# 7 year old wears KKK Costume for Halloween



## Steve (Nov 4, 2013)

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/11/...wed-child-to-dress-as-klansman-for-halloween/



> A Craigsville, Va., womans nonchalant reaction has sparked additional outrage after she allowed her 7-year-old son to dress for Halloween in the robes of a Ku Klux Klan member.



This kid obviously didn't understand what is going on, and the mom displayed some appalling lack of judgement.


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## ballen0351 (Nov 4, 2013)

Not sure why this was news.


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## arnisador (Nov 4, 2013)

Also saw a  story that a college student went as a Boston marathon bomb victim. 

It's "news" because people will click on stories like this over stories on Syria.


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## ballen0351 (Nov 4, 2013)

arnisador said:


> Also saw a  story that a college student went as a Boston marathon bomb victim.
> 
> It's "news" because people will click on stories like this over stories on Syria.



Your definition of news and mine are very different then


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## Steve (Nov 4, 2013)

Wait a minute.  Who forced you guys to click on the thread?  Isn't it a little ironic that you guys are talking about people clicking on this story over others, when you did the same?  I added a pretty explicit subject line, so it's not like you got other than what you expected.


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## ballen0351 (Nov 4, 2013)

Steve said:


> Wait a minute.  Who forced you guys to click on the thread?  Isn't it a little ironic that you guys are talking about people clicking on this story over others, when you did the same?  I added a pretty explicit subject line, so it's not like you got other than what you expected.



So you think its news?


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## Steve (Nov 4, 2013)

ballen0351 said:


> So you think its news?


Define "news."  This is how google defines the term:  


> news
> n(y)o&#862;oz/
> _noun_
> [COLOR=#878787 !important][/COLOR]
> ...


Do I think it's noteworthy?  Clearly, since I shared the link, I think that the mom's judgement was notably horrible.  Is it important?  Not really, but it is newly received (just read it today), noteworthy (in that the mom displayed particularly poor judgement) and it was recent (happened just a few days ago).  So, I mean, yeah.  I'd call it news.  Is it important news?  No.

What I'm trying to understand is what about this story prompted you to comment in such a way.  I've seen similar threads on equally unimportant topics, and don't recall this kind of reaction from you.  I may have missed it, but what about this story bothers you so much that you not only read it, but felt compelled to comment on it.


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## ballen0351 (Nov 4, 2013)

Steve said:


> Define "news."  This is how google defines the term:


Didnt ask for Googles def.  I asked for yours


> Do I think it's noteworthy?  Clearly, since I shared the link, I think that the mom's judgement was notably horrible.  Is it important?  Not really, but it is newly received (just read it today), noteworthy (in that the mom displayed particularly poor judgement) and it was recent (happened just a few days ago).  So, I mean, yeah.  I'd call it news.  Is it important news?  No.


So why her?  There are 1000's of examples of bad parents everyday of the year


> What I'm trying to understand is what about this story prompted you to comment in such a way.  I've seen similar threads on equally unimportant topics, and don't recall this kind of reaction from you.  I may have missed it, but what about this story bothers you so much that you not only read it, but felt compelled to comment on it.



It wasnt directed at you it was directed at the person that took the picture and posted it to the news stations facebook page.  I dont see why they felt this was news and needed to post it.  
My first thought when I saw the title was it was a joke like the Clayton Bigsby skit by Dave Chappelle so thats why I clicked on it
Language not work or kid safe


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## Steve (Nov 4, 2013)

ballen0351 said:


> Didnt ask for Googles def.  I asked for yours


The Google definition works for me and aligns with my general understanding of the term.  

And I asked you for yours.  I still don't see you sharing it.  You seem to be very evasive to me. 


> So why her?  There are 1000's of examples of bad parents everyday of the year


Because she dressed her kid up in a KKK outfit and sent him off to school.  Seems pretty straightforward to me.  


> It wasnt directed at you it was directed at the person that took the picture and posted it to the news stations facebook page.  I dont see why they felt this was news and needed to post it.


No worries.  I understand what you're saying.  





> My first thought when I saw the title was it was a joke like the Clayton Bigsby skit by Dave Chappelle so thats why I clicked on it
> Language not work or kid safe


Chappelle was great until he went off the deep end.


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## crushing (Nov 5, 2013)

arnisador said:


> Also saw a  story that a college student went as a Boston marathon bomb victim.
> 
> It's "news" because people will click on stories like this over stories on Syria.



It seems that a lot of people love to be outraged by stupid ****.  I think it makes them feel better about themselves.  Troll 'news' sites like Gawker, Jezebel, Rawstory, and many others appreciate the revenue enhancing outrage they help manufacture.  Unfortunately, this kind of news trolling is finding its way on to news sites as they also look to increase their own online revenues.


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## Steve (Nov 5, 2013)

Outraged by stupid ****?  I don't know, crushing.  If a kid showed up at my daughter's elementary school wearing a KKK outfit, or a slutty tree outfit, or a hitler outfit or something along those lines, I'd have a problem with it.  Outrage is a strong word, but I think it could fit, because I do find a KKK costume on a 7 year old to be outrageous.   Why is that stupid to you?  

Here's another question.  Is there an outfit that would be out of bounds, in your opinion?  What would cause an appropriate level of outrage?  If a 7 year old dressed up as Osama Bin Laden?  What about a prostitute?  I ask, because I'm trying to figure out first, if there's a line in your opinion.  And if so, where is that line?  Can you give an example of any costume you would deem outrageous for a 7 year old?


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## billc (Nov 5, 2013)

Yeah, doesn't the kids mom realize by sending the kid in a kkk outfit she simply highlights the history of the democrats...


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## Steve (Nov 5, 2013)

billc said:


> Yeah, doesn't the kids mom realize by sending the kid in a kkk outfit she simply highlights the history of the democrats...


Ha.  I'm just guessing, but I'm pretty sure that the mom isn't a democrat.  Maybe, but not likely.


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## ballen0351 (Nov 5, 2013)

Steve said:


> Outraged by stupid ****?  I don't know, crushing.  If a kid showed up at my daughter's elementary school wearing a KKK outfit, or a slutty tree outfit, or a hitler outfit or something along those lines, I'd have a problem with it.  Outrage is a strong word, but I think it could fit, because I do find a KKK costume on a 7 year old to be outrageous.   Why is that stupid to you?
> 
> Here's another question.  Is there an outfit that would be out of bounds, in your opinion?  What would cause an appropriate level of outrage?  If a 7 year old dressed up as Osama Bin Laden?  What about a prostitute?  I ask, because I'm trying to figure out first, if there's a line in your opinion.  And if so, where is that line?  Can you give an example of any costume you would deem outrageous for a 7 year old?


I'm a little surprised that you didn't know racism exists all over the place.  You think this is the first 7 year old dressed like a Klansman.


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## Dinkydoo (Nov 5, 2013)

I understand why there would be outrage but I find it a strange peculiarity of our society that dressing up as something like Jack The Ripper for Halloween might be deemed by most as acceptable, but going as a modern day 'monster' like Hitler would be an atrocity.


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## Steve (Nov 5, 2013)

ballen0351 said:


> I'm a little surprised that you didn't know racism exists all over the place.  You think this is the first 7 year old dressed like a Klansman.


I'm glad I can still surprise you, ballen.   Are you interested at all in answering the questions I posed in the thread you quoted?


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## Steve (Nov 5, 2013)

Dinkydoo said:


> I understand why there would be outrage but I find it a strange peculiarity of our society that dressing up as something like Jack The Ripper for Halloween might be deemed by most as acceptable, but going as a modern day 'monster' like Hitler would be an atrocity.


For what it's worth, I think that the salient elements here are that it's a 7 year old child who, I believe, wore the costume to a public school.


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## ballen0351 (Nov 5, 2013)

Steve said:


> I'm glad I can still surprise you, ballen.   Are you interested at all in answering the questions I posed in the thread you quoted?


About costumes?  There is nothing I have seen costume wise that "shocks" me.  There are def no costumes I'd find so shocking I'd go to the news about.


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## Steve (Nov 5, 2013)

ballen0351 said:


> About costumes?  There is nothing I have seen costume wise that "shocks" me.  There are def no costumes I'd find so shocking I'd go to the news about.


Okay.  Fair enough.  You're okay with 7 year olds wearing KKK costumes at school.  Simple enough, but for what it's worth, I don't like it.


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## Dinkydoo (Nov 5, 2013)

Steve said:


> For what it's worth, I think that the salient elements here are that it's a 7 year old child who, I believe, wore the costume to a public school.



It's just not appropriate, I get that. 

There might be an interesting wider discussion to be had though. For example: An adult going fancy dressed as Hitler or a KKK member to a party might not as distasteful, depending on the motives; both can be representative of "monstrous" human beings.


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## ballen0351 (Nov 5, 2013)

Steve said:


> Okay.  Fair enough.  You're okay with 7 year olds wearing KKK costumes at school.  Simple enough, but for what it's worth, I don't like it.



How is it different then a kid with his guts hanging out and bullet holes in his face?  

For what its worth I'm not "OK" with it but I'm also not shocked by it I guess I'm just indifferent.  To me its like who cares bad parents.  I call that kid job security when he grows up


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## crushing (Nov 5, 2013)

Steve said:


> Outraged by stupid ****?  I don't know, crushing.  If a kid showed up at my daughter's elementary school wearing a KKK outfit, or a slutty tree outfit, or a hitler outfit or something along those lines, I'd have a problem with it.  Outrage is a strong word, but I think it could fit, because I do find a KKK costume on a 7 year old to be outrageous.   Why is that stupid to you?
> 
> Here's another question.  Is there an outfit that would be out of bounds, in your opinion?  What would cause an appropriate level of outrage?  If a 7 year old dressed up as Osama Bin Laden?  What about a prostitute?  I ask, because I'm trying to figure out first, if there's a line in your opinion.  And if so, where is that line?  Can you give an example of any costume you would deem outrageous for a 7 year old?




I would be very upset, outraged even, if this happened at a local school/neighborhood to me instead of across the country somewhere.


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## ballen0351 (Nov 5, 2013)

crushing said:


> I would be very upset, outraged even, if this happened at a local school/neighborhood to me instead of across the country somewhere.


You would "outraged"?  Really by a 7 year old in a kkk robe?  That's outrageous to you?


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## Steve (Nov 5, 2013)

ballen0351 said:


> How is it different then a kid with his guts hanging out and bullet holes in his face?
> 
> For what its worth I'm not "OK" with it but I'm also not shocked by it I guess I'm just indifferent.  To me its like who cares bad parents.  I call that kid job security when he grows up


Cynical, but understandable, Ballen.


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## Steve (Nov 5, 2013)

ballen0351 said:


> You would "outraged"?  Really by a 7 year old in a kkk robe?  That's outrageous to you?


Yeah.  Outrageous.  Ballen, it seems to me as though you believe some words mean things they don't mean.  A 7 year old in a KKK robe at school is, in my opinion, a perfect example of something that is outrageous.


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## ballen0351 (Nov 5, 2013)

Steve said:


> Yeah.  Outrageous.  Ballen, it seems to me as though you believe some words mean things they don't mean.  A 7 year old in a KKK robe at school is, in my opinion, a perfect example of something that is outrageous.


No to me outrageous would be the kid that goes into a school and kills 10 people.  To me a bad costume is not even raising an eyebrow.  Outrage is an opinion so if that really bothers you OK but damn what do you think when something really bad happens


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## ballen0351 (Nov 5, 2013)

Steve said:


> Cynical, but understandable, Ballen.



Not really cynical if you think about it.  If he's got a parent that dresses him like a Klansman do you think he's got an above below on normal chance to be a productive member of society.  I'm just playing the odds here


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## arnisador (Nov 5, 2013)

ballen0351 said:


> If he's got a parent that dresses him like a Klansman do you think he's got an above below on normal chance to be a productive member of society.



What's outrageous is what the parents are or are not doing that leads to this situation. The kid is too young to have been responsible for what happened--he couldn't have appreciated how offensive it is.

I think my standard for 'outrageous' is different than yours--outraged doesn't mean I'll run for Congress to get the law changed, it just means it's a  shock to my standards.


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## Steve (Nov 5, 2013)

ballen0351 said:


> No to me outrageous would be the kid that goes into a school and kills 10 people.


 A kid that goes into a school and kills 10 people is really bad.





> To me a bad costume is not even raising an eyebrow.  Outrage is an opinion so if that really bothers you OK but damn what do you think when something really bad happens


I wonder if this on/off, black/white view of things is related to your profession.  I don't see things as either being good OR bad.  There is room, in my opinion, for something to be better than another thing and worse than yet a third thing.

For example, a child in a spider man costume is pretty innocuous.  A child in a KKK robe is offensive.  A child killing 10 other children is tragic.  The child killing 10 other children is a real tragedy, but that doesn't mean anything that is less serious is okay and not a big deal.  

Sometimes, ballen, and I'm being serious, you say some things that are just head shakers for me.  You say things which are contradictory.  In some threads, you're a stickler for rules, and in others, it's like, "Meh.  They're not killing each other, so I'm good with it."  Hard to track.


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## Steve (Nov 5, 2013)

arnisador said:


> What's outrageous is what the parents are or are not doing that leads to this situation. The kid is too young to have been responsible for what happened--he couldn't have appreciated how offensive it is.
> 
> I think my standard for 'outrageous' is different than yours--outraged doesn't mean I'll run for Congress to get the law changed, it just means it's a  shock to my standards.


Exactly, and it was acknowledged in the short clip I linked to in the OP that the child just flat out didn't get the broader implications.


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## ballen0351 (Nov 5, 2013)

I'd love to live in your guys world if this is that "shocking" to you


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## ballen0351 (Nov 5, 2013)

Steve said:


> A kid that goes into a school and kills 10 people is really bad.
> I wonder if this on/off, black/white view of things is related to your profession.  I don't see things as either being good OR bad.  There is room, in my opinion, for something to be better than another thing and worse than yet a third thing.
> 
> For example, a child in a spider man costume is pretty innocuous.  A child in a KKK robe is offensive.  A child killing 10 other children is tragic.  The child killing 10 other children is a real tragedy, but that doesn't mean anything that is less serious is okay and not a big deal.
> ...


Because to me a kid in a KKK costume does not matter to me.  Who cares I've seen way worse parents then that.  To me its not a shock not outrage not anything.  If I saw that I'd shake my head and say idiot parents and never think twice about it.  
This isn't black and white your comparison has nothing to do with black or white.  I already said this is an opinion and to you apparently your "shocked". I'm not and wouldn't even consider this news.  
Also being a stickler for the rules has nothing to do with this.  Its not illegal to dress as a Klansman so what rule are we talking about.  All this did was cause that school next year to not allow kids to dress up.


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## granfire (Nov 5, 2013)

Aren't you supposed to dress up like a ghoul?!
Bad taste? Sure. But certainly fitting with the theme.

I find little girls in over sexualized costumes a lot more shocking.
I find the kid (black) in the orange jump suit was a serious shocker! The kid was maybe ten at the time. Seriously?

I find the outrage over white actress doing 'black face' for a costume retarded: she was dressing up as a TV show character who happened to be black. We can't have that, can we. 

Man, we have come a long way...in the olden days a bed sheet was all the costume you needed!


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## Steve (Nov 5, 2013)

ballen0351 said:


> I'd love to live in your guys world if this is that "shocking" to you


Well, if a 7 year old at a public school in a KKK robe doesn't "shock" you, I'm very glad I don't live in your world.  South King County, Washington is a pretty damned nice place to be.  While not Shangri La, we don't think everyone is a racist, don't think every black child is a gangster, nor every white child a meth addict.  We don't think that teenagers are all criminals, nor do we believe everyone with a gun is a villain (or a hero).  And when people do stupid things, we have capacity within our range of emotion to be shocked without having to equate it to a horrific tragedy.  

As I said before, you have a tendency to move from one extreme to another.  I will reiterate that I believe I have the capacity to be shocked by this, while ALSO recognizing that there are many worse things in the world.


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## Steve (Nov 5, 2013)

granfire said:


> Aren't you supposed to dress up like a ghoul?!
> Bad taste? Sure. But certainly fitting with the theme.
> 
> I find little girls in over sexualized costumes a lot more shocking.
> ...


I'm still waiting for someone to dress up as slutty einstein.


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## crushing (Nov 5, 2013)

ballen0351 said:


> You would "outraged"?  Really by a 7 year old in a kkk robe?  That's outrageous to you?



Not the 7 y/o, but the actions of the parents.  In fact, you've linked the actions of the parents to the likely future outcome of the child.



ballen0351 said:


> Not really cynical if you think about it.  If he's got a parent that dresses him like a Klansman do you think he's got an above below on normal chance to be a productive member of society.  I'm just playing the odds here



I think I better understand where you are coming from now.


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## granfire (Nov 5, 2013)

Steve said:


> I'm still waiting for someone to dress up as slutty einstein.



Go for it!

* BTW:
*http://now.msn.com/university-of-birmingham-in-england-bans-sombreros-as-racist-costumes

Apparently we are rubbing off on the world.


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## ballen0351 (Nov 5, 2013)

Steve said:


> I'm still waiting for someone to dress up as slutty einstein.



That would shock you too?  A slutty old man with funny hair?


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## crushing (Nov 5, 2013)

ballen0351 said:


> That would shock you too?  A slutty old man with funny hair?



No Einstein, how about Edgar Allan Ho?


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## ballen0351 (Nov 5, 2013)

Dude thats funny


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## ballen0351 (Nov 5, 2013)

Steve said:


> As I said before, you have a tendency to move from one extreme to another.  I will reiterate that I believe I have the capacity to be shocked by this, while ALSO recognizing that there are many worse things in the world.


What extremes am I going from?  I hardly think my position that this is not a huge deal is extreme


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## Steve (Nov 5, 2013)

ballen0351 said:


> That would shock you too?  A slutty old man with funny hair?


It would depend upon who is wearing it.  If a 7 year old wore it to school, yeah.  I'd be shocked.


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## Steve (Nov 5, 2013)

ballen0351 said:


> What extremes am I going from?  I hardly think my position that this is not a huge deal is extreme


It's not a deal at all or it's a kid killing 10 kids at school.  Those would be, in my opinion, two extreme positions.


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## Steve (Nov 5, 2013)

crushing said:


> No Einstein, how about Edgar Allan Ho?


Haha.  That's actually a pretty good costume.


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## billc (Nov 5, 2013)

> [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]
> I understand why there would be outrage but I find it a strange peculiarity of our society that dressing up as something like Jack The Ripper for Halloween might be deemed by most as acceptable, but going as a modern day 'monster' like Hitler would be an atrocity.[/FONT]



Keep in mind what wearing a Star Wars Darth Vader  points out....Darth Vader, the movie character participated in planetary genocide...should kids be wearing his outfit?


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## ballen0351 (Nov 5, 2013)

Steve said:


> It's not a deal at all or it's a kid killing 10 kids at school.  Those would be, in my opinion, two extreme positions.



OK your opinion and my opinion differ then


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## Steve (Nov 5, 2013)

ballen0351 said:


> OK your opinion and my opinion differ then



Wait.  What?  You don't agree that those are two extremes?

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD


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## ballen0351 (Nov 6, 2013)

Steve said:


> Wait.  What?  You don't agree that those are two extremes?
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD


Are they two extreams sure but that wasn't my position.  
Again in your opinion your "shocked" and "outraged" over a stupid Halloween costume.  I am not.  It is what it is.


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## blindsage (Nov 6, 2013)

.


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## ballen0351 (Nov 6, 2013)

blindsage said:


> .



Thats a great point


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## Steve (Nov 6, 2013)

ballen0351 said:


> Are they two extreams sure but that wasn't my position.
> Again in your opinion your "shocked" and "outraged" over a stupid Halloween costume.  I am not.  It is what it is.


So, then you are saying you do understand that something can be "shocking" without being a tragedy.  If you have the capacity for a more nuanced perspective, I haven't seen it.  I'll look for it from you in future posts.  As I said, my perception is that you are either all in or all out.  It's either no big deal or a very big deal, indeed.  

Here's a question for you, that will help me understand where you're coming from.  What is news, in your opinion?  Can you point to some examples recently of things that you would consider "news."


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## ballen0351 (Nov 6, 2013)

Steve said:


> So, then you are saying you do understand that something can be "shocking" without being a tragedy.  If you have the capacity for a more nuanced perspective, I haven't seen it.  I'll look for it from you in future posts.  As I said, my perception is that you are either all in or all out.  It's either no big deal or a very big deal, indeed.


Your perception is wrong I know that may be "shocking" to you


> Here's a question for you, that will help me understand where you're coming from.  What is news, in your opinion?  Can you point to some examples recently of things that you would consider "news."


To be news it should actually effect other people.  A kids costume doesn't effect anyone.  I wouldnt even care that much if that went to my kids school.  I feel bad for the kid hes going to have a rough life in the future but like I said Ive seen much worse at least his parents care enough to send him to school.  Im sure there are areas near you with forgotten kids who's parents are more worried about their next fix then making a costume or even sending kids to school.  So at the end of the day did this story effect anyone?  Im sure there are plenty that claim to be "Shoked" but most people have already forgotten this a few min after they read it


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## Steve (Nov 6, 2013)

ballen0351 said:


> Your perception is wrong I know that may be "shocking" to you


LOL.  I'm okay being wrong.  As I said, I'll pay closer attention to your future posts.


> To be news it should actually effect other people.  A kids costume doesn't effect anyone.  I wouldnt even care that much if that went to my kids school.  I feel bad for the kid hes going to have a rough life in the future but like I said Ive seen much worse at least his parents care enough to send him to school.  Im sure there are areas near you with forgotten kids who's parents are more worried about their next fix then making a costume or even sending kids to school.  So at the end of the day did this story effect anyone?  Im sure there are plenty that claim to be "Shoked" but most people have already forgotten this a few min after they read it


Huh.  Okay.  Makes sense.  I've never heard that particular definition of "news" before, but it's good to know what you have in mind when you use the term.


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## ballen0351 (Nov 6, 2013)

Steve said:


> .  Makes sense.  I've never heard that particular definition of "news" before, but it's good to know what you have in mind when you use the term.


Whats the point of having "news" if it doesn't effect anyone or provide information to people.  Other then that its trolling to stir up trouble, or pointless filler


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## Dirty Dog (Nov 6, 2013)

ballen0351 said:


> Whats the point of having "news" if it doesn't effect anyone or provide information to people.  Other then that its trolling to stir up trouble, or pointless filler



Behavior like this *does* affect people. There are plenty of people who have terrible memories of klukkers. 
Do you think it's equally OK to dress up as Holmes and visit a theater? How about strapping on a fake bomb and going to visit a military base?

Wearing a KKK outfit (or allowing your child to do so) is deplorable.


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## ballen0351 (Nov 6, 2013)

Dirty Dog said:


> Behavior like this *does* affect people. There are plenty of people who have terrible memories of klukkers.
> Do you think it's equally OK to dress up as Holmes and visit a theater? How about strapping on a fake bomb and going to visit a military base?
> 
> Wearing a KKK outfit (or allowing your child to do so) is deplorable.


Oh brother more phony outrage


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## arnisador (Nov 6, 2013)

ballen0351 said:


> Oh brother more phony outrage



I think there's nothing phony about it. It's outrageous behavior on the parents' part--very offensive.

It _is_ a fair question how far back in time you have to go before it's "OK" to do this. An Attila the Hun costume (if even recognized) is not likely to offend, but the KKK is much more recent--indeed, it still exists.


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## granfire (Nov 6, 2013)

Dirty Dog said:


> Behavior like this *does* affect people. There are plenty of people who have terrible memories of klukkers.
> Do you think it's equally OK to dress up as Holmes and visit a theater? How about strapping on a fake bomb and going to visit a military base?
> 
> Wearing a KKK outfit (or allowing your child to do so) is deplorable.



Many more people have clown phobias....nobody gets upset over clown costumes....


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## ballen0351 (Nov 6, 2013)

arnisador said:


> I think there's nothing phony about it. It's outrageous behavior on the parents' part--very offensive.
> 
> It _is_ a fair question how far back in time you have to go before it's "OK" to do this. An Attila the Hun costume (if even recognized) is not likely to offend, but the KKK is much more recent--indeed, it still exists.


Like I said Id love to live in your world then if this is Outrageous behavior.  Stupid parents sure, kids going to have issues when older sure, but outrageous...not so much


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## ballen0351 (Nov 6, 2013)

My 7 yr old and 4 yr old dressed as "Army Men" this year.  That included toy guns.  One house refused to give them candy because that found it "Outrageous"  that we would glorify murderers.  The old lady actually told me I should be ashamed of myself. I should have known better when I saw the "Bush committed war crimes" bumper sticker and all her Obama sticker.  It is what it is everyones going to be Outraged by something Ill reserve mine for real issues not kids costumes and poor parenting


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## arnisador (Nov 6, 2013)

We could all stand to be concerned about poor parenting.


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## Steve (Nov 6, 2013)

ballen0351 said:


> My 7 yr old and 4 yr old dressed as "Army Men" this year.  That included toy guns.  One house refused to give them candy because that found it "Outrageous"  that we would glorify murderers.  The old lady actually told me I should be ashamed of myself. I should have known better when I saw the "Bush committed war crimes" bumper sticker and all her Obama sticker.  It is what it is everyones going to be Outraged by something Ill reserve mine for real issues not kids costumes and poor parenting


It's perfectly fine for you to believe whatever you like.  But, that doesn't make it wrong for someone to hold an opinion that is different from your own.  You do understand this. Right?

It doesn't have to be interesting or important to you in order for it to be interesting or important to me.  Your contribution to this entire thread, which comprises at least 1 out of every 4 posts, is that you don't think this is an important topic.  We get it.  Noted. 

And, you'd be welcome to live in my world.  It's a pretty nice place here in rural South King County, Washington.  We did have a stir recently, which highlights the recent efforts on the part of the KKK to change their image.  They were distributing leaflets around here a few months ago that said, "Neighborhood Watch" on one side and "You can sleep well knowing that the UKA is awake!"    The leaflets were left on the porches and front stoops of homes late at night in a diverse, middle class neighborhood, in ziplock bags under large rocks.

The UKA is a faction of the KKK, and the language of the leaflet, is pretty ominous, particularly if you are a minority finding it on your porch in the morning.

I think that the increasingly polarizing and extremist behavior being promoted throughout the country, as evidenced by the recent, and very public, schism within the GOP, is creating an environment perfect for organizations like the KKK to revamp their image.  The mom's statement in the article posted in the OP indicates that she believes the KKK to be a somewhat benevolent organization.  I think that's a little alarming, particularly if her opinion is shared by a significant number of people.

But, here's the thing.  You don't have to agree.  In the scheme of things, I'm sure you get worked up about things that I don't care about.  It happens.


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## Steve (Nov 6, 2013)

arnisador said:


> We could all stand to be concerned about poor parenting.


And, I'm pretty sure ballen has contributed to threads on that very topic.  Maybe not.  Maybe he really doesn't care about parenting, but I'm almost positive we had a lengthy discussion in which he participated on parenting not too long ago.


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## crushing (Nov 6, 2013)

Steve said:


> And, I'm pretty sure ballen has contributed to threads on that very topic.  Maybe not.  Maybe he really doesn't care about parenting, but I'm almost positive we had a lengthy discussion in which he participated on parenting not too long ago.



I think it was pretty clear in this thread that he considers poor parenting as a form of job security for him as a cop.   That's what I was getting at, perhaps not effectively, with post #36 in this discussion.

On one hand, poor parenting is a real issue and will lead the children of these parents in to problems with the law, but then on the other hand, poor parenting is not a real issue.

:idunno:


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## ballen0351 (Nov 6, 2013)

Steve said:


> It's perfectly fine for you to believe whatever you like.  But, that doesn't make it wrong for someone to hold an opinion that is different from your own.  You do understand this. Right?


right back at you my friend


> It doesn't have to be interesting or important to you in order for it to be interesting or important to me.  Your contribution to this entire thread, which comprises at least 1 out of every 4 posts, is that you don't think this is an important topic.  We get it.  Noted.


would yo prefer I not respond?  You have asked me direct questions I have responded to them.  Thats kinda the point of a forum


> And, you'd be welcome to live in my world.  It's a pretty nice place here in rural South King County, Washington.  We did have a stir recently, which highlights the recent efforts on the part of the KKK to change their image.  They were distributing leaflets around here a few months ago that said, "Neighborhood Watch" on one side and "You can sleep well knowing that the UKA is awake!"    The leaflets were left on the porches and front stoops of homes late at night in a diverse, middle class neighborhood, in ziplock bags under large rocks.
> 
> The UKA is a faction of the KKK, and the language of the leaflet, is pretty ominous, particularly if you are a minority finding it on your porch in the morning.


I find that much more news worthy then some kids costume.


> I think that the increasingly polarizing and extremist behavior being promoted throughout the country, as evidenced by the recent, and very public, schism within the GOP, is creating an environment perfect for organizations like the KKK to revamp their image.  The mom's statement in the article posted in the OP indicates that she believes the KKK to be a somewhat benevolent organization.  I think that's a little alarming, particularly if her opinion is shared by a significant number of people.


See I dont get why that surprises you.  There are millions of people in white supremacist groups all over the country.  Maybe because I get briefings on them all the time, I know they are all over the place so I dont find their existence that shocking.  They are just another of the 1000s of extremist groups in the US.  I get briefings and updates on one group or another every day in my Dept. email.


> But, here's the thing.  You don't have to agree.  In the scheme of things, I'm sure you get worked up about things that I don't care about.  It happens.


perhaps I do but it takes alot to get me fired up.


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## ballen0351 (Nov 6, 2013)

arnisador said:


> We could all stand to be concerned about poor parenting.


So what you going to do about it?  You going to contact CPS in her home town and report her?  OR are you just going to pretend to be outraged on a forum and go eat a slice of Pizza and forget about it next week?


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## Dinkydoo (Nov 8, 2013)

billc said:


> Keep in mind what wearing a Star Wars Darth Vader  points out....Darth Vader, the movie character participated in planetary genocide...should kids be wearing his outfit?



There is a difference between dressing up as a fictional and non-fictional person....


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