Georgia School Teacher dresses kids up the Klan, parades them through school

[Junkie Brewster]

Apparently, this was for a school project.

http://www.ajc.com/news/teacher-stands-by-lesson-534319.html?imw=Y">Klan in school? Just relax people, it was a joke!

Catherine Ariemma never intended for students to be offended by the sight of four Ku Klux Klansmen at Lumpkin County High School.

But that's how senior Cody Rider said he felt last Thursday when he looked up and saw the students -- dressed in white hoods and sheets -- walking through the school cafeteria.

"I was outraged," the 18-year-old mixed-race student told the AJC Monday night. "I was mad, so I started walking to them.

A coach, Josh Chatham, intervened by grabbing Rider by the arm.

[gateley]

1. I just wonder where those kids got such realistic Klan apparel - nt

[Dinger]

3. Good Question (nt)

[alfredo]

7. It's their choir robes.

[Junkie Brewster]

8. Yikes!

[Dinger]

9. Hell Has A Choir??

Well at least now I know.

[alfredo]

13. It's rock and roll, the devil's music.

[Dinger]

15. Of Course!

Should've known

[alfredo]

29. Jazz and folk will be there. If you're good enough to play jazz, you are too `

bad for heaven.

[Jamastiene]

20. You do know they make Klan robes in kids' sizes, don't you?

Sickening as it is, they do. It can be seen in many historical pictures of that disgusting gang's activities.

[gateley]

26. That's what I'm saying - they look like authentic Klan stuff, not just something

the kids put together for school.

[Cleita]

2. What's in the water in the South?

People are going coo coo it seems there.

[Jamastiene]

21. I'm from the South and

I ask that same question damn near every single day. It's disgusting.

[Cleita]

27. I've known southerners including Georgians and most of them are

pretty level headed and progressive. This is stunning.

[Jamastiene]

28. Same here, but

in some areas down here, there really does seem to be something in the water. It goes in waves. It gets worse, then clears up for a while, then gets worse again. My hometown is the worst case scenario though. Some of the things I have seen and heard and been subjected to would terrify most people.

Just the other day, in my mother's doctor office, I overheard a woman saying that God was going to cure her son of smoking. Ok, that could be understandable to a degree, but then she said his smoking was worse than if he was in a gang raping and killing people. My jaw almost hit the floor. I'd much rather he smoke around me than rape me. :wow:

Believe it or not, that's a mild example of the things I have heard and experienced here. Where I live, that is actually the tip of the iceberg though, believe it or not. Just reading the comments/editorial section of the local newspaper is downright scary. There really does seem to be something in the water here.

[napi21]

4. I can't believe aaaany teacher in GEORGIA would do this!

This school is in Deloniga, about 45 mins from where I live. For God sake! The KKK was stated in Stone Mountain Ga! To see one of these white ssheeted idiots scares ME & I'm an old white lady! Just how did that teacher THINK the black students there would react? I heard this on the news last night, and the Principal said he's suspended the teacher fo very poor judgement! Apparently there were also some nasty comments made by some students too. Something like "are you here to participate in a mock hanging?"

The stupidity of some teachers never ceases to amaze me!

[flamingdem]

33. delete

[RoseMead]

5. I wonder if you actually read the article you linked to

Because your headline makes it seem like you didn't.

[Junkie Brewster]

6. I'm referring to a separate thread...

... in which a number of posters seem to think religious prejudice in school is okay, so long as it's meant to be "funny".

[RoseMead]

10. Ok, gotcha, but

It seems like a poor comparison. This story wasn't about people being racist, even in a joking way. The teacher in question specifically said, "You cannot discuss racism without discussing the Klan," she said. "To do so would be to condone their actions." She made an error in judgment with how she chose to conduct that discussion, but I don't see anything that indicates that she is a racist or meant the costumes to be a show of support for the Klan.

And, reading the article, it certainly doesn't sound like she "paraded" them through the school. Instead, it sounds like she was trying to be sensitive about not doing exactly that, so she took them through the cafeteria, which she mistakenly thought was empty.

Sorry to jump on you, I understand you have good intentions. It just seemed like some important facts got tossed out in an attempt to make a point. I admit I haven't actually seen the other thread you mentioned, perhaps when I read it, the comparison will become more clear to me.

[Junkie Brewster]

11. The teacher is right, however...

... in the south, marching white students dressed as the Klan through a school is not dissimilar to giving students realistic looking guns to walk through a high school. It's an unintended terroristic thread. The teacher showed poor judgement, and at least one of the students had to be restrained from physically attacking the faux Klansmen.

[RoseMead]

12. Yes, she made an error in judgement

in not notifying parents and school officials that she and her class were planning a video project that included Klan costumes. I don't necessarily agree that wearing the costumes in itself was wrong. As a commenter to one of the articles about this incident mentioned, there have been times when schools have done dramatic performances of The Diary of Anne Frank, complete with Nazi costumes. Not only would such costumes not be inappropriate in a setting like that, it would be next to impossible to tell the story on stage without them. I see this teacher having similar intent, she just made a stupid mistake by not telling people about it beforehand, creating what I'm sure was a very uncomfortable surprise for many people.

But back to my earlier objection, you said you were comparing this story to people showing religious prejudice in school, and then (others, presumably) laughing it off as a joke. Again, this is a poor comparison. From what I can tell, no one was showing actual racist prejudice here, and no one has tried to write it off as a joke. The teacher herself seems to agree that she made a mistake, and expresses a desire to see a "teachable moment" come out of the mess.

I'm often accused of being too literal about things, so I'm sure this seems like nitpicking on my part. But the only real point of comparison I can see between this story and the situation you described is that someone did something at a school that someone else (with good reason) found offensive. After that, these sound like completely different issues altogether.

I'm still looking for that other thread as I sift through everything else on DU at the moment, but when I find it, I promise to read it. It's possible I'll see the connection then. Right now, I just don't.

[Toucano]

14. They were costumes for a video re-enactment for history class.

I swear, the concept of "context" is completely gone.

[proteus_lives]

16. People prefer faux-outrage.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

17. What sort of re-inactment, and why?

[Toucano]

22. All the article says is that the AP history class was doing a film project. n/t

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

25. Right.

So there's not enough context to excuse the teacher.

[Toucano]

31. There is no context to suggest it's a racist statement.

The wearing of a costume is not a statement to offending anyone or advocate a racist opinion.

That's enough context.

The past is too much with us.

[Bluebear]

19. And they had to be worn and marched around school why?

[Toucano]

23. The costumes should not have been worn off of the set.

For me, that's the error in judgement.

But it's no huge racist crime.

[Liberal_in_LA]

30. huge error in judgement

[Toucano]

32. Misdemeanor.

Make an apology and then we can all laugh about how ridiculous it is.

[n2doc]

18. Class final- Cross Burning! n/t

[Jamastiene]

24. And I thought it was disgusting that the Biology 2 classes all marched dead dissected cat bodies

through every classroom (except Mrs. Newton's Radio/TV class, thank you, Mrs. Newton for locking the door) after dissecting them. I hated my high school for many reasons, that being one of them. That was so fucking stupid.

This story is worse. Talk about poor judgment and extreme insensitivity.

[BlueIris]

34. I read about this earlier--messed up. nt