PZ Myers. 2004 May 23. This is not my America. <http://pharyngula.org/index/weblog/this_is_not_my_america/>. Accessed 2008 Dec 04.
Posted on M00o93H7pQ09L8X1t49cHY01Z5j4TT91fGfr on Sunday, May 23, 2004
This is not my America
A horrific story from David Neiwert:
The "Slam Team" was a group of teenage poets who asked Nevins to serve as faculty adviser to their club. The teens, mostly shy youngsters, were taught to read their poetry aloud and before audiences. Rio Rancho High School gave the Slam Team access to the school's closed-circuit television once a week and the poets thrived.
In March 2003, a teenage girl named Courtney presented one of her poems before an audience at Barnes & Noble bookstore in Albuquerque, then read the poem live on the school's closed-circuit television channel.
A school military liaison and the high school principal accused the girl of being "un-American" because she criticized the war in Iraq and the Bush administration's failure to give substance to its "No child left behind" education policy.
The girl's mother, also a teacher, was ordered by the principal to destroy the child's poetry. The mother refused and may lose her job.
There's more in the Daytona Beach News-Journal:
Bill Nevins was suspended for not censoring the poetry of his students. Remember, there is no obscenity to be found in any of the poetry. He was later fired by the principal.
After firing Nevins and terminating the teaching and reading of poetry in the school, the principal and the military liaison read a poem of their own as they raised the flag outside the school. When the principal had the flag at full staff, he applauded the action he'd taken in concert with the military liaison.
Then to all students and faculty who did not share his political opinions, the principal shouted: "Shut your faces." What a wonderful lesson he gave those 3,000 students at the largest public high school in New Mexico. In his mind, only certain opinions are to be allowed.
But more was to come. Posters done by art students were ordered torn down, even though none was termed obscene. Some were satirical, implicating a national policy that had led us into war. Art teachers who refused to rip down the posters on display in their classrooms were not given contracts to return to the school in this current school year.
What a terrible story. As Neiwert says, this is fascism—not merely some overripe bit of hyperbole, but literally a fascist act. I'm also troubled by the fact that the existence of a "military liaison" who is taking an active role in school discipline seems to be taken for granted in the article. The principal, Gary Tripp, sounds like a deeply ignorant man who doesn't understand the meaning of free speech; he's the only one who ought to be losing his job.
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From this distance, on the underbelly of the world, the whole state of America at the moment is bizarre. You have enacted a clearly cntrary-to-common law restriction on habeus corpus and the presumption of innocence. You have an arbitrary act that defines who is, and who is not, a patriot. You have contravened the Geneva Convention in so many ways it is absurd. What the hell is going on?
In a few decades, this whole era will be seen as weird as the McCarthy period, and it goes to show that in the world's biggest democracy (well, second biggest, after Russia now), freedom is always under threat and the tyranny of the mob is not too far beneath the surface. Which upsets me, as I am an Americaphile, and that is a position not held in high regard in Australia, despite my country's support for the Iraq invasion.#: Posted by John Wilkins on 05/23 at 05:18 PM -
After firing Nevins and terminating the teaching and reading of poetry in the school
Isn't that educational child-abuse?#: Posted by on 05/23 at 06:49 PM -
despite my country's support for the Iraq invasion.
Which is now a minority opinion, according to various newspolls. Now if only recognition of obfuscation was retrospective.
Creepy story. The Nazification of American continues.
Sorry, that was a rather fatuous comparison. I mean, Hitler was actually voted into office by a majority. -
Didn't some top Republican after 9/11 say "Democrats better watch what they say." or something like that?
#: Posted by on 05/23 at 08:09 PM
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Are the people fired in this story taking this sitting down? Are law suits in the works? I'm not a believer that kids (minors) in high school should have all the rights of adults, but this is way over the line if nothing in the poetry or posters was obviously obscene. The firing of the teachers is a truly un-American act! I'd love to hear the poem the principle read...zieg heil!
#: Posted by on 05/23 at 08:09 PM
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Sorry...I do know the difference between principle and principal. In this case, the first is apparently lacking in the second.
#: Posted by on 05/23 at 08:30 PM
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You can find the poem here: http://www.greenleft.org.au/back/2003/531/531p22.htm
And here it is:
Revolution X
Bush said no child would be left behind
And yet kids from inner-city schools
Work on Central Avenue
Jingling cans that read
Please sir, may I have some more?
They hand out diplomas like toilet paper
And lower school standards
Because
Underpaid, unrespected teachers
Are afraid of losing their jobs
Funded by the standardised tests
That shows our competency
When I'm in detox.
This is the Land of the Free ...
Where the statute of limitations for rape is only five damn years!
And immigrants can't run for President.
Where Muslims are hunted because
Some suicidal men decided they didn't like
Our arrogant bid for modern imperialism.
This is the Land of the Free ...
You drive by a car whose
Bumper screams
God bless America!
Well, you can scratch out the B
And make it Godless
Because God left this country a long time ago.
The founding fathers made this nation
On a dream and now
Freedom of Speech
Lets Nazis burn crosses, but
Calls police to
Gay pride parades.
We somehow
Can afford war with Iraq
But we can't afford to pay the teachers
Who educate the young who hold the guns
Against the "Axis of Evil"
Land of the Free ...
This is the land
If you're politically assertive
They call you a traitor and
Damn you to ostracism.
Say good-bye to Johnny Walker Lindh
And his family.
Bye Bye.
American Pie.
So maybe
My ideas about this nation
Don't resolve around perfection
But at least I know
Education is more important
Than money.
Land of the Free . . .
If this was utopia
We'd have to see each other naked
Before we got married
But instead, we see each other naked all the time
Because the government has my social security number
And the name of my dog!
And then we make babies,
But don't worry, they won't be left behind
And they grow up saying
God bless America!
But they don't know who Bush is
Because they never learned the Presidents.
And they will ride the ship Amistad
To our dreamland shores
Bearing the same shackles as us.
I'm here to say that
Generation X
Is pissed and we are taking over,
Ripping down the American illusion of perfection
We are the future generation
I have my qualifications
I know it looks like Angel Soft paper,
But don't worry
It's a diploma
Do I look qualified?
You can take our toilet paper,
But you can't take our Revolution.
You know the ruling regime is in trouble when they start fearing poetry. -
Fantastic! The poem, I mean. As for the censorship, I'm having a hard time believing it actually happened. I could see it happening during World War I, or the McCarthy era, or Vietnam... but today? Does such a hateful figure as that principal still truly exist?
P.S. Kudos to the scientist mentioned at the end of the Daytona Beach News-Journal's editorial who translated Iranian science papers into English despite warnings by the U.S. Treasury. I've always felt that since science depends so much on the free flow of information, scientists should be among the most vocal defenders of free speech, and I'm glad Robert Bovenschulte agrees with me.
P.P.S. Your software seems to be trying to render my smiley face as an image. It's not working. Internet Explorer laughs at your efforts.#: Posted by on 05/23 at 10:24 PM -
This poem hits to the heart of the matter, it's what poetry should be about.
The ACLU is supporting the victims of this attack on the First Amendment, but that takes time. The perpetrators, the principal and those who put him up to it, should be subjected to a public shaming on Fox.#: Posted by on 05/23 at 10:35 PM -
There seems to be more to the story. http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2004_05_21.shtml#1085354422
#: Posted by on 05/24 at 03:13 AM
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I too had just read http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2004_05_21.shtml#1085354422 before coming here for my usual daily dose of PZ. Perhaps we are leaping before looking on this one ???
#: Posted by on 05/24 at 05:19 AM
- That is troubling, especially if the letter from the author of the poem is legitimate. It might be a case of a journalist unethically mangling the facts. I'll be keeping my eyes open for more details.
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Funny, this story sounded false from the very start. I was going to do a google search on "Bill Nevins" when I came across the comments above relating to The Volokh Conspiracy.
It goes to show that those looking for anything to ridicule the opposing side, end up being the ones made to look ridiculous.