BoneyFinger
09-12-2016, 04:18 AM
http://www.beaumontenterprise.com/opinions/editorials/article/EDITORIAL-Bridge-City-WO-S-handled-mess-well-9213785.php
When two Bridge City football players forwarded an offensive group text to a player on West-Orange Stark's team, folks in Bridge City could have adopted a familiar stance.
They could have claimed that the text wasn't offensive. (It was.)
They could have said it was no big deal because the senders were "just kids." (They're still responsible for their behavior.)
They could have complained about "political correctness" again. (Racism is still racism.)
Fortunately, school officials and ordinary people in Bridge City didn't cop out. They stepped up, acknowledged the error and said they were sorry it happened.
Bridge City athletic director Dwayne Dubois apologized for the incident on social media Thursday morning. Bridge City superintendent Todd Lintzen disciplined the students involved. He quickly contacted his counterpart, West Orange-Cove ISD Superintendent Rickie Harris. The men discussed how to prevent a bad situation from getting worse.
Even better was the response by ordinary people in Bridge City. They didn't retreat into denial or defensiveness. They acknowledged the hurt that had come from their community and reached out to people in the WO-S district. They sent baked good, cards and hand-written notes expressing their regrets.
The outreach worked because people in WO-S were open to it. They didn't put up walls or hurl back insults. They accepted the cookies, the notes and the heart-felt apologies.
Looking back on the mess, that's just about the best possible outcome. Students in both districts got a real education on something they will need to deal with for the rest of their lives. An incident that could have festered and spawned retaliation was basically put to rest by game time.
There's a lesson here for everyone in the region. When something like this happens again - and it will - don't fan the flames. Put them out - and don't dawdle. Leaders should lead. Adults should act like adults.
They way this incident was defused is too often the exception. It should be the norm.
When two Bridge City football players forwarded an offensive group text to a player on West-Orange Stark's team, folks in Bridge City could have adopted a familiar stance.
They could have claimed that the text wasn't offensive. (It was.)
They could have said it was no big deal because the senders were "just kids." (They're still responsible for their behavior.)
They could have complained about "political correctness" again. (Racism is still racism.)
Fortunately, school officials and ordinary people in Bridge City didn't cop out. They stepped up, acknowledged the error and said they were sorry it happened.
Bridge City athletic director Dwayne Dubois apologized for the incident on social media Thursday morning. Bridge City superintendent Todd Lintzen disciplined the students involved. He quickly contacted his counterpart, West Orange-Cove ISD Superintendent Rickie Harris. The men discussed how to prevent a bad situation from getting worse.
Even better was the response by ordinary people in Bridge City. They didn't retreat into denial or defensiveness. They acknowledged the hurt that had come from their community and reached out to people in the WO-S district. They sent baked good, cards and hand-written notes expressing their regrets.
The outreach worked because people in WO-S were open to it. They didn't put up walls or hurl back insults. They accepted the cookies, the notes and the heart-felt apologies.
Looking back on the mess, that's just about the best possible outcome. Students in both districts got a real education on something they will need to deal with for the rest of their lives. An incident that could have festered and spawned retaliation was basically put to rest by game time.
There's a lesson here for everyone in the region. When something like this happens again - and it will - don't fan the flames. Put them out - and don't dawdle. Leaders should lead. Adults should act like adults.
They way this incident was defused is too often the exception. It should be the norm.