Aw, c'mon. "Cajun" is not a perjorative and Bill Press, a wordsmith, knows that. "Cajun" refers to an ethnic group. Try it out. How many cookbooks have "Cajun" in the title? How many cookbooks have "nigger" or "kyke" in the title? James Carville refers to himself on national TV as a "Ragin Cajun." Does Larry King call himself a "kyke?" We can easily recognize "Cajun music" and "soul music" as distinctive music of ethnic or regional origin, but "kyke" or "nigger," similarly used, are used to demean. Our family recently learned that the name we all wear probably came from a great-great "Cajun" grandfather and we are happy and pleased to refer to him, and to ourselves, that way. ----- Original Message ----- From: ASCalman@aol.com<mailto:ASCalman@aol.com> To: ACADIAN-CAJUN-L@rootsweb.com<mailto:ACADIAN-CAJUN-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Friday, December 05, 2003 12:39 PM Subject: [ACADIAN-CAJUN] Child abuse, Cajun-style I thought the list should see this from the former head of California's Democratic Party, former CrossFire on CNN, etc. The content is not my concern, it is the title...published in the San Diego Union-Tribune and probably many other papers around the country. Text follows: Child abuse, Cajun-style Bill Press Press a political analyst for MSNBC is author of "Spin This!" He can be reached via e-mail at <A HREF="mailto:BillPress@aol.com">BillPress@aol.com</A<mailto:BillPress@aol.com">BillPress@aol.com</A>>. December 5, 2003 I have a confession to make: I am a card-carrying member of the ACLU. That doesn't mean I always agree with that bunch of lefties. Concerned about the easy access for children, for example, I never bought into their broad defense of pornography on the Internet. But I stood up and applauded when they forced Roy Moore to move his monument to the Ten Commandments out of the Alabama state courthouse. I love the Constitution. I treasure the Bill of Rights. I recognize that federal and state governments, under both Democratic and Republican leaders – and especially this administration – are constantly trying to chip away at our freedom. So I love the fact that there is one organization whose sole purpose, night and day, is to fight for and defend the basic rights of all Americans, liberal and conservative. Yes, even the rights of a 7-year-old kid from Louisiana. Here's one more case where the ACLU is dead right. Call it child abuse, Cajun-style. The ACLU's against it. We all should be. It happened at Gallet Elementary School in Youngsville, La. Second-grader Marcus McLaurin was lined up with his fellow students for recess when a friend asked about his mother and father. In a scene that's happening more and more in schoolyards across the country, Marcus said he didn't have a mother and father, he had two mothers. Understandably confused – remember, we're talking about two 7-year-olds here – his friend asked why he had two moms. Marcus said, because my mom is "gay." When his friend still didn't understand, Marcus explained: "Gay is when a girl likes another girl." Now, let's stop right there. If you ask me, this kid showed a lot of cool under fire. He also showed that he'd been taught by his mother how to deal with this situation. And that she'd given him just enough, but not too much, information: all a 7-year-old needed to know or tell other people. Seems to me both mother and son got it just right. But that's not how school officials reacted. His teacher berated him in front of the entire class, telling him "gay" was a bad word he should never say again – and sent him to the principal's office. From there he was sent to the school's behavioral problems clinic, where he was ordered to write 100 times: "I will never say the word 'gay' in school again." What a horrible thing to do to that little kid! Publicly humiliated by his teacher in front of his classmates. And then forced to repudiate his mother in writing. He didn't even know what he had done wrong – and, in fact, he had done nothing wrong at all. How could an elementary school teacher and principal be so cruel, and so ignorant? While poor little Marcus was being tortured, authorities turned on his mother. She received a phone call saying her son was being punished for using a foul word: a word so foul, the principal told her, he dared not utter it over the phone. Marcus would bring home a note, he said, spelling out his crime. What planet are these people living on? In case school officials in Youngsville, La., don't know it yet, "gay" is not a bad word. Neither is "homosexual." And neither is "lesbian." Enter the ACLU, with a very reasonable request. They're not demanding the teacher be fired, or the principal sent to jail. They're simply requesting that the school erase this incident from Marcus' disciplinary record, that teachers never again prevent him from exercising his freedom of speech (or talking about his mom) and that school officials apologize to him and his mother. Frankly, I think the ACLU is letting them off the hook too easily. They should make two other demands of school officials. First, they should require the teacher and principal to spend a couple of days in New Orleans, Atlanta, Miami, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, New York, Boston, Washington or any other American city where they might actually meet a real live gay man or lesbian and discover that they don't look any different, don't have horns and don't have one eye in the middle of their forehead. Then, on their way back to Youngsville, the chastened school officials should have to write 1,000 times: "Gay is not a four-letter word." Let Marcus have his revenge. Copyright 2003 Union-Tribune Publishing Co.

It is not Cajun that we are objecting to - it is Child Abuse Cajun-Style! I'm proud to be a Cajun but I don't appreciate having someone refer to Child Abuse as being Cajun-Style. I would feel the same if I saw Child Abuse Mexican-Style or Jewish-Style, etc. Mr. Press could have made his point by simply referring to where the incident occurred and stressing that some teachers and a principal apparently need sensitivity training, but to imply that all Cajuns are intolerant and sanction child abuse is clearly inappropriate. Stanley LeBlanc -----Original Message----- From: Diane DuBay [mailto:ddubay66@msn.com] Sent: Saturday, December 06, 2003 12:35 PM To: ACADIAN-CAJUN-L@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [ACADIAN-CAJUN] Child abuse, Cajun-style Aw, c'mon. "Cajun" is not a perjorative and Bill Press, a wordsmith, knows that. "Cajun" refers to an ethnic group. Try it out. How many cookbooks have "Cajun" in the title? How many cookbooks have "nigger" or "kyke" in the title? James Carville refers to himself on national TV as a "Ragin Cajun." Does Larry King call himself a "kyke?" We can easily recognize "Cajun music" and "soul music" as distinctive music of ethnic or regional origin, but "kyke" or "nigger," similarly used, are used to demean. Our family recently learned that the name we all wear probably came from a great-great "Cajun" grandfather and we are happy and pleased to refer to him, and to ourselves, that way. ----- Original Message ----- From: ASCalman@aol.com<mailto:ASCalman@aol.com> To: ACADIAN-CAJUN-L@rootsweb.com<mailto:ACADIAN-CAJUN-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Friday, December 05, 2003 12:39 PM Subject: [ACADIAN-CAJUN] Child abuse, Cajun-style I thought the list should see this from the former head of California's Democratic Party, former CrossFire on CNN, etc. The content is not my concern, it is the title...published in the San Diego Union-Tribune and probably many other papers around the country. Text follows: Child abuse, Cajun-style Bill Press Press a political analyst for MSNBC is author of "Spin This!" He can be reached via e-mail at <A HREF="mailto:BillPress@aol.com">BillPress@aol.com</A<mailto:BillPress@ao l.com">BillPress@aol.com</A>>. December 5, 2003 I have a confession to make: I am a card-carrying member of the ACLU. That doesn't mean I always agree with that bunch of lefties. Concerned about the easy access for children, for example, I never bought into their broad defense of pornography on the Internet. But I stood up and applauded when they forced Roy Moore to move his monument to the Ten Commandments out of the Alabama state courthouse. I love the Constitution. I treasure the Bill of Rights. I recognize that federal and state governments, under both Democratic and Republican leaders - and especially this administration - are constantly trying to chip away at our freedom. So I love the fact that there is one organization whose sole purpose, night and day, is to fight for and defend the basic rights of all Americans, liberal and conservative. Yes, even the rights of a 7-year-old kid from Louisiana. Here's one more case where the ACLU is dead right. Call it child abuse, Cajun-style. The ACLU's against it. We all should be. It happened at Gallet Elementary School in Youngsville, La. Second-grader Marcus McLaurin was lined up with his fellow students for recess when a friend asked about his mother and father. In a scene that's happening more and more in schoolyards across the country, Marcus said he didn't have a mother and father, he had two mothers. Understandably confused - remember, we're talking about two 7-year-olds here - his friend asked why he had two moms. Marcus said, because my mom is "gay." When his friend still didn't understand, Marcus explained: "Gay is when a girl likes another girl." Now, let's stop right there. If you ask me, this kid showed a lot of cool under fire. He also showed that he'd been taught by his mother how to deal with this situation. And that she'd given him just enough, but not too much, information: all a 7-year-old needed to know or tell other people. Seems to me both mother and son got it just right. But that's not how school officials reacted. His teacher berated him in front of the entire class, telling him "gay" was a bad word he should never say again - and sent him to the principal's office. From there he was sent to the school's behavioral problems clinic, where he was ordered to write 100 times: "I will never say the word 'gay' in school again." What a horrible thing to do to that little kid! Publicly humiliated by his teacher in front of his classmates. And then forced to repudiate his mother in writing. He didn't even know what he had done wrong - and, in fact, he had done nothing wrong at all. How could an elementary school teacher and principal be so cruel, and so ignorant? While poor little Marcus was being tortured, authorities turned on his mother. She received a phone call saying her son was being punished for using a foul word: a word so foul, the principal told her, he dared not utter it over the phone. Marcus would bring home a note, he said, spelling out his crime. What planet are these people living on? In case school officials in Youngsville, La., don't know it yet, "gay" is not a bad word. Neither is "homosexual." And neither is "lesbian." Enter the ACLU, with a very reasonable request. They're not demanding the teacher be fired, or the principal sent to jail. They're simply requesting that the school erase this incident from Marcus' disciplinary record, that teachers never again prevent him from exercising his freedom of speech (or talking about his mom) and that school officials apologize to him and his mother. Frankly, I think the ACLU is letting them off the hook too easily. They should make two other demands of school officials. First, they should require the teacher and principal to spend a couple of days in New Orleans, Atlanta, Miami, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, New York, Boston, Washington or any other American city where they might actually meet a real live gay man or lesbian and discover that they don't look any different, don't have horns and don't have one eye in the middle of their forehead. Then, on their way back to Youngsville, the chastened school officials should have to write 1,000 times: "Gay is not a four-letter word." Let Marcus have his revenge. Copyright 2003 Union-Tribune Publishing Co. ==== ACADIAN-CAJUN Mailing List ==== http://lists.rootsweb.com/index/intl/CAN/ACADIAN-CAJUN.html This is the link to our archives. You may search or browse. 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After the original message was sent to the list I received numerous emails about it. Most upset at the content with the point about the Cajun slur being missed. I was debating how to address this when I heard from Stanley who sent me a copy of Esther's email and the response from Mr. Press. I agreed that the list should see it and stand by my decision. After discussion resumed today my mail box is again being filled. I must commend the whole list. I have truly appreciated your willingness to come to me off list instead of taking it to the list. Bottom line is that the subject is too uncomfortable for some of our members, or continuing too long or gone too far. I feel that the list has been great about keeping the subject line going on this so folks can delete unread if desired. My personal opinion is to not stop the thread. Who knows, ya'll could be done at this point. But based on the number of emails received today I'm going to make a request. Let's take this thread for any more discussion over to La-Cajun. To subscribe send an email to: LA-CAJUN-L-request@rootsweb.com Subscribe in the subject line, you use this address to unsubscribe also. To send a message send to: La-Cajun-L@rootsweb.com This will allow the thread to continue if desired. Those on the La-Cajun list who do not want to read anymore may contact me and I'll unsubscribe them from there until the thread is finished and then resubscribe them afterwords. Thanks, Margy List Admin. ps. We had a controversy in my area a while back over the way a headline was worded. The paper did apologize and add that editors write the article headlines and not the writers. Whether this is so in this case I do not known and he has not denied it in his defense in his emails. -----Original Message----- From: Cajun [mailto:cajun@thecajuns.com] Sent: Sunday, December 07, 2003 1:05 PM To: ACADIAN-CAJUN-L@rootsweb.com Subject: RE: [ACADIAN-CAJUN] Child abuse, Cajun-style It is not Cajun that we are objecting to - it is Child Abuse Cajun-Style! I'm proud to be a Cajun but I don't appreciate having someone refer to Child Abuse as being Cajun-Style. I would feel the same if I saw Child Abuse Mexican-Style or Jewish-Style, etc. Mr. Press could have made his point by simply referring to where the incident occurred and stressing that some teachers and a principal apparently need sensitivity training, but to imply that all Cajuns are intolerant and sanction child abuse is clearly inappropriate. Stanley LeBlanc