Sinister: Surviving the American High School

[Brandt S. Fundak]

>Date: Fri, 4 Jun 1999 11:34:42 +0100
>From: "Graham MacArthur" <macarthur at xxx.com>
>Subject: Re: Sinister: dont want acceptance, dont want tradition
>
>dmitry told us about the american dream:
>
>> system in teh world (UIUC), its impossible not to run into them and
>their:
>> khaki shorts, sweaters, Tommy and abercrombie and fitch clothes, baseball
>> hats, matchbox 20/offspring tshirts, and who could forget the
>> homophobic/dumb jock attitudes. all stereotypes, yes, but all true. 
>
>I have a feeling, had I had to have grown up in a "typical" american high
>school, I would have surely committed suicide. Mind you, can too many
>eighties teen films blur your vision? (as a brit, i mean). I've though
>about this quite a bit, and I think overall, there is no geek/cool people
>divide in schools. It's a myth exaggerated by films and books, and indeed
>Pulp songs. It's a romantic notion which I would have taken pleasure in
>indulging in given cause, but even if I never used to have any friends in
>the first year, it wasn't cool people that slinked up to me and took the
>piss, it was just nasty nerds, who took pleasure in making other people
>feel like they had. There are just seperate little communities (the
>obligitary 'in' crowd) and people who get picked on because they are
>slightly different to everyone else. 
>
>But In America, there are more nightmares to go through though, like the
>Prom, and sports events which are built up bigger than they would ever be
>over here. And  more of a feeling of 'school spirit', which is bound to
>leave people feeling alienated if they weren't a bouncy cheerleader type or
>a grunting jock type. Do these people only exist in frats? You'll have to
>forgive me for being blinkered, the only view I have of american school
>life is Saved By the Bell. (but i do know all the words to the theme tune).

I think that this sort of class separation is over emphasized, but it does
exist.  And it is usually propigated by teachers, who are supposed be
impartial in these situations.  However, throughout my entire American
public school experience students were always given preference due to their
abilities.  Yes, the jocks were separated out, but so were the "gifted"
children (for some reason I was put in with these people).  Those who were
given preferential treatment usually managed to find support from their
peers and teachers. However a large cross section of students are always
left out when this sort of thing happens and then you get people like my
brother who doesn't really fit into any category and as a result becomes a
part of the mass of people deemed unremarkable by the
teachers/administration. My brother is pretty stable, but it's this group
that the people like the trenchcoat brigade came from. Then again i went to
a school that is technically considered an inner city school (the
crackhouses were a few streets down) and thus didn't have much of the
affluence that places like Columbine had. Also, when I went to high school,
the big problem was finding babies in dumpsters and park toilets and not
postal like shootings.

Brandt 

"VIRGO AND CANCER:  Virgo provides the emotional security that Cancer needs
and the little attentions that provide affection.  Cancer's dependence
finds its perfect answer in Virgo's needs to be protective.  cancer's
imagination is stimulating to Virgo, and Cancer's anxiety to please deepens
Virgo's affections.Both will come out of their shell and begin to enjoy life."

							--Sexual Astrology (1976)
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