Hollywood Sign Expected to Read 'Save the Peak' on Thursday
Hugo's Introduces Vegan Mac & Cheese
Palin Calls Global Warming a 'Bunch of Snake Oil Science'
![_Bye, Bye Hollywood Sign... at Least Temporarily [Updated]](http://laist.com/assets_c/2009/12/view_behind_hwdsign-thumb-110x110-464762.jpg)
Bye, Bye Hollywood Sign... at Least Temporarily [Updated]
Photos: Here's to the Bookworms!
Kids at A.E. Wright Middle School in Calabasas hopped on the bandwagon fueled by a Facebook group posting that declared last Friday "Kick a Ginger Day."
Inspired by TV's irreverent Comedy Central show South Park, of which a 2005 episode "focused on prejudice against 'gingers,' a label given to people with red hair, fair skin, and freckles," school-age kids participated in beatings of redheaded classmates, according to KTLA.
Last year a Facebook group sprung up, and on Friday, "at least five attacks on red-haired students" took place at A.E. Wright, including a 7th grader who was "kicked and beaten by 14 classmates in two separate incidents," and three other kids who have come forward. Authorities "are pursuing the investigation as a possible assault with a deadly weapon," though no one required hospitalization.
A search of Facebook reveals that the only groups referencing "Kick a Ginger" remaining on the site are those opposed to the action.
Anyone with information about "Kick a Ginger Day" incidents at the school should call the Calabasas sheriff's station at (818) 878-1808.
add to stumble upon
add to reddit
tweet this
post to facebook
:X
I'm curious to see if they treat it like a hate crime. These weren't racist acts necessarily - but they were based on a phenotype. People treat it like a joke here, but its kindof a problem in the UK.
Eh. Let's remember that we are talking about gingers here, not normal people. I don't see a problem with any of this.
Loud n proud ginger here, not rising to your bait Tate.
I'm a redhead and personally hate the word "ginger". A mexican american friend here at work calls me ginger from time to time and I respond with a "Yes Beaner?" It works out.
Before South Park and facebook, kids NEVER got beat up for being different! It MUST be the internet's fault! Let's get all these kids off the internet and nobody will be bullied ever again!
Jason, it's not that simple. Times evolve and you can't just "get kids off the internet" anymore than you could set fire to every television in America. And "nobody will be bullied ever again"? Yes, I'm sure that it was Facebook and South Park and the internet that caused all of the hate crimes against African-Americans and homosexuals...
South Park isn't entirely to blame, either. The show is a satire, it does not demand to be taken seriously. That's like making the Colbert Report your primary news source, or using the Home Improvement as a parenting guide.
If anyone is to blame, it is the parents for not monitoring what their kids are watching. It isn't easy to do that in this day of the internet, because so many kids know how to cover up their tracks and very few parents even know how to check the history.
So, basically, it all comes down to the parents' responsibility to be willing to learn about technology and keep up with the times so they can monitor their children's activities.
Middle schoolers should not be watching South Park! I daresay few kids should before 11th grade, because they don't understand that they shouldn't be taking such things seriously - not even as a serious joke.
someone's sarcasm meter is off today...pssst, note the CAPS, nudge nudge wink
(pardon my double-post)
Jason, it's not that simple. Times evolve and you can't just "get kids off the internet" anymore than you could set fire to every television in America. And "nobody will be bullied ever again"? Yes, I'm sure that it was Facebook and South Park and the internet that caused all of the hate crimes against African-Americans and homosexuals...
South Park isn't entirely to blame, either. The show is a satire, it does not demand to be taken seriously. That's like making the Colbert Report your primary news source, or using the Home Improvement as a parenting guide.
If anyone is to blame, it is the parents for not monitoring what their kids are watching. It isn't easy to do that in this day of the internet, because so many kids know how to cover up their tracks and very few parents even know how to check the history.
So, basically, it all comes down to the parents' responsibility to be willing to learn about technology and keep up with the times so they can monitor their children's activities.
Middle schoolers should not be watching South Park! I daresay few kids should before 11th grade, because they don't understand that they shouldn't be taking such things seriously - not even as a serious joke.
i think it's funny that Facebook User talks about satire and still totally missed the point of Jason's post :)
Hell, I have red hair but am definitely not a "ginger". I tan, have scrubbed off most of my freckles and often fetch complements such as, "You're pretty good-looking for a redhead."
I've worked hard to fit in to non-colorful-haired society. These complaining gingers are just a bunch of quitters. They must have done something to draw undue attention to themselves.
- Uncle Opie
Whoever wants to blame South Park for this is a complete idiot. South Park is a comedic show and not meant to be taken seriously. It's like Peter Griffin said: if you get your values from a show, your'e an idiot. Maybe you should pay more attention to what your kids are watching instead of blaming the shows themselves. I am in 8th grade, love South Park, understand it is supposed to be humorous, and laughed when I saw the Ginger Kids episode. However, I am able to distinguish humor from reality. I did not walk away from the episode saying, "Damn, Cartman has a point. I need to kick a ginger!" However, unfortunatly these kids did. Parents and teachers should not be blaming a TV show for failing to do the job they should be doing themselves: raising their children with proper values.
Joey, you're in 8th grade? My goodness, you are wonderfully insightful and articulate. More so than most of the college freshmen to whom I teach English--sad but true. This probably explains why you have the good sense to know how to love a show and not base your behavior on it. Unfortunately, as you suggest, many kids and their parents just don't have a grasp on that philosophy. Thanks for your comment!
Your welcome, Lindsay. When my mom told me about the incident this morning and started going off blaming South Park, I was pretty pissed off that she was ignoring the real problem: parents letting a show raise their kids instead of raising them themselves. It's not like Trey Parker and Matt Stone (the geniuses who created the show) sat down and said, "Hey, let's make an episode about 'ginger kids' that causes people to make a hate group on Facebook and commit violent crimes against redheads!" No, people saw the show and took it the wrong way, which their fault, not the shows. Blaming South Park on violence against redheads is like suing Budweiser because you were arrested for drunk driving. Parents should make better decisions regarding the media their child sees and has access to or deal with the consequences realistically instead of blaming the media itself. Once again, thanks for the comment.
Well stated.
+1 on Lindsay's compliments to you.
Thanks. I appreciate it.
Not only is "South Park" a satire, but that particular episode was making fun of the ridiculousness of all prejudices against strangers, i.e., "I don't know you, but I know I hate you because of your race/gender/sexual orientation/hair color/residing in Orange County." Although the subtleties of satire may be lost on middle schoolers, don't blame "South Park" (and yes, I'll leave that right there for someone to take).
This is battery and people (of any age) who engage in it should be turned over to police.