Crowd hurls rocks, epithets at Pa. school band

[proud2BlibKansan]

HARRISBURG, Pa. - Parade organizers apologized to a high school band after people in a predominantly White crowd threw rocks at the students and insulted them with rude comments and racial epithets.

Officials with the Manheim Farm Show parade visited marching band members from William Penn Senior High in York on Wednesday to say they were embarrassed and hoped the students would return for next year's event.


Seth Kensinger, vice president of the farm show, said the organization was appalled at how the students were abused at last week's parade.

"We went over to apologize because that's not how you treat people," said Kensinger, who did not witness the encounter.

The band consists of White, Black and Latino students. York City School District spokesman Jonathan Heintzman said Thursday that people in the crowd hit some of the students with small rocks and sprayed them with soda, directed derogatory comments to girls and used racial epithets. He said he was unsure exactly what was said but that no one was hurt.



Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2010/10/14/20101014pennsylvania-band-crowd-taunts.html#ixzz12Nnov1Xk

[MineralMan]

1. Aw...geez...that really sucks big-time.

[Name removed]

2. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[DCKit]

9. That's MY trademark, but you can use it for a nickel.

I growed up in Snyder county, PA where the girls were corn-fed and pen-raised.

[SalmonChantedEvening]

3. Ugh. Sickening.

What century is this again?

:grr:

[butterfly77]

4. So much hate...

I guess they want all of them to leave so they can have their country back,where do they think all of the people will go..

[Monique1]

6. Adults acting like imature children

[Gold Metal Flake]

5. Fuck Me! Why?

Who? Why????

[SargeUNN]

7. another day in this United States of 2010

It just shows why we who have some ethics need to fight our tails off to stop this insanity.

[FLyellowdog]

8. Hate crimes?

[Angry Dragon]

10. Take your thumb and forefinger and put them about a 1/2in apart

That is how close this country is to some really ugly and large violence.
There is so much hate in this country that one can almost taste it.

It seems we are just one step short of pushing everything to a head
and then it will be too late to stop it.

[TheMadMonk]

22. You're an optomistic bastard* aren't you. And no that's NOT sarcasm.

In fact, I'll raise you.

The build up to conflict you are seeing is part of a deliberately engineered policy. This is the PNAC brought home.

Cops, security guards, collections/repo agents. Time and time again we are shocked, dismayed, sickened and/or horrified by stories of how these people behave towards their fellow man. Now I won't say this behavious is blameless. Of course it is not. However it is an entirely predictable outcome, when people are assigned targets/goals without guidlines and are penalised for failure to achieve or rewarded for exceeding without referal to circumstance.

It is an outcome that showed up in Mai Lai, in Abu Grahib, and with the Afghanistan "Kill Team". And it's an outcome which is showing up with increasing frequency in domestic confrontations: With the cops; with your boss; your bank; credit provider; utilities providers; Pinkerton 2.0; with men and women of all stripe sent out with no more instruction than to get results.

It is an emergent human behaviour that is so ingrained in the human psyche that an early formal expertiment to investigate it had to be cut short on ethical ground. Mind you this was in a day when soldiers were routinely given Trinity Tans.

Place some men in a helpless position and give others absolute power over them (even if within a limited sphere) and the outcome is absolutely assured. Not in every single instance, but with sufficient frequency that the exceptions prove no impediment to the rule.

Writ large it is how a Ghengis Khan; a Vlad the Impaler; a Napoleon; Hitler, Stalin, Idi Amin, Pol Pot, etc, can engender mass insanity on a national or even global scale.

You worry that America is half an inch from a meltdown. You should worry that America is a figuative half inch or less away from anointing a "Great Leader".

[Angry Dragon]

23. Where is this great leader coming from??

I worry more of a military coup or just plain violence in the streets

[TheMadMonk]

27. That my friend is the $64K question. And possibly the only thing saving you.

All the pieces are certainly in place to exploit the emergence of such a leader.

So is one being groomed, or are movements like the Teabaggers being built to spontaneously coalesce about some charismatic. Preferably one that is dumb as dogshit that can be convinced to mouth anything and be totally oblivious to everthing happening around them.

[uncommon]

29. I am afraid you may be right.

The level that the "culture war" is reaching in our country is getting very scary.

I fear that we will have another civil war on our hands if something doesn't change.

We need to take back the news - and I don't mean liberals or progressives or Democrats - I mean the people. We need to stop letting corporations tell us what to think and what is important and go back to living life the way we know we should.

"Engineered" is a very apt way of describing this situations. Citizens United is just another straw on the camel's back.

[MadMaddie]

11. Further evidence of social breakdown

This behavior has becme acceptable in the right wing. The disrespect shown to President Obama and others is spilling all over the country.

[DeSwiss]

12. K&R

Damn.

[rrneck]

13. Fucking knuckledraggers.

Those students showed tremendous restraint and good sense. Sooner or later a bunch of idiots like that are going to start a goddamn riot.

[proud2BlibKansan]

16. That impressed me as well.

[political_Dem]

14. Talk about bullying. :(

This saddens me because it shows that this country needs to be exorcized. RW BS strikes again and with vehemence.

[rurallib]

15. As an old guy I can't believe I am seeing this again

50 years later, racism and the hate of 'others' is fashionable again.
Seems like only yesterday that I was sitting in front of a TV watching Uncle Walter.

[uponit7771]

46. As a relatively young guy I only read about these things

[drm604]

17. Damn.

That's my state. :cry:

[Lisa0825]

18. I graduated in 1986 from a HS that was half black, and I experienced similar violence...

I was in drill team, and we were not allowed to walk over to the home side in some towns (SE Texas) to begin our entrance for halftime. Also, some schools would not send their "Good Sportsmanship League" (members of the attending team and clubs) to the center of the field to meet pre-game.... ironic, eh?

Also, we had to bring twice as many buses when visiting some towns because they wanted us to be able to duck down in the seats in case things were thrown at the bus (or shots fired).

Now all these were preventative measures, but still, when we even approached their side, to enter the field for halftime, they did their damnedest to try to throw bottled and shit far enough to hit us.

I don't know if it is still as bad around here... but one of those towns was the one where a black man (James Byrd, Jr) was dragged to death behind a truck in 1998, Jasper. And the other was Vidor, a town that had to have its public housing forcibly desegregated in the 1990s.

Sad that racism is still haunting the US and that some people would use it for political gain.

[Art_from_Ark]

19. Kudos to Seth Kensinger

"We went over to apologize because that's not how you treat people," said Kensinger, who did not witness the encounter.

:patriot:

[Odin2005]

20. WTF? Did I go into a timewarp back 50 years?

[oswaldactedalone]

21. This crap is being whipped up by the Reich Wing

cheerleaders such as Limpballs, Beckk, O'Liely and all the rest of racist talking heads. We cannot let this happen, cannot let Thug-licans have the reins of power ever again. GOTV people, however you can.

[Honeycombe8]

24. What is this country coming to? It used to not be like this.

Sure, there were pockets of the country like that. But it's gotten so bad. It's not JUST the behavior, which is horrible. It's also the thought process. Why would they even THINK badly of the band members? Why would they think anything other than...hey, that's a band of mainly minorities, and listen to how they play! They rock!

A teabagger nest area of the country, maybe? I don't know much about PA.

[Nordmadr]

37. The media has emboldened people with these values to

be open about it while whipping up a frenzy of hate. Things are bad and people have to have a finger to point; someone to blame. The similarities to 1930's Germany should be very frightening to people in my opinion. I'll bet they all consider themselves good family values conservative Christian people. I think Christ would not have approved.

[krabigirl]

44. I agree, And to many of these conservative "Christians," their religion is like an exclusive

hate club.

[AlinPA]

39. PA is heavy with teabaggers, especially in W. PA.

[krabigirl]

42. It always was like this, but good economies keep people happier and less nuts.

[Honeycombe8]

53. I'm from the deep south & have seen parades w/Af. Am. bands.

There was never any yelling at the band members or throwing things at them. Nothing at all like that. People commented...oh, here's the colored band. They're really good with rhythm, you know. Just listen to them & watch how they march! (Truth is, those bands DID march differently. Which is a good thing.)

So it was very much noticed that they weren't white bands. But not hatred.

I'm from southwest La., where the KKK had (and still has, I guess) a presence. But I think the KKK works in private and generally doesn't make scenes out in public, in daylight. And ordinary people just didn't voice a hatred for others. They may have thought of others in a condescending way, but not hatred or outwardly hurtful to "the lesser ones."

Things have changed. You betcha. And it's scary.

(Note: I'm trying to state what the general attitude and behavior was when I was very young in the deep south, which was many years ago. Hence the use of the word "colored," since that was a commonly used word then...and later "black." We had no other significant minorities.)

[renate]

25. who behaves like that to HIGH SCHOOL KIDS?

And what could be more American and wholesome than a marching band? (Not that being unwholesome or un-American would be an excuse for those people's behavior.) I'm embarrassed just reading about this. I've never met a marching-band member who wasn't sweet and earnest and polite, so it's just extra sad that they would take the time to go to a farm show to share their music and their enthusiasm and be treated like this. Absolutely unbelievable. What hath the Tea Party wrought?

[theHandpuppet]

43. At least people are bringing these shameful acts to light now

When I was in high school -- from a poor Appalachian community -- our band, bedecked in our well-worn but clean unis, had been invited to a parade in Upper Arlington, a prosperous white suburb of Columbus, Ohio. As we marched along the parade, citizens of UA called out, "Hillbillies!", "Trash!" and "River rats!" and literally threw garbage at us. I was so embarrassed. It was an experience I will never forget. They made us feel like dirt.

[renate]

45. ...and when you were a kid, you probably didn't realize that THEY were the dirt

Words really can hurt, especially when you're young and are just starting to form an opinion about yourself.

The UA people went on with their ugly, despicable lives, and you and your bandmates are left with the memories of this horrible experience. I'm sorry. :hug:

[Number23]

26. Why?

[HopeHoops]

28. That's not typical of our area, but the Farm Show events do bring in some knuckle-dragger sorts.

It is really a shame. This is one of the few places I've lived or visited where you can go pretty much anywhere and find a diverse crowd having a good time with no hint of racial tension. That was also the Manheim Farm Show which is seriously more "red state" area than Harrisburg.

I really feel bad for those kids.

[Neurotica]

30. This is so disheartening

Why did the parade watchers nearby not tell them to stop or alert officials...?

[rucky]

31. In HS, our basketball team had tortillas hurled at them.

In a game against the suburban school.

Revenge: We took state that year.

[babydollhead]

32. In 1981, I was a majorette, marching in a Veterans Day parade...

for some reason my knee wouldn't bend. So, I dragged my leg along, unbending. Some one threw a rock at me. This was Pittsburgh.

[a la izquierda]

33. At least once a day for the past-oh- three months...

I say "This fucking country." Usually I don't have anything to say it about until the afternoon.
I got it out early today. How insane have people become? *THIS* is why bullying has become such a problem, because adults act like such total lunatics and their kids watch, and think it's okay.

[lightningandsnow]

34. Why the fuck would you do that?

:mad:

[WinkyDink]

35. I'm from PA. I find this story so shocking as to beggar belief. WTH?????

[ensho]

36. some time ago I read that Pa. was just like a southern state re:

racism and under educated white people

I wondered about that. I used to occasionally drive by and/or attend an event in Scranton.

I always got a bad vibe there and was glad when I could leave. now I know why.

[Neurotica]

38. As a PA native, that's a generalization, although the saying

is that Pittsburgh is in the west, Philly in the east, and Alabama in the middle.

I'm originally from south central PA and I can assure you that this is not the norm.

[Mnemosyne]

52. NW PA checking in and it is a racist hole. n/t

[yodermon]

41. "Pennsyltucky" n/t

[WinkyDink]

48. Oh, you "read" that? We have a zillion schools of higher education, including an Ivy League.

[AlinPA]

40. The Oct. 6 parade was part of Manheim's 57th annual farm show, which says it aims

to "promote agriculture, crafts and competition in a friendly environment that encourages family values and cooperation."

Some "family values".

[MilesColtrane]

47. Our HS band used to have shit thrown at us when we marched at other schools.

But, that was the late 70's...

[Dulcinea]

49. WTF is wrong with people?

A high school marching band, and they treat them like this? I'm embarrassed for my home state.

[WinkyDink]

50. That is an Arizona newspaper. The local report is a bit more vague on details:

http://articles.lancasteronline.com/local/4/301148

Several Manheim residents who watched or participated in the parade, including Clark, said they did not see the harassment, and Manheim Borough police had received no complaints as of Wednesday from spectators or participants.

Acting York school superintendent Eric Holmes told the York Daily Record that band members could not identify the people who were harassing them because the parade route was poorly lit.

Band officials reported the harassment to parade organizers after the event, said Seth Kensinger, vice president of Manheim Farm Show, who attended the parade but did not see what happened.
"Our understanding is that it was young people," he said. "Were they from our town? Were they from outside? We don't know that.

[4_TN_TITANS]

51. Putting together a marching band is work

and deserves respect, regardless of who is in it. I personally prefer to watch African American bands because of their creative routines and irresistable rhythms. I can testify that you sure don't do parades for the money (if there even is any).

Despicable.

[Desertrose]

54. I blame it on the teabaggers and the neverending stirring up of hate.

Southern Lanc co was always a hotbed for the Klan(I grew up there and know this for a fact)....and there was always fairly intense rivalry between York Co & Lanc Co high schools, between the "city" schools and the farm schools...but this... Manheim is in the northern end of the county..with both farm & city (Twp & Central) schools.

I blame this on all the hate constantly being stirred up by the teabaggers and Faux News. How very sad....

eta...there are kids & schools from all over the county that attend these parades & fairs...it could have been anyone from anywhere...troublemakers stirred up by the hate broadcast 24/7.