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To: MikeH who wrote (166)	11/22/1999 9:24:00 AM
From: Null Dog Ago	Respond to of 247

Yes.

To: MikeH who wrote (166)	11/22/1999 3:05:00 PM
From: Frederic Conrad	Respond to of 247

This is a letter written to a friend of mine and I thought I would share it with you... interesting reading. Pat Eckerty wrote: "This text was sent by a French teacher from Decatur and forwarded to us last week by a friend who has been a Decatur resident. Since this writing, the situation has escalated and more people from the Rainbow Coalition and the NAACP have been bused in to march in protest." The French teacher from Decatur wrote: "I thought some of you would be interested in the facts. This was sent to me by a colleague. It was written by an Eisenhower English teacher whom I respect, Jeanette" The following was written by the Eisenhower English teacher: For the second day, school at all of the Decatur High Schools has been canceled. At one of the football games at Eisenhower, there was a horrible fight. It was gang, it was vicious, it was dangerous, and it involved innocent people getting hurt before it was all over and done. WAND (our local television station) happened to be there filming the game when the fight occurred. They turned their cameras from the game to the fight so the fight is on tape. After viewing the tape, the school board expelled all of the students involved for two years. That is, for two years none of those students could attend any school within district # 61. The punishment fit the crime and was deserved. Betsy Stockard, a black city council member, at first supported the boys and urged the board to reinstate the boys; then, she saw the tape. (All of the students who, were involved in the fight, are black.) She immediately changed her mind and went public with a statement saying she had seen the tape and talked with some of the people who were there, and now stands behind the action of the board. The state's attorney has charged all of the boys with mob action. The Rainbow Coalition in Decatur contacted Jesse Jackson telling him about the boys. Jesse decided to take on this cause. He has come to Decatur to "save" the boys from not having an education. He staged (I use that word on purpose) a march in Decatur to show what support the public is giving to those boys. In order to do this, he had eleven buses full of people out of Chicago come to be in the march. There were very few Decatur people involved when comparing the total number with the number from the eleven buses. The board would not back down. Jesse has decided that among other things, this is a religious cause. He keeps talking about how we all have sinned and have been forgiven; he also used the story of the woman who was brought to Jesus by a crowd who wanted to stone her. Jesus told the crowd that the one who had never sinned should throw the first stone. I want to tell him that even Jesus got fed up and threw the moneychangers out of the temple. Jesse is staying at the Holiday Inn here in Decatur. According to one of my co-workers who has a student who works there and was a part of this. Jesse showed his true "colors" yesterday. He went to the restaurant within the Holiday Inn (after the restaurant had long closed for the day) demanding food. When told that the restaurant was closed, he pitched a fit, swearing and cussing and carrying on, saying that if he were white they'd give him some food. Finally one of the white female workers said to him, "Do what the white people do and go to Perkins!" Of course, this entire time, Jesse has said over and over again that this is not a racial thing. I find that hard to believe. If not opening a restaurant long after it's closed is a racial thing for him, there is no doubt in my mind that the fight for the kids is racial. While being interviewed one time about this, Jesse said, "This is a black and white thing." When he realized what he had said, he tried to reverse it immediately and said, "I mean this is not a white and black thing." I personally think he had it right the first time. I used to think that Jesse wasn't all that bad, but I have totally changed my mind. I have no respect for someone who will pursue a cause solely on racial grounds; I have no respect for someone who tries to use religion to get what they want; I have no respect for someone who claims to be a Christian yet has a garbage mouth and treats people badly; and I have no respect for someone who is willing to sacrifice hundreds for the cause of so few. (He has shut down the high schools for two days straight by threatening to bring the boys to school to be reentered. The superintendent is afraid of violence and the safety of those who would be there.) Yes, Jesse Jackson, I have learned, is not what he pretends to be. I am truly disappointed in this man. He is in the position to do so much good, but all he has done in Decatur is to promote racism. One of the students who has been expelled is named Shawn. I had Shawn in one of my classes. One day I was taking roll, and his seat (right in front of my desk) was empty. I looked at the name and said to the kids, "Who is this person and why can't I think what he looks like?" The kids laughed and said, "Mrs. Lauderdale, don't you know that he's seldom here and when he is, he sleeps? He's the one you're always telling to wake up, and if he's going to sleep to go home." Now, that's one of the boys to whom Jesse has given the power to call off school. Shawn appeared on Good Morning America saying that he was trying to go to college and be somebody. I wonder who handed him the script. According to the superintendent, these six boys have missed a total of over 300 days of school. He also said that three have been a freshman for three years, and one has been a freshman for two years. In all fairness, I must say that one of the boys carries a "B" average at the school he attends. I know you're going to hear about this on the National News. I just decided that you deserve to know the truth. Feel free to share this information. -- Mike and Janel Moore