Friday, February 20, 2009
"Katherine Thomas is reported to seek a seat on the board not only to protect David Burleson, but to make sure Brian returns to Freedom"
What?
OK, yes - since last year my husband and I have been discussing my possible run for the Burke County School Board this next election cycle. We both have been shocked by the actions taken and comments made by particular board members. I have attended meetings and have been appalled at the lack of professionalism displayed by the current and past board chair and vice chair. I have spoken before the board about policy (limited to 5 minutes, of course), I have written letters to the Editor, and I have communicated with others who are also concerned about the direction the board has taken over the last couple of years. And yes, several folks have asked me to run.
I really don't want to run for school board. I would rather the school board be populated by folks other than me that have some sense of constitutional law, who value the education of our children over some need for power, who have open minds, who value teachers rather than trying to intimidate teachers into submission, who don't ramble on just to hear themselves speak, and who can use proper grammar. I do think we have a few folks on the board who meet that criteria, but unfortunately, the mouthpieces of the board do not.
I would like to see racial diversity on the school board. I would like to see more racial diversity in the administration.
I don't want to run for school board. However, I do feel a sense of obligation to this county and to this school system to run for school board in the upcoming election. I have received moral support and encouragement from folks all over the county to seek a seat on the board, and that has made the decision to run much more palatable.
I am not a social person. I am not a politician. I can be very blunt - I usually err on the side of being too honest, or, in attempting to be diplomatic, too abstract. My mind is not nearly as quick as it once was - but as my children leave home I find that it is improving. My energy level has never been stellar, but likewise, as my children leave home I am finding more energy. ( I see a trend here). I have made mistakes, said dumb things and have offended people just like everyone else in this world who opens their mouths. But, I apologize, try to learn and not repeat my mistakes.
My agenda? To protect the current superintendent and bring back Brian Oliver? I don't know where people get their information. I can tell you that neither of the above two assertions have any basis in fact.
My agenda is to contribute some common sense to the board, to try to bring some integrity to the board and to get the board working in a more professional manner. Specific agenda? I don't have one. I do have opinions on how different issues are handled, and I hope to post on those thoughts in the near future.
If you have any ideas or comments, please feel free to post. I will not tolerate name-calling (unless the name is really clever and funny), personal attacks on candidates or personal attacks on anyone's children. I believe in the 1st amendment, but I am not the "State," and I will delete offensive comments.
Another thing about posting comments. It is difficult to take folks seriously when they are "anonymous." Keep that in mind when you post.
Cowardice or Complacency?
Attorney General Eric Holder's remarks that Americans have not tackled the issues of racism fully due to "cowardice" have drawn support and fire. He comments that we all work together well, but we do not engage in spending time together outside of work or school, and the reason is because we are all "cowards."
I see what Mr. Holder is saying, but I wonder why he chose the word "cowardice?" I personally don't have a social life outside of my family, and they all happen to be white. If I did have a social life, I probably would limit my time to people with whom I was familiar - and they happen to be white. That has not always been the case, though. I have spent time socially with other races during most of my school years (primary through law school).
Since I have married and have been raising children, I guess my social life consists of attending athletic events or family gatherings. The athletic events have always been a mix of races - and I have always enjoyed the kids, parents and coaches of diverse races. I seem to always learn something from people with different backgrounds than my own.
I can honestly say that my family never considered race as a real "identifier" as I grew up. My family moved here from Pennsylvania by way of New Jersey and Ohio, but by the time I was 7, this is where we stayed. When my parents moved our family to Cincinnati in the late sixties, we moved into one of the first integrated neighborhoods in Ohio - probably in the US. In Morganton, I attended Mountain View Elementary, and I think that whites were probably the minority at that school at that time. We had a black principal, Lloyd Shivers - who drove a white Corvette and was always dressed to perfection. I had a wonderful, elegant, kind 4th grade teacher, Ms. Effie Williams, who was also black and whose grace and kindness to all I will never forget. I can rattle off the names of my black classmates - and I think about them and wonder where they are now. One of my best friends was Lisa Level - we swam together on the swim team and spent weekends at each other's houses.
At some point as I grew older, people seemed to start to select different friends. People tended to drift to their own races, I guess. In high school I was in the infamous Humanities classes, and apparently it was easier for the schools back then to schedule most of our classes together, so we were relegated to spending our school time and social time with the same people that we were in class with all day. I think it gave everyone else the impression that we were an "elitist" group, but the truth is, we didn't have many opportunities to blend in with everyone else. And we were complacent - or lazy - and didn't attempt to go outside of our comfort zones.
Times have changed so drastically since then. I talked to my son Grant, who is a freshman at Patton, about Mr. Holder's comments. Grant is a bit of a loner at school - he has many "friends" but not many friends that come to our house, or that he socializes with outside of school. Anyhow, I said, half jokingly, "your goal this week is to eat lunch with some folks of a different race, and then invite them over to our house this weekend." He laughed and said he would. But then I realized that this kid probably is too afraid of rejection to do such a thing. Maybe that is what Mr. Holder is referring to?
My son worships Chris Paul. He thinks Jeff Teague and LD Williams are the "shizzle." Since he was a toddler he has thought that black men are way cool. He supported Obama. I am sure he dreams about Beyonce'. He knows who Maya Angelou is and knows that she is a professor at Wake Forest. He loves to watch "Scrubs" which portrays two best friends of different colors. He has played basketball, football and soccer with all races - and I am sure he has formed his own stereotypes for all of them. But, knowing him, I think he would love to have more friends of color - any color. But making real friends means taking chances - and self-esteem at this age is hard to come by, and easy to damage. So, the status quo remains, and he is complacent. And maybe, as Mr. Holder suggests, cowardly.
In spite of my upbringing, I have not done enough to form relationships outside of my race. (I have not done enough to form relationships in general.) But, I think I will try. It seems so disingenuous (there's a five dollar word - could have written "insincere") to make such a statement, but I think we all need to be very deliberate about this kind of thing. Like a garden, friendship demands attention, and I in particular must not allow any new friends that I make to be left by the wayside. I think, now that I have more time to myself, I can do that. I guess we we will see.
by Catherine Thomas
I see what Mr. Holder is saying, but I wonder why he chose the word "cowardice?" I personally don't have a social life outside of my family, and they all happen to be white. If I did have a social life, I probably would limit my time to people with whom I was familiar - and they happen to be white. That has not always been the case, though. I have spent time socially with other races during most of my school years (primary through law school).
Since I have married and have been raising children, I guess my social life consists of attending athletic events or family gatherings. The athletic events have always been a mix of races - and I have always enjoyed the kids, parents and coaches of diverse races. I seem to always learn something from people with different backgrounds than my own.
I can honestly say that my family never considered race as a real "identifier" as I grew up. My family moved here from Pennsylvania by way of New Jersey and Ohio, but by the time I was 7, this is where we stayed. When my parents moved our family to Cincinnati in the late sixties, we moved into one of the first integrated neighborhoods in Ohio - probably in the US. In Morganton, I attended Mountain View Elementary, and I think that whites were probably the minority at that school at that time. We had a black principal, Lloyd Shivers - who drove a white Corvette and was always dressed to perfection. I had a wonderful, elegant, kind 4th grade teacher, Ms. Effie Williams, who was also black and whose grace and kindness to all I will never forget. I can rattle off the names of my black classmates - and I think about them and wonder where they are now. One of my best friends was Lisa Level - we swam together on the swim team and spent weekends at each other's houses.
At some point as I grew older, people seemed to start to select different friends. People tended to drift to their own races, I guess. In high school I was in the infamous Humanities classes, and apparently it was easier for the schools back then to schedule most of our classes together, so we were relegated to spending our school time and social time with the same people that we were in class with all day. I think it gave everyone else the impression that we were an "elitist" group, but the truth is, we didn't have many opportunities to blend in with everyone else. And we were complacent - or lazy - and didn't attempt to go outside of our comfort zones.
Times have changed so drastically since then. I talked to my son Grant, who is a freshman at Patton, about Mr. Holder's comments. Grant is a bit of a loner at school - he has many "friends" but not many friends that come to our house, or that he socializes with outside of school. Anyhow, I said, half jokingly, "your goal this week is to eat lunch with some folks of a different race, and then invite them over to our house this weekend." He laughed and said he would. But then I realized that this kid probably is too afraid of rejection to do such a thing. Maybe that is what Mr. Holder is referring to?
My son worships Chris Paul. He thinks Jeff Teague and LD Williams are the "shizzle." Since he was a toddler he has thought that black men are way cool. He supported Obama. I am sure he dreams about Beyonce'. He knows who Maya Angelou is and knows that she is a professor at Wake Forest. He loves to watch "Scrubs" which portrays two best friends of different colors. He has played basketball, football and soccer with all races - and I am sure he has formed his own stereotypes for all of them. But, knowing him, I think he would love to have more friends of color - any color. But making real friends means taking chances - and self-esteem at this age is hard to come by, and easy to damage. So, the status quo remains, and he is complacent. And maybe, as Mr. Holder suggests, cowardly.
In spite of my upbringing, I have not done enough to form relationships outside of my race. (I have not done enough to form relationships in general.) But, I think I will try. It seems so disingenuous (there's a five dollar word - could have written "insincere") to make such a statement, but I think we all need to be very deliberate about this kind of thing. Like a garden, friendship demands attention, and I in particular must not allow any new friends that I make to be left by the wayside. I think, now that I have more time to myself, I can do that. I guess we we will see.
by Catherine Thomas
When staying on the porch is no longer an option . . ..
I have become more "politically active" in my old age - my first foray into public exposure in this phase of my life (middle age?) was a letter to the Editor of the News Herald about Barack Obama. I had received an email from a friend of mine detailing how Obama's election to the Presidency would endanger the United States. When I examined the "Sent To" list I was appalled and sent this letter to the News Herald:
January 4, 2008
This weekend a friend of mine forwarded an e-mail to me detailing the “Muslim Conspiracy” to elect Barack Obama – who, according to this e-mail, has been, will always be and secretly is a Muslim. This e-mail reveals that not only did Obama attend an extremist Madrassa (he didn’t) but that he attended CATHOLIC SCHOOL for two years. After I read the e-mail laced with lies, half-truths and an obvious anti-Obama agenda, I responded to the sender (and everyone else the sender had sent the e-mail to) with the statement “Don’t believe everything you read” and a link to various sites – including news sites – dispelling the misstatements in the e-mail.
Evidently this e-mail has been making the rounds for quite some time. A conspiracy to elect a closet Muslim to the presidency a la “The Manchurian Candidate” is a scintillating theory. In this instance, some group has taken what has become an icon many US citizens fear – the Muslim terrorist – and has applied this label to a candidate to convince folks not to vote for Obama. My sense is that those same folks probably know good and well that Obama’s Muslim heritage is no threat to the United States – but that it is more politically correct to rally against a Muslim than it is to rally against a man because he is black. Personally, I believe this anti-Muslim e-mail is thinly veiled racism.
All I ask is that before anyone believes disparaging information about any candidate (especially via e-mail), please do a little research before you decide it is true. Think about the motives of the originators of the communication. Realize that you are being manipulated by someone with an agenda. (Think someone like Ralph Reed or Karl Rove.)
By the way, I know several Muslim folks who are patriotic and would make great presidents – I know Catholics who would be great presidents (hmm – a guy named Kennedy comes to mind). I wish that my candidate of choice had the energy, youth and speaking ability of Obama, but being a soft spoken Vietnam veteran has merit that people recognize, too. I admire Obama’s intelligence, inclusiveness and his energy – if he happened to win the presidential election, the United States would be fine.
Catherine Thomas
After that letter was published, I received several phone calls from leaders in the African American community thanking me for the letter. I hadn't expected that. But it felt good to have made a difference to someone.
January 4, 2008
This weekend a friend of mine forwarded an e-mail to me detailing the “Muslim Conspiracy” to elect Barack Obama – who, according to this e-mail, has been, will always be and secretly is a Muslim. This e-mail reveals that not only did Obama attend an extremist Madrassa (he didn’t) but that he attended CATHOLIC SCHOOL for two years. After I read the e-mail laced with lies, half-truths and an obvious anti-Obama agenda, I responded to the sender (and everyone else the sender had sent the e-mail to) with the statement “Don’t believe everything you read” and a link to various sites – including news sites – dispelling the misstatements in the e-mail.
Evidently this e-mail has been making the rounds for quite some time. A conspiracy to elect a closet Muslim to the presidency a la “The Manchurian Candidate” is a scintillating theory. In this instance, some group has taken what has become an icon many US citizens fear – the Muslim terrorist – and has applied this label to a candidate to convince folks not to vote for Obama. My sense is that those same folks probably know good and well that Obama’s Muslim heritage is no threat to the United States – but that it is more politically correct to rally against a Muslim than it is to rally against a man because he is black. Personally, I believe this anti-Muslim e-mail is thinly veiled racism.
All I ask is that before anyone believes disparaging information about any candidate (especially via e-mail), please do a little research before you decide it is true. Think about the motives of the originators of the communication. Realize that you are being manipulated by someone with an agenda. (Think someone like Ralph Reed or Karl Rove.)
By the way, I know several Muslim folks who are patriotic and would make great presidents – I know Catholics who would be great presidents (hmm – a guy named Kennedy comes to mind). I wish that my candidate of choice had the energy, youth and speaking ability of Obama, but being a soft spoken Vietnam veteran has merit that people recognize, too. I admire Obama’s intelligence, inclusiveness and his energy – if he happened to win the presidential election, the United States would be fine.
Catherine Thomas
After that letter was published, I received several phone calls from leaders in the African American community thanking me for the letter. I hadn't expected that. But it felt good to have made a difference to someone.
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