S03.E28: School Segregation

[Athena]

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Main segment: School segregation in the United States
Segments: Renewed investigation into Hillary Clinton's emails

 

[Lantern7]

It's almost worth having Anthony Weiner tied into a Hillary mess just so John could break out the Carlos Danger dance. Almost.

I saw the video with the dog and the "life-sized" Gumby. The expression on that dog's face is priceless. Kudos to LWT for running the whole thing during the credits.

[Primetimer]

And it's happening in the last place you'd expect it to happen.

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[attica]

I have watched that Gumby Dog video way too many times already, but you can bet your ass I watched it with delight again during the credits. My favorite bit is Gumby Dog explaining to Black Dog that Gumby is his toy, and back off, thankyouverymuchomgI'msohappyIcan'tstandit!

As a person who went to very diverse schools in middle and high school, my anecdotal experience lines up with what the show discussed. I came out of it way better adjusted/prepared than my college-mates. Now, sure, college is a bit less diverse than high school on its face by virtue of not having students who aren't college-track (duh), but the amount of overall social timidity I encountered in the dorms was a downright shock to me at the time.

[ganesh]

I thought election day was actually in the constitution and it hasn't been changed because you needed an amendment. Figures, church. Why didn't they just have everyone vote after church then? You're right there.

I don't think moving it to Sunday would be the right solution because lots of people still work on Sundays. And others will whine about church. I think making it a federal holiday makes the most sense. 

I mean, if I'm getting paid hourly, and we're talking missing half the day, or having to basically pull an 11,12 hour day to vote. I can see how people just wouldn't bother. 

[M. Darcy]

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I mean, if I'm getting paid hourly, and we're talking missing half the day, or having to basically pull an 11,12 hour day to vote. I can see how people just wouldn't bother

That's why a few weeks of early voting is the best solution. If you can vote on weekends, you don't have to miss work and if you have plenty of time to do it, its easier to fit into schedules.

I actually knew that farmers were the reason for voting on Tuesday!  But I probably heard if from a tv show.  And, aw, he showed the entire Gumby video (which I have lost track of how many times I've watched it).  

[iMonrey]

I think John could have delved a bit more into the folly of using Obama as an example of how racism is over. To wit: that less than half the country voted for Obama, and the we still have the same percentage of people who think he's an Arab/Muslim/Kenyan/Not the real president now as we did eight years ago. I think at best you might be able to say we have fewer racists now than we did 100 years ago, and that's about it.

Also, we actually have an answer to this week's "Why is this still a thing?" The reason we still vote on Tuesdays - the reason that's still a thing - is Republicans. The same ones who try to pass restrictive voter ID laws, who try to limit early voting, and who gerrymander congressional districts. Any attempt to move voting day to a Saturday, or to make voting day a national holiday, would quickly be killed by Republicans. They know they can't win if too many people vote.

[atomationage]

"Baccardi, because there might be more fucking Clinton emails!"  I loved the picture too.

"farting in a crowded elevator just as you're stepping off of it."

"she's just a homies and a baggy pants away from dog whistle bingo"

Edited October 31, 2016 by atomationage
farting

[trow125]

Even if election day was a national holiday, it seems like it wouldn't help a great many lower income people -- i.e. the ones who work in nursing homes, restaurants & stores, etc. A lot of people don't even get Thanksgiving and Christmas off!

Re: school segregation, I attended a neighborhood public school when busing began in my community (basically meaning black students were bused in from other parts of town in order to make the student body more diverse). Within a few years the city's public school system was 80% black and Hispanic, despite the fact that the racial makeup of the city as a whole was over 60% white. A lot of white parents pulled their kids out of the public schools and put them into private schools (primarily Christian schools).

[cpcathy]

Those lines to vote made me sad, it really shouldn't be that way. I think election day should be a holiday, but not on a Monday, otherwise people would tend to take a three day weekend off. It's soooo important to vote, but I admit that on non-Presidential years I have come home from work and been too exhausted to go back out and vote.

[Calamity Jane]

When polling places were significantly reduced in my town is when I began voting by mail.  

[Hanahope]

why can't some districts break down into smaller wards?  My district has many small wards and I've never had to stand in line to vote, I walk right in. I vote first thing in the morning do I don't know if more come later.

[OneWhoLurks]

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Oliver featured a clip of White that was used in a 2014 PBS "Frontline" documentary called "Separate and Unequal," which covered the movement to create the city of St. George, as well as a separate school system in the southeastern part of the parish, which critics argued would hurt public schools and leave behind mostly poor and black children.

"Do you think that you have to bus children all over, bus them a long distance, so you can say you sit in a seat next to someone diverse, different from yourself?" White said in the PBS documentary clip that Oliver used. "The Justice Department achieved their goal, who can say we're not desegregated? We have an African-American president, we have an African-American mayor here in Baton Rouge, with majority white in the parish. We have been through all that."

Oliver took aim at that point of view.

 

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Asked to respond to the clip on the HBO show, White disagreed with the way it was used.

“John Oliver misconstrued my statement in that segment," he said in a statement. "We have taken steps in the right direction regarding the issue of race, but we still have a lot of work to do. We need to sit down and have these conversations, especially following the summer we have had in Baton Rouge.”

"My record speaks for itself when it comes to education," White went on to say. "I have fought for all students, white and minority, to have options when it comes to education. Whether the choices are charter schools, private schools or public schools, a child should never be trapped in a failing school. Every child deserves an equal opportunity at a quality education, regardless of their race or zip code.”

 

Mayoral candidate takes heat from John Oliver on HBO show about school segregation