"So let’s take a look at this as a case of competing rights. On one
side we have a student with a medical disability. One would think that
the Americans with Disabilities Act would allow this student to
participate to the fullest extent possible in pursuing his goals,
which is to teach in special education. To do so, he is supposed to
train in both elementary and secondary school settings. (The article
notes that Hurd had no such problems with Somali students at his
elementary school assignment.)

"On the other side, we have a student at Tech HS whose faith considers
dogs unclean and is asserting his right to education in an institution
without dogs. This not only affects student teachers; any student with
a sight or hearing disability may use a dog for assistance and might
want to also attend Tech HS.

"But when rights collide, as they did here, whose rights did they
choose to uphold first?"

http://hotair.com/archives/2008/05/1...out-of-school/

"Shame, shame on Technical High School for buckling under to thugs and
abandoning their responsibilities in such a cowardly manner."

Ditto.

--
Handsome "Jack" Morrison

The best commencement speech you'll never hear.
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/...821,full.story

Reality-based community comes out in support of religious extremism, provided it's the extremism
of the religious Left.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0508/10126.html

The top ten list of things envirinomentalists need to learn (pay attention, Bozoman!).
http://depletedcranium.com/?p=368

The nanny state, explained.
http://hotair.com/archives/2008/04/2...ate-explained/

The total witlessness of Obama apologists.
http://rightwingnuthouse.com/archive...ma-apologists/

Moment of Truth in Iraq: How a New 'Greatest Generation' of American Soldiers is Turning Defeat and Disaster
into Victory and Hope, by Michael Yon.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/pro...283155&s=books
http://www2.nysun.com/article/75405

A book that *every* American should read (and NYT #1 bestseller): Liberal Fascism, by Jonah Goldberg.
http://www.amazon.com/Liberal-Fascis.../dp/0385511841

"Handsome "Jack" Morrison" wrote in message
...
"So let's take a look at this as a case of competing rights. On one
side we have a student with a medical disability. One would think that
the Americans with Disabilities Act would allow this student to
participate to the fullest extent possible in pursuing his goals,
which is to teach in special education. To do so, he is supposed to
train in both elementary and secondary school settings. (The article
notes that Hurd had no such problems with Somali students at his
elementary school assignment.)

"On the other side, we have a student at Tech HS whose faith considers
dogs unclean and is asserting his right to education in an institution
without dogs. This not only affects student teachers; any student with
a sight or hearing disability may use a dog for assistance and might
want to also attend Tech HS.

"But when rights collide, as they did here, whose rights did they
choose to uphold first?"

http://hotair.com/archives/2008/05/1...out-of-school/

"Shame, shame on Technical High School for buckling under to thugs and
abandoning their responsibilities in such a cowardly manner."

Ditto.


Photo of Tyler Hurd and his dog.

http://www.sctimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll...105120058/1009

td

In article ,
tiny dancer wrote:
Photo of Tyler Hurd and his dog.

I always think it's nice when the Bigoted Idiot Club holds
open meetings! How's recruiting going?
--
Melinda Shore - Software longa, hardware brevis -

Prouder than ever to be a member of the reality-based community

On 12 May 2008 17:13:53 -0400, (Melinda Shore) wrote:

In article ,
tiny dancer wrote:
Photo of Tyler Hurd and his dog.

I always think it's nice when the Bigoted Idiot Club holds
open meetings! How's recruiting going?

Good thing it wasn't a Catholic student who did the threatening, eh?

Then you could become a Bigoted Idiot Club member yourself.

Wait 'til you get a load of the initiation ceremony.

spit

--
Handsome "Jack" Morrison

The best commencement speech you'll never hear.
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/...821,full.story

Reality-based community comes out in support of religious extremism, provided it's the extremism
of the religious Left.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0508/10126.html

The top ten list of things envirinomentalists need to learn (pay attention, Bozoman!).
http://depletedcranium.com/?p=368

The nanny state, explained.
http://hotair.com/archives/2008/04/2...ate-explained/

The total witlessness of Obama apologists.
http://rightwingnuthouse.com/archive...ma-apologists/

Moment of Truth in Iraq: How a New 'Greatest Generation' of American Soldiers is Turning Defeat and Disaster
into Victory and Hope, by Michael Yon.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/pro...283155&s=books
http://www2.nysun.com/article/75405

A book that *every* American should read (and NYT #1 bestseller): Liberal Fascism, by Jonah Goldberg.
http://www.amazon.com/Liberal-Fascis.../dp/0385511841

On Mon, 12 May 2008 17:07:12 -0400, "tiny dancer"
wrote:

[...]
http://hotair.com/archives/2008/05/1...out-of-school/

"Shame, shame on Technical High School for buckling under to thugs and
abandoning their responsibilities in such a cowardly manner."

Ditto.

Photo of Tyler Hurd and his dog.

http://www.sctimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll...105120058/1009

Never let it be said that fear isn't a powerful motivator.

Freakin' cowards.

spit

--
Handsome "Jack" Morrison

The best commencement speech you'll never hear.
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/...821,full.story

Reality-based community comes out in support of religious extremism, provided it's the extremism
of the religious Left.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0508/10126.html

The top ten list of things envirinomentalists need to learn (pay attention, Bozoman!).
http://depletedcranium.com/?p=368

The nanny state, explained.
http://hotair.com/archives/2008/04/2...ate-explained/

The total witlessness of Obama apologists.
http://rightwingnuthouse.com/archive...ma-apologists/

Moment of Truth in Iraq: How a New 'Greatest Generation' of American Soldiers is Turning Defeat and Disaster
into Victory and Hope, by Michael Yon.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/pro...283155&s=books
http://www2.nysun.com/article/75405

A book that *every* American should read (and NYT #1 bestseller): Liberal Fascism, by Jonah Goldberg.
http://www.amazon.com/Liberal-Fascis.../dp/0385511841

"Handsome "Jack" Morrison" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 12 May 2008 17:07:12 -0400, "tiny dancer"
wrote:

[...]
http://hotair.com/archives/2008/05/1...out-of-school/

"Shame, shame on Technical High School for buckling under to thugs and
abandoning their responsibilities in such a cowardly manner."

Ditto.

Photo of Tyler Hurd and his dog.

http://www.sctimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll...105120058/1009

Never let it be said that fear isn't a powerful motivator.

Freakin' cowards.


Gary Loch, who is the diversity coordinator for the district, said the
situation was an unfortunate case of miscommunication.

"I'm not quite sure where the breakdown comes into play here," Loch said.


Perhaps someone could *enlighten* him as to threats against service animals.
I thought service animals were permitted everywhere.

As an aside, that is a beautiful dog.

td

Handsome "Jack" Morrison wrote:
"So let’s take a look at this as a case of competing rights. On one
side we have a student with a medical disability. One would think that
the Americans with Disabilities Act would allow this student to
participate to the fullest extent possible in pursuing his goals,
which is to teach in special education. To do so, he is supposed to
train in both elementary and secondary school settings. (The article
notes that Hurd had no such problems with Somali students at his
elementary school assignment.)

"On the other side, we have a student at Tech HS whose faith considers
dogs unclean and is asserting his right to education in an institution
without dogs. This not only affects student teachers; any student with
a sight or hearing disability may use a dog for assistance and might
want to also attend Tech HS.

"But when rights collide, as they did here, whose rights did they
choose to uphold first?"

http://hotair.com/archives/2008/05/1...out-of-school/

"Shame, shame on Technical High School for buckling under to thugs and
abandoning their responsibilities in such a cowardly manner."

Ditto.

It looked to me like the Muslim student who took offense at the
dog was a jerk, just using his religion/culture as an excuse to
act like an asshole. Jerks come in all faiths and colors.

The above quote makes it look like the school officials sided
with the offending student and sent Hurd away. The article that
your link referenced said that Hurd was uncomfortable when he
heard that a student had threatened his dog and chose to leave;
it did not say that the school officials sided with the Muslim
student.

The school officials missed a good opportunity for teaching
negotiation, compromise, mutual understanding. No doubt they
didn't handle the situation well; they could have done a better
job preparing the students for the presence of a service dog and
helping them find ways to be in its presence without violating
their religious or cultural principles. But it does not appear
that they "[buckled] under to thugs" and sent Hurd packing.

But presenting the story as though the school officials simply
backed the Muslim student sounds like a distortion that was
intended to amplify the discord and confirm and increase
prejudice against the Somalis.

FurPaw

--
The plural of anecdote is not proof.

To reply, unleash the dogs

On Mon, 12 May 2008 18:08:48 -0400, "tiny dancer"
wrote:

[...]
Photo of Tyler Hurd and his dog.

http://www.sctimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll...105120058/1009

Never let it be said that fear isn't a powerful motivator.

Freakin' cowards.

Gary Loch, who is the diversity coordinator for the district, said the
situation was an unfortunate case of miscommunication.

"I'm not quite sure where the breakdown comes into play here," Loch said.

Yeah, I think the "breakdown" occurred right after the Muslim student
said "I'll get you, my pretty, and your little dog, too!"

Perhaps someone could *enlighten* him as to threats against service animals.

That would take cojones.

Unfortunately, people with cojones have become almost extinct.

The pussification of America is virtually a fait accompli.

I thought service animals were permitted everywhere.

Not for long.

As an aside, that is a beautiful dog.

But of course.

He's a Labrador retriever.

Heh.

--
Handsome "Jack" Morrison

The best commencement speech you'll never hear.
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/...821,full.story

Reality-based community comes out in support of religious extremism, provided it's the extremism
of the religious Left.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0508/10126.html

The top ten list of things envirinomentalists need to learn (pay attention, Bozoman!).
http://depletedcranium.com/?p=368

The nanny state, explained.
http://hotair.com/archives/2008/04/2...ate-explained/

The total witlessness of Obama apologists.
http://rightwingnuthouse.com/archive...ma-apologists/

Moment of Truth in Iraq: How a New 'Greatest Generation' of American Soldiers is Turning Defeat and Disaster
into Victory and Hope, by Michael Yon.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/pro...283155&s=books
http://www2.nysun.com/article/75405

A book that *every* American should read (and NYT #1 bestseller): Liberal Fascism, by Jonah Goldberg.
http://www.amazon.com/Liberal-Fascis.../dp/0385511841

In article ,
FurPaw wrote:
But presenting the story as though the school officials simply=20
backed the Muslim student sounds like a distortion that was=20
intended to amplify the discord and confirm and increase=20
prejudice against the Somalis.

You might think that something titled "Dhimmi Watch" might
be construed as such, eh? The person behind hotair.com is
primarily known for having written a book defending the US
throwing Japanese-Americans into internment camps during
WWII. Basically, Jack doesn't reference mainstream outlets,
but apparently relies on crazy-assed racist extremist
websites for his news.
--
Melinda Shore - Software longa, hardware brevis -

Prouder than ever to be a member of the reality-based community

On Mon, 12 May 2008 16:19:38 -0600, FurPaw
wrote:

[...]
"On the other side, we have a student at Tech HS whose faith considers
dogs unclean and is asserting his right to education in an institution
without dogs. This not only affects student teachers; any student with
a sight or hearing disability may use a dog for assistance and might
want to also attend Tech HS.

"But when rights collide, as they did here, whose rights did they
choose to uphold first?"

http://hotair.com/archives/2008/05/1...out-of-school/

"Shame, shame on Technical High School for buckling under to thugs and
abandoning their responsibilities in such a cowardly manner."

Ditto.

It looked to me like the Muslim student who took offense at the
dog was a jerk, just using his religion/culture as an excuse to
act like an asshole. Jerks come in all faiths and colors.

Yes, they do.

And I, unlike so many others, enjoy pointing out when those jerks
happen to be Muslims, too.

The above quote makes it look like the school officials sided
with the offending student and sent Hurd away. The article that
your link referenced said that Hurd was uncomfortable when he
heard that a student had threatened his dog and chose to leave;
it did not say that the school officials sided with the Muslim
student.

I think there's more to the so-called "misunderstanding" than school
officials are willing to admit to.

The school officials missed a good opportunity for teaching
negotiation, compromise, mutual understanding.

Yes, they certainly did.

No doubt they
didn't handle the situation well; they could have done a better
job preparing the students for the presence of a service dog and
helping them find ways to be in its presence without violating
their religious or cultural principles. But it does not appear
that they "[buckled] under to thugs" and sent Hurd packing.

I think the answer lies somewhere in the following statement:
"Espe said the school's investigation determined the student did not
make a direct threat."

here's how the investigation probably went:

"Mr. Somali student, did you threaten to kill Mr Hurd's dog."

"No, I didn't."

Case closed.

But presenting the story as though the school officials simply
backed the Muslim student sounds like a distortion that was
intended to amplify the discord and confirm and increase
prejudice against the Somalis.

You're entitled to your opinion, of course, but I think the school did
exactly that, and then when the story became pubic, they tried to
cover their asses, like typical bureaucrats are wont to do.

Do I blame all Muslims for this?

Of course not.

Many of them (according to Hurd) were quite friendly towards the dog
(even though they still refused to touch the dog with their bare
hands, which is their right).

But I choose to believe Hurd here.

And that the school did nothing about it.

YMMV.

--
Handsome "Jack" Morrison

The best commencement speech you'll never hear.
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/...821,full.story

Reality-based community comes out in support of religious extremism, provided it's the extremism
of the religious Left.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0508/10126.html

The top ten list of things envirinomentalists need to learn (pay attention, Bozoman!).
http://depletedcranium.com/?p=368

The nanny state, explained.
http://hotair.com/archives/2008/04/2...ate-explained/

The total witlessness of Obama apologists.
http://rightwingnuthouse.com/archive...ma-apologists/

Moment of Truth in Iraq: How a New 'Greatest Generation' of American Soldiers is Turning Defeat and Disaster
into Victory and Hope, by Michael Yon.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/pro...283155&s=books
http://www2.nysun.com/article/75405

A book that *every* American should read (and NYT #1 bestseller): Liberal Fascism, by Jonah Goldberg.
http://www.amazon.com/Liberal-Fascis.../dp/0385511841