Playground politics

By Hayley Platt

BRISBANE — It is disgustingly hypocritical that some principals continue to get up in front of school assemblies, rave on about how racism is bad and that it is up to young people to stop it, and then punish us when we try to do just that!

At one school, a Resistance member was made to wash a wall that had a political slogan written on it. He was forced to do it because he was a member of Resistance.

At my school, students who attended the walkouts against racism last year were immediately suspended, even if they had their parents' permission to go. The teacher tried to justify this be saying: "The structure of major institutions is that people who are going to 'get ahead' won't be rocking the boat. They'll stay within the government's barriers, in order to get promotions ...

"The government doesn't like people to be seen opposing them, such as children in high schools, so they deal with it in a very heavy handed way. They can't be physical with students, as the cane is no longer allowed, so they give them a detention, or suspension".

And they claim that Resistance is "brainwashing" young people!

From GLW issue 354