My Jaw just hit the floor

This is intensely mindboggelingly incredibly stupid: “Don’t Laugh at Me” (or dlam) was born when Yarrow—a veteran of the civil-rights, gender-equality, nucleardisarmament, peace, and Amtrak-subsidization movements—heard a country ballad of that name at the Kerrville Folk Festival, in the summer of 1999. Moved to tears by its swelling harmonies and first-person testaments to the effects of ridicule—“I’m a little boy with glasses, the one they call a geek / A little girl who never smiles ’cause I’ve got braces on my teeth”—he decided to incorporate the tune into Peter, Paul & Mary’s repertoire. At a gig with the National Association of Elementary School Principals, the group played the song. “The principals gave a tremendous response to it, and said, ‘We need this in our schools,’ ” Chic Dambach, Operation Respect’s president and C.E.O., said the other day. “And Peter, being the activist and the organizer that he is, said, ‘You won’t just have a song but a whole program.’ ” dlam is now used in at least twelve thousand American schools and camps. [...] On to dlam’s outreach video. The tape included accounts of book-slamming, sandwich-spitting, and shin-kicking, as well as footage of a rendition of “Don’t Laugh at Me” that Yarrow had performed at the United Nations. “A ridicule-free world,” a soothing voice intoned. “It’s possible, but only with everyone’s help.” (dlam’s efforts at enrichment may also extend to Peter, Paul & Mary’s back catalogue. Page 22 of the teacher’s guide instructs: “Tell students that this version of the song ‘Don’t Laugh at Me’ is sung by Peter, Paul & Mary. If you have not already done so, tell them a little bit about the group. . . . In the early 1960s, Peter, Paul & Mary were the #1 recording group in the country.” ) Next up was “The Big Betrayal Conflict Script,” a skit about two friends, Terry and Sasha, who get into a fight at a basketball game. The exercise emphasized using “I messages,” as opposed to those that begin with “you” and, therefore, can put their targets on the defensive. (dlam also recommends having students simulate the sound of a rainstorm and discuss a story called “The Maligned Wolf.”) LOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL! Ok, you know what? This is pathetic! This is beyoned pathetic! Who thinks of this shit? Crap like that never works, You know why? Cause Kids are cruel to each other, and that's a good thing. It's one of Highschool's greatest traditions. It introduces you to the real world and it builds your character, not to mention motivates the shit out of you. You were fat in Highschool? Not for long you weren't! The abuse made sure of that. You were weak, you didn't know how to defend yourself? Well, nothing motivates you to get stronger and learn how to fight then having some prick pick on you. And you did that, because you had to. You didn't know how to talk back? Well, you sure picked up that essential survival skill pretty damn quickly. Shit, it's seems that that's the only thing they teach in school nowadays. And it's good, because a person who doesn't know how to argue or talk back will get walked on by people all of their lives. That's the way things are! Not to mention, conflict is an essential part of life. Hell.. conflict is life! You will have conflict at your school. You will have it at your jobs, and you will have it in your house, with your significant other, or family members or the hellspawns you call your offspring. And i hate to break it to you, but not all conflict can be rationally resolved, because not all conflicts are rational (Ever try arguing with a woman? Then you know what i am talking about! j/k). The "we would all get along if we only try" crap only works if some people are willing to resolve the situation, and sometimes you don't want the situation resolved. Sometimes it's good to have unresolved conflicts: it rids of you of unhealthy relationships, shitty friends and bad working enviroment. Not to mention, this method completly ignores the existance of Jerks: They do exist you know, and not all of them are "scarred from the inside" and "in need of a hug"; some people are just mean, DEAL WITH IT! We all do! Not to mention, a ridicule free world? That's our aim now? Where is the fun in that? What about those who deserve to be rediculed? What about Ward Churchil? Paris Hilton? Lindsay Lohan? What about John Effen Kerry?Or the idiots that embaress Islam and Egyptians every time they open their mouths? What? Are we all so sensitive now that we will respect everyone's opinion, even the incredibly stupid? You wanna tell me that I can't make fun of the Simpson sisters? Screw that! I like making fun of them! It's fun and they DESERVE IT! You people are creating a generation of co-dependent, weak, emotionaly imbalanced, woe-is-me, self-victimizing- hyper-sensitive wussies! All because you listen to people like that Hurdle-Price guy. For once i am glad that Kids don't listen, because they shouldn't listen to his kind of softie new-age stupid bullshit. “Just make sure they’re sticking to the formula,” Hurdle-Price advised. “I often get students who say, ‘I feel that you are stupid.’ ” Mr Price, I think you should listen to what they have to say! I have a feeling they are on to something!