Stay classy, Reno
 

I saw the headline and *knew* the comments section would be chock full of redneck, racist, ignorant comments.

"Washoe County School District will pay $400,000 to settle suit over Muslim head scarf"

http://www.rgj.com/article/20090408/NEWS18/90408006

Way to prove me right, Reno. :unamused:

The one post about school uniforms makes the most sense. I think all Washoe County is going to school Uniforms next year.

The comments sections at RGJ.com are unbelievable. I secretly wish people were just joking or being funny, but they are for real... Every single post is like..." Well, looks like another (insert racial term here) screwed it up for the rest of us". It's painful to read. Occasionally there are some bits of good commentary, but rare.

It's rediculous to think someone would have to resort to filing a lawsuit against a school district over other students behavior. If this would actually solve a problem, so-be-it. But, this will never stop happening in public schools. It is terrible to think about students getting away this kind of behavior, but yes, it does exist, and there really isn't much anyone can do except raise their children to be perfectly accepting of their surroundings. In my honest opinion, I think that this is a just a copout. Everyone deals with some bullying. While this may seem like a more serious matter, nobody should be capable of recieving a settlement over something like this. If she wanted to take a more mature way of dealing with this, she would have contacted the administration to resolve her problems, instead of taking away knowledge from others. Especially if its money from an already low budget in a school district that needs every penny.

Our society panders to crybabies. So we have political correctness and bullshit like this happens. Yes, poor girl, we all got picked on for something. Or a good chunk of us. But there shouldn't be monetary compesation. I agree with bringing light to her situation and showing people what the administators apparently ignored, perhaps even bring some kind of retrobution since the bullying was so bad she that she dropped out. But to sue for money?

I don't have an opinion on the $400k (or $350k depending on what part of the article you read, nice reporting RGJ! :rolleyes: ).

My point was that the article was sure to drag out well written responses from the retarded rightwingers here in Reno like this jem:

I can't believe these are potentially my neighbors that are so close minded, and so confused about the whole point of the Constitution and what our founding fathers envisioned. The whole idea that the country is founded on Christian morals and traditions is a recent idea not upheld by history.

"It does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods or no God." --Thomas Jefferson

$350k to her and $50k for her friend that was bullied for being her friend.

Well, I have to work with people that spout off things like the quote below randomly thruout the day, so I know people like this exist, and are definately not joking!

Edit: stupid iPhone didn't do the quote right. He quote that Scott quoted, not what Scott posted.

I want to know what school this took place at. I think location and the demographic of the school plays a huge role in how students are treated.

I just remember at Douglas there were 3 or 4 "Middle Eastern" students who choose to wore the scarf or headdress. I never heard anything about them having trouble and they were actually quite popular around the school. IDK I think once you mix a "lower class" school with a reason to start bullying, problems start...

Don't any of you know how to read. It says she dropped out of North Valleys High. :unamused:

This could create more problems as certain religions require a certain dress code....future lawsuits for religious discrimination.:rolleyes:

My daughter will be going to this school next year. I just showed her the story. Her reply was...."So, if I get picked on, I could get close to a half million??"

Thanx... reading comprehension>me

I don't think you guys fully grasp what was actually happening. This girl wasn't getting "picked on." She was getting harassed for her religion and treated like a non-person. and the priciple's comments are what really got her the settlement, not the students' actions.

Basically, what happened to her is exactly like black students getting harassed during desegregation. she and her family deserve it IMO. Hopefully the district and its administrators take a lesson from this.

So why then do we need to give her money? Why not punish and ignant principle instead?

That's where the "punitive" in punitive damages comes from.

Hmmm, I don't think this is the case. Setting founding documents aside, which are full of references associated with western Christianity, literature written early in the country's history points to a population that, while they did not all participate in a single tradition, were largely governed and influenced by a social and legal system that was directly derived from centuries of European Christianity.

RGJ comments always seem to border on the crazy.

The bottom line was that the US was not founded on some "general understanding" that Christianity should be the de facto religion of the citizens of the US. The design of the Constitution was purposely crafted such that as the base morality of the majority evolved, the Constitution itself would be modifiable via amendments to reflect the new morality of the people. The founding fathers, while basing the initial laws on their own (decidedly Christian) moral background, were very cognizant that people's belief structures would change over time, and that religious beliefs should not be the basis of government. The fundamentals of the Constitution are not specific to Christianity, and are intended to be more general and more fundamental than the rules of most Christian religions.

When people argue against gay marriage for example, they make the patently false argument that "even though the founders didn't explicitly say gay marriage is wrong in the Constitution, they were Christians, and therefore that's what they meant." When in fact, the founding fathers explicitly didn't put that stuff in the Constitution because they explicitly intended for those sorts of religion based morals to be sorted out external to the government. It's not the government's place to dictate the personal choices of people as long as they don't affect the freedom of others, and that is one of the basic fundamentals of the Constitution.

It's really frustrating to hear crap like "this country was founded on Jesus" when it's not, and that people of other religions should "just go somewhere else" because they're "not welcome here". The US was founded on exactly the opposite principals... the country was founded on the idea that no matter your race, color, creed, background, etc you have the same exact inalienable rights as everyone else, and that people from everywhere are welcome since we're a nation of immigrants with mailable laws that are designed to change over time to reflect the belief of the greater majority.

The Constitution is a completely different document than the Bible. When was the last time an amendment to the Bible was ratified by all the Christian sects that believe in it?

It was arguably in the late 8th century AD, at Nicaea.

Oh, and ignorant e-tards FTL.

It's always worth noting that the US Constitution never mentions the words God, Jesus, or Christ, or even the generic-for-its-time word "Creator". Not even once. You suppose they did that on accident?

However, you do have to believe in Jesus to win any type of sporting event.

No, you just have to thank him later during the interviews.

I just blame him for my losses. "Well, we were in the game until Jesus made me fumble."

Win.


:lol:

Scott would be the Kathy Griffin of Sports with something like that. I can support that.

Suck it Jesus!

When I read the title, I was thinking that she just needs to get over it. And I really don't blame the kids. It's high school, that's what happens in high school. But the fact that the administrators took the other kids' sides, that's rediculous. I think that they should have been fired and no lawsuit, but this is America, here you can sue McDonalds because you got fat or spilled coffee on yourself...

To be fair, that lawsuit with the fat bitch and the coffee, that coffee was unconsumably hot. The payout was more than she needed for medical bills tho, which is where I start to get mad. Let's punish the people that do shit wrong and not reward the victims.

You don't blame the kids? For pushing a girl around, spitting on her and telling her they'd kill her? Really? You've got some wires loose, dude.

And let's not get started on the McD's coffee discussion, Sperry will chime in with a 17 page legal brief on the topic. :lol:

I think the parents of the children should be held to blame as well. If your kid spits on someone and tells them they are going to kill them, you are a complete failure as a parent.

Not to mention sperry is entitled to like $15mil in psychological distress from Taco Bell.

Milton Waddams: "Excuse me? Excuse me, senor?"
"May I speak to you please?"
"I asked for a mai tai, and they brought me a pina colada, and I said no salt, NO salt on the margarita, but it had salt on it, big grains of salt, floating in the glass..."

Mexican Waiter: "Lo siento mucho, senor."

Mexican Waiter [Under his breath]: "Pinche gringo."

Milton Waddams: [As the waiter walks away] "And yes, I won't be leaving a tip, 'cause I could... I could shut this place down."
"Sir? I'll take my traveler's checks to a competing resort."
"I could write a letter to your nation's board of tourism and I could have this place condemned."
"I could put... I could put... strychnine in the guacamole."
"There was salt on the glass, BIG grains of salt!"

My school took a concert ticket away from me because someone told the administration i was going to be stabbed at the concert...where is my 350k. Like others have said, bullying is a part of high school. We have all experienced it either directed towards someone or yourself.

IMO this whole thing is ridiculous. It was wrong for the kids to say that they were going to kill her, but come on, grow up. We live in an abrasive society. Just watch half the shows on television.

Im not trying to sound racist but our country was brutally attacked by muslims and yes, I will admit I have found myself uncomfortable in situations are muslims. I know they are not all bad but it is a stereotype. They happen every day. For example black people steal...yes cory that means you steal right? Wrong, but someone who doesn't know him could become uncomfortable around him and lash out irrationally at him. Sorry to use you as an example man just the first thing that cam to mind.

I say deal with it. My nickname all the way through high school from when I was in elementary school was short shit...did I go complain about it no I dealt with it. Stand up for yourself, don't make an already stressed budget even more taxed. She herself said she was cheated out of an education. How many students are going to receive a sub-par education whether it be overcrowded classrooms due to teacher layoffs or inadequate text book and learning supplys because of the 400k WCSD has to shell out to pay this girl for a complete BS lawsuit?

I'm not saying I don't blame them, I'm just saying it's not an isolated incident. I was always picked on in middle school, but I developed a sense of humor, made some friends, and got over it. Yes, they did take it too far, but that's where the administration is supposed to get involved.

What the fuck? You sound like the winners in the RGJ comments.

You may "not be trying to sound racist", but you do. Anyone who gets nervous because they're in a room with someone that happens to have brown skin and wears a taqiyah, or who has black skin for that matter, is an ignorant prick.

I went to a school where about half was either Asian or middle eastern. In fact some of my very good friends were middle eastern. None of them were ever picked on because most kids grew up with the diversity. Right now my cousin goes to North Valley High and he has let me know that there are not many Asians or middle eastern ppl. So the chances they get picked on are greater because kids around here arn't used to seeing them.

Also I agree that it is a parents fault if ur kid is out saying he is going to kill a minority or even a person in general. That's straight redneck right there. Teach ur kids that all ppl are equal no matter what race skin color sex etc. The list goes on. But a right upbringing can solve most of these problems

Dave hit the nail on the head. It's almost entirely about how and where you were raised. If you're raised by or around a bunch of redneck neanderthals that have an ignorance fueled hatred of people based on stereotypes... you tend to be a redneck neanderthal yourself... and you tend to have children that also become redneck neanderthals.

And to wrxkidid's point, it is in fact natural to be uncomfortable around people you have been conditioned to be uncomfortable around. But what separates the true neanderthal from a useful member of society, it the ability to intentionally look past the stereotypes you may have been raised with and stop judging people on things that are out of their control, like the color of their skin. No matter how often a stereotype may ring true, it's never 100% right, and therefore to judge someone based on their superficial attributes is wrong and unfair.

I get nervous around Bob because I've been conditioned to fear short anarchists.

Wait, Cory is black? I could of swore he's Italian.

Im joining in a discussion i said nothing wrong and you lash out like that. Real mature... I didnt say it always happens but can you honestly say that you have never been uncomfortable in a situation around other races? If you can then more power to you.

And i know im a winner my mom told me so.

You are referring to the dream that you had.. I don't think that was real.

Yes, I can honestly say that. I have been in situations where I was uncomfortable around people, but it didn't have anything to do with the color of their skin. If I see a pack of 5 scruffy looking white dudes with shaved heads, baggy clothes, and gang tats coming towards me on the street in a shady part of town, that's going to set off some alarm bells for me. If I pass 5 clean-cut black guys in business suits, I wouldn't think anything of it.

Skin color has absolutely nothing to do with the threat someone poses to you. I don't even believe in the idea of "race", honestly. It's a false concept.

Agreed

I'm with Austin on this one.

I admit to being a bit surprised the first time I visited the South by the significantly different ratio of ethnic diversity from what I was used to having lived my whole life on the West coast, but it was not fear. Fear only crept in when I made a wrong turn in my rental car at night and ended up somewhere not so good and some guy came up to the car at a stop sign asking what I "needed".

I knew I was in a bad place before I saw anybody of any color and a clean shaven white guy in jeans and a T-shirt in the same neighborhood doing the same thing would have freaked me out just as much.

.............

While I do totally agree with you, I will admit I used to be really uncomfortable around black people. My parents raised me not to be racist, I never conciously judged someone based on the color of their skin, it's just that growing up in Carson, I never saw any black people. In my high school, there were 2800 kids, and only 6 were black. I played football with a couple of them, and I'd talk to them and didn't hold anything against them, but it was just unusual to me. One of the guys was actually probably the funniest guy I've ever met, but I couldn't really talk to him. The good news is, I've gotten past it, and it never really impaired my thinking, but the first couple black people I met, I was really uncomfortable around. One was a guy my mom worked with, who I really like now, and another is a guy I met in college, who is still a friend of mine, and we talk every now and then, so please don't think I'm racist, but I see where he's coming from.