Don't Laugh At Me (Snicker!)

Bullying is bad, and I don't want to just knee-jerkedly take a position opposite to liberals by suggesting it's character-building or anything. It sucks. Losing a leg might be "character building," but most would prefer to keep their current complement of limbs rather than gain some character, and most kids would rather live their lives without ridicule and beatings than "learn to toughen up."

But... this is just dumb. You probably won't be suprised that Peter Yarrow (who?) is behind it all:

“Don’t Laugh at Me� (or dlam) was born when Yarrow—a veteran of the civil-rights, gender-equality, nucleardisarmament, peace, and Amtrak-subsidization movements—heard a country ballad of that name at the Kerrville Folk Festival, in the summer of 1999. Moved to tears by its swelling harmonies and first-person testaments to the effects of ridicule—“I’m a little boy with glasses, the one they call a geek / A little girl who never smiles ’cause I’ve got braces on my teeth�—he decided to incorporate the tune into Peter, Paul & Mary’s repertoire. At a gig with the National Association of Elementary School Principals, the group played the song. “The principals gave a tremendous response to it, and said, ‘We need this in our schools,’ � Chic Dambach, Operation Respect’s president and C.E.O., said the other day. “And Peter, being the activist and the organizer that he is, said, ‘You won’t just have a song but a whole program.’ � dlam is now used in at least twelve thousand American schools and camps.

...

Next up [in the "dlam" performance piece set] was “The Big Betrayal Conflict Script,� a skit about two friends, Terry and Sasha, who get into a fight at a basketball game. The exercise emphasized using “I messages,� as opposed to those that begin with “you� and, therefore, can put their targets on the defensive. (dlam also recommends having students simulate the sound of a rainstorm and discuss a story called “The Maligned Wolf.�)

“Just make sure they’re sticking to the formula,� Hurdle-Price advised. “I often get students who say, ‘I feel that you are stupid.’ �

"Teachable moments"? For crying out loud, you have children figuring out the way around your dumb "I messages" rule.

I believe that you, Peter Yarrow, are a fucking moron.

Pssst-- and remember, this is the "reality-based community" that's all into "complex thinking" and such.

Thanks to JackW.

Multimedia Bonus! Guy points out you can listen to "Don't Laugh At Me" here.

Yeah.

A kid who's gotten picked on before. Maybe a little dorky, a little gangly, or a little fat.

And now imagine this bullied kid playing this fucking pussy-shit song on his iPod. And having someone overhearing this saccharine sap.

I believe you, Peter Yarrow, are a goddamned sadist trying to get these poor kids murdered.

Son of a Bitch...! Update: I was going to make some nasty joke about never trusting these guys. I don't trust "adults" who are so into child-culture. I think there's usually an agenda there.

A sexual one.

"Puff the Magic Dragon"? Ummm... sounds an awful lot like a come on to a child.

I avoided making the joke because, well, lawsuit, yannow?

So, an unnamed commenter makes the remark that he would have guessed Peter Yarrow was a child molestor. I cautioned him that that was close to slander.

Damnit if it wasn't true. Convicted of taking "sexual liberties" with a 14 year old girl in 1970; pardoned by (who else?) Jimmy Carter in 1981:

Pleaded guilty to taking "immoral and improper liberties" with a 14-year-old girl back in 1970.

As reported at the time, the girl and her 17-year-old sister went to Yarrow's hotel room seeking an autograph. Yarrow answered the door naked and made sexual advances that stopped short of intercourse. The 14-year-old resisted his advances but did not call for help. Yarrow served three months of a one- to three-year prison sentence and was pardoned by Carter in 1981.Peter Yarrow was married to the niece of Democratic Senator Eugene J. McCarthy at the time of the pardon.

The singer has acknowledged the incident as "the most terrible mistake I have ever made."

I had no idea. I know this is "old," as Dave says, but it's very new to me.

What the hell is this pedophile doing anywhere near schoolkids?

And why the f' does PBS inflict this no-talent douche-band's horrific music on us in "very special" concerts three f'n' times a year?

posted by Ace at 06:56 PM

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