Blue Mass Group

Reality-based commentary on politics.

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  1. Senator Brown behaved as many parents would like to when their children and their family are the object of slanderous remarks.  The King Phillip Regional School Committee took a bold step in issuing the letter reprimanding the senator.  Cudos.  According to the media, Brown initiated the meeting with the students in which he flung the profanities (back) in their faces which included innocent members of the captive audience.  One could reasonably expect that Brown (who is disciplined and calculating in all his moves) would have had the maturity to confront the students with more finesse…not a polished move for a guy looking toward higher office.  Hub Politics [http://www.hubpoliti…]  His critique of US Senator John Kerry seems to be coming back to bite him….

    Brown (R-Wrentham) said. “His handling of himself during this Iraq situation has been outrageous. He needs to be held accountable.”

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    …I don’t recall Senator Kerry issuing expletives at students….EVER.  Maybe Brown is carrying some residual muck from the Healey campaign? 

  2. …with Finneran.  Brown, Finneran and the callers kept referring to “the F bomb” or “that language” and other euphemisms. 

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    If you can’t say the word on radio, should you be saying it at a High School assembly?  If a voter told Brown to go “fuck himself” would Brown repeat that at an election debate packed with voters and press?  Would Brown read from these same facebook posting on a local cable TV show?  Would Brown tell a group of senior citizens or a church group that a teenager said fuck?  I seriously doubt it. 

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    Amazingly, when asked on the radio show, if he would do it exactly the same way, he said “yes”. 

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    It is one thing to use poor judgment and repeat verbatim what teenagers wrote him and his family.  But is shows far deeper flaws as a person and a public servant, by digging in his heals and making matters worse by saying he’d do things exactly the same, even with knowing what he knows now.  Brown has a few things in common with George Bush. 

    • It is one thing to use poor judgment and repeat verbatim what teenagers wrote him and his family.  But is shows far deeper flaws as a person and a public servant, by digging in his heals and making matters worse by saying he’d do things exactly the same, even with knowing what he knows now.  Brown has a few things in common with George Bush.

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      The guy clearly doesn’t have a clue.  I wouldn’t trust that guy to make sensible judgments about the weeds in my lawn.  He’s a disgrace to his office. 

  3. The Teacher and the students who used the profanity and threatened Brown’s family are not the problem.

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    The problem is with a courageous State Senator who dared to challenge them on it and expose their hatred and agenda

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    Typical lefty liberal bs

    • I’m not sure whether it’s the limousine liberals or the latte-sipping liberals, but it’s always one of them with their typical BS. It’s awful. I mean get them to stop hugging a tree for a minute, and the next thing you know, they’re putting words in a state senator’s mouth. And then he gets in trouble! Next thing you know they’ll be trying to tell us global warming is real!

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      The Senator’s actions were wrong. We don’t use that language in school. Kids know that. Parents know that. We, teachers know that. Teachers who swear in class are apt to get fired. It’s socially inappropriate. He’s supposed to be a role model for public speech. He wouldn’t have spoken like that at a press conference, why do so at a school?

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      Brown’s chutzpah, however, is the right PR move. He’s the kind of Republican who is never wrong. That’s his persona. He’s not going to back down, and his conservative base will love him for it. It’s them against us moonbats. Survival of the fittest, baby!

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      Mark

      • When was the last time you read “Catcher in the Rye”?

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        Just a couple of f-bombs in that, hugh?  By the way, that book is required reading for this school.

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        Scott Brown used the same words kids used about him and his family while trying to convey a point about political debate in this country.  A point that most of you commenting on this thread may also need to learn.

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        Brown was talking to the kids about the political process and how quickly reasonable debate can turn into hate filled platitudes with all reason being lost by other wise reasonable people.  This is also why it was appropriate to read the names of students who signed these remarks.  So the students would have examples from people they knew. 

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        Most of the people that are now commenting on this topic are guilty of the types of unconstructive criticism that Brown was pointing out.  Oh, and by the way, most of you are late, this subject was amply covered already.

        • …honestly not see a difference?  Even if you believe that what Brown did was no big deal.  Do you think there is a differnce between curses appearing in a great work of literature and a sitting state senator cursing (in no way related to literature even if they were quotations) in front of a school assembly?  Also, as I recall, when I read Catcher in the Rye in high school we never actually said the curses aloud and the teacher only referred to them obliquely.  Even though we were reading them they were spoken about with care and there was a discussion of the literary merit of such language.  Wonder if Brown stuck around for the teaching moment to deconstruct his approach with the kids?  It is not enough to say “the kids read f#@k in literature so anyone can use that word in school” because when the kids read these books there is a process to address the issue and it certainly doesn’t give them permission to swear with impunity thereafter.

      • You go away for a week and you miss the good stuff….

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        From Pam’s House Blend jumping in when Brown said he “called” the high school students on the posting:

        Called them on it? No Senator Brown, you childishly responded to children behaving like children.

        There’s something about being a homophobe, racist, or misogynist that goes hand in hand with not being able to think clearly. Brown had a chance to engage a group of kids and present his views on gay marriage.

        Instead he angrily presented them obscene quotes from a facebook website. He ignored teachers trying to stop him, bullying forward and “calling them on it” by naming the student commenters. Way to go tough guy. Nothing gets through to a group of kids like an adult yelling at them. He probably improved the social status of the kids he named, especially if their comments were naughty and even a little clever.

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        The response? Well …

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        A myspace pictorial.

    • …and the only way he could expose their hatred and agenda was by saying “fuck” at a school assembly.

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      Apparently Paul you are digging in the same hole as Brown and neither of you have a clue that it’s time to stop.

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      Typical neocon folly.

    • Put aside the use of profanity-

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      what is appalling is that an elected official would go to a high-school classroom and single out the names of and individual (a minor!) to his peers…

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      not only is that unprofessional or unethical- it is immature and distasteful!

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      this is a big ‘macaca moment’ for sen. brown…if only it were captured on film…

    • to stand in front of every class and repeat verbatim every insult or f-bomb that has been thrown my way? 

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      “Hold up class.  Real learning needs to come to a stop while I recite verbatim every insult that has been written about me or stated to my face.”

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  5. You can get upset about one of three things:

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    • The make of car that transports Governor Patrick;
    • Senator Brown using the f-word in front of teenagers;
    • The fact that anyone things either of those is important

    I vote for the last one.

  7. that I am absolutely baffled that Senator Brown would think it appropriate to rattle off obscenity laced quotes in a school setting.  I completely agree with the Superintendent of the School District on this one. 

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    I am not arguing that Brown be villified or attacked ad nauseum about this – but I think an apology is perfectly in order here.  Be done with it, and move on.

  8. …people will post things on the Internet that they would never say–at least in the same way–in public.  I learned that about a decade ago, when I was dishing with the hateful homophobes on FreeRepublic.com*.  One of them fully admitted to me that he would never say things in public about gay people that he posted on the Internet.  That sealed it for me.

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    Brownie, you’re an ass (the braying kind of ass, not the other kind).  And I’d tell it to your face.  In public.  And I might even use the “f” word.

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    *Interesting, that, in a couple of months, I learned more derogatory terms for gay men by dishing with the ‘phobes on FreieRepublik.com, than I had in my previous 50 years on this planet.  It was funny as heck.

    • I find it very hypocritical for anyone to criticize the Senator for using the “F” word in front of high school sophmores yet those same people have no compunction against using it in their posts on this site or elsewhere on the internet.

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      Not you in particular.  Just my opinion, in general.

      • of language is established by context.  If you cannot discern a contextual difference between an elected official addressing high school students and relatively anonymous people posting on political forums on the internet, then there does not appear to be much hope of you gaining some understanding of the larger point.

        • You own them regardless of where you’ve written them or where and when you said them.  That’s the larger point.

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          Romney’s stance (0.00 / 0) 
          on this Commission is appalling.  His pandering knows no bounds. 
          I’m proud to say that my school has a robust and well-supported GLBT Alliance comprised of both gay and straight students.  Both faculty advisors are straight, modeling the type of nurture, acceptance, and support that society, as a whole, should be modeling but doesn’t.

          As teachers, our commitment to these youth is evidenced by the voluntary display of a GLBT Safe Zone sign posted on our classrooms doors. 

          I guess it’s up to us.  Fucking Republicans. 

          Be nice to America or we’ll bring democracy to your country.

          ——————————————————————————–

          by: lightiris @ Fri Jul 21, 2006 at 22:50:41 PM EDT

          • The appropriateness of language is determined by context. An internet posting is not a classroom lecture — unless you read Lightiris’ postings to your Sunday school class.

            • is apparently not in his dictionary or he doesn’t understand the point I was making because he, rather inadvertently, just made it for me by posting my own words–on an internet forum under a pseudonym.  lol.  oy!

            • The words are out there for anyone to read.

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              How does lightiris know that her students don’t visit this site and read her posts?  Should I read her post, say, to a certain central massachusetts school committee?

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              The “larger point” is that once the words are out there, you can’t put them back.  And, my smaller point is that you’re a hypocrit to criticize the Senator, if you’re using the word publicly.

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              Might the words make their way into a Sunday school class, classroom, a group of students.  Absolutely. 

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              That’s the lesson those students may have learned. Post under an anonymous name  I’m sure those students have heard, written and said the F-word, but when their written/virtual words are put back in their face, maybe they learned that it’s not such a great idea to write words in public that they’d be ashamed of once the words are read aloud before them and peers.

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              If that’s the result of the Senator’s speech.  Good for him for teaching them.  Takes a village you know.

              • Are you for real?

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                How does lightiris know that her students don’t visit this site and read her posts?  Should I read her post, say, to a certain central massachusetts school committee?

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                What I say in my private life as a citizen is not the issue.  I am neither speaking in my role as a school committee member nor as a teacher hired by my school district.  Private speech vs. public speech.  Sen. Brown uttered those words in his professional capacity as an elected official addressing a gathering of students.  If I spoke inappropriately in my classroom and students complained, they would be entirely justified in doing so–as would their parents.  It is not appropriate for me to use foul language except in the context of literature or instruction on context.  Capisce?

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                The “larger point” is that once the words are out there, you can’t put them back.  And, my smaller point is that you’re a hypocrit to criticize the Senator, if you’re using the word publicly.

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                No one cares that the words are, as you say, “out there.”  It doesn’t matter that many people use the word freely every minute of every day.  It’s not the word itself, it’s the context in which it is used. 

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                Using your logic, because I’ve used the word “fuck” at some point in my life, I am not justified to criticize another person for using it?  So I should let kids use that sort of language freely in my classroom so I don’t behave like a hypocrite?  Students and parents have no right to complain about me if I use the word commonly and freely in class because, in all likelihood, they’ve all used it, too?  C’mon. 

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                Might the words make their way into a Sunday school class, classroom, a group of students.  Absolutely.

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                Who cares?  Do you think for a second I care what people say in freakin’ Sunday school?  Do you really think I care if Sen. Brown peppers his dinner-hour conversation in the privacy of his home with “fuck”?  I sure don’t.  I do care when he represents the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in a public school and behaves like a bully and a fool.

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                That’s the lesson those students may have learned. Post under an anonymous name  I’m sure those students have heard, written and said the F-word, but when their written/virtual words are put back in their face, maybe they learned that it’s not such a great idea to write words in public that they’d be ashamed of once the words are read aloud before them and peers.

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                Again, who cares?  The students’ behavior is not the issue, despite your best efforts here to make them the problem.  He is supposed to be an adult. 

                If that’s the result of the Senator’s speech.  Good for him for teaching them.  Takes a village you know.

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                LOL!! If you think for one second that his tantrum is going to change the speech habits of high school kids then you are decidedly delusional.  Somebody call an ambulance and get the snazzy white coat.  The notion is laughable.

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                Yeah, it does take a village–on planet Earth. 

          • What I post pseudonymously on a political internet site is not comparable to how I address students as a professional in a public high school.  Are you that dense that you cannot discern the difference? 

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            I am not ashamed of my language on this forum.  It’s the freakin’ interent, not a classroom.  That’s the point, yet again, one more time.

            • lightiris, many (I might even say most) of your posts have an angry tone to them.  There certainly is plenty to be angry about in the world, but most people can still get through the day with a smile on their faces.  I don’t picture you contributing to BMG with a smile on yours.

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              I’ll admit, I have wondered that if you seem so angry on BMG, how angry you must come across in real life, particularly in the classroom.  I’m sure you don’t swear at your kids in class, but knowing many people in real life that contribute to other online forums I know that online attitudes generally are pretty consistent with real life ones.  Its something to think about.

          • Sometimes I have thoughts which contain course language. For instance, right now I’m thinking:

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            ‘That Senator Scott Brown is a complete dipshit’

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            Does having that thought disqualify me from commenting in future threads?

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            What if Senator Brown is reading my thoughts? Do I owe him an apology?

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      • …as I noted above, Sen Brown won’t not repeat the words he spoke in front of a high school assembly on WRKO.

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        Yes, Gary you would be correct to point out that if he tried to say those words, WRKO would have censored his speech and bleep them out, out of fear of being fined by the FCC.

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        Gary you very well understand the limitations on saying Fuck on the radio and the ability to “say” it on the internet.  I trust you also have the cognitive ability to reconize that “saying” fuck on a political blog discussing this issue is a lot different than “saying” fuck on a blog devoted to Disney cartoons.  Sen. Brown apparently can not make those distinctions.  High School assemblies are not an appropreiate place to say the word.

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        BTW, I’m pretty sure I’ve only wrote fuck on BMG regarding this issue.  I’ll usually show restraint and type %&$%^ when I’ve really pissed.

        • And I said as much below (quote from this thread):

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          The point is, again, one more time: swear publicly and deal with the consequences, if any.  The Senator is quite possibly a hypocrite to criticize others, if indeed he did criticize them for swearing (we don’t know what he said).

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          Swear on a disney blog or a political blog, it’s public and can come back to haunt you.  My rule of the road is don’t use language publicly that you’d regret being read to your mom. (er…my mom, not yours)

  9. “As a teacher I have to say that I am absolutely baffled that Senator Brown would think it appropriate to rattle off obscenity laced quotes in a school setting.”

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    Are you not baffled that a teacher was the one that spurred these kids on?

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    Wake up

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