Slog: News & Arts

RSS icon Comments on Neocons Accuse Black President of Bringing Back Slavery

1

Freepers are so cute when they're frothing at the mouth in frustration, trying to find something to be outraged about.

Posted by Geni | November 7, 2008 11:35 AM
2

By that logic, compulsory K-12 education itself would also be slavery. Morons, the lot of them.

Posted by shub-negrorath | November 7, 2008 11:36 AM
3

Pagan academies AKA socialist government schools! Why didn't I get to go to one of those?

Posted by Darcy | November 7, 2008 11:36 AM
4

Freepers are weird. Maybe they should move their families to Galt's Gulch and scratch out a living there?

Posted by Greg | November 7, 2008 11:36 AM
5

WTF? If they care about "slavery" shouldn't they be more concerned about, um, the draft?

Posted by jrrrl | November 7, 2008 11:37 AM
6

I am not a fan of this plan, but its a far cry form slavery. I would rather offer an incentive for such service, but not require it.

Posted by Giffy | November 7, 2008 11:44 AM
7

In Maryland the public school kids have had a "service learning" requirement for years. The sky has not fallen, and nobody has been put in a concentration camp. Who'da thunk it?

Posted by Willendorf | November 7, 2008 11:51 AM
8

It just goes to show that conservatism really is nothing more than a verbal veneer over venal self-service.

Posted by kinaidos | November 7, 2008 11:52 AM
9

I agree 100% with Giffy. You shouldn't force these kids to do it. Give it an incentive but don't force them. Having hordes of sarcastic apathetic middle schoolers performing their mandatory "service" doesn't sound like a good thing to me.

Posted by Dubcek | November 7, 2008 12:05 PM
10

I went to a weird alternative school where community internships were a required part of the curriculum. Yes we were doing free, often menial labor at hospitals, conservatories and area businesses etc. But it was a long way from slavery, especially since it got us out of school. And it was a hugely helpful preparation for entering the workforce. In many cases students got jobs right out of high school at the places they'd interned.

I'll bet if you stipulated mandatory military service, the freepers would warm to the idea in greater numbers.

And, for what it's worth, these people are right to fear the education of their children. The more educated their children become the less likely they will be to cleave to the insane beliefs of their forebears.

Posted by flamingbanjo | November 7, 2008 12:12 PM
11

Did anyone mention to these morons that you could do your community service for, say... a church?

Posted by UNPAID COMMENTER | November 7, 2008 12:18 PM
12
...these people are right to fear the education of their children. The more educated their children become the less likely they will be to cleave to the insane beliefs of their forebears.

And kids might wind up interacting and helping poor people and homeless people. The kids will then discover that the poor aren't the bogeymen their conservative parents make them out to be.

Posted by keshmeshi | November 7, 2008 12:22 PM
13

There's all sorts of wierd vibes coming from the far right realms of the Internet -- basically Free Republic and people with AOL email addresses. My roommate's out-there mom recently forwarded him a fringe-right chain email with a subject line of: "ATTN all white people: please report to the cotton fields for orientation immediately."

Posted by Brian | November 7, 2008 12:33 PM
14

(1.) If Freeper style folks don't want to do community service. Fine. They can opt out. Suits me.

(2.) The "Right" is in shambles right now.. if they are bickering amongst themselves like this, then we have a HUGE opportunity to seriously move on progressive ideas and actions.

Time to get to work, kids, time to get to work!

Posted by treacle | November 7, 2008 12:35 PM
15

I don't want to sound like I'm agreeing with the freepers, but seriously, service that's mandatory isn't service guys. The whole point of community service is that is supposed to be done out of a free will, not because you have to.

Incentives would've made a lot more sense. Also, what counts as community service? Does community service with organizations like the scouts or the local church count, or does service have to be what the government assigns?

More importantly, how is the federal government going to enforce this? There's several million high schools. So the fed's somehow going to force schools to do this and monitor them? It just seems like a useless bureaucracy.

Posted by meds | November 7, 2008 12:37 PM
16

Uh, my public high school had a 90-hour community service requirement for graduation, and even though I wasn't thrilled about it then, I think it's a fine idea now. "Community Service" is a broad and vague term, and people did a variety of things to meet the requirement.

I really don't get this idea that we should never force kids to do things that they may not feel like doing. I mean, what are we supposed to do, make sure kids only do things that they feel like doing and make sure that they "feel good" about everything they do? Good luck with that as a parenting style.

Posted by Hernandez | November 7, 2008 12:40 PM
17

I don't see what the problem is. They can all come do community service for me. I'm part of the community, and my dishes aren't going to do themselves.

Posted by Joh | November 7, 2008 1:05 PM
18

I have to agree that it is the parents job to install these values in children. Should kids learn to do nice things for the less fortunate? Yes. Should schools demand it? No.

Posted by jane doe | November 7, 2008 1:13 PM
19

Can't we just build camps to keep the freepers in?

Or set them loose in Alaska with 40 acres and a pig?

Posted by Will in Seattle | November 7, 2008 1:17 PM
20

@15,

The only way there are several million middle schools and high schools is if the average school accommodates only 5 kids.

And the feds can easily make a state's or school's compliance with the program contingent on getting federal funds. No cooperation with the program, no money. It would not be that hard to implement or "monitor".

Posted by keshmeshi | November 7, 2008 1:36 PM
21

There already *are* incentives. 50 hours of community service looks great on your college apps. I think it's a great idea, but there were a lot of kids I would *not* want to work with when they're pissed about having to work after school.

Posted by sepiolida | November 7, 2008 1:37 PM
22

Getting into a program with limited positions such as medical school in a good university requires evidence of public service. Most good private schools now require it as part of curriculum as well. Let the neo-cons shirk this and slide ever lower on the economic ladder.

Posted by inkweary | November 7, 2008 1:39 PM
23

just shows how important it is to avoid hysterical hyperbole if you don't want to look ridiculous. we can all take a sober lesson from this, as many of us have been guilty of it as well.

Posted by ellarosa | November 7, 2008 1:46 PM
24

Ahem...


http://www.seattleschools.org/area/policies/c/C15.02.pdf


let me point this part out...
C. Service Learning
Students are required to participate in service learning activities, which are jointlydeveloped by the District and school sites. Students are required to complete 60hours of service learning before graduation.


Well, those wingnuts must live in those areas where even the No Child Left Behind Act of the GWBUSH era was looked at as just so much Big' Gub'er'ment.


Well, at least those sorts will soon be very easy to spot and discount. They will be serious about a Palin in 2012... re:The Know Nothing Revival Party.

Posted by Phenics | November 7, 2008 1:59 PM
25

Rabid fools. Their hatred passes for inteligence only for fools. They're stupid if they think their horseshit will do any damage. In fact, I bet it strengthens Obama.

Posted by Vince | November 7, 2008 2:03 PM
26

I'm not so sure I like the idea of government mandated community service but I could certainly see it as a requirement for other things, such as student loans. If you want this money from the government, you've got to work for it.

Posted by Colin | November 7, 2008 2:27 PM
27

A very large number of schools - including very nearly all religious schools - already require community service of their students. And most decent college programs require you show evidence of having performed service of some sort while in high school. This is not some radical new idea, nor is it particularly left-wing in nature.

Posted by Geni | November 7, 2008 2:35 PM
28

A couple of questions:

1. Don't we use community service as a form of criminal punishment?

2. Don't our children already have enough hurdles to jump through before they can become adults?

It seems to me that everyone who supports this idea has already forgotten how difficult it is to be a student, how much pressure you're under. You've already moved on to the grumpy old person's mindset: "Kids these days are lazy goodfornothing slackers!"

Posted by Brandon J. | November 7, 2008 3:06 PM
29

Over here in Kitsap County I know there is at least one high school that requires some type of community service/volunteering for all students, it's a graduation requirement. It might be the same for all high schools in the district, I'm too lazy to fire up the google and find out for sure.

Posted by Kristi in Kitsap | November 7, 2008 3:09 PM
30

To Dubceck and Giffy: If you had clicked on the link, you would have read that there IS an incentive. It's called $4000 for college. There will most likely be an incentive for high school students too, they just haven't got it all fluffed out yet. And the website says "We're setting a goal that all students perform this..." not mandated. Nowhere on there does it say "must complete" or "have to do." It just says "setting a goal," which means they're probably hoping to waste some of these kids' time so they're not off doing drugs or having unprotected sex. Jesus.

Freepers, and some people here on slog, need to learn how to read.

To Brandon J: American kids hardly have to jump through hoops compared to kids in other (smarter...) nations. The only reason why kids now seem to be unable to cope with the monotony that is required of them is because they were raised by Baby Boomers.

Posted by Melissa | November 7, 2008 8:01 PM
31

Because refusing to be drafted into a war you don't believe in is desertion and merits imprisonment or death, but refusing to do community service is just proves you are against slavery! Bah.

Posted by Lor | November 7, 2008 9:13 PM
32

these people are such absolute shit-for-brains jackasses, that i'm starting to have hope (not illusory, hopefully!) that the tide's going to keep turning till enough people realize what dipshit idiots they are, and they get washed out into the sea..... (i can dream, can't i?)

for the time being, i think it's a good thing that any of those fools are spending their time getting their little republican panties in a bunch over community service (!) (hahahahaha...), and talking about Sarah Palin being some kind of future leader for their party (!!) (hahahahahahaaaa...)

Posted by jw | November 7, 2008 9:25 PM
33

Melissa is right. I'm glad she brought it up.
I was in a program in high school called World Class Scholars and by completing a certain amount of community service hours a school year I was awarded $1,500 to use at the local community college upon my graduation. The fact that I had a ton of service hours also helped me get a full paid scholarship for said community college, so that extra $1,500 went to books and anything left over was mine. I didn't pay a single cent out of my pocket for my Associate of Arts degree. How is that a bad thing?

Posted by Chelsea | November 8, 2008 5:20 PM
34

Melissa is right. I'm so glad she brought it up. There is incentive and it is not mandatory. Though, why anyone would appose their children helping others is beyond me.
I was part of a program that required me to complete a certain amount of community service a year. It went up with your grade. I was a camp counselor, a participant in Cancer Relay for Life, and I read to kids at the library. All things I would have done anyway.
Upon graduating high school I received $1,500 to use at the local community college. I also got a full paid scholarship to said community college. That meant the $1,500 was given to me in a check and I could use it for books, gas, whatever.
Many of my friends did the program, but decided not to go to the community college. Because of their astounding amount of community service I had classmates accepted to very prestigious schools, such as NYU, on scholarships.
How can anyone look at community service as a bad thing? Those who do are only trying to continue the apathy of youth.

Posted by Chelsea | November 8, 2008 5:30 PM

Add Your Comments







* Required Fields

or