the militant feminist angry with the university activist? No, she's (he's?) angry with "they."
Does the Angry Atheist want to see the single-mom-of-7 professional welfare abuser run out of town on a rail? No, he want's to see "them" meet that fate.
Does the college activist cry out about the obviously intentional self-victimization of Muslim clock boy? No, he fights alongside clock boy, against "them."

So who is "them/they?" Well, lucky me, it's yours truly. The tax paying, heterosexual, [wealthy/racist/sexist/Christian/islamophobic/hater-in-general/oppressor-by-any-means]-by-default, white male. Forget that I'm mixed race; like Obama is mixed race (but clearly black), I'm mixed race (but clearly white). I'm the target of Western Civilization's hostility. Any group that has "beef," has it with me. Forget that I just woke up this color and with a penis, that doesn't matter.

A few years ago I wouldn't have posted anything like this on a forum. I would have cared too much about what people think. I would have cared that, if I open my mouth in defense, only perceived racism+sexism will come out. I would have cared that it will create enemies. I don't have any more shit to give about it. If I'm going to take the rap for being a racist among everything else, no matter what I do, then I might as well play the part. All this animosity toward me, coming from these select groups, well it makes it hard for me not to reciprocate that hate. And when one of those groups happens to be bonded by a skin tone, and I reciprocate their hate, well that makes me a racist for real. I wasn't raised to be racist, and I wasn't, I'm still not really, but I'm starting to lean in that direction.

Do you see where this is going?
For the longest time, white men were the oppressors, I acknowledge that. I don't apologize for it, because that wasn't me, but I acknowledge it. White men did a lot of bad stuff to a lot of good people, and those good people fought a long, hard, good fight, and they won; they got what they deserved, what they fought so hard for. They toppled the oppression of the white male. But they aren't stopping with the win. The generations-in-the-making frontal assault continues, now fought by people that didn't experience the injustice, against people that didn't cause the injustice. Retribution is demanded to greater and greater extents. I will not pay for the sins of my father's father.

Now do you see where this is going?
I'm not the only one. Gays, blacks, browns, women, Muslims, Atheists, college pussies, and all the other groups on the bandwagon or contemplating jumping on it, - here's a warning: YOU WON. YOU are the oppressors now. YOUR animosity is now breeding a new generation of racists and sexists in a time when we should have evolved past that. Keep pushing, see what happens. Look at your own history and see what happens when enough determined people experience enough oppression. This shield of political correctness and "microaggression" that you have so skillfully crafted, is about to start crumbling. I'm just one of the few bold enough to say it at this point, but more will follow. You will awaken more emboldened people, and they will stand with me as we push back. We will not be polite. We will not cover up our intentions with platitudes and we will not pander. We will no longer beg your forgiveness. We will cease to exercise this unreasonable level of restraint that we have for many years, and we will cease to meet your demands. You will not like it. You will wish you had quit while you were ahead. But by all means, see how much more you can take before the door is slammed in your face; if you're lucky, we won't undo the progress you've made, and we won't take anything back from you. See how much further you can emasculate us before we lash out. Just remember, we are the "majority" - how do you see your odds?

 

And the scary part is that these are the next batch of self-righteous lawyers that are going to be forcing their views down everyone's throats.

The REALLY scary part is that these are also the next batch of politicians, judges, federal and state bureaucrats, and possibly-- God forbid-- even a President or two.

Frankly, I think we're screwed.

 

Frankly, I think we're screwed.

I agree. We will have to hit rock bottom before we are sufficiently inspired to do anything about it. The big RESET is inevitable.

 

I agree. We will have to hit rock bottom before we are sufficiently inspired to do anything about it. The big RESET is inevitable.

I shudder to think what "rock bottom" will look like. China during the Cultural Revolution of the 1970's? Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge? We seem to be headed in that general direction.

 

I shudder to think what "rock bottom" will look like. China during the Cultural Revolution of the 1970's? Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge? We seem to be headed in that general direction.

Rome in the 400's?

 

Rome in the 400's?

That's what I think too... when a culture forgets its own values and origins, it's eventually substituted by something else. And it's not usually for the better.

 

Strantor, you've just about summed it up. The attitude is 'I'm entitled to it". It's not only in the US, it seems to be worldwide. As I've written before it will take a drastic jolt to change people. Today is the 74th anniversary of Pearl Harbor. That was an event that changed the US. I think it will take a similar jolt (if you can call it that) before the US and Western Europe wake up and forget PC and call a spade a spade and accept that there are no free lunches and no-one is entitled to unearned priviledges just because they are of any particular colour or ethnic group.

 

Strantor, you've just about summed it up. The attitude is 'I'm entitled to it". It's not only in the US, it seems to be worldwide.

<my theory>
[...]
This is a small window of a much bigger picture.
We are a conquering species and we have nothing to conquer so we are turning on ourselves. It boils down to: we are bored.
[...]
</my theory>

The entitlement mentality is a huge factor, but I still see it as a symptom and not a root cause. We have our conflicts in the middle east and our terrorist attacks, but we all know this isn't a real war. We aren't collectively vanquishing any actual threat to our existence. That's the only time a civilization thrives: when it's bonded by a common enemy. If civilization isn't conquering, it's falling apart. People don't have a common enemy so they make enemies, out of each other. I suppose white males make the best target given our history.

Today is the 74th anniversary of Pearl Harbor.

A day that will live in infamy.
That is also the day I left for boot camp.
Among other people my age and younger, typically the only ones I can relate to are other Veterans. Everyone else just perplexes me. I cannot understand their views on life. I cannot fathom the things they get upset about. I cannot find reason to pity them although it seems intuitive that pity is the template that should be applied to them.
I think the reason for that, is that serving in the military, engaging in these skirmishes in the East and participating in Team USA global dick waving is the closest thing we have to uniting toward a common cause. To experience that bond of brotherhood (what's the PC term for that? "personhood?" PFFFt.) changes you, for life...

...for life... I guess that's the key. In order to keep this country together, we need a war. We need a war every generation, so that every person gets to experience that bond in their life time. If we let a generation go without experiencing some sort of conquest or war, all will be lost (as it is now). Maybe we should establish some sort of hybrid gladiator/olympic/hunger/war games on a designated battle ground every 30 years. Real bullets, real bombs, keep score. Any nation can participate. No more China and North Korea bottling up aggression and going crazy, give them an outlet; "oh yeah, you got beef? meet me on the baseball field after school!" But where to stage the battle... How about wherever all these terrorists are coming from. We could kill two birds with one volley of nukes.

 

...for life... I guess that's the key. In order to keep this country together, we need a war. We need a war every generation, so that every person gets to experience that bond in their life time. If we let a generation go without experiencing some sort of conquest or war, all will be lost (as it is now). Maybe we should establish some sort of hybrid gladiator/olympic/hunger/war games on a designated battle ground every 30 years. Real bullets, real bombs, keep score. Any nation can participate. No more China and North Korea bottling up aggression and going crazy, give them an outlet; "oh yeah, you got beef? meet me on the baseball field after school!" But where to stage the battle... How about wherever all these terrorists are coming from. We could kill two birds with one volley of nukes.

Unfortunately it isn't likely to happen until the US suffers a terrorist attack much greater than the twin towers. Until then there will be all sorts of excuses such as the perennial standby - the Israel Arab conflict - which if settled would bring peace to the Middle East and the rest of the world - that is if you believe in the tooth fairy.

MOD EDIT: Added QUOTE block to quoted material. Please use the Quote or Reply button to add quotes -- it's very confusing when you can't tell where the quoted material ends and your stuff begins.