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Post by ladyarya on Feb 14, 2005 5:31:51 GMT -5
I ended up getting him fired.
Well on the official record it says he "chose early retirement", but I got him fired. I know I did. And I'm darn proud of it. No one should have to put up with that. And honestly, I have no doubts he would have done it to others. He was just a creepy creepy guy.
As for letting it happen, honestly I was just so shocked it was happening that I didn't know what to do. My mind was too busy going "Wait... What?!" Luckily a friend happened to be walking with me when this happened and she put a stop to it. Nice to know one of us could keep our wits about us in that situation.
But I'd still feel violated by bringing drug sniffing dogs into the school. I never had anything on me... nor a reason to have anything on me.. but I still like my privacy.
Now, if they had a warrant to search my belongings... that's a whole other story.
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Post by FlatCoatedLover on Feb 14, 2005 17:08:27 GMT -5
I have some serious concerns about the uninhibited search of individuals in general and of minors specifically. As adults we have a say in the way in which our city/state/country is run we can vote to change those in power, lobby those placed in power and protest laws and actions that we feel are unjust. We can make informed decisions to avoid situations in which we feel lines are being crossed or bring leagal action against those who cross those line (like searching procedures at the airport or that they even have them).
Minors have no such power. They cannot vote to put others in power, their letters mean nothing to those in power so lobbing and protests by them are fruitless. When their belongings or person is searched without parental conscent and without cause they have no recourse. If they are uncomfortable with it they can not choose not to go to school to avoid it. We can not make decisions based on the bad actions of a few and treat all of the nations children and adolescents as criminals. It will become a self fullfilling prophecy as they will become disenfranchised with the system and will take matters into their own hands. The ones who perform violent acts have always given signs of trouble long before. We need to, as parents/teachers/principals/counselors, learn to recognise these signs and prevent these actions on an individual level rather than over reacting on a segment of out population.
As a nation we are headed down a very dangerous road because we let fear rule us. Everytime something "scary" happens, we react by removing more and more personal freedoms and soon we will have no left. In some cased it is so insidious that people don't notice and others happen so fast when the threat is fresh that people are so scared that they don't care. The government is currently holding US citizens against their will without telling them what they are being charged with or allowing them to contact an attorney or family. It is now considered "unpatriotic" to speak out against the government when free speech is one of the very ideals our country was founded on.
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Post by ladyarya on Feb 14, 2005 18:50:14 GMT -5
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DFrost
puppy
Any behavior that is reinforced is more likely to occur again.
Posts: 11
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Post by DFrost on Feb 16, 2005 9:22:50 GMT -5
I too have serious concerns against uninhibited searches. As a law enforcement officer, we are not permitted to conduct such things. In fact, not only could a department be held liable, but the officer that would do such a thing could be held personally liable for such activities. That does not diminish the need for the safety and security of the children that have been entrusted to a school system. Being a nation that votes (well at least the 47% of us that give a hoot) I'm certain if the majority of the parents that pay taxes for the schools and send thier children to those schools did not want any type of police presence, or extra security needs, then those voters would do something about it. That doesn't seem to be the way it is however. I'm sure that most of these outstanding parents, of whom about 20 % participate in PTA's or PTO's and the lessor number that attend school board meetings and truly get involved are very concerned about the safety of thier children. It still boils down to the fact that government, be it local, state or federal, have a distinct duty to provide security and safety to those children.
DFrost
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Post by FlatCoatedLover on Feb 16, 2005 18:31:00 GMT -5
When given a choice between security/safety and freedom I will choose freedom every time. The threat to security/safety needs to be dealt with on an individual basis. Those that are posing the threat should be punished swiftly and severely but leave the rest of us alone.
Another example of this is the supposedly random in depth searches that occur at the airport. They are firstly far from random. In the last 8 months I have take 8 flights and I was randomly selected for the extended search on all 8. Even on connections I was required to go back thru security when I was only moving from one plane to another and never leaving the terminal. Secondly, they give you no privacy while they are rummaging thru your baggage and "feeling you up" with nasty latex gloves (without bothering to ask if someone is allergic). They do this right in the middle of the airport in front of all the other passengers, to me this invasion crosses the line and they are now infringing too much on my personal freedoms. I am a short Puerto Rican female and I bear no likeness to the individuals that committed those acts of terror but I am the one who get violated while many people who fit the profile exactly are rushed through without a second glance. This is another example of simply doing thing to pacify the public but that really do nothing to prevent the problem.
The problem is not people sneaking on to planes with in intent to harm people in this nation. The problem is that we have created a nation that by its policies, actions and inactions causes people to want to do us harm. In general, Americans have no knowledge about or any desire to gain knowledge about the customs, government and history of our neighbors on this planet. Most can't name the capital of Canada or it provinces much less know any information about the actual political undertones that abound in the middle east, except what is spouted by the media or our illustrious leader in D.C. Why is it that we expect people from all other countries to speak English but there is no such requirement to be bilingual in this country. This is the problem the terrorist are only a symptom of the underlying disease.
The same applies to violence in the school. Children and adolescents acting out in these violent ways are only a symptom of the fact that we are failing our children. Parents no longer provide a framework of acceptability for their children. They are afraid to punish them for doing wrong and do not take the time to praise and show love when they do well. No time is taken to develop relationships with them where fears, desires, concerns, or joys can be shared. This is the problem. The violence is only a symptom.
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