DC: Pope Benedict XVI Scheduled to Visit NYC, DC in 2008

According to The New York Times, Pope Benedict XVI, is scheduled to visit the United States from April 15-20, 2008.

Pope Benedict is planning to visit New York City and Washington, DC.

Misc: Teaching The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Remains Controversial Due to the Persistence of Anti-Black Racism

Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is usually taught in junior level high school classes. The book always generates controversy because of the copious use of the “N” word and the social power Huck (White adolescent) has over Jim (an adult Black man who was enslaved and, thus, subservient to Huck).

Usually the scenario is this: there is one or few Black students in a class that is predominantly non-Black (including the instructor). The subject of Huckleberry Finn comes up in the curriculum, forcing the Black student to endure multiple utterances of the “N” word by White classmates in discussing the book (but, without doubt, the “N” word still retains all of its negativity in the present day).

A related scenario has recently occurred in Texas, where the sole Black student in the class did not agree with the teacher writing out the whole “N” word (rather than using the abbreviated phrase “N-word”) in preparation for reading Huckleberry Finn.

Ibrahim Mohamed, 17, was the only black student in the class during the lesson in which students were to discuss hurtful statements and how context can affect a word’s meaning. Birdville school district officials said the exercise was part of a new curriculum designed to put such powerful words in proper context and was not meant to offend anyone.

But the teacher “badgered” him after denying his request to remove the word from the chalkboard or replace it with “N-word,” and she continued to say the slur during class, said his mother, Tunya Mohamed. The teen said he felt singled out when the teacher asked if the word offended him and said, “It hurts — doesn’t it?”

In many ways, given the omnipresence of institutional racism, Whites and Blacks have different interpretations of the same event. The teacher viewed the “N” word dispassionately (as the “N” word does not affect the teacher personally). The Black student viewed the “N” word personally as the student’s Blackness is a daily topic.

Here, the teacher in this case may not have meant to cause the student harm. But in failing to recognize that the sole Black student in the classroom could feel insulted by the use of the whole “N” word, the issue escalated into a problem quickly.

Given the persistent racial situation in the U.S., I fully expect the controversy arising while reading of Huckleberry Finn in a classroom to occur again.

DC Pro Football: Patriots Deal Blowout Loss to DC Team; DC Team’s Player Finds Solace in Sunrise

The talk of the town is the Washington Football club’s stunning blowout (52-7) loss to the New England Patriots.

A player for the Washington team discovers solace in the rising of the sun.

On the day after, Marcus Washington looked to the heavens for a way to recover from a 45-point loss.

‘When I woke up, the sun came up,’ the Washington Redskins linebacker said Monday. ‘That was a good sign. That’s something I can build off of.’

Unfortunately, the Patriots were right to take every opportunity to score. It is the responsibility of the Washington football club to have prevented the Patriots from scoring. I can only see the mercy rule for amateur (elementary, high school and college) athletics.

After all of the angst and drama the blowout loss caused (search Gibbs Belichick in an Internet search engine and look at the comments to The Washington Post’s article), Washington has other games to redeem itself from this loss.

Blogger’s Choice Award Nomination

I have been informed that my blog has been nominated for the Blogger’s Choice award. While I am honored to be recognized, I am a relative neophyte to blogging.

Please click on the banner on the right, register and vote for me.

Miscellaneous: Installation of a New Pair of Tires

Until recently, I never really gave much thought to where new pairs of tires were placed on my car. As I have a front wheel car, one would think that the new pair should go on the front axle. This thought, though, is incorrect and hazardous.

Placing a new pair of tires on the front in a front wheel drive car leaves the driver at risk of going into oversteer.

I did not realize the serious nature of the issue until I did some tire research on the Internet after I had bought two new tires for the front. In that search, I happened upon the Michelin Tire Corporation website. There is a video there that clearly demonstrates the hazard of placing a new pair of tires on the front axle and placing the older tires on the rear. Have a look at the video here.

After viewing the video, I returned to the store and bought two new tires for the rear (as I did not want to deal with this issue again when the tires had to be rotated). (Note: I know the cost of the tires took a bite out of the wallet, but I do not wish to be an oversteer situation. It seems like it would be scary.)

I thank the Michelin Corporation for publishing this video. It is truly a public service.