Laura Bush plans to eliminate gangs with Shakespeare!

[Bluebear]

Laura Bush, the wife of the US president, seen here 26 April 2005, wants to take arms against a sea of illiteracy by enticing gangland boys with the works of William Shakespeare

===

Yo, yo, ice that Capulet homey...

[shoelace414]

1. All are punished

[RoyGBiv]

2. Ummmm ....

Uh ... wait, wait, wait ...

No, I can't even speak. This is just too bizarre.

[ninty]

3. How about eliminating gangs through

affordable housing, education and jobs?

[Bluebear]

8. No, Americans prefer gestures like this that don't cost much

Then, when the gang members don't relate to Macbeth, Mr. Savage can go on the air and explain that non-whites can't function in the field of literature.

[Pawel K]

16. It's much easier politically to pretend you are doing something

takes a lot less effort.

[FreedomAngel82]

20. Really

But nah they'd never think of that idea. :eyes:

[Cassandra]

4. Ah, my first thought...

was that Romeo and Juliet should work well.

[evlbstrd]

27. They'll use West Side Story.

You know, so the gangstas can relate.

[Bluebear]

42. No, Bernstein was bisexual

Mustn't have that.

[EFerrari]

44. So was Shakespeare

What is she THINKING! :sarcasm:

[rockymountaindem]

5. You see, homies

the Capulets and Montagues were like the Cryps and the Bloods. But then they realized fighting didn't accomplish anything, but by then they were all dead anyway...

Yeah, great parable.

[sniffa]

6. she's very weLL versed in gangs

afteraLL, she was sexed into her gang at age 15.

[Lone Pawn]

7. Oh, great.

What, drawn, and talk of peace! I hate the word,
As I hate hell, all Montagues, and thee:
Have at thee, coward!

[ThreeCatNight]

9. I have a BA in Theater Arts

and I still have trouble with Bill sometimes.
How that hell is an undereducated gang member going to understand the complexities of Shakespere?
God damn it...if this wasn't real, I would swear I was in some kind of bizarro universe.

[NYCGirl]

23. Maybe they could start with this version of Othello:

and continue with this version of The Tempest:



and Roman Polanski's very violent version of the Scottish play:

[FreedomAngel82]

24. Beats me

In one of my writing classes I took we did a Shakespeare play "Othello" (it was great!) and some of my fellow classmates had a little trouble with it. I've never had trouble with Shakespeare. I think his writings are great!

[Double T]

10. To Be A Gang, Or To Not Be A Gang. That Is The Question????

[stray cat]

11. She certainly can't do anything that might cost money

After all it costs money to restore the inner city to provide real potential to children.

[raccoon]

14. Yeah, just like "Just say No",

and this will probably be as ineffective as "just say no."

[merh]

29. Or is it just say "Nay"?

:shrug:

[ultraist]

60. LOL! That's EXACTLY what came to mind for me too!

WHAT a joke. What applicable life skills will be garnered from learning Shakespeare? Why not SAT courses, college application classes, job interviewing skills classes, etc?

[FourStarDemocrat]

12. It would be great if she'd agree to live with gangmembers for a few weeks

As we all know, you cannot make a difference from afar. If Laura is serious, and I believe she is and that her intentions are true, she must make the committment to go to where the gangs are, break bread with them, speak with them, sleep in their houses, and directly show them, by example how introducing Shakespeare into their lives will make the difference for them. This will also be a wonderful PR opportunity for the Whitehouse. I will call Mrs. Bush's office and recommend this course of action immediately.

[luvLLB]

13. Romeo, Romeo, where you at, biach?

[leveymg]

15. She must have gotten her English and American lit classes confused

That Shakespeare image on an American flag background might be a little offensive to the British. It's a weird juxtaposition. Willy the Shake, from the hood. What a propaganda image!

:eyes:

[underpants]

17. Okay I don't want to freak anyone out but-Does anyone else see a "Vision"?

Wow it's like a Chicago underpass or something.

[AlCzervik]

22. in her dialated pupils, thats just the ambien.

[tanyev]

18. Yo, Laura. Did Shakespeare write this about Georgie?

It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.

[ozymandius]

19. So she wishes to inspire them to use knives instead of guns?

Forsooth!

[DelawareValleyDem]

21. Could be worse

she could be offering to teach them how to drive.

[Bluebear]

25. *snarf*

[Fire Walk With Me]

57. Or doing something damaging like the PMRC

Shakespeare and Just Say No change nothing.

Sigh of relief.

[enlightenment]

26. I never listen to anything a * says, but maybe

she was referring to (or thinking of -- do *'s think?) Rafe Esquith's program in LA.
He teaches in Hobart Elementary, an inner-city school, and does absolutely ASTONISHING things with kids that most people won't look at twice. He won an NEA Medal of Arts in 2003 and recently published "There Are No Shortcuts" (Random House).
One of his most successful programs is the "Hobart Shakespeareans" -- 5th graders who have performed before the Royal Shakespeare Company.
He believes that knowing and understanding Shakespeare is a key to improvement on a number of levels.

His story is the kind that makes you proud to be human, and at the same time ashamed that you aren't doing more to help.

A far better story than anything Laura could do . . .

[merh]

33. Wouldn't that entail Laura knowing Shakespeare to be better

able to teach it to the gangs?

(BTW: It is also a successful program in at least one prison. It helps to get the inmates interested in the arts, challenge them to know Shakespeare and to understand his works. It has been considered useful. Let me search for a link.....)

[enlightenment]

36. I'd appreciate a link to the article on the prison program

and, if you don't mind, could you tell me how to post a link? Something simple, I'm sure, but I don't want to screw it up by experimenting.
Many thanks.

Oh -- as for Laura? I doubt she would bother trying to teach it . . . she's all "sound and fury, signifying nothing."

[merh]

40. She is just stealing ideas from others' successful projects.

In prisons, you have a captive audience and most inmates try whatever they can to get out of their cells or the day room for some type of distraction or stimulus. (That is why so many find God, they get to go to religious services, choir practice, bible study etc.) To join Shakepeare study/theater group may at first be just such a tactic, but some may actually enjoy the reading. Those that really do get involved feel as if they have accomplished something after working in the group.

Google: Prison and Shakespeare -- apparently it is success in many places. http://tinyurl.com/bha46

[muriel_volestrangler]

43. Links are very easy

you just type (or copy) into your post the address of the page as it appears in a browser's address line - ie http followed by a colon followed by a double slash followed by www.cnn.com or whatever.

If you want the fancy way of linking - which shows different text in your post - see the HTML lookup table that the DU 'Post a message' page has a link to.

[enlightenment]

49. Thanks for the information muriel, and thanks for the link,

merh! I've been lurking around here for a couple of years -- just recently got up the nerve to start posting, here and there. I'm learning (I think!)
Thanks again.

[LdyGuique]

52. A google search brings up several options, including one in the UK

but, this is probably the one being remembered

Shakespeare Behind Bars: Prison Rehab

Criminals study their behavior via bard's characters

By Jana McQuay, Record guest writer

Seldom does society present the inner suffering and remorse of convicted criminals as intimately and sensitively as director Hank Rogerson and producer Jilann Spitzmiller.
Their documentary, "Shakespeare Behind Bars," screened in the Documentary Competition at the Sundance Film Festival, follows a theatrical program in action at Luther Luckett Correctional Complex in LaGrange, Kentucky.

It is a documentary that nurtures a wellspring of contemplative thought.

[maveric]

28. And Nancy Reagan's "Just say No" prevented millions of kids

from using drugs. Even though her husband and Poppy were dealing with the Contras who were shipping cocaine into the US with an OK.
Typical republican stategy to solve problems. Put a small band-aid on a huge cut.

[Taxloss]

30. What fools these mortals be.

[mcscajun]

31. "What brick, through yonder window breaks?"

I just couldn't resist; it floated up from the bottom of my mind.

[Jade Fox]

50. LOL!

[Roland99]

32. I thought Shakespeare was gay? I guess this won't work in Alabama

BTW, anyone see Jeopardy last night? If you did, you know what I'm talking about! :D

[EFerrari]

45. Shhhhhhhhhh! Don't tell the kids!

:)

[EC]

34. What is it Republican's like to say about Democrats?

Oh Yeah, Elitists and Out of Touch with the People....

[Bluebear]

39. Indeed. n/t

[Justitia]

35. Lady Macbeth? She seems good at conscience suppression. -eom

[BringEmOn]

37. Lay down the glock and uzi and take up the sword!

Or...drive-by catapult
Now, it she can just get them to wear those fancy colored leotards...

[VaYallaDawg]

38. She'll have problems in Alabama

if the wingers in the legislature down there get their way, some of old Shakie's works will be banned (there are some gay inferences, donchano --- tsk, tsk, can't have our chirren exposed to that nastiness).

[CatholicEdHead]

54. That's what I first thought

is that this plan is going to be illegal in Alabama if things keep going there.

[John Q. Citizen]

41. Good. There are much worse things than Shakespear. Now if the rest

of the Administration would follow suit, we'd be in a lot better shape. Maybe the neocons could study "Walden" and the religious right could study Omar Khayam and the Al Quida types could study Ghandi.

Not knowing all the details of the Laura initiative, I can't really come to a definative conclusion. but here are some things to consider.

Some may critizise the idea as lame, but in comparison to some other ideas, such as the "war on drugs" and massive prison warehousing of whole generations of inner city youth, it strikes me that Shakespeare has at least as good of a chance at success. It's also royalty free, and it's a lot more positive than police actions.

Maybe the left should wholeheartedly jump on board and lobby for the inclusion on the ground of a wide range of playwrites and work to shape an inner-city performing arts program that serves the needs of the residents.

It would give our side a lot of cover in terms of being willing to cross the aisle and work with Laura to introduce a socialistic government sponcered after school/summertime arts enrichment program in the inner city.

On the other hand, I haven't seen the original proposal yet, so who knows how truley lame it might be?

[unblock]

46. remember how much conservative mocked midnight basketball?

that was back when dukakis was running for prez.

a highly successful anti-gang, anti-crime plan. simply provide a place for anyone to come and play basketball at midnight. it was cheap and it WORKED for the simple reason that it gave something to do instead of go commit crimes.

but it SOUNDS stupid, so they mocked it. endlessly.

[Kerrytravelers]

47. mrs. shrub must not have gotten the daily memo: no books by or about gays

(from yesterday's news)

There are rumors on the internets that Shakespeare might have played for both teams... I dunno, just tossing it out there...

[EFerrari]

48. "What a piece of work is man" and in this case, woman.

They already took God, they can have WS when they pry him out of my cold dead hands.

[Malva Zebrina]

51. Bwahahahahah

puleez---take this woman away. She needs to get with it and has no idea of the condition of those who grow up on the street. NO IDEA and her own daughter, displays her ass on the dance floor! Of course, that dance floor is full of dancing white , well endowed financially, bimboes, like Jenna.

Dear heavens--get this wax faced woman out of the propaganda photo ops and her "white subjugated Stepford wife promotions". She personifies and loves the great white male culture. Further, she is promoting teen marriage, a la Romeo and Juliette and violence.

Looks like she got a new hairdresser and no longer relies upon a triple application of hair spray to stick her hair close around her head, helmet fashion. Now she looks older and looks more like Nancy Reagan.

And while she promotes Shakespearan ideals, our youth is being killed in Iraq due to her dear husband's insane policies. not to mention the 100,000 and more innocent Iraqi people her husband murdered on lies. He, dear Laura, is a war criminal, while you go about promoting Shakespeare to inner city kids and those are the ones dear Laura, that have been recruited in order that your dear, soft hearted husband, sent to fight a war, based on his despicable lies.

You are complicit in their deaths.

But just go ahead. Teach Shakespeare to those youths you have such a classic westernized compassion toward-- you know, those "noble savages". Let one of them touch your ass and thong revealing slut of a daughter, and I bet all of your high falutin Shakespeare ideas will soon be forgotten.

[Chomskyite]

53. Jesus God is she ever stupid

Holy smokes. I wouldn't trust her to teach Dr. Seuss.

[rebel_yell]

55. tupac read Shakespeare

he sure turned out for the better didn't he:eyes:

i can appreciate Laura Bush FINALLY wanting to do something after 4 years....but I mean..c'mon

[Jade Fox]

56. Ironic, given the numerous comparisons of GWB to Henry V......

You know, the guy who kept his people distracted with war.

[iconoclastic cat]

58. Teachers do that every day.

Good fucking luck, Joker...I mean, Laura.

[CBHagman]

59. They enlisted the only person in America more sheltered...

...than I am to deal with the GANG PROBLEM?! What the hell are they thinking?