> -----Original Message-----
> From: lbo-talk-bounces at lbo-talk.org
> [mailto:lbo-talk-bounces at lbo-talk.org] On Behalf Of Michael Pollak
> Sent: Wednesday, January 18, 2006 2:50 PM
> To: lbo-talk at lbo-talk.org
> Subject: [lbo-talk] The Principal vs. the Police State
>
>
> [The police state that is high school. This story kind of
> stunned me. At first I thought principal's actions against
> the young Marxist were overly harsh. But in context, it
> turns out that was her canny attempt to head off much worse
> through what by comparison was mild prophylaxis -- and it
> didn't work. What an environment! It's like kids are living
> through the McCarthy era and the height of the crime scare
> era at the same time. And this is Staten Island fer
> crissakes! Although maybe that could explain some of it in
> terms of race.]
>
> http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/18/education/18education.html
That story pretty much reminds me of my son - membership in some marxist-anarchist group, anti-capitalist speeches & graffiti, a trip to Cuba, ridiculing conservative opinions - followed by suspensions and being kicked out of extra-curricular programs. And therer was little one coud do about that, even a lawyer whom I tried to hire told me that . So while this strory struck a raw nerve, it does not really surprise me and I would not read too much into it. Schools are simply authoritarian institutions - anytime, any place, and for everyone except the super-rich. Most of them are, albeit some more than others. The 9/11 scare made things worse, to be sure, but not that much worse.
Wojtek