Let's start with your assumption that this "cruel, demented, evil and deliberate act" was "driven . . .DRIVEN! by jeolousy and racism by racists 'white girls'." Dude, that must be some wickedly sick crack you are smoking (assuming that it is still OK for me to assume that you are a crack-head). I mean, not only do you know that it was more than one kid who did this, and that they were racist and jealous, you even know that they were girls, and that they were white! (OK, now take another puff and tell me HOW MANY "white girls" there were. In fact, while you are pulling facts out of thin air, what were their names? HEY! It just occurred to me. The yearbook staff should all come over to your house next time and smoke crack, and then maybe they'll know everything about everyone in the yearbook, including their names! It sure seems to make YOU able to know things that you couldn't possibly know otherwise.)

Next, you assume (although, from your extremely strong language, you seem to know rather than assume) that "this was a conspiracy", and that "everyone along the chain of auditing saw that situation and allowed it to go to print." OK, wake up for just a minute, Mr. Crack-Head. Listen very carefully. One of the people "along the chain of auditing" was an African-American girl! She was one of the yearbook editors who "saw that situation and allowed it to go to print" (following YOUR assumption about motive and intent). So, does her head roll as well? Hey, I bet, as part of this grand conspiracy, that she is really a racist "white girl" who painted herself black at birth and took up residence with a Black family all through her childhood just so that she could be part of this conspiracy in high school and let this "cruel, demented, evil and deliberate act" happen. Man, some people will do anything to be part of a conspiracy! We are still assuming that this was a conspiracy, aren't we?

Don't you just HATE racist people? Of course, there is nothing wrong with your statement, "That is just another testament of how sick, evil and demented the mind of white people really are." Saying that ALL WHITE PEOPLE are “sick, evil and demented” doesn’t make YOU a racist, does it? Certainly not! (Michael takes another long drag on the crack pipe, sits back, and smiles proudly as he contemplates his own superiority to all white people.)

And, hoping that "the white girl who did it, will catch AIDS and die or something" ... that's not nearly as "cruel, demented," and "evil" as these stinkin' "white girls" who intentionally participated in this evil conspiracy. No, there's nothing evil or sick or demented about hoping someone will catch AIDS and die.

But the kicker has got to be your advice on how to handle this problem. "All the adults who had anything to do with that school and its yearbook should resign or be fired." Man, you are a genius! You should be an advisor to Kings and Presidents (or at least a high-dollar consultant to sick, racist, white school districts)! Why didn't anyone else think of your solution? Fire every principal, assistant principal, office worker, security guard, teacher, aide, janitor, librarian, and everyone else "who had anything to do with that school". Wipe the slate completely clean. NOBODY gets to keep their job! Then, hire a whole brand new set of school personnel in the next month-and-a-half so that they will be ready for the first day of school in August. That certainly SOUNDS do-able! Doesn’t it? Huh? Doesn’t it? I stand in complete awe of your utter brilliance! (NOT!)

Just like so many others, Michael, you cry "RACIST" at the top of your lungs, without even being smart enough to realize that the word fits you much better than it fits any of those at whom you point your pathetic little finger. I guess the world will always have crack-heads like you. The really sad thing is, people like YOU do as much to keep alive the evils of racism and bigotry, as anyone who is on the receiving end of your rabid accusations.

On second thought, don't put down the crack pipe. There are enough people out here who can actually differentiate between reality and fantasy, that we'll just let you keep living in your own pathetic little crack-induced fantasy world where all white people are inherently sick, evil and demented, and where you are the king of the universe. We humbly bow before your majestic throne, O Great One! (Puff, puff)

I made time to attend the Commencement Ceremony for the Waxahachie High School Class of 2005 because my daughter would have graduated that night along with her classmates. She didn't make it to graduation, though, because she died of cancer at age 14. While she was still alive, however, she and Shadoyia were friends. My wife and I also attended (and helped chaperone) the graduation party, because we wanted to be there for our daughter's classmates, including Shadoyia, and because we wanted to participate in the special activities that would have been part of our daughter's senior year experience.

I MADE the time to write my two previous posts (both during the wee hours of the morning), and I took a LOT of time to think through my thoughts clearly, research my facts thoroughly, and choose my words very carefully ... because I thought that perhaps a look at some of the actual FACTS of the case might help some of the rabid hate-mongers like you and Michael and so many others to stop and think for at least a moment before spewing out your putrid vomit of hateful words. I was obviously completely mistaken.

How do YOU know, sitting miles away, that at the graduation ceremony and then at the party, "EVERYONE ACTED AS THEY SHOULD HAVE. IT WAS I GUESS 'POLITICALY CORRECT'!" You were accidentally honest with two of those words: "I GUESS". That's all you CAN do, is GUESS! That's all you ARE doing, is GUESSING! In fact, in your feeble attempt to take Shadoyia's side, you have actually besmirched her good name and questioned her character. You assume that she was just smiling on the outside in order to be politically correct. Oh, really? So, have you talked to Shadoyia and has she confided in you her inner angst and the utter turmoil deep within her soul over this incident? Or are you simply GUESSING? How do you know that she is not a person of much greater integrity and true character than you are? You have assumed that the statements that she and her family have made publicly - acceptance of the school district's sincere apology and of their painstaking effort to correct the mistake - are merely "politically correct" statements and do not accurately reflect their true feelings. You are calling them liars! And is this because you KNOW these things to be true? NO! It's because you are GUESSING!

You told Billie Bad (while misspelling her name twice) that she is "a complete idiot". Read YOUR OWN WORDS, chevria, and then look in the mirror. You told Billie Bad to "get some knowledge". Let's see, Billie Bad is a complete idiot because she makes statements that are not based on actual KNOWLEDGE! (Your words "I GUESS" come immediately to my mind.) Again, READ YOUR OWN WORDS, and then look in the mirror. "That type of behavior is learned at home and obviously we know that there are racist kids at this school with racist parents at home, that will particiapte in cruel behavior such as this incident." You don't "obviously know" ANYTHING that you have claimed to know about this incident. All of your accusations are mere "asinine" assumptions based on either a lack of knowledge of, or a blatant disregard for, the true facts. Listen to your ridiculous words, chevria! You are accusing kids you don't even know of being racist, and saying that they "obviously" learned their racist tendencies from their parents (who you also don’t know). I really want to believe, chevria, that you are not as big a fool as your words make you sound.

Thats like creating a photograph of the US Supreme Court and putting a placeholder there to represent Justice Clarence Thomas. Then saying you did not know his name.

It was their job to find his name. They found everyone elses name! That is just another testament of how sick, evil and demented the mind of white people really are. To do this to a child. I am sure this has a long-term affect on the psychology of the child. Maybe if we are lucky the white girl who did it, will catch AIDS and die or something. All the adults who had anything to do with that school and its yearbook should resign or be fired.

How utterly pathetic that a DOCTOR OF EDUCATION calls other educators ignorant and incompetent, while demonstrating his or her own incompetence in the correct use of the written language. Your post is filled with errors (grammatical errors, misuse of punctuation, run-on sentences, and verb tense inconsistencies).

Even more pathetic, however, is the broad brush with which you paint your picture of rampant racial discrimination in this country, while revealing in those very same words your own blatant racism. You talk all throughout your ranting diatribe about lessons that White people need to learn, about "the lack of awareness White citizens have of the privileges afforded to them simply because of the color of their skin", and about the need for White people to learn what their "whiteness" means to themselves and to People of Color. Look in the mirror, dude! You are the racist!

You are saying that all White people are alike, that they are all insensitive to the needs of "People of Color", that they are all racists, that none of them have a clue what "their whiteness" means (OK, maybe you're right about that one, because I certainly have no clue what you are talking about!). And, according to your accusations, the one thing that gives all of these people this embarrassing list of detestable character traits is THE COLOR OF THEIR SKIN! They are White, therefore they are bad!

You are a much worse racist, and a much bigger hypocrite, than ANYONE involved in the yearbook fiasco. Why? Because your words have left no doubt about your overtly racist mind set. You have openly admitted that you think all White people are alike simply because their skin is white. NO ONE involved in the yearbook blunder has even come close to that. In fact, you seem to assume that everyone in the yearbook chain of command who should have caught and corrected the "error" was White. You actually come right out and accuse everyone involved of having "disregard" for "Student of Color" (the failure to pluralize "students" is your error, not mine). You call for people to be relieved of their duties, because allowing this sort of thing to happen and then simply apologizing for it is "no longer acceptable". Well, guess what, Mr. or Ms. Self-Righteous Doctor of Education. One of the two student editors who was responsible for proofreading the yearbook section which contained the offending description was a "Student of Color" (to use your words). The other editor of this section was a Hispanic student. Should they be relieved of their duties due to their blatant racist attitudes toward "Students of Color"? If not, why not? Or, are only White people capable of being racist?

Shadoyia graduated last night and received a rousing applause from black and white audience members alike. Afterwards, she was warmly greeted and hugged and offered congratulations and well-wishes (as were ALL of the graduates) by students and adults both black and white (and people of other ethnic backgrounds as well). At the "Project Graduation" party given for the graduates by a racially-mixed committee of their parents, black and white and Hispanic and Asian students all had a lot of fun TOGETHER! There was no racial tension in the air. Shadoyia was there and seemed to be enjoying the night immensely.

IT'S YOU PEOPLE WHO KEEP BRINGING THIS SITUATION UP WHO HAVE THE PROBLEM! Shadoyia and her family have expressed appreciation and acceptance of the school district's apologies and their correcting of the faulty yearbook page. Yes, a mistake was made. Yes, it was extremely unfortunate. But those who were actually personally affected are leading the way in putting this incident to rest and moving on with their lives. They are not demanding that people be fired from their jobs. They are satisfied that proper restitution has been made.

So, that's it. End of story. Case closed. You are now free to go find something else to rant and rave about. Only, next time, do a little bit of proofreading of your own first ... both for grammatical and other "technical" errors (after all, you are a Doctor of Education, and you seem to be pretty proud of that fact since you flash your credentials at the end of your name; learn to write like someone who is educated); and, more importantly, for consistency of thought and lack of blatant hypocrisy in the accusations you so readily throw at others.

Texas is not alone in this harmful practice, one only has to look at every school in every school district in this country and see how differences are ignored, not tolerated, unaccepted, and totally misunderstood.

The lack of awareness White citizens have of the privileges afforded to them simply because of the color of their skin is a critical issue in the country.

Until White people learned what their "whiteness" means to themselves and to People of Color, this country will continue to have examples of Shadoyia.

How sad we are as a Nation.

I do not imply the South has no problems compared to the North -- they both do. It's just that all this hand wringing done by arrogant people from outside the South as though the people in Texas at that school aren't horrified too by the mistake is ridiculous. I am sure there is a good deal of genuine horror and outrage at that school over the incident, and if they discover there was racism involved, this "Waxahachie" district will need to retrain their students about the sickness of racism, in case the teachers had thought by 2005 there were no issues any more. I should add that the South had a good deal of integration among people marrying and among music bands as early as the 1950s and 1960s with Booker T. and the MG's, many other groups, and the leader of the MG's married to Rita Coolidge's sister back in the 1960s in the South. People viewing the South as behind the North neglect to perceive that much of the integration that was brought into the culture through the music and pop culture world came through the music industry influence of R&B and pop acts of the 1960s and 1970s from Stax (southern record label) and Motown that included integrated bands. So please can the corn about Southern stereotypes. I'm a bit tired of seeing people rehash the usual Northern superiority about the South being more backwards. There have been plenty of incidents of racism in the North the past decade, including blacks being shot for pulling out a wallet in the North (or pulled over for DWB - driving while black), demonstrably not a merely Southern phenomenon.

I wouldn't be surprised if the people you heard saying "porch monkey" were from the North because that is not a Southern phrase; I never heard the term till the late 1980s out of the mouth of a Detroit Vietnam veteran. There are plenty of rude Northern bigots who move to the South, Mike. As to the story at hand, I have no idea if this was a case of racism or not, but I doubt seriously that if it was racism, it represented more than one or two jerks at the school. There are bigots in every part of the United States. In the North, where there were anti-busing anti-integration riots in Boston, Chicago, NY, and Detroit in the 1970s, they like to forget their own racist heritage and laugh it up whenever they can find something the least bit smacking of continued racism in the South but there were lynchings in NY even as far back as the 1860s riots there, and the North has nothing to brag about regarding racism; they have as big a racist heritage as the South, with more hypocrisy involved because they're blind to their own flaws and use the South as a scapegoat for stereotyping.

Press on sisters and brothers! Not everyone who is not a person of color is against you. Your excellence will be your justice!

Peace.