Singing "God Bless the USA" at School Graduation, Using Concern about "Offending Other Cultures" as Cover Story
Greta Hawkins, principal of PS 90
A Coney Island principal refused to let students sing "God Bless the USA" at a school ceremony -- but Justin Bieber's "Baby" was suitable. (Reuters)
By Nicholas Stix
The New York City Department of Education, aka Board of Education, has an over 40-year-long tradition of racist, anti-American, even criminal black staffers, teachers, and administrators, a tradition that Greta Hawkins, principal of Coney Island, Brooklyn's P.S. 90, proudly represents. And the Board has an equally long tradition of covering for racist black employee and students alike. P.S. 90's kindergarteners had sung "I'm Proud to be an American/God Bless the USA" for several years to cap off their annual ceremony of "moving-up" to the first grade, but Hawkins marched into a rehearsal the other day, and ordered the teachers and kids to stop singing it, claiming "We don't want to offend other cultures." Meanwhile, she supports five-year-olds singing a completely inappropriate Justin Bieber song about teenagers in love.
Not only did the Board of Ed not do the right thing, but its spokeswoman Jessica Scaperotti engaged in shameless lying on behalf of Hawkins.
… Scaperotti gave The Post an explanation staffers said they never heard — that Hawkins found the lyrics "too grown up" for 5-year-olds.
The song starts: "If tomorrow all the things were gone, I'd worked for all my life. And I had to start again, with just my children and my wife, I'd thank my lucky stars, to be livin' here today."
Scaperotti said the department supports the principal's decision. "The lyrics are not age-appropriate," she said.
But Justin Bieber's flirty song about teen romance, "Baby," was deemed a fine selection for the show. Hawkins had no problem with 5-year-olds singing lines such as, "Are we an item? Girl, quit playing."
Scaperotti noted PS 90 kids recite the Pledge of Allegiance and sing "America the Beautiful" each morning. Insiders say Hawkins tried to end that tradition a couple years ago but staff objected.
The principal, a Jehovah's Witness, does not recite the pledge because her religion forbids followers to salute any nation's flag. Staffers gripe she doesn't stand in respect during the school-wide ritual.
The song uproar comes amid tensions. Hawkins has been called a tyrant and bully by some staffers.
The DOE reprimanded her in 2010 after teachers complained she called the school "racist" and declared: "I'm black. Your previous principal was white and Jewish. More of us are coming."
Scaperotti said Hawkins is being targeted by the teachers union and has received hate mail, which is under investigation by the NYPD.
Let me explain what the last sentence means. According to the NYPD, for a white merely to criticize black racism constitutes a "hate crime" on the white's part. But considering Scaperotti's other transparent lies, I wouldn't be surprised if that were simply yet another one, and there was no NYPD investigation.
Racist blacks working in the New York City public schools routinely aid and abet in racist assaults and batteries against white and Asian children, have white parents arrested for seeking to protect their children form such racist violence, and even lead students in singing the treasonous "Black National Anthem"—all with Board/DOE support.
I realize that this sounds like a movie, but my dream of the best response to the tyrant Hawkins would be for parents to stand at the stepping-up ceremony, and begin singing "God Bless the USA."
However, I can say this much. A few weeks ago, I attended a public meeting that had been called by the Board/DOE, inviting parents to discuss Mayor Bloomberg and Chancellor Dennis Walcott's plan—what follows are my words—to destroy the city's public schools by flooding every school, even selective magnet schools, with four special ed kids per class.
The meeting was rigged, with the magnet school parents not permitted to ask any questions, even though they had expressly been invited so that they could say their piece, and the official "experts," Bloomberg's "Community Education Council" (CEC) cronies, and Chancellor Walcott told one lie after another. After the better part of an hour of such theater, I interrupted the white "expert" who was then speaking, and told her she was lying. When the black female Bloomberg crony who was running things threw a few lies in my face, I batted them right back at her, and stormed off, before they could have me arrested!
<CENTER>* * *</CENTER>
School pulls patriotic song at graduation, but Justin Bieber's 'Baby' is OK
By Susan Edelman
June 9, 2012, 11:41 p.m.; last updated: 9:51 a.m., June 11, 2012
<EM>New York Post</EM
A controversial Coney Island principal has pulled the plug on patriotism.
Her refusal to let students sing "God Bless the USA" at their graduation has sparked fireworks at a school filled with proud immigrants.
Greta Hawkins, principal of PS 90, the Edna Cohen School, won't allow kindergartners to belt out the beloved Lee Greenwood ballad, also known as "Proud to be an American," at their moving-up ceremony.
Five classes spent months learning the patriotic song, which skyrocketed in popularity after the 9/11 attacks and the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
It was to be the rousing finale of their musical show at the June 20 commencement. The kids, dressed up for their big day, would wave tiny American flags — which, as the lyrics proclaim, "still stand for freedom."
But Hawkins marched in on a recent rehearsal and ordered a CD playing the anthem to be shut off, staffers said.
She told the teachers to drop the song from the program.
"We don't want to offend other cultures," they quoted her as explaining.
The curt edict stunned both staff and parents.
"A lot of people fought to move to America to live freely, so that song should be sung with a whole lot of pride," said mom Luz Lozada, whose son, Daniel, is in kindergarten.
The song has been sung at previous school events. Last year's fifth-graders, including another Lozada child, performed it at graduation.
"Everybody applauded and whistled," the mom said. "They gave it a standing ovation."
Parents — many immigrants from Pakistan, Mexico and Ecuador — "love it," Lozada said.
A teacher agreed: "It makes them a little goosebumpy and teary-eyed. I've never come across anyone who felt it insulted their culture."
Department of Education spokeswoman Jessica Scaperotti gave The Post an explanation staffers said they never heard — that Hawkins found the lyrics "too grown up" for 5-year-olds.
The song starts: "If tomorrow all the things were gone, I'd worked for all my life. And I had to start again, with just my children and my wife, I'd thank my lucky stars, to be livin' here today."
Scaperotti said the department supports the principal's decision. "The lyrics are not age-appropriate," she said.
But Justin Bieber's flirty song about teen romance, "Baby," was deemed a fine selection for the show. Hawkins had no problem with 5-year-olds singing lines such as, "Are we an item? Girl, quit playing."
The other songs: "We're All Together Again," popular at Scout campfires; "The World is a Rainbow," which celebrates diversity; "Shake Your Sillies Out" by Raffi; and "You've Got a Friend in Me" from "Toy Story."
Scaperotti noted PS 90 kids recite the Pledge of Allegiance and sing "America the Beautiful" each morning. Insiders say Hawkins tried to end that tradition a couple years ago but staff objected.
The principal, a Jehovah's Witness, does not recite the pledge because her religion forbids followers to salute any nation's flag. Staffers gripe she doesn't stand in respect during the school-wide ritual.
The song uproar comes amid tensions. Hawkins has been called a tyrant and bully by some staffers.
The DOE reprimanded her in 2010 after teachers complained she called the school "racist" and declared: "I'm black. Your previous principal was white and Jewish. More of us are coming."
Scaperotti said Hawkins is being targeted by the teachers union and has received hate mail, which is under investigation by the NYPD.
[A black power salute to my VDARE colleague, Brenda Walker.]
5 comments:
God Bless America? He quit that long ago, circa 1954.
God Bless America is a White tradition that embodies White privilege.
Ruin White traditions, and Whites have less to hold on to and less White privilege.
Since a black ordered the song stopped, and did in under the moral terms of "not offending other (non White) cultures," to resist or complain is racist.
Blacks have a perfect scam- whatever they do is fighting racism, so only racists will push back, and racist can be accused by all of MSM as racist, and everybody gets the message to shut up and embrace transformational Diversity leadership.
It's like when someone accuses you of being paranoid. If you don't defend yourself, you're admitting he's right, but if you defend yourself, you're just in denial.
Clearly Greta is a black, anti American racist. She should be removed from the principleship immediately.
I believe that is a taxpayer job, is it not. Does Greta realize she is being paid primarily by white Americans.
I would like to see her and her kind, black, anti American racists, stripped of their citizeship and shipped to the country of their choice.
God bless America. Thank you.
Jehovah's Witnesses and the flag salute.
I was born into the Jehovah's Witnesses in 1957.I was the good little JW boy who got beaten up in the school yard for not saluting the flag and remaining seated for the national anthem as demanded by my defiant Jehovah's Witnesses leaders.
This was the better dead than red era of the 1960’s, and a kid not doing the act stood out big.
I suffered much,only to learn that the Watchtower corporation is just another made up man-made religion.
My JW leaders *forced* *compelled* me NOT to salute the flag,I wasn't given any option.If I wavered I would be severely punished by my parents and struck down by God at Armageddon.
Kids suffer because of made-up rules by Jehovah's Witnesses leaders,senile old holy men sequestered in their insulated ivory tower.
My point is:Jehovah's Witnesses claim 'neutrality' that is false as they DO try to force their convictions on others.
--Danny Haszard
Church of Jed and PDK,
I read this article and was appalled. I, too, sang that song at an elementary school graduation. I sang it standing next to my three best friends: a black girl, an irish immigrant, and a hispanic girl. We held hands, and we've been best friends every since. I was 8 at the time...I'm now 20. And I'm black.
To say that "blacks have the perfect scam" hurts me because I do not wish to be categorized with people like Hawkins. We are not all like that. Granted, there are some; however, her level of education should have demystified some of the ignorance she portrayed in her actions.
I am quite sorry that this happened, and I refuse to take sides with anyone based on a racial obligation. I support the singing of this song, the Pledge of Allegiance and cultural diversity because it's America and that's what we do. In addition, Just Beiber just isn't my favorite person in the world...
I sincerely hope this impacts your perspective, even if just for a small bit. Quite frankly, as a college-educated black woman, I'm sick of the race-card and the gender-card. Bad people come in all different shapes, colors, and sizes.
Jus a thought...
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