From the New West blog: Opinion
Eastern Idaho Kids Chant “Assassinate Obama” on School Bus
In another incident, a man advertised violence against President-elect Obama.By Jill Kuraitis, 11-13-08
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In Rexburg, a small eastern Idaho university town, Tuesday’s bus ride home from an elementary school had kids chanting, “Assassinate Obama, assassinate Obama.”
Then they added in the name of a classmate, chanting “Assassinate Obama and Kate.”
A couple named Whoolery found out about it when their second and third graders got off the bus and reported the chanting. The Whoolerys weren’t Obama voters, but they were astonished and contacted the school.
According to a Twin Falls TV station, the Whoolerys “just don’t like people joking about a serious matter concerning any leader of the country.”
The school superintendent sent an email to teachers, principals and bus drivers about the incident and saying the students should be told that behavior is unacceptable.
I called the Madison County school district and spoke to Janet Goodliffe, whose title is “spokesperson.” She was very nice, but didn’t answer my real question, which is, “What is being done to find out if the parents of these kids have created a home atmosphere where that kind of language or thinking is okay?”
I had asked if there was to be any further action since the email, and she said, “I don’t know what you mean. It’s not even like that. It was the day after the election, and the kids were just chanting, really little kids, like six, seven and eight.”
I don’t know about you, but when my kids were six, seven and eight they might have chanted, “Justin is a big doodyhead” on the bus, but not hateful, violent, illegal stuff. They were brought up to respect the presidency no matter who held the office. And yes, at six both my kids knew who the president was, were aware of elections, and could have told you who the governor was, too.
I’m not saying all six-year-olds would have known what they were saying. But most would, and some kind of swift and serious action should be taken to figure out where they got the swill they were regurgitating. The kids and parents should be questioned by law enforcement, if only to emphasize how serious the incident was.
Another incident
This week in northern Idaho, Ken Germana put up a sign advertising a “free public hanging” of President-elect Barack Obama and several other politicians.
Germana is under investigation by the U.S. Secret Service, as he should be.
“That’s a political statement,” Germana told the Bonner County Daily Bee. “They can call it whatever they want, a threat or whatever.”
A rope noose – a symbol used by the Ku Klux Klan and other racists, hangs down the middle of the sign.
Germana said he wouldn’t lose sleep if the president-elect came in harm’s way.
Considering there are photos of the sign, and Germana has not repudiated his statement in any way, I hope authorities throw the book at him. Kids are one thing, but this is a grown man.
I’m at a loss about how to stop this stuff, but that doesn’t stop me from using my fury to try to think of something constructive. It’s an enormous concept with thousands of years of history to try to fight hate and violence, but we have to start somewhere.
Think.
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Comments
Way to make us proud Idaho.
This will be on South Park in a month.
It was Art Linkletter, I believe, who once wrote a book called "Kids say the darndest things" or something similar to that. Kids. We are talking about some little goofy kids. And don't look to Mom and Dad. Better you look at Hollywood, tv, and what the current crop of kids are exposed to on a daily basis. And, you would wonder if "assassinate" was their new word for the day, a word just learned, from a peer. Give them a break!!!
Beyond being stern with the kids on school grounds there's really nothing else the school could do, and that's as it should be.
But this story about a few ignorant kids should not take away from the fact that Rexburg is an awesome place to live. If you want more information about this area, please email me at . We are in the process of moving a more progressive agenda into this area, and we feel confident that the outdated and racial ideas of the people who have called this place home for the last 80 years or so will eventually be gone from this area.
Don't spread gossip on the internet about this town, just pray for it. Thank you.
I would not be too quick to condemn Idaho, Rexburg, LDS, parents, and all your usual suspects, as those bases have been well covered to this point by another class of bigots. I have to wonder about the emotions that are barely covering concerns about the Mormon influence, Idaho not being New England, and the misconception that rural America is home to racism and hate. The most intolerance I am seeing is the urban gay community outbursts against minorities who voted against gay marriage in I believe three states in this election. I was shocked, frankly. Taken aback. Attacking minorities because they didn't vote your cause in.
Again, 7 and 8 year olds have not gained the emotions or will power to hate. They are parrots repeating things they think are amusing, shocking, new. They just need redirection of thought, not scorn and indignant lectures. They are kids, for God's sake.
Like it or not Bearbait is right, kids are monkeys they repeat what they hear with no knowledge of the true meaning of the words.
"The people of Rexburg, Idaho (among others) now have a decision to make, how to react. I say, it's a moment for teaching.
Let's learn what this word "assassinate" means, and how it resonates through American history, still fresh in the minds of people who were alive (and in 3rd grade) the last time it happened to a President, or to a candidate for President, or to a preacher who led a Civil Rights movement that culminated in a historic victory this month.
Let's not wait for Martin Luther King Day to talk about how the human spirit can rise above hatred and bigotry and ethnic cleansing and genocide. Or not.
Let's talk about this in school. Let's talk about this in church. Let's talk about this in coffee shops, and restaurants, and libraries, and bookstores, and bars, and every public place, and most of all, at home."
http://fortboise.org/blog/200811.html#p11130
Yes, it is wrong the children were chanting this, but have those of you who are so quick to judge Idaho not read the national news everyday before and after Obama was elected? Almost every state in this great nation has had incidents where people were acting in "bad" ways towards the thought of Obama.
It is not just Idaho and other more liberal diverse states have had more shocking incidents regarding our new President.
Is this shocking to people just because Obama is black...well half black? If he was caucasion would people care as much?
What is our country coming to??? People are so wound up in being politically correct (propaganda) that they think it is ok for caucasion people to receive death threats, as President Bush did, but not a Black person?
Think about this.
My point is that kids repeat what they hear without knowing the meaning of the words. The way people are reacting is like they think these kids might actually try to carry out the 'assassinate Obama'. If you aren't reacting that way why even bring it up? Why not write articles on other stuff kids say? Kids say all kinds of things. Sean is right, with his last question.
Its them black rapists who're lurking behind every tree!--'n them Hispanic cutthroats sneaking across the borders--'n them Islamists--'n them Chinamen...
The point is not that the kids might assasinate someone. The point is that they are clearly living in an atmosphere that led to the chanting. They got it somewhere, and whether that is at home, in the media, or at someone else's home, the origins of that kind of thing should be tracked down and dealt with. The best institution to do that would be, in my opinion, their families. But if the family is the source of the kids' chanting, then their church would be good.
The national acceptance of "kids say the darndest things" as an explanation is a kind of denial that lets these sort of attitudes grow. It's important that we start early with children, letting them know about respect for their president and for all people, and letting them know that any talk of violence, no matter how small, is completely off limits, unacceptable, and, when they are old enough to understand morality, immoral.
If that's the case, why isn't the Rexburg newspaper posting that finding on their front page and clearing their town's good name?
It is called circling the wagons...
Too bad the public school employees and board members are too scared for their jobs to give the kids what they deserve - a stern scolding from a concerned adult - and leave it at that.
As for the person who lives in Rexburg bringing in the "new agenda" - get real and relax or just move. No one is making you live here. Talk about hate speech (against a church you are not even affiliated with). That's like living next to Notre Dame and ranting on about how many Catholics there are. They have lived there longer than me and they are great people. We just believe differently. So if I didn't like it, I would move or keep my mouth shut.
Sometimes people need to look in their own yard and quit worrying about some one else's.
From what, Herr Jung..?
You're telling me to leave Rexburg?
No, this is AMERICA, not the Mormon Kingdom. And who says that I have no affiliation with Mormonism?
The Mormon Church is run by frauds, people posing as prophets who couldn't tell the difference between success and failure.
I'm a conservative, and I used to be LDS, but I left because the whole thing doesn't make sense to me anymore.
If you want a religious kingdom, T YOUNG, then just go move to Bountiful, UTAH where 50% of the upper church leaders have multi-million dollar homes paid for by YOUR tithings. This is MY IDAHO. This is MY AMERICA.
"THESE ARE GREAT YOUNG MEN WHO SAID SOMETHING FOOLISH..."
ARE THEY SERIOUSLY PRAISING THESE KIDS FOR SAYING THESE THINGS??
-------------------------------------
After a week of national attention Madison School District is a little tired of the uproar caused by the ‘assassinate Obama' chanting incident. This all started after three boys chanted the hateful words on their school bus last week.
After the story was picked up by national media Local News 8 received many e-mails from people worried about what the public perceives as acts of racism in Rexburg.
Monday Superintendent Geoffrey Thomas said the incident boiled down to nothing more than three 9-year-old boys on a school bus using rhetoric they simply did not understand.
At least one other student heard the chants, but Superintendent Thomas said he has talked to many more who had no idea what was going on and maintain they did not hear a thing.
After the incident the school district sent out an e-mail asking teachers to do what they can to stop this kind of talk. The district said there have been no other instances.
Superintendent Thomas said the boys involved are actually good students who just made a bad decision that day.
"These are great young men that said something foolish," said Thomas. "I would imagine all of us made comments that we ended up regretting when we were between the ages of 3 and 18. I'm not trying to undermine the significance of what happened, but we have to remember they're 9-years-old."
Thomas also said he spoke with the boys parents, and does not believe they picked up the talk at home, he believes it probably can from watching T.V.
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from 11/17/08
Did Geoffrey Thomas misspeak by actually praising the kids on the Madison County school bus whose chants made national headlines?
In Geoffrey's own words: "These are great young men that said something foolish. I would imagine all of us made comments that we ended up regretting when we were between the ages of 3 and 18."
This seems to be some kind of a defense of the actions of these kids. Why can't someone from the city simply apologize for the kids so that liberal bloggers on the internet can move on from gossiping about Rexburg? In my opinion, the school district and these children need to be accountable for what they chanted. Only some children make comments that they end up regretting...most of us never chanted things like these kids did, and the kids who chanted in Rexburg need to be taught better by their school teachers and administrators.
Is the Madison County School District willing to educate its children through new lesson plans and talks about having respect for other human beings? Is the school district willing to modify its curriculum to a stance of racial inclusion and respect for differences? The chants on the school bus were racially motivated and dangerous. It doesn't matter what age these kids were: This is a national controversy that Rexburg leadership should address in the national media. America's "family community" needs a different approach to educating its children.
I'm sorry, but 9 year old males are not "young men." They are boys. And as bearbait points out, they do not have the same capacity as adults for any manner of things. Whether or not "hate" is among those, I don't know. Little boys can be hateful and do hateful things, as bear bait and I both know, having each been one. And I don't feel qualified to speak about "hate" as an emotion since I don't really experience it myself. I know annoyance, irritation, anger, revulsion, disgust, and so on, but not so much hate. Lucky me.
As a society, we have shown an increasing desire to ignore the issue of emotional maturity if we find an act loathsome enough. What's the lower limit for "tried as an adult"? There's current news of an 8-year-old in the dock for premeditated murder.
You might find you're on the same side as the liberal petty whiners on this one, BB, none of whom that I've seen have said anything about prosecuting the victims in this case.
Frauds, we are not, just different than you. Can you live with that?
You are misunderstanding what I'm saying here. I love Mormons, but the Church is false. I am not complaining about Mormons. If you want to find people who complain about Mormons, I'm sure that there are plenty of people on the internet who would oblige.
Let me say this: I believe in the Book of Mormon, and I believe that Joseph Smith was a prophet. I also know from personal experience that the people who remain in the Mormon Church as members are not the most original thinkers. Indeed, those people have been excommunicated and barred from attending church, because they feel that the Mormon Church has gone way over the top enforcing imaginary rules and standards as if they were Scripture.
I never said that Rexburg had a problem with Mormons, I said that Rexburg has a problem with intolerance, and that should be corrected. I choose to do my part by praying about the matter and by commenting anonymously on forums such as this one.
What you don't acknowledge by your statements on this forum is that I am a Mormon. Just because I don't agree with your take on the Church doesn't make me "contentious, false, intolerant, a liar, hateful" or any other little gossipy terms you might come up with.
I have no problem with the Mormon membership: The people of Rexburg are awesome, and they can do whatever they want to do within state and federal law. That's what it means to live in America. If you don't like it, then I'm sure there are other countries for you to go live in. You don't HAVE to be here in eastern Idaho. You might choose to be here, because you think that the people around you are all of the same accord. I assure you that they are not.
And as far as a progressive agenda needing to come into Rexburg, I want you to know that I am a conservative. I am opposed to same-sex marriage. I believe that homosexuality is a sin. And I believe that God's truth reigns supreme, not yours, not mine and not the misdirected and YES fraudulent claims of the current Mormon Church.
Many people think that God doesn't hold people responsible for what they don't know. If people like would take a closer examination at financial dealings of the Mormon Church and where membership tithings have gone over the past 15 years, you would like be torn between leaving the Church and staying.
As for me, I am a Mormon, and I will always be one. But there are, in my opinion, three main types of Mormons: Those who call themselves FLDS, those who believe in the core teachings of the Church but find fault in its leadership and those who simply follow the Mormon Church no matter what. I understand that you fall into the category that feels the Mormon Church can do no harm and that it is beyond criticism because it is led by prophets.
But, what if it isn't led by prophets? That's not something that I can prove to you. You should pray about that. And then what do you do? If the Church isn't led by prophets, that does not negate the fact that Joseph Smith was a prophet and that the Book of Mormon is true. But if the Church is led by frauds posing as prophets, then all I need to do is just watch this whole scam unravel while people like you defend the Church and all its actions, no matter what.
Quite honestly, God wants obedience to God, not to a Church.
This editorial has been sent to the Upper Valley Standard Journal and the Post Register:
I am saddened by the notoriety that has recently come to our community because of a reported school bus incident which has received national press coverage, where children repeated hateful remarks concerning President-Elect Barack Obama. Since this incident occurred, I have received numerous e-mails from individuals around the country associating our community with hate and intolerance. I am extremely sorry that this incident occurred, and I do not believe that it reflects the values which make our community a great place to live and raise a family. Having said this, I also recognize that Madison County has had a reputation as Idaho’s and even America’s “reddest” county. This reputation and the conservative nature of our community should in no unequivocal terms be an excuse for hate and vile comments. Parents must realize that things said in anger or even in jest can have lasting repercussions not only damaging young hearts and minds, but a city’s reputation.
One letter that I received from a gentleman in British Columbia had a quote by Jacqueline Kennedy which states, "If you bungle raising your children, I don't think whatever else you do well matters very much." This reminds me also of a quote from the ninth President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints David O. McKay which states “No other success can compensate for failure in the home.” If we have in our community one home, one school, or one school bus where hate and intolerance is allowed to be spewed without a responsible adult correcting the behavior we are failing in our responsibilities.
About three years ago, I had the opportunity to attend a meeting where the keynote speaker was Senator Barack Obama. I was inspired as I sat and listened to Senator Obama. He talked about his faith and how his upbringing had influenced his policies and his priorities. I left the meeting with a conviction to do what I could at a local level to make government work for the people that I serve and to strive to be a better public servant. He will now be sworn in as the President of the United States of America and though we face tremendous challenges as a nation, I feel hope and optimism for America and in particular, the masses of individuals that participated in the election for the first time in their lives. It may sound trite, but I share President-Elect Obama’s view that we are not made up of red states and blue states, or for that matter red and blue counties or cities, we are the United States of America.
Mayor Shawn Larsen
12 North Center Street
Rexburg, Idaho 83440
why is that??
are you bitter??
Not sure who the "liberals like you" was pointed at, but please be advised that both using one person as a stereotype and connecting your personal stereotype with any one person are both narrow-minded behaviors and serve no beneficial purpose.
Tolerance always has limits. Feel free to discuss what you think are the appropriate ones.
The point isn't that these kids did something wrong or that all kids do something wrong.
The point is THEY HEARD IT AT HOME!!
If the goal of the people of Idaho is to appear ignorant, racist and violent, then keep it up! If not, you have a PR problem. Your choice, we don't really care.
YOU KNOW THAT FOR A FACT? You were in their homes and heard their parents say that to their kids? You could SWEAR to that in a court of law? If not then you can NOT tell me they learned it in their homes.
Maybe they did maybe they didn't. It isn't up to me to raise someone's kids. If they show me respect they get it back, they don't , then they don't.
All along the bible belt--and up and down the Rocky Mountains--are rednecks whose pride is centered in their anti-intellectual responses to almost everything.
Rexburg: Identified by the current Attorney Generals of Utah & Arizona as a haven for Mormon Fundamentalist Polygamist.
Rexburg: Home of BYU-Idaho and professor Rick Davis who informed a national magazine "We don't have blacks in this area to speak of. We've had them, and they've come and gone. Not to say they were driven out; they've just felt uncomfortable because there aren't enough of them -- like you and me moving to Montgomery, Alabama."
Rexburg: School children whose intellect is a product of their environment chanting "Assassinate Obama", "Assassinate Obama".
Rexburg: Give the place to Utah. They deserve each other.
Just because some Catholic Priests are pedophiles, does that mean that's what the church teaches? NO! Catholics that I know are really good people.
Just because you post a totally ignorant comment on the internet about a situation that you really know nothing about and a town and religion that you haven't been a part of, but have only read about in the completely biased and sensationalizing media, are you a complete moron? You decide. But I bet your parents would be so proud.
If you don't want to spend your vacation dollars in Idaho, that's all good. Hate dollars aren't welcome.
If you think your children don't say and do naughty things when you aren't around - WAKE UP!
It is beginning to seem more and more likely that what Lincoln referred to as <i>the great experiment<i> will ultimately founder and fail on the rocks of ignorance, hatred and violence...
I am not conservative or liberal and there are good and bad people and ideas on both sides. I think it is safe to say that there are people on both sides and in the middle of the moral spectrum who would like to see the immaturity beaten out these children but they are either people who have no children and therefore know exactly how to raise children or they are people who overly control their own children and have NO idea what their kids are doing when they aren't watching. I love the notion that "I have never been where you are so I know exactly how you should do things."
Redman, do you have children? I'd love to be a fly on the wall in their lives. Who are you saying approves of violent and racist behavior? So you know the parents of these children? Have you lived in their town? The assumptions you make are preposterous. Or maybe YOU are the parent of the boy who started it and you just don't want to admit it cuz you can't control your children 24/7??? But no, that couldn't be you...you would never tolerate that kind of behavior in a child of yours. You'd just beat it out of him, right?
You can berate those 3 little boys and their parents and their community and their religion all you want, it just shows intolerance, impatience and meanness on your part. It's ironic that that is what you are spouting against and yet you spew if forth freely. Tip of the day: Buy a mirror.
do or say and second to their peers.
As for your inquiry, barebate:
I am talking about homo sapiens...
The irony of this whole conversation is that you are mad at 9 year old kids for saying hateful things and that is exactly what you are doing. How old are you?
Did all your parents teach you to do this? To be so angry and vengeful and mean spirited with people you don't know? I hope not.
Can't we just let the parents and authorities decide what to do and quit casting the first stone and go ahead and start pulling that huge beam out of our own eye.
and would like to contribute
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Thanks
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