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Stuck In Traffic
"Current Events, Cultural Phenomena, True Stories"
Issue #22 - January, 1997
Contents:
How To Defent Ebonics
In addition to the comic side of the ebonics controversy,
there's a darker, more tragic side to the story. But there's also
a way that ebonics can be defended.
Codependency Rocks!
A review "Host Body," the debut album from the Los Angeles rock
band Leather Hyman.
Charlie
David Price on the value of helping out those in need.
====================================
Current Events
How To Defend Ebonics
You know the drill. Ebonics, or "Pan-African Communication
Behaviors" or "African Language Systems" for those of you inclined
to scholarly pursuits, is, in theory at least, a language that has
no spelling rules, double negatives, no plurals, no conjugation of
the word "to be," and legitimizes profanity as a new class of word
right along with adjectives, verbs, and nouns. Mention the word
"ebonics" these days and everyone within earshot is likely to
either break out in fits of uncontrollable laughter. But amid all
the guffaws about ebonics, it's important for us to notice that
the funny thing about ebonics is not that people actually speak
this way. Well, OK, it's a little bit funny that people speak
this way; but we've been poking fun at them for decades. What
makes ebonics so excruciatingly funny is that there are people,
serious people, supposedly scholarly people, who claim that
ebonics is a language unto itself. In other words, the joke is on
the education establishment in general and the Oakland Unified
School District in particular since they are the ones that have
officially declared that ebonics is a language independent of
English, at least with regard to official school policy.
But despite the fact that the media have consistently focused on
the debate about whether ebonics is a "vernacular," a "dialect,"
or a "language." The ebonics controversy is really all about
money, failing government schools, and a dangerous emerging trend
in the civil rights movement.
It's About Money:
But to dissect the ebonics controversy, one must first be clear
about what it isn't. No is claiming that students should actually
be taught ebonics. No one, particularly not the Oakland Unified
School District (OUSD), is suggesting that ebonics is an
acceptable means of communication in the United States. The OUSD
has repeatedly stated that they are fully committed to ensuring
that their students become proficient in what they call Standard
American English.
Nor is anyone claiming that ebonics be treated like other "second"
languages in school. In many school districts, students for whom
English is a "second" language are often taught core subjects in
their native tongues. So, for example, in the southern regions of
Texas, where there are large numbers of Hispanic students who
primarily speak Spanish, a school system might choose to set up
Spanish speaking classes in subjects like math and science, etc.
These students would also attend "English as a Second Language"
(ESL) classes also, in order for them to become more proficient in
English. But no one not even the OUSD, is suggesting that a
school system set up an Ebonics speaking class to teach Ebonics
speaking students subjects like math.
Ebonics is about money. Potentially big amounts of money from
both the federal government and the state of California. When the
ebonics controversy erupted, the OUSD published a spin control
document of epic proportions called "Synopsis of the Adopted
Policy on Standard American English." In this document, the OUSD
attempts to sound like they aren't going after money by stating
that, "Misconceptions [about the policy] include .... OUSD is
only attempting to pilfer federal and state funds." The operative
word here is "pilfer," which means to steal. No, the OUSD is not
attempting to steal funds from the state of California and the
federal government. But classifying ebonics as a separate
language would, in fact, be a first step in attempting to
_qualify_ for funds from the state of California. They're trying
to get the money legally, not illegally.
The same OUSD adopted policy recommendation that classified
ebonics as a language, also recommended that OUSD participate in
an educational program sponsored by the State of California known
as the Standard English Proficiency (SEP) program which
specifically "promotes English language development for
African-American students." S.E.P. teachers "respect and
acknowledge the history, culture, and language that the
African-American student brings to school." And OUSD
superintendent Carolyn Getridge, as reported in the San Francisco
Chronicle, said that the intent of the policy was to show that
ebonics speaking students are not wrong for speaking the way they
do. Who would better qualify for S.E.P funding than a school
district that embraces ebonics as a legitimate language and
explicitly states that they believe their ebonics speaking
students are not speaking incorrectly? Even a high school dropout
could see what the OUSD was trying to do.
But thanks to the San Francisco Chronicle, the OUSD scheme erupted
into a publicity nightmare that ruined any chances it had for
qualifying for government money via ebonics. Within two days
after the story broke, the federal Department of Education issued
statements indicating that ebonics would not be acceptable
justification for receiving federal finds, particularly ESL funds.
And the state of California's department of Education issued
warnings that it opposed ebonics "if it becomes a way of lowering
standards for those students." Even Jesse Jackson, the tireless
champion of African-American targeted government programs, had to
go on national TV. and oppose what he called "teaching down" to
African-American students.
It's About More Than Just Money:
If the ebonics controversy were just a thinly veiled attempt at
qualifying for government money that went awry, we could all have
a good laugh and then move on to the next hot story of the day.
But the ebonics controversy is also the latest example of how the
civil rights activists are totally reversing the direction they
are leading the civil rights movement in.
In 1979, there was a landmark court case in Ann Arbor, Michigan
that set the precedent for how school districts were required to
handle African-American students that did not speak standard
English. Geneva Smitherman, and African-American, was placed in a
special education class when she was in the 5th grade because she
spoke "black English." But civil rights activists of the day cried
foul, opposing the policy. And the courts ruled in their favor
stating that schools could not put African American students in
separate classes just because they spoke nonstandard English.
Instead, teachers were required to integrate the nonstandard
English speaking African-American students into their normal
classes and forced teachers to learn how to understand what these
students were saying.
The court ruling was consistent with the other integration goals
of the civil rights movement. Schools could not be segregated due
simply to the location of schools. Segregation could not be done
on a classroom by classroom basis within a school. And, with this
ruling, schools could not segregate African-Americans simply on
the basis of their nonstandard English. And, for the most part,
the nation has, over time, embraced the goals of having a fully
racially integrated society.
After hearing about the OUSD's policy, Geneva Smitherman was
quoted by the San Francisco Chronicle as saying, "Oakland is to be
congratulated and celebrated for its vision and its wisdom."
Nonetheless, the OUSD policy represents an abandonment of the
civil rights movement's integrationist ideals for a to a
separatist, African-American centered approach.
OUSD's spin control document stated that the adopted ebonics
policy was the result of recommendations from a "broad based Task
Force." But the task force commissioned by the school board to
come up with these recommendations is the African American Task
Force. Presumably racial diversity is not required in order to be
"broad-based" in Oakland. But regardless of the ethnic make up of
the task force, it is clear that the task force believes in
promoting the education of African-American students at literally
any cost. In the recommendation overview that the African
American Task Force made to the OUSD school board, they
recommended that financial commitments be made during the current
fiscal year, that "all categorical and general funding be used to
ensure access to and mastery of the core curriculum," and that
"all resources of the district shall be applied and used to ensure
that these recommendations are implemented." In other words, they
are telling the OUSD to drop everything else they are doing and
make their recommendations, as the school district's top priority.
It's not until you read the details of the Task Force's
recommendations that you get to the part about recognizing ebonics
as a language. And of course, the other key recommendation that
the African American Task Force makes is that they be "retained in
order to assist OUSD in developing work plans and implementation
strategies."
While it may be amusing to contemplate the silliness of
recognizing ebonics as a language, the Task Force's
recommendations, and the OUSD's adoption of those policies,
represents a disturbing shift away from traditional integration
goals to a specifically African-American based agenda and
reinforces a growing perception among the general public that
African-American civic leaders arbitrarily shift between favoring
integration and favoring separatism depending on the political
expediency of the moment.
How To Defend Ebonics:
But the motives and strategies of the Task Force would have never
come into question and the whole ebonics controversy would have
never happened if it weren't for one tiny, troubling fact that
school systems are famous for ignoring when devising new education
programs. There isn't a shred of evidence that indicates
African-American students will have an easier time learning
standard English if ebonics is treated as a separate language.
The OUSD would like for you to believe otherwise. They state that
"this language has been studied for several decades" and they
offer a bibliography of 20 citations on the study of ebonics and
related topics. But OUSD fails to cite even a single source to
justify the educational value of treating ebonics as a language.
Instead they have issued statements saying that their policy is
"building on the language skills that African-American students
bring to the classroom without devaluing students and their
diversity" and that "we have directly connected English language
proficiency to student achievement."
Of course, no learning environment should ever belittle or
"devalue" its students. And the connection between English
language proficiency and success in other subjects has been well
researched and documented over the years.
But that's not the issue raised by the ebonics controversy. The
question at issue is, "Will treating ebonics as a separate
language do anything to help students learn standard English?"
California's state school's Superintendent, Delaine Eastin, was
quoted by the San Francisco Chronicle as saying, "We are not aware
of any research that indicates that this kind of program will help
address the language and achievement problems of African American
students." Federal officials at the Department of Education have
made similar remarks.
If the OUSD wants to classify ebonics as a separate language,
fine. Let them. But they should do so within the framework of
proving that it is effective, not simply as a ploy to get more
government money. They should put together a scientifically sound
experimental program, complete with a control group and prove to
the nation that this approach to educating struggling
African-American students really works. If they would do this,
the nation would thank them for their initiative and vision rather
than ridiculing them.
As the OUSD policy stands, it deserves all the ridicule it's been
getting precisely because there's no proof whatsoever that it will
help and precisely because it smacks of political expediency that
runs contrary to the integrationist goals that the entire nation
has been struggling toward since the dawn of the Civil Rights
movement.
====================================
Cultural Phenomena
Codependency Rocks!
Can codependent, dysfunctional relationships serve as a theme for
a band's debut album? The Los Angeles based modern rock band
Leather Hyman are betting on it with their first nationally
distributed album, Host Body. It's a tall order to fill. The key
to the success of any album is creating music that people will
want to listen to over and over again, so it would seem that Host
Body's theme dooms it from the start. Who wants to listen to
lyrics about bad relationships over and over? But Leather Hyman's
mastery of several rock sub-genres, their own experimental sounds,
combined with an intellectual, almost literary approach to their
lyrics, transforms Host Body from a public therapy session into
something the band aptly describes as "a cerebral and cathartic
experience."
You can tell immediately from looking at the cover art that Host
Body is nothing like the typical debut album from a rock band.
Usually a band's first CD has a picture of the band looking as
cool as they possibly can. But Leather Hyman chose to forgo the
usual narcissism. Instead we see a painting of a emaciated man
being preyed upon my a man sized parasite. The back cover art
shows a woman breast feeding a baby sized tick. Combine these
images with the CD's title, Host Body, and it's obvious this album
isn't going to be filled with light, sunny, rock.
The CD's title track, "Host Body", reinforces the parasite theme
with a heavy metal tribute to paramecia living on our eyeballs and
in our blood stream. Through the heavy guitar power chords and a
thundering base, the singer belts out, "They serve me, I serve
them/ These tiny one celled creatures are my symbiotic friends./
It makes me think that there's a cosmic plan/ To unite the fates
of paramecia and man." But this album isn't really a tribute to
parasites. They serve as a metaphor that keeps reappearing
throughout the album. "Scabs" compares ending relationship to an
apparent delousing, "Scratch the scab that covers over/ All my
thoughts and feelings for you./ Lick the blood it tastes of iron
and lye." From "Rake," "All these blankets made a cocoon/ And you
know what that means/ To fly in your sleep/ To see the world from
nowhere/ In a dark room to wake with no wings." And lest we think
that all the blame lies on the parasitical side of the
relationship, there's "Trunk", which shows us that the "host" of
the relationship is equally to blame, "Do you remember when you
had no mouth?/ I liked you better then./ You lay at my feet,
silent and still./ I liked you better then." In "Frank," co-lead
vocalist Heather Lockie sings of a boyfriend who's ashamed of his
attraction to her, "You loved me but never would/ Tell all the
world" and she recommends, in keeping with the lover-as-parasite
metaphor, "Antigen for character: `Follow all directions wisely'
will cure your allergy." But the fullest expression of these
dysfunctional relationships comes from the haunting "Girlfriend"
in which Heather sings, "You think I'm your girlfriend/ You think
you've got a chance/ You try til it's pathetic./ You won't leave
when I ask."
So who are these folks? What's with the attitude? Is this
another cartoonish Riot Grrrl band? Are they trying to top Pink
Floyd's hopeless fatalism? With all the downer lyrics about bad
relationships with abusive, manipulative significant others, you
might think so. Certainly with a name like "Leather Hyman",
(despite the fact that it's Hyman with an "a") you would get the
impression that this band's all about sexual frustration,
unfulfilled love, and the degeneration of society. But when asked
what the name of their band means, Leather Hyman simply responded,
"It's a Spoonerism."
A spoonerism, an unintentional interchange of sounds, usually the
initial sounds, in two words. So the band's name is a play on
words. This is key to understanding this band. Underneath all
the angst and downtrodden attitude, Leather Hyman is a band that's
smart enough to effectively use a play on words and write lyrics
that develop an extended metaphor throughout the album. There
aren't many bands out there that could use the word "antigen" in a
lyric to make a point. Leather Hyman shows that intellect doesn't
have to be the death of modern rock.
But lyrics don't mean squat if the music's no good. Leather Hyman
doesn't have to worry. From the high energy drive of the album's
opening track, "Million Dollar World" to the closing power chords
in "Host Body," it's obvious that Leather Hyman is as accomplished
in music as they are with their lyrics.
Leather Hyman is a true ensemble band; they know how to put layers
and layers of sound together to create a mood. On "Pussy" and
"Away", Heather Lockie plays a viola in spots where you would
normally expect to hear a lead guitar riff, creating an almost
operatic mood that harkens back to the glam-rock tradition of
yesteryear. And while many bands hide their lack of musicianship
behind a wall of noise and distortion, Leather Hyman is not afraid
to slow down and simplify like they do in "Frank" and their cover
of Lou Reed's "All Tomorrow's Parties" by weaving sounds around
Heather Lockie's dreamy, ethereal voice. But the best expression
of Leather Hyman's big, dramatic, ensemble sound is in the
haunting "Girlfriend."
Even on the tracks that have a more traditional rock format,
Leather Hyman is able to add their own unique elements. For
example, "Steve McQueen" has drums and keyboard parts that sound
psychedelic, like something you might hear on a Doors album, but
combined with the high energy tempo and heavy guitar sound. The
guitar work in "Rake" brings in a 70's funk sound but adds melodic
lines from a viola and hi-tech synth effects to give it a unique
feel. But Leather Hyman really puts it all together on "Ritalin,"
combining Heather's voice, a driving tempo, surfer rock inspired
guitar work and drums, and ambient effects to create a track that
sounds like it could be the theme music from a Quentin Tarantino
movie. Like all the best rock, "Ritalin" is best enjoyed by
playing it as loud as possible while driving down the interstate
way, way too fast.
Not only is "Host Body" a cerebral and cathartic experience,
Leather Hyman has created an CD that dares to be literary and
musically inventive while remaining true to its hard hitting rock
and roll roots.
"Host Body" by Leather Hyman is produced by Frozen Hound
Recordings and distributed nationally through Navarre. Leather
Hyman has a web site at http://www.leatherhyman.com/
====================================
True Story
Charlie
by David Price
When I was in high school there was a student whose name was
Charles Dowdy. He was 26 years old, yet a sophomore in high
school. He was in a lot of the same classes I was.
He was no Forrest Gump; he had a quick mind and a ready wit. But
the mind and wit were housed in one of only 3 parts of his body
that were normal size. Besides his head, there was his left hand
and his, er, -well, let's just say he had a normal adult sex
drive.
His arms and legs were stunted and rather grotesquely twisted, and
from neck to toe he had the body of a 3-year-old. He was
permanently confined, of course, to a wheelchair. He'd lost all
that time from school simply because he'd spent so much time in
hospitals, but he was BY-GOD-DETERMINED to get his diploma.
He worked hard, but had little help. All the kids shunned him.
He couldn't enroll in any of the classes on the second floor,
because there was no elevator, and nobody he could rely on to haul
him up and down the steps.
And his brother had to pay taxi fare to and from school every day
because that was the only way he could get there. The brother,
his guardian, was a hard-working, up-and-coming pharmacist, and
worked about 12 hours a day.
Charlie also needed academic help; he'd gotten as far as he had in
part because previous teachers had passed him to higher grades
solely out of pity. He was game, but unprepared.
I have to admit to being one of those who shunned him, just
because I had no idea how to deal with him. I happened to mention
him to my father one night - laid out the whole story. I was
somewhat distressed that no one would help him. My father said,
"What have YOU done to help him"?
"Er - nothing, really".
Dad grabbed me off the sofa by my left arm, kicked me in the butt,
and said "Well, get the hell around there and do your homework
with him. And you've got a damned car - take him to school". He
only lived just around the circle from us. Maybe 300 yards.
I did those things. And a lot more. I helped him wherever he
needed to go at school (it was a struggle getting his wheelchair
up and down those steps). I took him to the downtown library. We
started hanging out at Shoney's restaurant over coffee, sometimes
for hours at a time. We went to movies. We went to malls. I
tried to give him the normal life experiences that the rest of us
took for granted.
I didn't know what to expect in the way of reaction from the other
kids, but I feared that I would be shunned myself.
It soon developed that a small group of them would follow us
around, and then they started helping him carry his books, and
help us up and down the stairs. We finally worked out a system
for the stairs where I would pick him up and carry him in my arms,
while someone else carried his books and a third folded up his
wheelchair and carried it.
I made some pretty close friendships that way.
He was a real scamp, too, and it took an awful long time for me to
catch on to a running practical joke he played on me. My car was
a 1941 Plymouth 2-door sedan that had a cavernous passenger
compartment, and fairly high windows. When Charlie was sitting on
the seat, he was invisible to anyone outside the car, except when
he raised his left hand to flick cigarette ashes out the window.
He gradually learned all my buttons, and as we rode around town,
he'd push them all and goad me into an argument. We'd fight like
brothers. And I noticed that he smoked more when we were in the
car than at any other time.
It took months for me to finally say, "Look, every time we get in
the car, you pick a fight. And you smoke like a fiend. What the
Hell's going on"? He broke up into a cackling fit of laughter
that turned his face a brilliant red and almost choked him. Then
he finally caught his breath.
"Don't you know by now? Nobody can see I'm here. It looks like
you're all by yourself. And you're sitting there arguing at the
top of your lungs. The drivers around you must think you're crazy
as Hell"!
"And then there's my hand that appears out of nowhere every time
there's a car in the right lane. What do you think they think"?
The little bastard. The next time we went to Shoney's we
"borrowed" one of their child's booster seats (under the
benevolent eye of the manager) and from then on Charlie was
visible and the booster seat was a permanent part of the optional
equipment in my car.
It was, over those 2-3 years, a lot of effort. What did I get in
return? A lot of friendship and admiration. But most important,
the honor of wheeling Charlie onstage to receive his diploma at
our graduation. He had made -earned - straight A's our senior
year.
About the Author
David Price (definitely NOT the ex-politician of the same name) is
a Tar Heel who makes his home in a cow pasture near Commerce,
Georgia. He lives with 1 ancient computer, 1 ancient car, 1
ancient pickup truck, 1 not-so-ancient wife, 3 dogs, and an
unpredictable but unwieldy number of cats. He makes his living as
a radio announcer in a market about the size of the average
thumbnail, and is writing a book about his first love: Eastern
Airlines.
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About Stuck In Traffic
Stuck In Traffic is a monthly magazine dedicated to evaluating
current events, examining cultural phenomena, and sharing true
stories.
Why "Stuck In Traffic"?
Because getting stuck in traffic is good for you. It's an
opportunity to think, ponder, and reflect on all things, from the
personal to the global. As Robert Pirsig wrote in _Zen and the
Art of Motorcycle Maintenance_, "Let's consider a reevaluation of
the situation in which we assume that the stuckness now occurring,
the zero of consciousness, isn't the worst of all possible
situations, but the best possible situation you could be in.
After all, it's exactly this stuckness that Zen Buddhists go to so
much trouble to induce...."
Submissions:
Submissions to Stuck In Traffic are always welcome. If you have
something on your mind or a personal story you'd like to share,
please do. You don't have to be a great writer to be published
here, just sincere.
Contact Information:
All queries, submissions, subscription requests, comments, and
hate-mail about Stuck In Traffic should be sent to Calvin Stacy
Powers preferably via E-mail (powers@interpath.com) or by mail
(2012 Talloway Drive, Cary, NC USA 27511).
Copyright Notice:
Stuck In Traffic is published and copyrighted by Calvin Stacy
Powers who reserves all rights. Individual articles are
copyrighted by their respective authors. Unsigned articles are
authored by Calvin Stacy Powers.
Permission is granted to redistribute and republish Stuck In
Traffic for noncommercial purposes as long as it is redistributed
as a whole, in its entirety, including this copyright notice. For
permission to republish an individual article, contact the author.
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