Cultural Labels

This article from the Daily Advertiser in Lafayette, just pisses me off. Especailly, some of the moonbattery that goes along with it.

Black resident Jahmilah Sekhmet said she and many blacks take offense at calling the Lafayette Civic Center the Cajundome and calling the University of Louisiana mascot the Ragin' Cajuns. Those titles do not reflect her ethnicity and exclude many in the community who contribute to society, she said.

Oh, please. The reason they call that big building the Cajun Dome is because that's where the Ragin Cajuns play ball. And the last time I looked, Cajun wasn't a racial epithet.

Maybe a little history is in order: In 1755, the British took control of the Acadian area in Canada, and told the French settlers there to pack. They loaded on ships and over the course of time, settled, among other places, in Louisiana. The travails and tribulations of the settlers was immortalized in Longfellow's poem, Evangeline. The French that settled here began with basically what they could carry. Through hard work, love of family, and honest humor they made a new life in this country, before it was even a country.

My maternal grandmother was born on Avery Island at the turn of the 20th century. My mother was born in New Iberia, in Iberia parish, Louisana. I have more Cajun blood in me than anything else.

The article continues:

Black children are being subjected to overt oppression through names and symbols like Boys and Girls Club of Acadiana and Acadiana Open Channel, Sekhmet said.

Hmmm. Maybe my cultural sensitivities aren't what they should be, but the last time I looked, Juveniles of the various sexes were called Boys and Girls. They happen to live in Acadiana. This is a tempest in a teapot.

But wait, there's more:

Black community activist Joe Dennis said blacks feel that if they cannot win the simple things, like changing the name of a street or a building, how will they address the deeper issues? Society as a whole does not care that poor and black children are not being educated, he said.

Well now, you've pissed me off.

As my Grandad would say, "Lemme tole you one damn ting."

The education that children get is dependent on them, and their parents. It is freely available in Louisiana to anyone who can walk out the door and climb on a bus. If your kids aren't making grades in the public schools in Louisiana, then maybe you should ask them what they are doing for the seven or eight hours they are spending at the school every day. If your kids aren't making the grades they should be making in school, then maybe you should ask yourself how much time they spend doing homework every night. If poor children in Lousiana aren't getting the education they deserve, then maybe it is because they don't value the education, but have instead adopted the mores and values of the parents.

A good education is dependent on the parents. If the parents don't care, then likely the student won't either. The parents have to make sure that the student gets to school every morning, well rested, properly dressed, prepared to sit down and learn.

An education is freely offered in Louisiana. Everyone gets the same chance to obtain it. Tutoring is available, special help is available. Students of all stripes do well in Louisiana schools every day. If your student is failing, maybe you should ask your student why? The answer might surprise you.

Hat tip to Nick.