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Post by wenonah4th on Aug 26, 2009 13:25:27 GMT -5
Maybe some minor characters could have done something to the house. The BSC girls were too wholesome to play that kind of trick.
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starlett2010
Junior Sitter
It's been YEARS but I'm back!!!! :)
Posts: 696
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Post by starlett2010 on Aug 26, 2009 16:24:00 GMT -5
I really wish the girls had of acted more like some 13 year olds might have and egged the house, or left "Racist bigots" on a banner or sprayed onto their driveway. That woman really needed a taste of public humiliation and strong hate directed her way. I have to disagree. I'm glad nothing like that happened because it gives the wrong message, IMO. Like, it's wrong if racists write obscenities or burn a cross on a lawn, but it's okay if people do those things to the racists. Now, I'm not in any way supporting racism or anything, I just think that the mentality of "fighting fire with fire" is hypocritical.
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Post by sugarandspicexx on Aug 27, 2009 2:36:29 GMT -5
Depending on the person and circumstances, giving someone somewhat of a taste of their own medicine can get a message across. Although, if the retaliation then just continues backwards and forwards, which there is usually definate potential for then yes I can see where it becomes stupid.
I guess I can be angry person who will become rather nasty when my buttons are pushed the wrong way and my natural instinct in this situation would be to try and make her feel something about the way she is isn't ok in the eyes of others by having her humiliated.
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starlett2010
Junior Sitter
It's been YEARS but I'm back!!!! :)
Posts: 696
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Post by starlett2010 on Aug 27, 2009 3:47:08 GMT -5
Depending on the person and circumstances, giving someone somewhat of a taste of their own medicine can get a message across. Although, if the retaliation then just continues backwards and forwards, which there is usually definate potential for then yes I can see where it becomes stupid. I guess I can be angry person who will become rather nasty when my buttons are pushed the wrong way and my natural instinct in this situation would be to try and make her feel something about the way she is isn't ok in the eyes of others by having her humiliated. I see your point and I definitely know some people who really deserve to have a rude awakening, but in the case of racist people, I don't think that's the case. Racism is like a belief system; you have to undo the damage that misinformation, propaganda and hate have created. Racism is learned, much like the Lowell kids learned it from their mother, Mrs. Lowell also learned her beliefs from somewhere. I highly doubt that one instance would truly change someone from being racist. For example, had someone vandalized Mrs. Lowell's house, she probably would be upset, but would just think it was some group that she was prejudiced against. It would certainly add fuel to her fire. I don't think she would have been humiliated, rather, I think she would be furious and disgusted by "those" people. For the Lowells to truly understand that their way of thinking isn't logical, they would all have to be educated. Like others have said, hopefully the Lowell kids will have learned this in school later on in life. *Whew!* I am spending way too much time thinking about the fictional racist Lowells!
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Post by morbiddadestiny on Apr 14, 2010 12:14:26 GMT -5
Years ago at high school, my English teacher gave us an article from the newspaper about two young girls from the US and her mother. She was extremely anti semetic mostly from memory and the girls were taught to sing and dance these horrific hateful songs that were drilled into them. I remembered them immediately as soon as I read this book and could easily picture Mrs Lowell and her kids as similar. oh geez, were they called "prussian blue"?
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oldhickory
Sitting For The Arnolds
Heather Loves Boys and Gym
Posts: 3,234
Member is Online
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Post by oldhickory on Apr 14, 2010 14:28:00 GMT -5
prussian blue? it's sad but i know who you're talking about. the worst part (and this goes for the lowells too) is that the parents aren't doing anything illegal so nobody has the right to say anything. i'm technically mixed -- half irish/swiss and and half filipino -- so in my life i've faced discrimination from BOTH sides. i've been told that i can't identify as one thing or the other since i'm not 100% filipino, or irish, or swiss. i wonder what the lowells would have thought of someone who is biracial. i'm sure that in this case being half white wouldn't round up.
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starrynight
Sitting For The Kuhns
The Royal Diner of Pizza Express
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Post by starrynight on Apr 14, 2010 15:41:48 GMT -5
The Lowells would probably think that unless you're ALL white, you're NOT white.
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Post by candykane on Apr 16, 2010 10:42:06 GMT -5
^I agree. It's kind of like how many people consider Barack Obama to be ALL black, when he's biracial.
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Post by anzuhana on Jul 7, 2010 20:50:05 GMT -5
I hate Mrs. Lowell. I wish that the BSC would've told her off.
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Post by wenonah4th on Jul 13, 2010 13:38:51 GMT -5
What do ou think Rioko would have done if she'd been really aware of the Lowells?
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Post by anzuhana on Jul 13, 2010 13:48:16 GMT -5
^ Right now, apart from comforting Claudia about what happened or not letting Claudia sit for them again (even if it was unlikely), I don't know what Rioko would've done if she had been really aware of the Lowells.
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Post by zoar3 on Jul 13, 2010 15:16:07 GMT -5
^If the Lowells had remained regular or even semi regular clients and/or if Mrs. Lowell slipped one day and in person made a racist remark to a BSC Member, that person's parent's probably would have done something. The one thing the book missed was when Mrs. Lowell requested "A Blonde, blue-eyes Sitter," Shannon's name was not brought up as a possible Sitter.
I am glad a self righteous demonstration of sorts was not made, given the way Ann was with Dawn, for this, even though totally different topic, the point may have gotten lost along the way. I did wish, however for a better, fuller ending.
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Post by wenonah4th on Jul 14, 2010 8:21:18 GMT -5
Shannon wasn't as involved in the club at this point as she is later.
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Post by zoar3 on Jul 14, 2010 11:20:23 GMT -5
That's true, but she was a possibility. Although since her own parents were arguing and her mom worked, Mrs. Lowell probably would not have liked her either!
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alula
Sitter-In-Training
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Post by alula on Jul 14, 2010 23:44:58 GMT -5
I admit, one of the things I wondered when I first read it was how the Lowell kids laugh hysterically just seeing an Asian kid on TV when Mary Anne sits. . .did that mean they'd never been to the library (where they might have seen Mrs. Kishi)? And I could never decide if that was supposed to be a meta-statement, like "racists don't go to LIBRARIES because if they read nice books like this one they'd know better" or (more likely) Ann couldn't figure out how to quickly depict racists except in the most broadly-drawn blatant way possible.
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