One of the worst things about racism is what it does to young people." Alvin Ailey
New York Times story: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/21/nyregion/21walmart.html
In your blog response answer one of these questions:
- Do you think this was only a prank?
- Even if the youth says, "I was only kidding" should he be charged with a crime?
- Why would someone do something like this?
- The youth has been arrested and charged and is facing one year in a juvenile detention center if convicted. Do you think that is just punishment?
- What if he said "All white people must leave the store"?
- What do you think about bragging about this on Facebook or YouTube?
- Do you think this incident will hurt WalMart's reputation?
- Explain what you think the quote from Alvin Ailey means.
69 comments:
I think Alvin Ailey’s quote, “One of the worst things about racism is what it does to young people,” means many things. One point he is making is that young people are the upcoming generation and whatever we are taught, we are going to teach to our children, grandchildren, etc. However, if we can stop racism now, it will better everyone’s future. Young people shouldn’t have to limit their lives because of “their” views or views they were convinced into believing. Our world is like a tiny ball wrapped in 'fear' that prevents us from hearing and knowing the truth. Fears have a tendency to grow into “monsters” when they are fed daily and not dealt with; the only way is to face the monster is let go and try to become unbiased. To 'hear and believe' untruths repeatedly with no other input for information, makes the untruths become reality, and that is plain and simple brainwashing; children have no other sense of what’s right and what’s wrong, so they go along with whatever they are taught. Generations of people are told lies that they believe are true and they don’t step beyond their comfort zone to find out it isn’t, so they don’t change. This reminds me of a book about the KKK and how the leader’s wife and sons were so isolated from reality. They never got to create their own opinion about racism and blacks; and when the leader’s wife was exposed to reality one day, she finally was able to see what horrific acts the KKK did, and she ran away with her children to become against the KKK. This is what I think Alvin Ailey’s quote means.
After reading this article, I don’t think that spending one year at a juvenile detention center if he is convicted is a just punishment. I think that is much too harsh of a punishment. His life will be hugely affected by having a criminal record and it will always follow him when he is older and trying to get a good job. Maybe community service would be a better punishment. Something where he could learn why this was a hurtful thing to say not just being sent away. Also, I think that the Wal-Mart store has to take some responsibility for what happened too because the article said that the police found that similar pranks had happened two times before this. I wonder if the police are trying to find who did the pranks those times and will they be facing arrest?
This reminds me of a movie I saw once, “The Color of Friendship” which was a movie about racism in young people from different continents. The whites were racist against blacks and the blacks were racist against whites.
Do I think that this was only a prank? I think it was a sick prank that was pulled by someone who is completly out of his mind. When I read the article, several questions came into my mind. One of them is the kid racist or did he just do it as a joke. Either one is inexcusable and wrong. No person should even think about doing something so out of line, even if it was meant to be a joke. There is no doubt that this boy should spend at least a year in a juvenile detention center. This blog topic reminds me of a TV series called "Jackass". "Jackass" relates to what the boy did beacuse the people on the show pull stupid pranks on each other. However, "Jackass" has never done something as cruel and racist as the incident at wall-mart. This is why I think that this was meant to be a prank.
I think someone did this because people who are ignorant. The 16 year old boy went on the microphone saying “All black people should leave the store.” This person should go to jail for it. Investigators found the racism on Facebook, MySpace, and YouTube. The Police chief found kids bragging about what happened. Wal-Mart, the nation’s largest retailer, has a history of discrimination and labor complaints involving minorities and women. Wal-Mart agreed to pay $17.5 million to settle a class action lawsuit that accused it of discrimination against blacks applying for jobs as trucks drivers. This type of racism will stop one day, if people control bad things about racism.
I think that this issue was a prank but when he said it, he actually meant it. I think this because anything like this is considered a prank but I think he did it because he doesn’t appreciate black people. If the youth said he was kidding then yes I do still think that he should be charged with crime because it definitely had hurt a lot of feelings in the store that day. I feel that people who are rude, racist, and don’t care about anyone in the world would be someone to do something like this. I think that one year in juvenile will only make him crazier than before. I say this because being locked up for that long sometimes affects the way people think and what goes through their mind. I think that along with juvenile that he should also take classes on how to have a better attitude. If he said, “All white people must leave the store” then I think it would be the same thing. It’s still being racist, its hurting people’s feelings and it’s not right for him to do that to anyone. I think that bragging about what he did on YouTube and facebook is not a smart idea and is stupid. By doing this it reflects on all of the people looking at it and could influence them to do the same. If anyone were to have done this in Wal-Mart I think it will hurt their reputation. I think this because if I were there that day and heard that (even being white) I would be offended and not want to go back. So maybe others will think that too. Also Wal-Mart’s from other states might get hurt by this too because if it happens in one Wal-Mart it could happen in another. I think that the quote by Alvin Ailey means that it influences young kids to think racism is ok to do and use against others. This reminds me of Martin Luther king. This is because during his time period it was all about racism and separating the blacks from the whites. This is like the story of Wal-Mart because both have to do with racism and rudeness going on in the world. This is how I feel about the incident at Wal-Mart.
In my opinion this was a prank, but it was uncalled for. After reading this article, I think this boy deserves a year in juvenille hall. He publicly announced in Walmart, one of the largest retails stores in America, that all black should leave the store. It was a racial offense and I can understand why black people would be upset. I dont think that people should be uopset with Walmart because it was not their fault that a silly teenager that was not employed by Walmart. Walmart and those African-Americans in the store did not deserve this public rath. It was a random thing that may never happen again unless some other teenager wants to be on TV. I think that this silly teenager was just looking for some attention and he got some attention, a big fat year in juvinille hall.
I believe that it probably was just a prank. The boy probably suspected nothing would happen, just a lecture from the manager at Wal-Mart, or possibly not get caught at all. I don’t think he realized how offensive his words were. Even if the youth said “I was only kidding” he still should be charged with a crime, and should be punished for his actions. I think the boy just wanted to be funny, and he figured he could get some laughs out of it at school. Unless, he was being very serious, I believe he was being very racist, and very disrespectful. I do believe one year at a juvenile detention center is enough for this crime. The boy was young, only 16, I think that in that one year, he could learn his lesson, and never do it ever again. Although the boy’s hurtful words won’t be forgotten for those who witnessed this, I think he should also apologize for his actions, and pay for the time that he deserves. I think if he were to say “All white people must leave the store” it would have been the same consequence. It’s still very racist towards white people. I think that him bragging about his actions on Facebook and YouTube is a very immature thing to do. If I had seen that on Facebook, I would have lost all respect for him. It shows that he meant what he said, and he was proud, and he thought it was funny. I think that it will hurt Wal-Marts reputation, even though it shouldn’t just because of one person who wasn’t thinking smart. In the article, it had said that Wal-Mart had modified its intercom system at the store to prevent such breaches. Alvin Ailey said “One of the worst things about racism is what it does to young people.” I think that this quote means that situations like these influence young children that being racist is okay. This reminds me of a billion situations in which racism has been a problem in the past. For example, when Barack Obama was running for President, people made a huge riot out of it. They didn’t want someone of a different race to run the United States. They felt that things would be out of order, and it didn’t line up with history of the past forty-four presidents. So this relates to how racism affects all people. I believe if Obama hadn’t become president, people would think others were racist.
I think that this incident will hurt Wal-Mart’s reputation. I think this because the kid was able to speak on the public address telephone in the first place. These phones are for employees only. Some people might think this as a “lacking in security” situation. Other people might even think that the kid was paid to do this. This incident is similar to one that I read about in a fictional book called Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry. In the story, the main character was black who lived in Mississippi in a time were segregation was around. She went to a farmers market and was told to get out of a store because she was black. That is why I think this incident will hurt Wal-Mart’s reputation.
If i was black i would be really offended because you don’t really see much racist people these days. If the guy said he was only kidding i wouldn’t believe him because he would think about what some of the consequences that he would get into if he didn’t mean it. There could only be a few reasons why someone would do this. 1) they could be angry with a black person 2) they’re taking their anger out on all black people because they’re mad a one specific black person.
this is completely unfair to all black people. It would be horrible if people were bragging about this on facebook because it would make the people racist.
After reading the article, I believe that, even if the kid said “It was only a prank,” that they should be charged with the crime anyways. I say this, because it like when you joke around with a friend, but they take it the wrong way. You could just want to make them laugh or something, yet they end up being hurt by it. Then, even though you say that it was only a joke, the damage is done, and it’s irreversible. On top of that, the prank touched upon a very sensitive subject in the world today. It was a very racist prank against blacks, and those acts are the disgusting ones that our world, sadly, encounters everyday. Even if he wasn’t meaning to be racist, like with the friend, it came out mean, and it can’t be reversed. Then, if it was just a prank, like how Chelsea O. said, “…he still should be charged with a crime, and should be punished for his actions. I think the boy just wanted to be funny, and he figured he could get some laughs out of it at school.” The charges will hopefully teach him, and the people that read about this incident, that it’s wrong to do it, and it is flat inhumane. We aren’t being the people we ought to be if we are discriminating people purposely out in public, especially if it’s for attention, like the kind you would get if you pulled a prank. This reminds me of many racist situations our nation has seen throughout our history. One of which, would be with Martin Luther King Jr. He had to endure the racism of the U.S., and he was also victim of a racist “prank” which was actually him getting gun down, and his life taken away from him wrongfully. In both situations, a racist prank had been done, that had done damage that couldn’t be reversed.
After reading the article, I believe that, even if the kid said “It was only a prank,” that they should be charged with the crime anyways. I say this, because it like when you joke around with a friend, but they take it the wrong way. You could just want to make them laugh or something, yet they end up being hurt by it. Then, even though you say that it was only a joke, the damage is done, and it’s irreversible. On top of that, the prank touched upon a very sensitive subject in the world today. It was a very racist prank against blacks, and those acts are the disgusting ones that our world, sadly, encounters everyday. Even if he wasn’t meaning to be racist, like with the friend, it came out mean, and it can’t be reversed. Then, if it was just a prank, like how Chelsea O. said, “…he still should be charged with a crime, and should be punished for his actions. I think the boy just wanted to be funny, and he figured he could get some laughs out of it at school.” The charges will hopefully teach him, and the people that read about this incident, that it’s wrong to do it, and it is flat inhumane. We aren’t being the people we ought to be if we are discriminating people purposely out in public, especially if it’s for attention, like the kind you would get if you pulled a prank. This reminds me of many racist situations our nation has seen throughout our history. One of which, would be with Martin Luther King Jr. He had to endure the racism of the U.S., and he was also victim of a racist “prank” which was actually him getting gun down, and his life taken away from him wrongfully. In both situations, a racist prank had been done, that had done damage that couldn’t be reversed.
I do think that the boy who said this did say it as a prank, but whether or not it was one, its inexcusable. To say something so racist, in a public area, is just terrible and shows that the boy really has no manners and is unsophisticated. If he said he was just kidding, that doesn't mean he actually was. He could just say that because he feels he won't get in as much trouble. I don't think you can really believe what this boy says. I agree with Keyshawn, I think the boy did this for attention or maybe publicity. Maybe some of his "friends" pressured him into saying it. I think this boy definatly should get at least a year in juvenile detention center, he offended so many people, black or white. I don't think this should hurt WalMart's reputation because it was just a random teenager who really could have said that in any store, so WalMart shouldn't be punished because of something a kid said.
This reminds me of when a man in Florida wanted to burn the Muslim Koran on the September 11th rememberance. While this is not exactly the same act, it is similar because both the man in Florida and the boy who said that, were being racist and just proving that they were uneducated and scared of differences. I don't think either of these acts were okay and nothing could make them okay.
I feel that this incident will not hurt Wal-Mart’s reputation. In the article it mentioned that when Paulette Duckrey, a black women, heard about the incident she guessed it was a prank by a customer and she said, “I assumed it couldn’t have been an employee.” I think that the people in the store had assumed that it wasn’t a worker too. An employee at the store even said, “We again apologize to all of our customers and associates who had to listen to some thing offensive.” Some of the people there might have left the store because they were scared when the 16-year-old boy ordered “all black people” to leave, but they probably continue to go to that store once they find out that it was just a rude costumer that made the comment. This situation reminds me of the time I watched a video about stereotypes in the 7th grade social studies class. In it, it showed a how black and a white person were treated when they walked into the same store. The white person walked in and was treated with respect. When the black person walked in, the manager immediately had kept an eye on him to make sure that he wasn’t stealing anything there. That connects to the article, because in both situations the people were treated unfairly due to their race.
I think that this was an attempt of a “prank” but it was not interpreted that way. It said in the article “According to the police, the boy picked up a public-address telephone in the Wal-Mart in Washington Township, one of two dozen accessible to the store’s customers, and said, “All black people, leave the store now.” I think that bragging about this on facebook or YouTube was just plain stupid. Bragging about this is just what teenagers do best, try to act cool. I mean why would you want people to know that you did something so racist. I think that this kid was extremely wrong in doing this. My connection to this is when my was 25 she tried to get back at her brother for his for his continuous pranking on her his whole life, so she called him in the middle of the day and told him that she was just in a hit and run car accident and that she didn’t know what to do. And before she thought about it he called his brother in law (who is a police man), and then the entire 911 knew about he “prank”. This connects to that because it was a prank that turned out bad.
I believe that it probably was just a prank. The boy probably suspected nothing would happen, just a lecture from the manager at Wal-Mart. Or possibly not get caught at all. I agree with Keyshawn said "I think this boy deserves a year in juvenille hall". This boy made a huge offense towards African Americans.If he said he was just kidding, that doesn't mean he actually was. He could just say that because he feels he won't get in as much trouble. But i think it wouldn't matter if he apologized cause he can't take back what he said because he offended and hurt alot of people. I don't think this should hurt WalMart's reputation because it was just a random teenager who really could have said that in any store. This reminds me of when our class was reading the the book Role of Thunder Hear My Cry and the main character and her friend were kicked out of the village store because they were black and the store owner didnt want people to see them in the store so he kicked them out.
Do you think this was only a prank? Yes, I do believe this was only a prank. When I read the article it said it was a boy and his friend. Kids pull pranks all the time. This prank was just way more serious then others. I don't think the kid realized how crucial this was. He probably didn't think before he acted. But, as Alden said it is inexcusable. Since the boy has to go to juvenile detention center for a year; I'm sure he will learn his lesson. This child definitely deserves to go to juvenile detention center because it will make other kids think before they do something just as stupid as this prank too. In conclusion, yes I do think it was a prank, but should be taken seriously.
A connection I have to this story is when I was learning about Rosa Parks. She wouldn't give up her seat for a white man, so they arrested her. This is related to when the boy said, " All black people leave the store", because in both situations there was racism. The people who arrested Rosa were being racist and the boy who said black people must leave the store was racist as well. That is my connection.
I do think this was a prank, but it is better described as a crime. The boy who committed this act of discrimination probably thought, as Chelsea O. said, “… nothing would happen, just a lecture from the manager at Wal-Mart, or possibly not get caught at all.” He thought that it would be funny. Even if he did say “I was only kidding,” it doesn’t help his cause. It is extremely likely, almost impossible if not, that there were black children in that Wal-Mart with their parents. This probably scarred them for life, and saying “I’m just kidding” can’t take it back. Those children probably think that every white person in the world hates them now. Even worse, that boy could have convinced a child to be racist, and that it is okay to say horrible things like this. This reminds me of something I saw on a TV show called “Criminal Minds.” An Italian priest would not let a girl back into the church because she had gotten an abortion. The boy wanted the black citizens to leave the store because they had a different skin color, which is like the priest. He had different beliefs, (he didn’t believe abortions were moral) so he would not accept the girl.
I think that what this boy did was really racist. I believe that this will hurt Wal-Mart's reputation I think that because costumers in the store could think that the announcement was from an employee not kids kidding around. Also the article said that this wasn't the first time that Wal-Mart has faced a situation like this, last year the company was accused of discriminating against blacks who applied for jobs as truck drivers. Even though the announcement wasn't Wal-Mart's fault,it is obvious that they have been racist in the past. Like Annamarie said, this might not only hurt the this New Jersey Wal-Mart, it could probably hurt Wal-Marts all over the United Sates, maybe even the world. Wal-Mart issued a statement about the situation apologizing for the offense words said. I think that is good, but I know if I was a black in the store at that time I would be really upset that employees let young kids do that to people who are just shopping. A connection that I can make to this is Hitler discriminating against Jews during World War 2. I think that because Hitler didn't exactly tell Jews to leave, Jews just left because they were so scared. In the Wal-Mart store, I am sure many of the black shoppers in there dropped their baskets and carts and fled to their cars to leave. Hitler and the boy who made the announcement both are racist against a group, that has never caused any harm. That is not fair, so it is good that the boy is serving in juvenile detention.
This is something nobody should ever be joked about. Imagine that if you were a normal African American just going out a getting so food, how would you feel if you just heard "All black people get out" yeah not a prank at all. As for him saying "I was only kidding" I would not believe him, not in the slightest.You would think because the major era of African Americans being treated like garbage should have ended a long. Just for saying that I think he should be in juvenile hall.
I think that Alvin Ailey's quote means that racism teaches you the worst of things. We keep teaching racism, and then it will keep going on and on. But if we stop teaching it then we can stop it! If we can stop it now then the world we be a better place. Everyone would get along and there might not be any war. When kid's parents who are racist and they teach their kids to be biased. They go through their life thinking that what their parents told them is right, when it is really wrong. If we teach bad things over and over again, then maybe no one will ever know what to believe and what not to believe. My connection to this is that there is a show Mary Tyler Moore, and in the someone she works with does a log wrong and he keeps doing and doing. And finally his boss sees and that he is doing it wrong and it gets him in trouble. This is like teaching kids about racism because it you teach the wrong thing they will spread it over and over again. Like her friend doing the log wrong.
Alvin Ailey once said “One of the worst things about racism is what it does to young people." I think that this quote could mean a lot of things. One mean i think it means that there is racism and it is getting passed down to the younger generation and they are becoming racist at a younger age. I think that what this guy did was wrong. If we could stop racism I think we should so something like this kid did would not happen again. What this kid did was not right. I don’t think that it was very nice to go into a local store and tell all black people to get out. But what makes it worst is after he did this he went home and bragged about it on Facebook and Myspace. Also with Wal-mart paying $17.5 million dollars to settle the case about blacks applying for jobs as truck driver and not getting them. A connection to this is the book Role of Thunder Hear My Cry when the schools were separated and when they were thrown out of the store. This article made me think of this article because when the kid announced it to the store it was like when Tj was thrown out of the store. This is why I think what this kid did was wrong.
From reading the article, I think the racist comment will hurt Wal-Mart’s reputation. I think this because, even though the suspect was arrested, and the situation was taken care of, doesn’t mean that it will be stopped from happening again. Also in the article, it says that Wal-Mart has had encountered a similar issue last year when the “company agreed to pay 17.5 million to settle a class-action lawsuit that accused it of discriminating against blacks applying for jobs as truck drivers.” Although, I don’t think it was Wal-Mart’s fault, it could still effect the type of customers that will be shopping there. Maybe African-Americans will feel threatened or harassed by the comment, causing them not to shop there anymore. Although I don’t think it would get that serious, it could still happen. I also agree with Mike when he said, “I think this will hurt Wal-Mart’s reputation because the kid was able to speak on the public address telephone in the first place. These phones are for employees only. Some people might think this as a “lacking in security” situation.” I definitely agree because if the Wal-Mart, or any Wal-Mart had tighter security, this would have never occurred. A connection I have to this is when I had watched the movie “Invictus.” In the movie, it took place in Africa, when both whites and blacks were segregated. Although it somewhat relates to racism, both races were treated differently, the whites being superior to the blacks. The white children had the better school books and were treated like royalty, while the blacks had old, run down school books, and were treated with more discipline and were talked badly to. This is why I think the racist comment will hurt Wal-Mart’s reputation.
I think someone would do something like this to be funny maybe, or to impress their friends thinking it was “cool.” The article did say that on Facebook and Twitter, people were bragging about it. I think that person should be ashamed, not proud of being so horrible. And, as Clayton said, many would probably be offended, and someone saying that all black people should leave is very disrespectful. Since the victim was only 16, perhaps he doesn’t realize what a serious insult this is and how unnecessary it is. Another reason he may of done this is, he could have been discriminated against earlier on for some reason, and wanted to put others down to make himself feel better. But this doesn’t make what he did okay. This country had been discriminative against black people in the past, but now many people are trying to live in equality, and this incident just goes against all our beliefs. Maybe this person had done this because there had been previous incidents including discrimination against blacks, recently, and he thought it was normal or okay. A connection to this is how women weren’t granted the right to vote until 1920, and they were as important and significant to society and were discriminated against. This is like how blacks were being insulted and discriminated against in this situation when they are as significant and important to our society as anyone else.
I think this was a prank. A nasty prank, yes totally and completely. I think that the kid who did it was doing it for a joke. This is especially since the kid was bragging about it on social networking sites. This doesn’t make it right though. No person should be allowed to do what he did. I think it is a good idea that Wal-Mart changed the PA system so that this can’t happen again. He totally deserves a year in juvenile detention if convicted. I am reminded of the incident in which those kids said they should go blow up the school. It is the same kind of sick joke that kids should realize will get them in trouble.
Alvin Ailey said that,” One of the worst things about racism is what it does to young people.” I find that this opinion is very true and has different meanings to it. Young people are influenced by their environment for example, if your parents are racist its most likely that you will be racist because you are so use to discrimination against certain groups that you think it is ok to do so. Children are very immature and can take one little thing to the extreme, so being racist at a young age can greatly affect your life. I say this because our world is very diverse so working you are going to meet different people of different races and religions everyday. Not being able to even deal with that at a young age will separate you from knowing equality and being biased. I strongly think that this kid who pulled this stunt was brought up in a family who didn’t like African Americans because for a kid at 16 to say, “All black people get out of the store” and know that it is offense but make it seem funny or ok, shows that he was just following in his parents footsteps. But not only that it seemed that he took pride in saying that biased remark because he bragged about it on Facebook. It honestly seemed like he didn’t care if he got caught, it seemed that he was showing off but it was like it was a good thing to do. This shows how much racism affects so many minors these days. This also reminded me of Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry like Courtney because in the book it talked about a black child who lived in racism and would be kicked out of a store because he was black. It shows that even today people are still discriminating people of their race.
In my opinion, I positively do not think it was a prank at all. I think this was a thought out plan. Pranks are normally meant as a light hearted joke but this was only cruel and racist. The definiton for prank is to perform a practical joke or to trick someone. I do not see where the humor of this incident comes in. I think that him claimning that it was just a joke is a lie he's created to lighten his punishment. This reminds me of something that happened last summer. I was in Philidelphia with Elise and my parents and we walked by a hospital and there was an old lady and a police officer. The officer was a black man and the women was white. She was screaming racial slurs at him. When he tried to calm her down it resulted in her calling him a very awful name followed by rapist. The police officer was just doing his job by protecting her and it resulted in him being judged by his race. Like Nick G said there were probably some black people shopping and participating in their every day life and ended up being exposed to racisim. The police officer was trying to do his job and was also exposed to unfair treatment because of his race. I think this boy needs to learn that racisim is not funny.
After reading the article, I do think this was just a prank, a very nasty, hurtful one. And yes, I also think that this incedent will hurt Wal-Mart's reputation. This is because, like Mikey said, people will be uspet bescause a kid was able to get on the speaker in the first place. I think that bragging about this "prank" is not a smart idea. It just teaches other kids that it's ok to say hurtful things to other people. And even when kids say "I was just kidding" or "It was just a joke," I don' think that that's a fair excuse to do what you want. Like Sarah C said, the kid can't take back what he said now and obviously people were offended.
This reminds me of how after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, many people were racsist twards Japanese Americans even if they were innocent. The black people that were offended by the kid's anouncement were innocent too.
After reading the article I think that the boy should defiantly be charged with a crime because he did a very racist thing to the Africans in the building. And I think that the fact that he going to a juvenile detention is a good thing because what he had did was a very bad thing. Also it said in the article that he was with a bunch of other kids and after the announcement they all led the scene, and that just made everything else worse. It was disrespectful and was very mean. I don’t think that what he had done was a prank because what he did was a big deal. I think a prank would be more like egging some ones car. And I agree with what Nick G said, “I would not believe the guy not in the slightest”. One thing that could relate to this would be one time I played this joke on one of my friends; I pulled the chair out from under him and I did that because he had just ran the mile and I thought that it would have been funny if was really tired and went to go and sit down and fell on the ground. This relates to what happened in the article because, the boy had thought he did a stupid joke but instead he ended up getting in a lot of trouble. I didn’t get no were as much trouble as him but I still got in trouble.
After reading the article, I think that it was a prank when the 16 year old boy said that all black people should leave the store. I know that this was a prank but I think it was the dumbest prank. I think that maybe the guy’s friend told him to do it, but I still think it was a very immature thing to do. I think that his friend told him to do it and his mother knew after it happened. But she didn’t report the crime, so she is as much to blame as the friend and the delinquent. Even though I think it was a prank, why would they tell black people to leave? Why not any other race? The article said that since the kid was a minor, they couldn’t tell any information about him, so we don’t know there race. The article also said that Walmart had to pay over 17 million dollars because of a lawsuit that stated that Walmart, the nation’s largest retailer, was discriminating against blacks applying for jobs as truck drivers. Like Alden said, I think this kid was just being disrespectful and has no manners. I also agree with Keyshawn when he said that they just wanted attention. I don’t think that this incident was Walmart’s fault because it was just a rude customer that took the public-address telephone and said something racist so that the entire store could hear. I do think that Walmart does have to take some of the blame for this. I say this because they just left the phones without any protection so that this would have never happened. If they put a lock on the phones, this may have never happened unless someone knew the password. The article said that they did put a pass code on the phones now so this incident won’t be repeated again. I think that this boy deserves one year in a juvenile detention center because after his experience in there, I believe he’ll think twice before pulling off such an inappropriate prank. I recently read online that three nooses were hung from a tree at a high school in Louisiana. This started racial tension in the town. This tree was only to be used by white students because it was tradition. But many black students stood under it for protest. I think this is kind of like the incident at Walmart because in both cases, blacks were told that they could be in a certain place.
I don't know why anybody would go onto a public accesible speaker phone. In this incident I believe that he was driven to say this. I think this happened because peer presure guilted him into it. I think he did this because it is somthing that comes with age. I am 13 now and I do some stupid things at parties and sleepovers. Sometimes I don't know why any of the things go on in my head. When he walked over to one of the publicly accesible phones he said " all black people must leave." When I sat mean things to my parents I soon after regret what I said. I believe this is the same situation. Sixteen year oold have a tendency to do stupid things. I believe the young boy thought that it woulld be funny doing it in a public store. If I was a black person in the store at this time I would be very offended. I believe the public speaker phone should be disconnected and should only be used for employees only. This is why I believe the young boy would do this.
I think this 16-year-old did this not as a prank, but because he didn't approve blacks. I think this because this prank that he might have done, would hurt many people emotionally, especially youths. I also think this wasn't a prank because of what authorities found on Facebook, Myspace, and Youtube. The authorities found posts of "bragging" about the incident in this Gloucester County Wal-Mart. Authorities also got anonymous tips to who suspects could be. They eventualy found one and arrested him/her on Friday. Even though the youth said "It was only a prank,", I still think that anyone who would do this would do it in spite of a race, not for a couple laughs. So, I agree with Alvin Ailey's quote in saying, "One of the worst things about racism is what it does to young people," because this case could emotionally damage young people, especially blacks.
After reading the article, yes I do think this was a prank. It was a very cruel prank which should have a serious consequence. This kid must have been either very racist or he just did it as a complete joke. This kid might have done it as a joke but how would you feel if you were an African American and you were standing in that Wal-Mart? I think this kid made a stupid decision and should serve time in juvenile detention. Like Liam K. said “This blog topic reminds me of a TV series called "Jackass". "Jackass" relates to what the boy did because the people on the show pull stupid pranks on each other. However, "Jackass" has never done something as cruel and racist as the incident at wall-mart. This is why I think that this was meant to be a prank.” I don’t think this incident will hurt Wal-Marts reputation because, a random person just walked into the store not a worker there, and straight after the incident the manager apologized. An employee at the store even said, “We again apologize to all of our customers and associates who had to listen to something offensive.” In the article it mentioned that when Paulette Duckrey, a black woman, heard about the incident she guessed it was a prank by a customer and she said, “I assumed it couldn’t have been an employee.” I think that the people in the store had assumed that it wasn’t a worker too.
I think that this was a prank, but that he should still be charged with a crime. It was a prank- but a very sick, cruel prank. He is a teenager who was with a friend, who, like Alden said, probably dared him to say it. However, he should definitely be charged with a crime. If someone tried drugs and was caught, he or she wouldn’t be allowed to blame it on a dare or peer pressure. By saying this over the loudspeaker, many people were very offended. I’m sure that if I were in the store that day, I would have become angry and uncomfortable. Also, as Chelsea said, he probably didn’t realize the significance of his actions- he was most likely expecting his buddies to laugh with him and that he would receive a lecture from the manager. He just wanted attention. However, it is likely that this incident will have far reaching consequences, as it may go on his permanent record and he will have a tough time getting a good job. Also, if he is convicted he will miss a year of school and have to be held back, or it is possible that he may not go back to school at all. Also, as Molly said, the boy should go to Juvenile Hall so that other kids don’t think they can get away with a “prank” like this. This reminds me of a book I read recently, Mudbound, in which a white boy in Vermont runs an old black man off the road. The boy had his friends in the car and was only doing it to make them laugh, but it was still obviously the wrong thing to do. Although this was a long time ago and the boy wasn’t punished, he still did something racist just for the entertainment of his friends. As you can see, this may have been a prank, but due to its serious nature, the boy should still be charged.
I chose why someone would do something like this. I think that someone would do this because the thought that it would be funny and to show off in front of their friends. Also they think that racism is a joke when it’s not. Even thought they are not telling the race of this teenager I think that he would be anything but black. I think this because people take their race seriously and don’t like it when people make fun of it. He wanted to be able to be in charge of people and to see if anyone left but blacks in the store said that they knew that it was not a Wal-Mart employee. The police chief said that on YouTube and Facebook their where kids bragging on what happened. So I think that he wanted to get some attention but he was not expecting to be on the verge of going to juvenile detention. My connection is when people get scared and embarrassed when they are called over the public addressing system like me in school. And I would be mad if they called me a school and told me to leave as a joke. I could imagine what the blacks in Wal-Mart felt when they were told to leave when they do not have a very nice history in this country anyway. The similarities between getting called in school and getting called in Wal-Mart is that in both we would get mad, embarrassed to be called. That is what I think about why someone would do something like this.
I don't think this was a prank. This person ran into a store and made a horrible racist announcement. It scared people and there is no doubt that he knew what he was doing. A prank is something that you do to your friends, not to an entire store of stangers. He should have been arrested and he was. There is nothing funny about what he did.
I think the person was only trying to be funny. I agree with Maisie when she said that the person might have been dared to do the prank. Even though it was claimed a prank he should still be arrested. I think it was a very mean and upsetting prank to a lot of people. The person probably have already knew what the consequences were, but he still did a cruel prank anyway. Why would someone do a mean prank like that? I think this is affecting everyone because this made everyone more angry than they probably were. Even though it might have been a prank, I still think he deserved to be arrested.
After reading the article, I think that it was a prank when the 16 year old boy said that all black people should leave the store. I know that this was a prank but I think it was the dumbest prank. I think that maybe the guy’s friend told him to do it, but I still think it was a very immature thing to do. I think that his friend told him to do it and his mother knew after it happened. But she didn’t report the crime, so she is as much to blame as the friend and the delinquent. Even though I think it was a prank, why would they tell black people to leave? Why not any other race? The article said that since the kid was a minor, they couldn’t tell any information about him, so we don’t know there race. The article also said that Walmart had to pay over 17 million dollars because of a lawsuit that stated that Walmart, the nation’s largest retailer, was discriminating against blacks applying for jobs as truck drivers. Like Alden said, I think this kid was just being disrespectful and has no manners. I also agree with Keyshawn when he said that they just wanted attention. I don’t think that this incident was Walmart’s fault because it was just a rude customer that took the public-address telephone and said something racist so that the entire store could hear. I do think that Walmart does have to take some of the blame for this. I say this because they just left the phones without any protection so that this would have never happened. If they put a lock on the phones, this may have never happened unless someone knew the password. The article said that they did put a pass code on the phones now so this incident won’t be repeated again. I think that this boy deserves one year in a juvenile detention center because after his experience in there, I believe he’ll think twice before pulling off such an inappropriate prank. This is like the time when a friend dared another friend to go rob a gas station. After he did this he was arrested and put in jail.
I believe that this whole incident was just a prank to show off in front of friends. In this day and age many teenagers think it is funny to be racist but don’t realize the true consequences. As the article stated, there were Facebook messages about bragging after the act. This signals to me that this incident may have been a dare between friends to see how far someone would really go. The article stated that there were previous incidents that occurred in the store so these same friends could possibly be doing these “jokes” over and over again. This was an awful prank because of the racism that was involved and the feelings that got hurt. A connection to this isn’t exactly another prank but was an incident when whites were racist to blacks in modern times. When the Celtics drafted a player named Dee Brown in the NBA he was accused of being a drug dealer because he was black. Two white cops attacked him because he was accused of illegal activity because of his looks.
After reading the article, I do not think that this stunt was only a prank. I say this because if the person who said it didn’t even know the people why would he say? I could see if he was joking if he was friends with the people. Even though the youth say he was just kidding, he still said it and what you say, you can’t take back what you say. Also this is a racist comment, so yes I do think that the youth should be charged with crime. Someone like this might do this because he is racist. I wouldn’t see how being sentenced to a year being jailed is just a punishment, I would guess that it goes against your record. If he had said all white people must leave, then the all the white people might protest because most likely a white person owns the store. Bragging about this I completely wrong, I say this because why would you be proud of this? All this makes is the details of your profile bad. I do not think this incident will hurt wal-mart’s reputation, I say this because it was only a customer and the people immediately said they are sorry the problem. What I think the quote means is that soon all people, no matter what age, will become racist. This will definitely cause a problem because then the world will turn into an all out brawl.
What would have happened if this 16 year old boy from New Jersey announced over the WalMart public adress system 'All whites must leave the store'? In one word; Nothing. While this boy's prank was stupid, immature, insensitive, racist, and foolish, if he had said white people, it would not have even made the news. The fact that he did say black people still did not make it worthy of national news. The kid was a silly teenager who was pulling what he thought was a silly prank. This needs to be put into context. If he had said white people, or any other majority group, nobody would have taken this so seriously. With all of the other real racist crimes in the world, this does not deserve the attention it got. I dont condone this teenager's actions, however I think it was a prank, he thought it was a prank, and probably most people in the store knew it was a prank. Things like this actually divide us. I think everyone should respect each other, and not make every insensitive comment a racial issue. This reminds me of how in class we are studying slavery. When slavery is mentioned, most people think of black slaves. They don't think of the white European slaves, or the human trafficking that goes on today; many many of them white. Because race is such a sensitive issue, racist comments against blacks seem to get much more attention than racist comments against whites.
I think that 1 year in a juvenile detention center is just punishment for many reasons. One reason is because he had made an extremely racist comment to the Wal-Mart customers, and that is punishable in any way. I agree with what Mike N. said about the incident showing up on his criminal record. However, it would be good for the companies that the teenager applies for, because they wouldn’t want a delinquent working on their premises. Another reason is that the child could be even more racist than he demonstrated, and that he would be prevented from doing an obnoxious stunt like this one again. He also might change his ways while in the detention center. One more reason is that the community/world will prepare for “security breaches” like that, and when someone tries to do something related to that again, everybody will be ready. An example is: the Wal-Mart where this incident happened fixed its intercom system, so that something like this can’t happen again. A connection to this topic is this: it reminds me of Rosa Parks. She did something that might have been considered racist back then, and she was put in jail for it. This is why I think that 1 year in a juvenile detention center is just punishment for this situation.
USE THIS BLOG COMMMENT:
I think Alvin Ailey’s quote, “One of the worst things about racism is what it does to young people,” means many things. One point he is making is that young people are the upcoming generation and whatever we are taught, we are going to teach to our children, grandchildren, etc. However, if we can stop racism now, it will better everyone’s future. Young people shouldn’t have to limit their lives because of “their” views or views they were convinced into believing. Discriminatory lyrics, phrases, etc. are around us all the time and make it hard to not stereotype or create an opinion about something or someone. 36% percent of adults in America don’t think that racism is a problem! Despite the "progress" in culture, science and technology, racism has been responsible for the death of over 32 million human beings in the last 150 years. These numbers, however, do not tell the full story since no numbers are available for the colonial period. Do we want to add to this horrific number? Our world is like a tiny ball wrapped in 'fear' that prevents us from hearing and knowing the truth. Fears have a tendency to grow into “monsters” when they are fed daily and not dealt with; the only way is to face the monster is let go and try to become unbiased. To 'hear and believe' untruths repeatedly with no other input for information, makes the untruths become reality, and that is plain and simple brainwashing; children have no other sense of what’s right and what’s wrong, so they go along with whatever they are taught. Generations of people are told lies that they believe are true and they don’t step beyond their comfort zone to find out it isn’t, so they don’t change. One of the many results of racism: According to the Feb 2007, Commerce Department's Census Bureau findings, over 2.1 million African-American families live below the poverty level, and are nearly the most victimized group in America. This outcome definitely affects the way children visualize an African-American or black. This reminds me of a book about the KKK and how the leader’s wife and sons were so isolated from reality. They never r got to create their own opinion about racism and blacks; and when the leader’s wife was exposed to reality one day, she finally was able to see what horrific acts the KKK did, and she ran away with her children to become against the KKK. If people are exposed to actuality by impartial individuals from the beginning, there would be a much greater chance of eliminating racism. This is what I think Alvin Ailey’s quote means.
After reading this article I had trouble deciding which question to choose. After thinking about and rereading the article all I could think was: Why would someone do this? I think the kid did this to show off and act cool. The reason behind this was probably a dare that the kid followed through with. Also it said in the article that he was with a friend. It is something that teenagers commonly do: “act cool or show off”. Also the proof to back this up is that in the article it stated that the suspect was bragging on Facebook, MySpace, and YouTube. I think these social network systems were a way of verification to the prank. It also might have been the parents’ political views that influenced him. Most of the time kids are like sponges especially when it comes to political points of view. This is probably because we don’t have enough experience in life to make such important decisions. So, we listen to our parents (for once), and take their view as our own. None of these reasons justify the actions that the suspect committed. This reminds me of when I was six and there were these really pretty girls that were older and “cooler”. I went to hang out and play with them. I was seven years old and knew full well that I was biracial. However what happened next was a slap to the face. The girls turned me away because I was too dark. The oldest girl Gina said that dark skin was ugly so I wasn’t pretty enough or cool enough to play with them. It has been six years since this incident and I still remember this just as clear as night and day. This is a connection because this boy was trying to exclude people because of their color. On the playground I was put aside because of my color. Trust me when I say comments like that will stay with me for the rest of my life, and just like me the possible black children in Wal-Mart will most definitely be scarred. This is why I think this kid did this. This is why I think this was a horrid prank.
After reading the article, a good question certainly would be: “Why would someone do this?” Since nothing like this would ever cross my mind, it is hard for me to imagine why anyone would ever think of doing this. I can only imagine that this teenage boy has been exposed to narrow- minded and intolerant opinions in his household or community. Alvin Ailey’s comment is so accurate as it is true that adults influence the thoughts and behavior of children, and in this case, it is very likely that this teenager has been negatively influenced by the intolerance of adult role models. I also think this boy may have been pressured to do this act by his friend who was with him when he made the announcement. Unfortunately, even the adult chaperone behaved in a less than appropriate way by allowing it to take place, fleeing the scene and not taking responsibility for the teenagers she was accompanying. I believe this kind of behavior is more common these days due to social networks such as facebook, formspring and myspace, where people feel they can say and post whatever they want, with little consequence. Teenagers often speak without thinking and do not consider the outcome. Many times they will say things that are offensive and insensitive behind a screen where they don’t realize that other people are seeing their insulting comment. I infer that facebook and other social networks have unfortunately contributed to this kind of unfiltered behavior.
I think that the quote, “one of the worst things about racism is what it does to young people" by Alvin Ailey explains a lot about the situation with the boy in Wal-Mart. The quote means that when a child is raised in a back ground that has a negative outlook on other races, children will pick up on that and tend to be the same way. Young people hang out with friends, and maybe will have families of their own that could pick up and practice their racist ways. Young people are our future, and how we portray ourselves to others will directly affect the future. It says in the article that, “The Washington Township Police chief, said that while the cameras did not record anyone speaking on the public-address system, images showed three people the suspect, a young man and women – standing near the phone just before the announcement, and rushing from the store just after it.” The suspect could have influenced his friends with his racist views on the world, and who knows if many others at their school or their community had been the influence on him or have been influenced with the wrath of his prejudice thoughts. In the article it mentions that on Facebook and YouTube the suspects were bragging about the incident at Wal-Mart, this says to other kids that it is fun and cool to be stereotypical to other races, eventually influencing their way of life as well. I agree with Rachel in that, “Young people shouldn’t have to limit their lives because of “their” views or views they were convinced into believing.” When someone is racist, it blocks their mind narrowing their job options, the people they hang out with and their knowledge. I can connect to the situation of young people being influenced by racism because in the book The Help by Kathryn Stockett it is often brought up that racism was carried on to children at the fault of white parents. In the book, Aibileen, an African American maid, often observed how the young white children cared fondly about her, but when they grew up they grew apart from their maids and looked down at them like help. In both situations one hade their own views on the world until an authority influenced them to the point that they changed their way of thinking. I think that the Wal-Mart incident and the story in the book could be avoided if the parents and other members of the community didn’t choose their child’s way of thinking by forcing them to believe their racist views on the world. Parents control the child’s first impression of the world and in both cases the parents didn’t show them the truth different kind’s culture, people, and races. That is what the quote by Alvin Ailey means and how I connect to it.
After reading what happened, i think that this was not a prank. I think this because that's not what i think a prank is. Pranks are tricks used on people for a quick laugh, but this person said something verry offensive and racist in the middle of a Wall-Mart, which was not funny and i don't think it was meant to be funny. I think that even if the youth pleaded that he was only kidding, that he should still be charged with crime. I think this because it's still illegal, even if you were kidding. It's like saying "Let's go bomb the school on your friend’s wall on facebook. I think that someone would do something like this because they were extremely racist and really wanted to express his feelings. I think that one year i a juvenile detention center is a good punishment because it's not too harsh, and it's not too light of a punishment. If someone commits a crime, and you give them a really simple punishment, you won’t learn as easily and you would most likely commit the crime again. I think that if he said that all white people must leave the store that he still would have gotten a big punishment, but it wouldn't be as bad as a punishment. I think this because when the constitution started, black people were slaves working for rich white people. It wasn't until 1864 until blacks could have some fair rights, and after that there was an extreme amount of racism against blacks. Still now there is a lot of racism towards blacks; white people were almost never picked on. I think that it is really moronic and stupid for people bragging about this on Facebook and YouTube. It shows that there is still much racism today. I think that the incident will only slightly hurt Wall-Mart's reputation, because it only happened once, but if there are future incident like that, then Wall-Mart's reputation will go down at a fast pace. I think that the quote from Alvin Ailey means that young people are exposed to racism early and they grow up being racist. This connects to back when racism was at its peak, when black people weren’t allowed in stores, and when there were white people bathrooms, and black bathrooms.
I agree with Andrew that it was only a prank and the kid didn’t expect to be in so much trouble. I think he was messing around with his friend and they bet he wouldn’t do it. He didn’t realize it would hurt all those people and really offend them too. I think he deserves one year in juvenile hall if not more. If this is not taken seriously it could spark more incidents like this. This reminds me of a book I read where their where white people were not letting the japans’ people after Pearl Harbor. They wouldn’t let them leave their houses and they arrested them for no reason. I would want to know what kind of mom would let their son do that and then run away with them. I think this incident will hurt Wall-mart’s reputation. Who would go to a store with a reputation of being racist to their customers?
Well after reading this article I believe that that was a prank, but it offended many people in that store. If saying "all the black people leave the store" is a prank than that is the dumbest prank ever. The person that did the\is should at least serve 1 to 2 years because that is just racist thing to do and that it had been do in a public place makes it worst. The other people that accompanied that person should be charged with something because they could have stop him from saying that comment. I also think that Wal-Mart needs to take some blame because they just have this phones unprotected so any persons could use them. Wal-Mart also spent 17 million dollars so that they could "settle" a lawsuit about a about turning down a black man the job of a truck driver. As Alvin Ailey said "One of the worst things about racism is what it does to young people." this shows in this article by how this person acted towards African American by how his/her parents acted in this subject. This article reminds me of the Holocaust and how the Nazis acted towards the Jews and by smearing their religion.
After reading the article, I was shocked that the person said I was kidding. This is shocking because if he was smart he would have admitted. I think this because no police officer will let you off the hook if you say I am sorry. For example,if someone commits suicide and the people that harassed the kid said that they were kidding. They can do anything now and the kid could have still been alive today. Even if the kid says it was a prank Wal-mart still will lose customers because of this incident. I hope they don’t because it is not their fault for someone else’s mistake and actions. I also can connect to this because when I called someone a name in school and the teacher yelled at me even if I said I was kidding maybe the other person did not know that. This is why i was shocked abot the stament the kid mad after he was convicted.
I think this probably was, in the persons mind, just a prank. He probably assumed it would end up being no big deal. But whether or not he meant it to be offensive, it was very disrespectful and cruel. This should be considered a crime and I think he should spend some time in a juvenile detention center. I agree with Ray in the sense that his is like flashing back to when America was incredibly racist. One would assume that in this day and age people would be beyond all of that. But by pulling this "prank", many of the African Americans probably felt as if they were being pushed back to a time where people looked down on them. Even if the boy apologizes and all the costumers are told it was only a prank, it doesn't erase the suspicion that some people might still feel that way. That's not something you can easily get past. I personally believe that the person who did this did more damage then they know.
I think that there are a few reasons why someone would do something as hurtful and horrible as this. First, I believe that the boy who did this act might have been raised in a prejudice family. His beliefs may have stemmed from the way this boy was brought up. He could have been raised to believe that whites were superior to blacks, and acted on those beliefs alone. As Rachel C. said," Young people shouldn’t have to limit their lives because of “their” views or views they were convinced into believing." There are still many people out there who believe that blacks should be treated in the lowest way possible, and one of those people could have been this boy's family member or friend. Every way that this boy thinks and acts could because of the influence of his family and friends. Even if the boy didn’t believe that blacks really were lower than whites, his family might have pressured him to feel this way. Instead of standing up for what he believed was right, he mindlessly acted without thinking about the consequences. This is one reason why I think someone might do something like this. Another reason is that they could have thought it was a harmless joke. This boy could have been dared by his friends, or just thought it was funny. Though the people behind the prank might have thought it was funny, to others it was completely serious. There was a time when that sort of thing might have been said in a serious way, and no charges would have been pressed. This reminds me of the movie, The Long Walk Home. Some whites were harassing a black woman on a bus, and the bus driver stood up for her and kicked them off. Since this was a different time period, the white's were not charged for anything, but it was a start. This connects to why someone would do something like this because the white's were full of prejudice towards the blacks. Also, since this was a group of white men, some of the men probably felt pressured to act and feel this way, just like the boy who spoke over the intercom did. These are some reasons why I believe someone would do something like this.
The quote by Alvin Ailey, “One of the worst things about racism is what it does to young people,” has a lot of meanings to me. One way I interpret it is that he is trying to make a point that the youth will be the next generation of people and that what the current generation does will have a major affect. If we don’t stop racism at the current generation then it could go on forever throughout more generations causing more and more racism and then there may never be a stop. Also, when people learn from racism, it does no good, only harm to others. There has never once been any good from racism besides the fact that some people are able to learn from it and stop doing it. Another way I interpret this is that if affects the youths’ lives personally to those of a different race. For example, if an African American boy was being stereotyped against because of his color, then his life will be changed forever. At first, he will be angry about it and rebel. Then if it continues, he’ll become adapt to it from day to day. This could make him join a gang or become racist himself. Do we really want that? So that’s another thing that Ailey is trying to bring across. This reminds me of the movie The Last King of Scotland because in the movie, the new president of Uganda, who was black, was trying to make the country a better place. There were some British white folks who lived in Uganda who claim they are there to help, but they are there to make sure that the new president doesn’t destroy the country. Then a doctor from Scotland comes and tries to help the poor people. The people of Uganda do not like the British people so when they saw the doctor, they immediately thought, “Here comes a snot-nosed British white man who thinks he’s the best person in the world if he comes to us and tries to “help” our country’s poor.” The reason is because they are so immune to the fact that all of the white people in the country do not help for their cause because of past generations. This is reminds me of the message that Ailey is bringing because it shows an example of how a certain race or religious group, can just discriminate against another because of what has happened in past generations and has been brought over to the next even though it very well could be untrue. One goal among the people of the world would be to stop racism everywhere and about everyone. This quote is one step towards making a change by trying to get people to notice the true meaning of it and how it affects the youth.
I think this is plain terrible. Do I think this a prank? No I do not think this a prank. And even if he said he was only kidding he should still be punished. Racism of any kind should not be accepted. People make jokes or hear jokes all the time that are racist. It is just wrong. Racism can only stop if you as a person make it stop. You need to tell someone if you hear them say something that you think is racist. I think that it is not Wal-Mart’s fault. In the article it says “the boy picked up a public-address telephone in the Wal-Mart in Washington Township, one of two dozen accessible to the store’s customers, and said, “All black people, leave the store now.”” There is no way that Wal-Mart could have known he was going to say this. Racism is not something you are born with. You learn it through society and from the people around you.
The quote "One of the worst things about racism is what it does to young people" by Alvin Ailey has a very strong meaning. In my eyes it means that kids are influenced easily, and if you voice your opinion often enough they might make it their opinion themselves. I think that the youth thought it was a prank, but in reality it is not at all a prank it is an offensive thing that can hurt people deeply and would not be forgiven easily like a "prank" would. When the youth said, "i was only joking" he still should be charged with the crime. if this adolescent was truly sorry he wouldn't have done it. I think someone would do this if they were either pressured or perhaps racist.
In my opinion one year in juvenile detention center is a fair and just punishment. This youth needs to learn his lesson and having just a warning or sixty days in jail will not teach him a lesson. If he said, "all white people must leave the store" it would be a very different situation. I think it could go a couple different ways. One way it could go is the that people would make a bigger deal out of it, because there is still some racism against black people today more than against white people. If you brag online about doing something illegal or about how you just did a hurtful prank on someone just keep in mind posting it online is the same thing as screaming it in a police station. Everything you do and say online will be there forever so keep that in mind when saying something you could get in trouble for. I think it will in some ways hurt Walmart reputation. Walmart will definitely be more careful of who they hire. In the article it said that they were hiring more diverse employes. however, do you think hiring more diverse employes help them? This reminds me of how after world war two people would be racist against germans and call them all nazi's which is not the case at all. Racism needs to stop, no matter what we look like were all the same being we need to realize that before it's too late.
I don’t think that this was only a prank. I think this because the effort one must have put into this one racist action was enormous! He had to sneak in somewhere he obviously was not supposed to be, or an employee only area. Then he had to figure out how to even use the intercom! It was clearly an intentional comment. Also something like this also happened in Arizona; a white man shot a 13-year old Mexican girl. Reports said that he stated, “You f****** wetback! Go back to Mexico!” before fatally shooting Juan Varela in the chin with a .38 revolver. That was just as racial and biased as the Wal-Mart incident! I also agree with Luke W. when he said, “Teenagers only brag to be cool.” I agree with this because most kids when they are bragging are exaggerating and making it seem bigger than it is to be cool. This whole thing was obviously no prank.
I think the boys intentions were only as a joke and to show off to his friends and be funny, but were very offensive and someone should take action and he should be disciplined in some way so he learns that he can’t get away with something just because he was doing it as a prank. I think one year in juvenile detention center is a bit harsh of a punishment because he wasn’t having bad intention or doing a hate crime, but he made the wrong choice and should probably do volunteer hours of some time in juvenile detention center. I think if he said all white people get out it would have been taken more lightly. This is because usually when you think of racism you think of African American people and don’t think it really applies to white people. So if he did that I think he would have just been yelled at by managers and kicked out but not got involved with the police. I think the quote from Avilin Ailey means that racism get passed on and if other people are being racist young people think it is acceptable. So them being exposed to racism makes them racist whether they know it or not sometimes. And if that continues then racism will never go away.
Do you think this incident will hurt WalMart's reputation?
Yes, I do think that this incident will hurt WalMart's reputation. At it's very end, this article mentions that WalMart has had some problems with discrimination in the past. Yes, WalMart didn't know that this teenaged boy would tell all of the African Americans in the building to get out, but I think that the general public will think less of the company becase of this incident. I mean, they already have a long history of complaints of discrimination from the public "involving minorities and women." This story reminds me of when I was little, when my parents counted to three so that I would stop what I was doing that was making them mad. If I didn't stop fighting with my brother or whatever I was doing, there would be a consequence. In this case, the parent is the general public, and the misbehaving child is WalMart. Now, if WalMart doesn't stop misbehaving (discrimination), there may be consequences.
After reading this article, I’m pretty sure this was a prank. I think this boy did this because he thought it would be funny and harmless, or cool to his friends, even if he didn’t really mean what he said. It could have even been a dare. He also probably thought it would be easy to get away with; I guess he forgot the fact that Wal-Mart has cameras. So, no matter what his reason was for being racist over the intercom at Wal-Mart was, whether he was kidding or not, should probably make him be charged with a crime. What he did was disrespectful, unethical, and harmful. I doubt he considered that what he said could actually hurt people, or thought about how wrong what he did was. I believe that when someone says something very racial, or inappropriate to much of the public, it should be punishable by law. If this guy said all white people should leave the store rather than all black people should leave the store, I think the affect would be very different. Technically, the boy should face the same charges for telling the white people to leave the store, but because of the past between the two races in this country, people would diffidently not have had the same reaction. White people have never faced as much racism as other ethnicities here, so it wouldn’t really be a big deal. I think Wal-Mart might apologize, and give the boy a warning, but I doubt he would face the same charges. A connection to this scenario is when my English class last year read Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry. In this book two black characters go into town to buy some groceries, and are taken care of after all the white people. In both situations white people were being racist towards black people in a store.
I think if this boy said, ‘All whites leave the store!’ it would have been taking differently. I think this because although both black and white people have been enslaved, most people are more familiar with black slavery. I believe that because of the cruel conditions of slavery in the US, black citizens are used to people with mixed opinions about them. So they take certain things that people say in a different way than someone else would. Also I think that if a white person was to hear that comment by a black person, they might have taking it the wrong way. Another reason was that there might have been a greater population of white people as opposed to black people. Sot the few black people in there thought it was a joke or prank, while a large population of white might have over reacted about it. My connection to this is when I was watching the news recently; there was man reports of roofs caving in. I was like aw too bad for them and didn’t really care about it because it wasn’t near me. But the other day a barn collapsed in Bridgewater and I felt extremely bad for the people. This is like the boy who yelled all blacks leave the store on the loud speaker because when the boy said this, the white shoppers probably didn’t care as much as some black shoppers did, but if all whites leave the store the white shoppers would have cared more.
I think that the incident at Wal-Mart will definitely hurt their reputation because once people know about the situation they will take it into consideration when they decided where to shop. This will not only affect this particular Wal-Mart in New Jersey and in the towns around it, but all Wal-Marts in the country, because people don’t want to be associated with prejudice and racism. In the article a woman named Paulette Duckrey, 43, who is black, said that when she heard about the episode, she guessed that it was a prank by a customer. But, even though she thought it was a prank others might take the situation more serious and become scared. Furthermore when this person made the announcement, other people didn’t know who he was. For all they knew it could have been a racist employee telling people to get out of the store.
Another interesting fact from this article is that an incident similar to this happened just last year. Not the same crime, but prejudice against black people. The case was that black people were being discriminated against when applying for truck driving jobs. Wal-Mart settled the lawsuit for $17.5 million dollars which could make people wonder if they were guilty, and that could cause people to wonder if an employee made the announcement in the store. This is also like what Kristine K. said, “Also the article said that this wasn't the first time that Wal-Mart has faced a situation like this, last year the company was accused of discriminating against blacks who applied for jobs as truck drivers. Even though the announcement wasn't Wal-Mart's fault, it is obvious that they have been racist in the past.”
My connection to this story is about Hitler and when he discriminated against the Jews. Hitler wanted to rule the world and also wanted to get rid of the Jewish people just because he didn’t like them. This relates to the story because in both cases they are discriminating against a certain type of people for no reason. In the story a person made a racist comment and caused people worry and fear. And in Hitler’s case he was causing worry and fear for the Jews.
I believe this was only a prank. Even if he says he was kidding, he should be charged with a crime. The reality is he did do it, and he can’t rewind time to change what he did. I think someone would do this to impress their friend, even though their friend probably doesn’t find it funny. If he said,"all white people leave" I would be offended. I would be offended that people would go against my race. About the bragging on face book, that is just awful. If you would dare say something like that, you should be ashamed, not bragging about it, nobody thinks it is cool. This incident will change Wal-Mart’s reputation, I know I will remember this, and anyone who has read this will remember this also. I think Alvin Ailey's quote (One of the worst things about racism is what it does to young people) means, one of the worst things about racism is how kids are used to it, and it has become normal.
Of all of the actions taken by the minors who were charged, I think one of the most idiotic things they did was post it on social media sites like Facebook. When the announcement was made in the store, it was probably just what the kids thought to be a funny prank, and they thought it'd be good to go tell all of their friends about it ("LOL GUYS ME AND ____ JUST WENT INTO WALMART AND....") hoping to get some laughs. Bragging about it not only was stupid because it gave police evidence against them; but it was also sort of throwing the situation back in the WalMart shoppers'faces by bringing it up again and bragging about it. This happens a lot in other situations, as well. I have a friend that had once told her mom she was at a sleepover, when really she was going on a date, and the she started posting about how much fun she had with her date on Facebook. Her mom found out, and the girl got in a lot of trouble. This shows how bragging about your bad decisions can not only prove that you made them, but also blow up in your face. This is why I think it is so idiotic that not only these two kids would first pull that prank in WalMart, but then brag about it later online.
After reading the article, I believe that, even if the kid said “It was only a prank,” they shouldn’t be “let off the hook”. I think they should still be punished and charged with crime. I think this because saying that only blacks leave Wal-Mart is very offensive to people and even makes me angry at people who think this is funny. Yes, this could have been a prank but still you don’t do something like that because, like Clay F. said, “…the prank touched upon a very sensitive subject in the world today.” I also agree with Chelsea O. on how she said, “…he should be charged with a crime, and should be punished for his actions. I think the boy just wanted to be funny and get some laughs out of it at school.” If the boy gets charged I hope it’ll teach him a lesson and next time to think before he acts. I think that the kid did this as a prank because how it said in the article that when they found them next to the telephone, after the incident they ran away. He probably didn’t think that this would affect people’s lives and really hurt them. This reminds me of how people joke around with their friend and try to make them laugh by saying something funny, but end up hurting their feelings instead of having a laugh. With both happenings people came out sad and hurt. That is why I think this was a prank but still just from saying “It was only a prank” shouldn’t “Let you off the hook.”
"One of the worst things about racism is what it does to young people," is a quote from Alvin Ailey. I believe that there are many different levels of thought with this comment, some which are just different ways of looking at it. One way, in my eyes, is that this comment is pointing out how the corruption or concept of racism against any minority, or even majority, group spreads. Racism can reach the youth of another continent from the veterans from another age because of the advances in transport and technology that have spread other ideas in the past. Another way that this can be seen is that racism also changes the view of the world for a newcomer that it did for an old-timer. Without any other influence or knowledge of a different style of life, a new idea would grow quickly without much opposition. Since today's young people don't have knowledge of a time free of any racism, many can submit to it as their only option. I think that the young people in this quote are the next generation. Not just ours or theirs, but every next generation there will be. Slavery has existed in the world for well over 1,000 years, and it is still not completely stopped. In accordance to this, the idea of racism, even based on different principles, could still exist in the future. I also interpret "what it does" as the effect on the lives of the people who are born into a world with slavery. Alvin Ailey said that racism affects the youth of the day. This in its simplest form is true and can be seen in the article where a youth expressed racist comments over a Wal-Mart intercom. The youth has obviously been introduced to the concept of racism and, even as a joke, the idea of racism changed this person's actions from what one without the experience of racism would make. This person's actions were conveyed in racist thought, which helps explain how Alvin's comment could mean that racism changes people's actions in accordance to the idea itself.
I think that this was a prank. I think this because no one in their right mind would do something like that and think it’s ok to do. I also think he did it more than once because in the article it said that there was two other incidents like this in previous months. Plus Wal-Mart has already paid a $17.5 million to settle a class-action lawsuit that accused it of discriminating against blacks applying for jobs as truck drivers a year ago. So this act of immaturity isn’t helping Wal-Mart to have a great reputation with customers or its employees. I can prove that statement by saying that Wal-Mart has a history of discrimination and labor complaints involving minorities and women. This whole incident reminds me of a show called “jackass.” on “jackass” they pull pranks on each other and say in the show that “no one try to recreate or reenact and of these stunts or activities.” so if this kid was trying to be like the people in the show then he most think it’s funny to make fun of people and that it’s ok to do it. For my reasons and insight that I put in this post is why I think that this kid was pulling a very cruel prank.
I think that it won’t damage Wal-Mart’s reputation as much as the boy’s. This is because those that were hurt by the comment that he made, “all blacks leave the store now”, will mostly remember the comment and how that made them feel, not that it happened in Wal-Mart. Also, in the article, it said that a store manager had apologized immediately after. A black woman, Paulette Duckrey, said that when she heard of the incident, she assumed it was a customer and not staff. Even though Wal-Mart supposedly had incidents in which racism might have occurred, that was not a customer’s fault, more their own. In this, it was completely the boy’s fault. He thought it as a prank, but it really wasn’t. It wasn’t funny to anyone who heard that comment. The store manager apologized again, saying “he was sorry for anyone who had to hear that comment.” I agree with Jess when she said that it must have been like a flash back to when people were incredibly racist for anyone who heard it. This is not fair to them because they were just shopping, when someone said something completely uncalled for. Because this comment is so hurtful, I think that the punishment he is facing (one year in JDC) is a good punishment. This is because it will teach him what he needs to lean, that “pranks” like these aren’t funny, and the sentence isn’t too long. When I was in Philadelphia with Maddy last summer, we were walking by a hospital and saw a woman screaming terrible insults at black officer who was trying to calm her down. He was being respectful, but still doing his job and making sure no one around the woman got hurt. This wasn’t fair because he was just doing his job, but she screamed racial slurs at him. This is like the Wal-Mart incident because just like people were shopping, the officer was trying to do his job.
Do you think this incident will hurt Wal-Mart’s reputation?
Yes, I think that this incident will hurt Wal-Mart’s reputation. The article mentions that “Wal-Mart… …has a history of discrimination and labor complaints… …last year, the company… ….(paid) $17.5 million to settle a class-action lawsuit that accused it of discriminating against blacks applying for jobs as truck drivers.” As Kimberly said “Wal-Mart didn't know that this teenage boy would tell all of the African Americans in the building to get out, but I think that the general public will think less of the company because of this incident.” This reminds me of a show I watched wear an Indian woman sued a company for not letting her wear a sari, a traditional dress of the Hindu religion. Both companies faced unhappy shoppers because of their “racism”.
Do you think this incident will hurt Wal-Mart’s reputation?
Yes, I think that this incident will hurt Wal-Mart’s reputation. The article mentions that “Wal-Mart… …has a history of discrimination and labor complaints… …last year, the company… ….(paid) $17.5 million to settle a class-action lawsuit that accused it of discriminating against blacks applying for jobs as truck drivers.” As Kimberly said “Wal-Mart didn't know that this teenage boy would tell all of the African Americans in the building to get out, but I think that the general public will think less of the company because of this incident.” This reminds me of a show I watched wear an Indian woman sued a company for not letting her wear a sari, a traditional dress of the Hindu religion. Both companies faced unhappy shoppers because of their “racism”.
After reading the article I belive that even if the kid said it was only a prank they shouldn't be "let off the hook". I think they should still be punished and be charged with crime. I agree with Chelsea O. when she said, "He should be charged with a crime and should be punished for his actions." I agree with this because if someone walked into Wal-Mart and yelled all black people out it would be very offencive to them and other people too. Even though he said it was "Just a prank" he should get charged with crime. I think Alvin Ailey's quote "One of the worst things about racism is what it does to young people." means the worst part is that kids of all ages are witnessing and are getting used to racism. This is why I think that why I think what those kids did is wrong.
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