The Problem of Pants

I know this whole dress code thing is old news but I’m going to talk about it anyways.

http://thinkprogress.org/health/2014/03/25/3418482/middle-school-dress-code-protest/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=middle-school-girls-protest-sexist-dress-code-%25e2%2580%2598are-my-pants-lowering-your-test-scores%25e2%2580%2599

http://www.jrn.com/ktnv/news/Students-at-Illinois-school-start-petition-after-new-dress-code-rule-251489871.html

Parents of students at Haven Middle School in Illinois were contacted by administrators earlier this month. Female students are no longer allowed to wear shorts, leggings, or yoga pants. (The second article says that skinny jeans are also on the new list of forbidden clothing.) This style of dress on females, administrators say, is too distracting for male students.

It will come as no surprise that these actions have sparked a line of protests against the new dress code. They claim that the dress code is sexist because it targets only female students. Parents argue that it is not girls’ responsibility to accommodate the boys in their classes, and that this approach to controlling student dress is furthering unhealthy attitudes about sexuality. Parents say that this type of dress code sends the message that girls are at fault for the sexual assault by men and that boys’ behavior is are understandable and excusable because of what girls are wearing.

Other schools across the country are constantly fighting the dress code battle. Rules banning tight pants and regulate girls’ hemlines and necklines are common, while boys’ clothing is not as commonly restricted. As these turn to adults, the consequences worsen: women are punished for outward displays of sexuality, scrutinized as they try to balance being objects that men desire without being criticized for being promiscuous. Women have even lost jobs over such struggles.

There are so many problems with this; I don’t even know where to start.

We live in a man’s world. If Robin Thicke didn’t make that obvious this summer, I don’t know what will. (Listen to the lyrics of Blurred Lines and you’ll see what I mean. Every “good girl” wants sex and Robin was merely doing them one of them a favor by “liberating” her, right?) The expectations of women are outrageous. Get good grades, be able to cook, clean, and sew, carry and raise children decently, contribute to the family, the list goes on and on. And at the end of the day the woman’s fault that she was raped by some lusty creep when walking home from the supermarket.  Don’t get me wrong, boys have it hard. They’re expected to turn into men at some magical instant in their lives without any notification, but women have it hard too, and many of them choose to take all those built up feelings and emotions and pour it out into their wardrobe. The HMS dress code is taking away some of the outlets, the freedoms that these young girls need so desperately.

So what do we do about unfair administration? We use the right to assemble and petition. These middle schoolers have over five hundred signatures on a petition against the new dress code, and I applaud them for it.

However, I can see why the administration might want to put a limit on what students are allowed to wear. School is a learning experience, and in order for students to become functional members of society they need to dress as such. That being said, this was not the right way to do it. Trying to institute new rules in the middle of the year is sure to start some backlash, especially rules that only apply to half of the population. It’s true—girls generally need to cover themselves more than boys, but it’s hard to enforce these rules without objectifying bodies. Male teachers and administrators are given the awkward task of telling girls that their skirts are too short and calling parents about it. Thighs are not valid parts of the body anymore. After spending two years with a “knees and sleeves” dress code it takes me a while to be comfortable in my own body during the summer because I’m not used to wearing gym shorts around anyone but my family. Strict dress codes can also make kids want to go crazy at school events where there is no dress code. (Spirit week last year, anyone?)

Another part of me wants to scream at the girls who think that it’s okay for leggings to be worn as pants. Leggings ARE NOT pants. Have some decency and keep your body to your future partner. I think Brett Shoemaker said it best:

“Babe, keep your goodies in your basket.  I get it.  I really do.  When you have a nice car you want to show it off.  If you have a nice body, likewise, you want to show it off.  But, what makes a Lamborghini stand out from a Honda Civic?  I see Civics all the time.  Everywhere I go there is one of those bad boys sitting in the parking lot.  I can count on one hand every Lamborghini I’ve ever seen.  It is always exciting to see one of those.  The Honda, not so much.  Don’t get me wrong, your goodies are always going to be good.  I’ll say that again, your goodies are always going to be good.  But, if everyone and my mom has a look at everything you’re showing off, I’m not feeling like as much of a lucky ducky.  So please, for me, keep your goodies packaged away.” (http://brettshoemaker.me/2014/02/04/to-my-future-wife/)

Dress code is not a problem until students and teachers make it a problem. After that, the problem never ends. The problem in this case is that nobody want to judge how short is too short, how tight is too tight, and how much freedom pushes the limit past the brink of having order. I guess this is another one of those times that I’m glad I’m not president, or even school superintendent, and it’s not my job to judge.

“Are My Pants Lowering Your Test Scores?”

He Ain't in Kansas Anymore

I hate to say “Good Riddance,” but…

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-26669967

Fred Phelps, or possibly better known as The Reverend Fred Phelps Senior, died Wednesday evening at the age of 84. Phelps was the founder and preacher at Westboro Baptist Church in Kansas. Phelps and his church, made mostly of extended family members and friends, were rather infamous for their practice of picketing the funerals of fallen US troops. They claimed that the troops’ deaths were punishment for America’s tolerance of gays and gay marriage.

Phelps was raised a Methodist and ordained a Baptist minister, though Westboro not an official part of any regular denomination. The actions of Westboro Baptist Church have inspired numerous state laws and even a federal law limiting pickets at funerals. However, when taken to the US Supreme Court, it ruled that the church could not be sued for inflicting pain on grieving families.

Phelps was quoted saying, “You’re not going to get nowhere with that slop that ‘God loves you.’” The signature slogan of his congregation was “God hates fags.” It was sayings like this that aimed the Phelps’ church the title of “the most hated family in America.”

Religion is weird. It’ such a big part of a person’s life (or at least, I think it is), but it’s also something people generally keep to themselves. It can bring a person from the valley to the mountaintop in an instant, but can also want to make one jump off a mountain. I don’t know if it’s just our American culture, but people get offended and tired when religion is constantly thrown in their face, and this is what Phelps did with the majority of his life.

I know I’ve said this before. We have freedom of speech. With freedom comes responsibility. Once again, people have not responsible. Sure, this group has the right to protest and to share their opinions. Like we talked about earlier, protests have actually become more common in recent years. However, there is a time and a place to protest. The funeral of a fallen soldier is not the place. These men serve our country and fight for what we stand for. They help ensure our security and freedom—some of the same freedoms that Phelps and his church were arguing against at their funerals. Is anyone else seeing some sort of paradox here?

I get it. Gay marriage seems a little strange now, but I’m sure in the future we will look back at ourselves and realize how stupid we were for being judgmental. Times are changing. I was at a children’s play in Raleigh last weekend and there was a family sitting across from me: two dads and two young children. They were the cutest thing EVER. I’d totally go see that play again, and I’d love to see more of those families. We as humans need to stop putting each other down and have some acceptance for our shortcomings and the flaws of others. We are not perfect, but we are trying. Fred Phelps, not so much.

I also think there’s a reason that the vast majority of Fred’s supporters were his family. Just sayin’.

“God loves you.”

The Environment Never Sleeps

This is typically not what I think of when I hear of someone pulling an all-nighter:

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/mar/10/democrat-senators-all-night-climate-speeches

Senate Democrats stayed up late on Monday night in hopes that the environment will stay as healthy as it is (if you could call it healthy). Twenty-eight senators were set to take the senate floor, sharing speeches and presentations about the state of the environment. The event was organized by a new initiative, the Climate Action Task Force, which is trying to gain support for Obama’s climate change agenda. Senators believe in climate change and are willing to take responsibility and act. Senate Republicans, on the other hand, do not believe in such a thing. Therefore, the chances of passing any environment-related legislation anytime soon are relatively small.

Still, in Obama’s second term so far, his administration has been much more vocal about the need for environmental regulation. John Kerry, the current Secretary of State, said he wants to make climate change his signature issue and the Pentagon said last week that they see climate change as a threat to military installations.

The EPA is trying to put limits on the amount of carbon dioxide that can be emitted from power plants. These emissions are the single largest source of carbon dioxide in our country. Some senators have been trying to get such legislation passed for a number of years. They show no signs of letting up anytime soon.

I blame Mr. Dillman and my stays at summer camp for making me a tree hugger, but that’s not a bad thing. Our earth is beautiful, and even if you don’t believe in climate change, or “global warming” as many like to call it, we are destroying what we have been blessed with. This may have started out unintentionally. Did we know back in the times of the industrial revolution that the thick smoke blowing out of these things was bad?

Probably, but we couldn’t prove it scientifically. Heck, in the 1960s people were only speculating that cigarettes were bad. Today we know, and we cannot choose to be ignorant. In the same way that smokers are encouraged to quit and take better care of themselves nowadays, people should also be encouraged to take better care of their Earth. If we want our children and grandchildren to enjoy the great outdoors like we have, no split house or government can stop us. We only have one Earth, and it’s quickly going to waste. Change is essential; it cannot come soon enough.

"Climate change is real”

This Cook Can't be a Bus Driver Either

This happened a while ago, but it’s been in the news as of late, so here ya go!

http://www.11alive.com/news/article/322761/40/Bus-driver-fired-over-Facebook-posting-files-lawsuit

Johnny Cook, a bus driver in Haralson County, Georgia, was fired in May over a Facebook post he made. After hearing one of his middle school students complaining about being hungry he respectfully questioned the student about why this was the case. The student told Cook that he was denied lunch earlier that day because he could not pay the forty cents it takes to pay for a free/reduced lunch at his school.  With a heavy heart, Johnny Cook used Facebook as an outlet, saying that “As a taxpayer [he] would much rather feed a child than throw it away. [He] would rather feed a child than give food stamps to a crack head” and that the next time the cafeteria can’t feed a child for forty cents they could call him for the money. The next day he was called into his employer’s office and given a choice: repent and revoke his previous statement or be terminated. Cook refused to apologize and lost his job. The story is back in the news again after the American Civil Liberties Union agreed to take his case just a few days ago.

I can see this from both directions. Most people are going to back Johnny one hundred percent. After all, the first amendment to the constitution gives Americans the right to free speech. He was simply sticking up for a hungry middle schooler. In today’s world, forty cents is hardly anything. What can you buy with forty cents? An egg, a party hat, a piece of bubble gum. Heck, you can’t even buy a postage stamp with that. If you think about the amount of responsibility bus drivers have carry on a daily basis, and then the amount they’re paid, it just doesn’t add up. I earn between seven and ten dollars an hour on nights that I babysit, even after the kids have gone to bed and I’m sitting on the couch watching television. My responsibilities consist of making sure that they eat at least two bites of green beans and put on pull-ups before their heads hit pillows. I don’t take them farther than the backyard, and I’m still probably making more money than most bus drivers in the same time period. I’m not saying that more money would make it okay for any bus driver to blurt their opinion all over the internet, but I think it’s part of the problem.

Though forty cents started all this, the hungry child and mean cafeteria ladies are not the center of this argument. Johnny is. With that first amendment freedom that we all have comes responsibility. I talked to one of my teachers about this; she told me that teachers are required to sign some sort of waiver about what they are and aren’t allowed to post on social media. Even if Cook didn’t sign a waiver, there is a standard that he didn’t uphold with that Facebook status, and the state has a right to be angry. He clearly did not choose the right outlet for all those opinions.

Does Cook still have a right to a job, or was his post a little too much? We will soon find out.

“This is what the world has come to.”