Petition to Fire Don Lemon Is Senseless

The BLM movement has made a great impact in publicly supporting the need for police officers to treat Blacks with respect when they are stopped for whatever reason. So, BLM's efforts in emphasizing the importance of Black lives is necessary especially with the continuous spate of unwarranted murders or mistreatment of Black men and women. However, the movement's involvement, through Jamell Henderson, in a Change.org petition to remove Don Lemon from his CNN news anchor post demonstrates that basic common sense is lacking in starting such a petition. Don Lemon, as any other anchor - Black or White, can ask whatever questions he wants and if the questions or his comments are not to anyone's liking, then they can easily switch channels in this democratic nation. Furthermore, Lemon's asking to obtain more facts is justified versus jumping to conclusions based solely on brief video that does not show prior footage in the Spring Valley classroom. For Jamell Henderson to presume that Don Lemon must rush to judgement prior to hearing all the facts in the Spring Valley High School case, simply because he is a Black man, is nonsense. Henderson's call for Lemon's firing is irresponsible especially when so many people have jumped on the bandwagon in support of such a simple-minded, silly request which will certainly not happen in the real world! There are more serious issues occurring in the United States to rally Black support through Change.org!

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/10/30/student-walkout-backs-fired-deputy-sc-school/74874920/

A Cry of Racism for Indiscipline Children

Officer Ben Fields was fired for slamming a female student to the ground. Many are crying racism, but records show that he was involved in the mishandling of a White student. Nevertheless, the matter with the student at Spring Valley High School should not have escalated to the altercation as shown on the video. Teachers and educator are faced everyday with dealing with disruptive children who have no home training, so these students believe they can do whatever they want to inside a classroom and get away with it. All who are crying racism in this Spring Valley High School case should stop criticizing and come spend one day inside a classroom with some of these indiscipline students who are out-of-control. Surely, these critics would have a different opinion after they encounter students who are constantly on their phone texting, etc., etc., etc., instead of completing their classwork. Wonder what these critics would do if they were in the classroom everyday and had to deal with such students who have a habit of talking back and confronting the teacher?

Parents are Still Opposing Desegregated Schools

Listening to the NPR podcast of the Normandy, Missouri school district losing accreditation and the transferring of 1000 of its Black students to the predominantly White, Frances Howell schools, is an eye opener that the vicious attitude of a number of White parents on school desegregation has not changed. The Frances Howell parents' town hall meeting indicated their great discontent with Black students transferring to their children's schools, and those parents' comments such as the following were most troubling to say the least:

• Normandy's under-performing  children will lower Frances Howell's accreditation status
• Normandy's children are indiscipline
• Frances Howell parents should have a vote to accept Normandy's school children
• Frances Howell parents do not want different kinds coming across the tracks to their side
• Frances Howell parents want to know if they can implement metal detectors for the Normandy children
• Normandy children are violent and should not mix with their children
• Frances Howell should have sniffing dogs for the Normandy children
• Frances Howell children will get robbed by Normandy children
• Move start time up so Frances Howell will not be the best option for the Normandy children

These are the words of parents during the 21st century which reflected similar attitudes of White parents during the 1960s when Black children had to be protected by police and state troopers as they attempted to walk through the doors of predominantly White elementary, middle, high schools and universities. These same Frances Howell parents come to mind when remembering photos of not only White men but women and children having a picnic as Blacks were lynched.  Of course, the beliefs of parents greatly influence their children, so the cycle of racism will continue.

NPR podcast link
http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/562/the-problem-we-all-live-with?act=1#play

Slavery and the Holocaust - Two Unforgettable Atrocities

Prime Minister, David Cameron's speech  to a Jewish group about the Holocaust included the kind, considerate comments "Tell us what you think we should do and let us make sure we commemorate  these dreadful events and make sure that here in Britain no one ever forgets what happened and we swear together; never again".  His curt, inconsiderate statement to the Jamaican Parliamentarians about slavery  - "We can move on from this painful legacy..." Both historic events represent  atrocities committed against humans and neither one should and will be forgotten.

Jamaican Born Writer Wins Coveted Literary Award

Jamaican born, Marlon James, won the prestigious Man Booker Prize for his novel, A Brief History of Seven Killings. He won the United Kingdom's coveted literary award. James, an American resident, is an English professor at  Macalester College in Minnesota. He never gave up whenever any of his award winning books were initially rejected. He is an example that shows with hard work and determination success can be achieved in an area outside of the elusive sports and entertainment careers. Congratulations to Professor James for a well deserved achievement.

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/news/20151013/james-brief-history-seven-killings-was-most-exciting-book-list-says-judge

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/marlon-james-becomes-first-jamaican-born-author-win-booker-prize/

http://news.yahoo.com/jamaican-author-marlon-james-wins-man-booker-prize-210019390.html

Boisterous Behavior Leaves Little Compassion for a Grieving Town

President Obama's visit to show respect to families of victims at Umpqua Community College was met with demonstration by gun supporters who ironically are from the same or surrounding communities as the mass shooting. It is shameful that after such a massacre, these gun supporters have not been deterred from stubbornly preferring people to purchase guns without any restrictions. It was even surprising to hear one of the students whose life was spared from the massacre and her parent voicing their ignorance during an interview that the matter would have turned out better if all had guns inside the classroom. If the residents of a community go through such a traumatic experience and their reactions to gun control have not changed in the slightest, how can outsiders have any compassion when these  gun supporters are boisterous and demonstrating with signs that bear racial overtones.  The protest in Roseburg did not indicate that the town has been grieving!! Instead, the gun supporting protesters only showed a lack of respect for the mass shooting victims in their own community instead of President Obama.

Danny Glover Blasts British Prime Minister, David Cameron

The controversial visit of  the British Prime Minister to Jamaica continues to get attention from many worldwide including U.S. actor, Danny Glover, who visited Jamaica on the invitation of the Vice Chancellor of the University of the West Indies in Jamaica.

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/lead-stories/20151006/cameron-ignorant-says-danny-glover-american-actoractivist-calls