Wednesday, April 7, 2010

I Heart Boobies Brouhaha

Of all the things for a community to be outraged about, the infamous South Glens Falls "I (heart) boobies" brouhaha should not be one of them.

Is the phrasing crude? Sure it is. But it gets people to think & followup w/ why the person is wearing said bracelet. That was certainly my experience when introduced to the "Save the Ta-Tas" organization. I thought it was another silly Facebook group (much like "I want to be your derivative so I can lay tangent to your curves") but after a quick investigation they are indeed a legitimate Breast Cancer Awareness organization.

Though I applaud Ms Ballard for correcting what she perceived as a school violation, at the same time I have to wonder if this is a case of a teacher having an axe to grind? Think about it. The bracelet was never disrupting class until the teacher herself brought undue attention to it. Secondly, the student offered a reasonable compromise to turn the bracelet inside out. Thirdly, the teacher went out of her way to go after the kid the next day when the bracelet was already inside out. On this last count I have to ask...considering there are an untold number of organizations using variation of the "I heart boobies" color scheme, how did the teacher know what was on the bracelet if she never saw it inside-out to begin w/?

Ms Ballard is not the only person in society who has been effected by Breast Cancer. Had she not lost her head & taken 5 minutes (probably less) to Google the organization, she would have found all she needed to discover what the organization was about. Had she spoken to the kid in private (maybe after class or school?), she would have learned he too had a family member effected by the disease. She could have taken the time to visit the local American Cancer Society office & given the kid a more acceptable alternative braclet (they were more than happy to give away for free the one I wear away, despite my offer to pay the crippling price of $2) Instead she loses her head enforcing a zero-tolerance policy, the spirit of which was never meant for more noticeable & disruptive personal attire. As the saying goes, a "teachable moment" was lost.

Interestingly enough, by Ms Ballard & the administration acting the way they did, they've brought publicity to the "I heart Boobies" organization in ways the organization itself could never have hoped for. Call this the Law of Unintended Consequences.

The point is for all the unwise things teenagers often get themselves into. Punishing them for wanting to help improve society, should not be one of them.

Edit:
If this story didn't get juicer, the SGF Assistant principle had the brains to be photographed groping the wax figures of Jessica Simpson & Jenna Jameson during a trip to a recent trip to Vegas. The story probably would have ended there but he then went on post them publicly on his Facebook page. This is the same person responsible for disciplining students for their cancer awareness's "disruptive attire."

I swear this is sounding more & more like a South Park episode. The kids are the responsible ones while the adults act like idiots.


****
In other news...
****


This is where I'd present one of the pictures from my Breast Cancer Awareness pictures but unfortunately, there aren't any ones that A. are of a PG nature that haven't been seen yet.

So, I'll just show you an oldie but goodie.

Photobucket

Feel free to opine if you so choose.

1 comment:

Brian said...

This school year, SGF district has had two kids die in a car accident because they were going too fast and at least two kids die of suicide. This should be much higher a priority than bracelets.