Parents issue apology after son's racist chant

[snooper2]

So we have a couple threads on asshole Parker Rice

The other guy named/expelled so far is Levi Pettit (Highland Park Graduate (very fucking rich))



HIGHLAND PARK — We already know their faces and voices. Now we now their names.

The family of recent Highland Park High School graduate Levi Pettit released a statement on Tuesday confirming that he is in the racist video that's rocked the University of Oklahoma and beyond.

The recording shows a group of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity brothers singing a racist chant aboard a bus en route to a date party.

Here is the entire statement from Brody and Susan Pettit that was posted on a website called FriendsAndFamilyOfLeviPettit.com:


As parents of Levi, we love him and care for him deeply. He made a horrible mistake, and will live with the consequences forever. However, we also know the depth of our son's character. He is a good boy, but what we saw in those videos is disgusting. While it may be difficult for those who only know Levi from the video to understand, we know his heart, and he is not a racist. We raised him to be loving and inclusive and we all remain surrounded by a diverse, close-knit group of friends.
We were as shocked and saddened by this news as anyone. Of course, we are sad for our son – but more importantly, we apologize to the community he has hurt. We would also like to apologize to the – entire African American community, University of Oklahoma student body and administration. Our family has the responsibility to apologize, and also to seek forgiveness and reconciliation. Our words will only go so far – as a family, we commit to following our words with deeds.
To our friends and family, thank you for your kind comments and prayers. They are very comforting in this difficult time.
We ask that the media and public please respect our family's privacy as we come together to heal and determine next steps.


http://www.wfaa.com/story/news/local/dallas-county/2015/03/10/parents-issue-apology-after-sons-racist-chant/24744017/

[Sheepshank]

1. if they do in fact have a diverse group of friends, this has got to be extremely awkward.

I wish this little turd muffin had taken to heart the lessons his parents state they tried to teach him.

[Kelvin Mace]

2. No. Just NO!

As parents of Levi, we love him and care for him deeply. He made a horrible mistake, and will live with the consequences forever. However, we also know the depth of our son's character. He is a good boy, but what we saw in those videos is disgusting. While it may be difficult for those who only know Levi from the video to understand, we know his heart, and he is not a racist. We raised him to be loving and inclusive and we all remain surrounded by a diverse, close-knit group of friends.

He is NOT a "good boy" since good people by the very definition of being "good" don't say things like that and orchestrate others to join in vile racism.

Also, he IS a racist. What he did is the very definition of a racist act. This is no a naive white boy putting on black face. This is not a toddler spouting a word he didn't understand or simply aping older children or adults, this is an overt act of racism declaring support for text book discrimination and "joking" about lynching.

We have seen what is in his heart and it is MALIGNANT. Seeing it there we have to wonder where the cancerous hatred came from in the first place, and the most likely answer is from his home and his parents. Character, as the saying goes, is who you are in the dark, or in this case, who you are on a bus with a bunch of similarly inclined white people.

We would also like to apologize to the – entire African American community, University of Oklahoma student body and administration. Our family has the responsibility to apologize, and also to seek forgiveness and reconciliation. Our words will only go so far – as a family, we commit to following our words with deeds.

It is nice that you would want to apologize if you are GENUINELY sorry, but the catch here is that you cannot apologize on your son's behalf. He must apologize himself and in his own words, without equivocation. Failure to do so means that not only is your son a racist, but he is a coward as well.

We ask that the media and public please respect our family's privacy as we come together to heal and determine next steps.

No, you don't get to do that. You have injected yourself into the discussion with this "apology" and as such have opened yourself up to the full scrutiny of the media and the public.

Welcome to Pariahville. Population: You.

[FLPanhandle]

4. As a parent of two teenagers, I'm not so quick to condemn the parents.

"Seeing it there we have to wonder where the cancerous hatred came from in the first place, and the most likely answer is from his home and his parents."


Some teens take opposite positions from their parents just because...well, they are teenagers.

Some teens are heaviliy influenced by friends.

I know many here have different opinions and political beliefs from their parents.

Don't be so quick to condemn the parents for the actions of teens.

[Kelvin Mace]

9. Hmmm, if that were the case then the key missing word is

"Angry"

If your child did something like this, completely flying in face of what you had taught them, I would think you would express your anger at your child.

In fact there is very little condemnation of his actions. Of the 228 words in 4 paragraphs direct expressions of disapproval are found only twice:

"He made a horrible mistake"

and

"what we saw in those videos is disgusting"

The rest of the "apology" is pretty much mitigation for their son and the family:

"we love him and care for him deeply"
"However, we also know the depth of our son’s character. He is a good boy,"
"we know his heart, and he is not a racist. "
"We raised him to be loving and inclusive"
"we all remain surrounded by a diverse, close-knit group of friends."
"We were as shocked and saddened by this news as anyone"
"of course, we are sad for our son"
"To our friends and family, thank you for your kind comments and prayers."


To there credit, they do apologize without conditions (rare in this day and age):

"we apologize to the community he has hurt. We would also like to apologize to the – entire African American community, University of Oklahoma student body and administration."

But this begs the question as to where HIS apology is.

So the break down is:

Actual apology: 27 words
Actual condemnation: 13 words
Mitigation: 95 words

The rest is kind of just meta.

So, I DO look at the parents. They wrote an "apology" which is more mitigation than condemnation/apology. They offer it on a web site with no feedback allowed. They talk a lot about how this hurting THEM and they tell the media to take a hike.

[Jenny Red Eye]

3. Unfortunately, the son is a racist.

I am of the belief that the words that he chose to use are not created by the alcohol, but rather, they are released by the alcohol due to the lowering of inhibitions.

[Spazito]

5. Why is the "family" apologizing and not the racist POS himself?

I would think it's well past time for the racist POS to stop hiding behind his family, grow the fuck up and apologize himself.

[TBF]

6. Highland Park is very exclusive - any diversity

Levi was exposed to growing up likely involved rich folks of other races/religions. This kid needs to get out and see the world. Self-imposed community service in neighborhoods of Dallas that he would consider "bad" would be a very good start to his education.

[Orsino]

8. Well, I guess he's gotten out...

...but luckily the world saw him first.

[Orsino]

7. They can't apologize for behavior they say they didn't train him into. n/t