Experts in autocracies have pointed out that it is, unfortunately, easy to slip into normalizing the tyrant, hence it is important to hang on to outrage. These incidents which seem to call for the efforts of the Greek Furies (Erinyes) to come and deal with them will, I hope, help with that. As a reminder, though no one really knows how many there were supposed to be, the three names we have are Alecto, Megaera, and Tisiphone. These roughly translate as “unceasing,” “grudging,” and “vengeful destruction.”
Outraged members of a New York community are demanding answers after four 12-year-old Black girls were allegedly strip-searched at a middle school last week.
This story has actually received a lot of coverage – BBC News, NBC News, The Daily Beast, USAToday, even Fox News – so you may already have seen it.
Naturally, there are conflicting stories about exactly what happened.
There is agreement that the four girls were removed from class, questioned, and searched, and eventually returned to class, and also that the girls’ parents were not notified of the search before it commenced. However, there is disagreement on what the search actually entailed.
School authorities say there was no strip search.
“When conducting medical evaluation, it may require the removal of bulky outside clothing to expose an arm so that vitals like blood pressure and pulse can be assessed … This is not the same as a strip search.”
The girls, as reported by parents and local activists, however say that a strip search was performed by a nurse and an assistant principal. Specifically,
“The children had their clothing removed and felt shamed, humiliated, and traumatized by [the] experience,” [a local activist group] wrote of the incident, which it claims was triggered by suspicions the students were in possession of drugs. “While they were being searched, a nurse made disparaging comments about the eczema of one girl and the size of another’s breasts.” The organization added that the girls, as well as their parents, believe the school’s “heinous and excessive actions” were racially motivated.
Enough parents were sufficiently concerned for almost 200 people to show up to the next meeting of the Binghampton school board. The president of the local NAACP chapter was asked to, and did, read a list of demands of accountability:
• Stop the practice of strip-searching children for any reason, and especially in response to giddiness or behavioral concerns.
• Removal of the assistant principal and principal at East Middle School for poor judgment, which allegedly resulted in child trauma.
• Remove the nurse who administered the strip searches.
• Publicly apologize to the students, their families and the community at large for violating the trust of all parties harmed by their actions.
• Provide alternate instruction for the girls, at either West Middle School or home instruction, until the situation has been rectified to the satisfaction of the families.
I should mention there is one more point of agreement about the incident, and that is that the girls were traumatized.
Unfortunately, our students shared that these actions have had the unintended consequences of making the students feel traumatized.
Enough concern has been raised that New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has called for the State Police to investigate, along with the State Education Department; the State Police have committed to investigating.
What was the reason the incident occurred in the first place? Well, the staff suspected the girls of using and/or carrying drugs. But why? Well, the girls appeared to be “hyper and giddy” during lunch.
I could quote opinions from a number of different sources concerning this criterion, but, you know, as a former twelve-year-old girl myself (albeit a long time ago), I have my own opinion, which is:
OK, twelve year old girls probably should not be hyper and giddy all the time. But if you have twelve year old girls who are NEVER hyper or giddy, especially outside the classroom, THAT’s when you should be worried.
We have read a great deal in the last few years about how black children appear “older,” at least to white people, than their white counterparts (not that sixteen and eighteen year old girls don’t sometimes appear “hyper and giddy” also). But that should not be in effect here, since administrators should know exactly who is enrolled in their school – and in a middle school, it should be twelve year olds.
Alecto, Megaera, and Tisiphone, please assist with the investigation, and help determine what actually happened. You might also look into whether there is an unnamed teacher or monitor who “reported” the “hyper and giddy” behavior to nurse and/or assistant principal, as I suspect (and on Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday, of all days.) Or maybe the nurse and assistant principal DO patrol the lunchroom. Whatever, please help straighten this out. Thank you.
The Furies and I will be back.
Cross posted to Care2 HERE.
11 Responses to “Everyday Erinyes #155”
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.
This incident is so far off the charts, I had to re-read this one a few times.
This is an absolute No-No to what was done, and said by the administrator, and also of the nurse. One asks first, and talks/listens second. That’s the rule, but I guess they overlooked that part. Anyone, having worked in schools, can realize the behaviors of ascending grade levels, and these middle school behaviors are a norm, for this age level. imho, a strip search should never have been done on these students. I feel horrible that these young ladies had to endure this, and were subjected to it. It should have never happened. Also, the staff should have notified the parents or guardians of these young ladies, (before Initiating this action), and asking them to come to school, to talk to them, not strip search the girls. Sending the girls back to class, after this incident was way out of line also. omg, how awful !!
I also agree with the man who represented the NAACP, full on. I find these happenings extremely inappropriate, and worthy of resignation, or firing these employees. There is no telling how these students will be affected (all by these senseless searches) in later years either. My heart goes out to each of them, and their families.
p.s. I hope they win their (pending) lawsuit, too. (if they do.) They should, imho !!
Thanks, Joanne for this post, and send the Furies with a proper rebuttal.
Reading about this incident really pissed me off! I have signed, and promoted on Care2, two petitions condemning this depravity. Would the girls have been treated thusly if they were white?
Meh!!! Damn DESPICABLE!!!! ? ?
i have signed those petitions Freya promoted!!!
I fully agree with your analysis of the situation. When I was a twelve year old boy, I thought twelve year old girls were hyper and giddy too much, so I figure it must be their normal state. I also agree with the ACLU recommendations.
Great piece, JD.
I have only one minor complaint. Your erinyes have nor erinyated on Trump yet. Time to crack the whip!
Mueller also has not indicted Trump yet. No, that’s not what I’m waiting for, but I guess I also feel he gets enough attention already. And he is the tyrant in the autocracy called out in the introduction every week. (Not to mention that, according to Andy, their Mama picked him out.) However, lots of us who have good sense also have family which doesn’t, and it’s often a parent … so we will have a conference and see what we can come up with.
Agree with Freya that it makes me furious to read about these girls being forced to go thru these awful strip-searches.
No one should have of ever been subject to that.
I have signed petitions that Freya had created.
If accurate, I think the NAACP recommendations are sound.
I would hope that, at the minimum, the Asst. Principal was a female. If not, he had NO business being in that room.
Besides removal, that nurse should be required to attend some type of sensitivity training before she is allowed to resume work anywhere else. Otherwise it’s like the Catholic church shuffling predator pedophile priests from one parish to another.
This ugliness reminds me very much of an Erinyes article you wrote some years ago about a large group of black girls were (strip)searched by security personnel at a predominantly black school in a red state. Even there it led to an outcry, but then it was in Obama times. This is New York in Drumpf times and not for security reasons. Things are indeed getting worse.
The 12-year-old girls were hyper and giddy during lunch. That couldn’t possibly have anything to do with a sugar rush from a unbalanced meal in two hormonally unbalanced girls in puberty, could it? They couldn’t be displaying the same behaviour white girls would display under the same circumstances, and perhaps were even doing so, right? No, the girls are black and so it had to be drugs. That is bigotry.
The Furies do need to find out what has happened, and especially why, for the sakes of the traumatised girls. And then the school board, its teachers and all its other personnel needs to be confronted with the culture of bigotry at that school and helped to recognise it and acknowledge it so they can change.
Yup. We have a new “offense” for the “criminal code” – being a 12-year-old girl while black.
Absolutely despicable!!!
Perhaps the nurse should be subjected to a strip search!
Good point. There are things no one should be allowed to do to another person unless one has experienced them oneself – and strip searching is one of them. Others include water boarding, tear gas, and pepper spray (except for self sefense.)