Thursday, August 16, 2007

"I Own You"

Yesterday my son came home from school very upset. That is a very unusual occurance. My son is 15, a straight A student, a rule follower (for the most part), never been in trouble. He is generally a very laid back kid who doesn't get upset eaisly. I stay pissed off enough for all of us. My son just sort of takes things in stride.

However, he told me that one of his classes was interrupted for an assembly on the rules and the dress code. This is the first year that something of a uniform has been instituted at school. Boys have to wear jeans or khakis, a belt,and shirts must be tucked in and cannot have any writing on them other than a polo or duckhead logo on the pocket. He hasn't broken the dress code rule or any other rule that I am aware of.

He said during the assembly that the Assistant Principal Mr. Davis told all the kids, "When you walk in that door I OWN YOU!" Now, what kind of shit is that to say to kids? I own you? Since when is public school run by fucking drill sergeants? I didn't enroll my child in Lyman Ward Military Academy and no one is going to talk to him like that. It has been illegal to own another human being since slavery ended. Further, taxpayers own the school and the teachers because we pay their damn salary, so if anyone owns anyone it is that we own them. What sick and twisted logic to think that one owns the people who pay their salary. What sick and twisted logic to think that one human being in America thinks that they own another one. It reminds me of how my mother and I were treated by prison guards when we tried to visit my brother. Seems like many state workers need a serious reality check.

My son has enough of me in him to get really pissed at a statement like that. He said, "Mom it was all I could do to stay seated and keep my mouth shut! My tongue hurts from biting it."

No one owns my children. The public school especially does not own them. In fact, I loan my son to them nine months of the year so that they can maintain a decent GPA. Without him it would fall dramatically.

So, I dedicate the following movie clip to Assistant Principal Davis.



I hear Lyman Ward Military Academy in Camp Hill is hiring. Maybe Assistant Principal Davis would find his drill sergeant mentality more acceptable in an environment that prepares kids for military life. My son isn't going in the military and therefore has no need whatsoever of this asshole treating him like he signed up for the Marines.



10 comments:

Wayne Nix said...

Unfortunately that sort of attitude is common. They work for the government because they like to push people around and they are too lazy to cut it in the military.

Anonymous said...

I still remember my 8th grade History teacher telling us that we had no rights because we were students; the US Constitution only gave rights to people over 18 years old.
So, honestly I'm not really surprised that a School Principal would say "I OWN YOU!" Most people in the education system are Fascists at best, and full-fledged Communists at worst.

Wayne Nix said...

You're the only person I've ever seen express the opinion that fascism is better than communism.....

You sure you're not a fascist?

Anonymous said...

As much as I agree with the content of your post, that video makes me nostalgic.

Loretta Nall said...

I was a little shocked by Darryl's comment as well MH.

Fascism and Communism suck equally IMOH.

Loretta Nall said...

Dan,

Drill Sgts are some of the funniest people on earth...as long as they are yelling at someone else. I know you are a Marine so I can understand your nostalgia.

Anonymous said...

It's a power play to scare the kids. It's also a means to demonstrate that school authorities can and will use every means possible to make the kids submit to whatever the administrators want to do. So, for instance, if they decide there is a drug problem in the school, they will strip-search your kids, search their lockers and cars, and call in the dogs to roam the hallways. Obviously, his statement was not for the sole purpose of enforcing a simple dress code. And if any parents object, they can always say they are doing it for the "safety of the students". Sound familiar?

-your friend in Texas

P.S. Sent you a little more cash through Paypal - Hope everything is going OK with ya'll!

RogueWriter said...

That assistant principal is a bastard.

I would love to seem try that crap in a school system like Auburn, Huntsville, or Mountain Brook.

If he said those things in Montgomery, he would probably end up with a bullet through his chest the way some of the kids are in those schools.

Anonymous said...

They do own him.

Loretta Nall said...

No, they do not own him or any other kid that attends that school. I haven't placed him up for sale, signed any papers or accepted any kind of payment for him. No one owns him. I don't even tell him that.

Like I said...I loan him out to them so they can maintain a decent overall GPA. I can pull him anytime, just like I did my daughter....so I own him...but would never say that to him as it is meant to humiliate and dehumanize...and we don't do that at my house.