Today I am ashamed to say I am from Mississippi. (Jackson: condo, crime)

[lrmsd]

Originally Posted by DiogenesofJackson

Chomsky explains that freedom of expression is just that and therefore societies holding this ideal as sacrosanct must bear the burden of hearing ideas that are repugnant. It doesn't mean you have to agree with these ideas, but you have to allow people the freedom and ability to express them even though they might be offensive. Anything less would not be freedom of expression.

Uh,Chomsky is part of the succsesfully waged divide and conquer game that this thread so brilliantly portrays....
'Allow lively debate w/in consented norms'....as long as we argue back and forth w/in a sphere that is controlled, well, we are still controlled, now, aren't we?

Chomsky allows for a certain range of discussion-but, yea, it's 'so intellectual', that we fool ourselves into thinking we are really such bigger thinkers than 'the other guy'.

Hegelian dialect at work here people: Problem, Reaction, Solution....
All done through divide and conquer and distraction.

[professorsenator]

Hey Mississippi! Those open minded folks in the Magnolia State should show your fellow citizens who are social troglodytes these great photos of happy lesbians going to prom together...some of them even wearing tuxes!

To those who would deny the civil rights of our gay and lesbians brothers and sisters -- just as you denied the rights of African-Americans for generations -- I have but one question: have you no sense of decency, at long last? Have you left no sense of decency?

Hooray to those gals in Mississippi who challenged the school! Hooray to the ACLU for taking up their cause! And shame on those who would seek to marginalize or disparage these young women.

[DiogenesofJackson]

Originally Posted by oldenfatt

surrounding school districts privatized these events by handing them over to parents years ago.

If I were a betting man, I'd bet that surrounding school districts privatized proms to exclude any possibility of interracial couples attending the prom, or worse yet, a black student and white student dancing together even though they may not be one another's date.

Most proms that have been privatized in Mississippi usually take place at the local country club, where African Americans are excluded altogether.

Rather disingenuous of you not to mention this.

[oldenfatt]

You admit that you give opinion as fact, then expound on it? To gain an emotional reaction to a red herring by bringing in the issue of race? You seem to have a wealth of information on the social habits of Mississippi students- where did you acquire it? You have a skill with words, but no apparent understanding or formal training in logic. Strong feelings on a subject don't make you an authority, if anything they tend to cloud and color rational judgement.

[grindin]

Originally Posted by oldenfatt

You admit that you give opinion as fact, then expound on it? To gain an emotional reaction to a red herring by bringing in the issue of race? You seem to have a wealth of information on the social habits of Mississippi students- where did you acquire it? You have a skill with words, but no apparent understanding or formal training in logic. Strong feelings on a subject don't make you an authority, if anything they tend to cloud and color rational judgement.

There is truth behind what Diogenes said, whether you like it or not. I guess he struck a nerve with you given the strawman arguments you're throwing in and attacking how he's saying it rather than what he's saying (which I perfectly understood and he came across as quite rational to me).

It's not as if segregated proms have stopped in parts of Mississippi (or in other states for that matter), so I don't know why people are acting brand new about this.

[riceweevil]

Originally Posted by mississippimagnolia

Seriously??? Miss. school prom off after lesbian's date request - Yahoo! News (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_lesbian_prom_date - broken link)

I love Mississippi, but I hate the ignorance that still prevails in so much of our amazing state.

We moved away from Mississippi because we didn't want our kids growing up around exactly this kind of intolerance. I was born in Pototoc. 36 members of my family have graduated from Ole Miss. Our oldest is there now as a sophomore.

We've lived in Greenville, Tupelo, and Oxford. I love Mississippi and miss living there. But we won't move back until our children are grown. I wonder how many others feel the same way. How much money does Mississippi lose every year because families like ours leave the state?

I'm not liberal. I'm a conservative, Christian, stay-at-home mother with five kids. That doesn't mean I ever think it's ok to discriminate against others for their religious views, their race, or their sexuality.

I hope the good folks of Mississippi will contact the Itawamba County School Board to express their feelings about this issue. Even if you are completely opposed to homosexuality from a moral or Biblical standpoint, you can't possible believe that canceling a prom because a gay couple might show up makes sense.

I normally despise the ACLU. In this case, I hope they completely destroy the Itawamba County Schools. I've already contacted them to offer my support. And I hope the local FBI office is all over this. Seems to me a Civil Rights Investigation should be initiated.

If you really feel this strong about this issue then maybe you should stay out of Mississippi permanently.

ACLU= American Communist Lovers Union.

[mississippimagnolia]

If you really feel this strong about this issue then maybe you should stay out of Mississippi permanently.

It's because I love my home state that I care so deeply about her future. Mississippi is dead last in education and one of (if not the) poorest states in the country. (Of course, some statistics show Mississippi at 49 and not 50, but does that really matter?) Things will not improve in Mississippi until folks are willing to stand up for the rights of ALL citizens, not just the ones who look, believe, or love like you do. Your rights STOP where mine begin.

ACLU= American Communist Lovers Union.

I don't know how to respond to that. I don't agree with a lot of what the ACLU does. But I'm not sure how they are "communist". Maybe you should look up the term "communist" before you start assigning it to a civil rights organization. I thought this discussion was going well until you stepped in and Darwin'ed the thread.

[savage71chevelless]

[quote=professorsenator;13324589]Hey Mississippi! Those open minded folks in the Magnolia State should show your fellow citizens who are social troglodytes these great photos of happy lesbians going to prom together...some of them even wearing tuxes!

To those who would deny the civil rights of our gay and lesbians brothers and sisters -- just as you denied the rights of African-Americans for generations -- I have but one question: have you no sense of decency, at long last? Have you left no sense of decency?

Hooray to those gals in Mississippi who challenged the school! Hooray to the ACLU for taking up their cause! And shame on those who would seek to marginalize or disparage these young women.[/quote

professorsenator,

Why don't you read your bible. 1 Corinthians 6:9-10

Christians will take back this country, it saddens me the dark path that it is currently being led down.

[savage71chevelless]

Originally Posted by mississippimagnolia

Seriously??? Miss. school prom off after lesbian's date request - Yahoo! News (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_lesbian_prom_date - broken link)

I love Mississippi, but I hate the ignorance that still prevails in so much of our amazing state.

We moved away from Mississippi because we didn't want our kids growing up around exactly this kind of intolerance. I was born in Pototoc. 36 members of my family have graduated from Ole Miss. Our oldest is there now as a sophomore.

We've lived in Greenville, Tupelo, and Oxford. I love Mississippi and miss living there. But we won't move back until our children are grown. I wonder how many others feel the same way. How much money does Mississippi lose every year because families like ours leave the state?

I'm not liberal. I'm a conservative, Christian, stay-at-home mother with five kids. That doesn't mean I ever think it's ok to discriminate against others for their religious views, their race, or their sexuality.

I hope the good folks of Mississippi will contact the Itawamba County School Board to express their feelings about this issue. Even if you are completely opposed to homosexuality from a moral or Biblical standpoint, you can't possible believe that canceling a prom because a gay couple might show up makes sense.

I normally despise the ACLU. In this case, I hope they completely destroy the Itawamba County Schools. I've already contacted them to offer my support. And I hope the local FBI office is all over this. Seems to me a Civil Rights Investigation should be initiated.

Destroy the Itawamba County Schools for what? They cancelled a prom. Nobody has a right to a prom. They didn't discriminate against any single person, nobody is going to a prom. The FBI? what might they do? Don't see anything for them to do. Civil Rights Investigation? Better get on the horn to ole Jesse and Al and see if they can stir some stuff up. But, oh wait, they're not black lesbians. Amazing the mountain that people try to create out of a molehill

[poptones]

I didn't realize Mississippi (or the US, or even earth) was "the kingdom of god." Frankly I think you're really doing a disservice to other christians because we evil humans ALREADY have this place and if that is the "reward" for being so rightcheous then what's the point?

Christians never had this country. It was settled for a time by a bunch of puritans that were too uptight even for England, but this wasn't a "country" then that's why they came here.

Here's an idea: instead of quoting scripture why don't you try reading the Constitution? Maybe some Locke, Payne, Jefferson... even Adams. Then get back to us on that whole "christians will take back this country."

If you want to live in a nation ruled by priests, zealots and religious decree, I suggest a move to Israel or Saudi Arabia.