Retract article and apologize for justifying horrendous assaults on Native American students

[KamaAina]

by racist hockey fans.

Incident here:

https://www.change.org/p/shannon-brinker-retract-article-and-apologize-for-justifying-horrendous-assaults-on-native-american-students-by-racist-hockey-fans

Children between the ages of 9 and 13 were rewarded for academic excellence with tickets to a Rush hockey game in Rapid City, South Dakota. This was supposed to be a happy occasion. When they arrived at the hockey game, however, intoxicated fans proceeded to harass the children and the chaperones with racially charged slurs, as well as telling the children to go back to the "rez". This behavior is completely unforgivable and they need to be charged for every possible crime they can be charged with which should also include hate crimes along with child abuse.

The fact that this article is titled "Racism at Rush game: stories conflict on whether Native students stood for National Anthem prior to harassment" (link at the end) is completely unacceptable. In addition, the printed version of this article was graced with the title "Did Native Students Stand for National Anthem?" before it being changed to the one above for the online version. Even entertaining the idea that the abhorrent assaults on these kids are justifiable for any reason is completely unfounded. This article is victim blaming and completely racist. Attacking children is not okay under any circumstances. There is no feasible justification for the actions of the drunken attackers at this game. The acts of those drunken fans will remain in the memories of these children for years to come. The kids will be dealing with the traumatic effects of this event for long after it is over.

I call upon anyone and everyone who reads this petition to sign this and make the Rapid City Journal hold its staff accountable for their racism. It is not okay for them to take a biased stance on these racially charged issues. Sign this petition and help demand a retraction as well as an apology from this newspaper. Don't let this local news outlet get away with victim blaming or justifying the acts of racists in the Rapid City area. Make your voice heard and take a stand! Make it be known that we will never allow anyone to get away with hurting our children. Let Rapid City know that we are not afraid to make ourselves be heard and we are not afraid to fight for our people!

[SamKnause]

1. K&R

Done.

I am not a fan of the National Anthem and less of a fan of the Pledge of Allegiance.

People should have the right not to stand.

I would understand if Native Americans didn't want to stand.

There is no way to justify the actions of these drunk racists !!

I consider Native Americans as a national treasure.

Standing or not standing, it doesn't matter these assholes need to be held accountable.

There is no justifiable reason to demean children and douse them in beer.

[Wellstone ruled]

2. Way to go Eagel Sales!!!!

Your company just plain and simple don't get it. But,in saying that,simple people doing stupid things. Yup,more of Sodak's God,Guns and Gays crap. Or is it White people doing entitlements?

[JI7]

3. fucking racist scum

[KingCharlemagne]

4. New state to add to my list of deep south and border states to boycott (MO being

the latest addition before SD). Pretty soon, I'll be confined to make purchases only in CA. (While I have serious reservations about Jerry Brown's tenure as CA's gov, he at least had the courage to ban all display and sale of the Confederate flag in any CA state facilities.)

Allow me to ask, is this the same state that gave us the great George McGovern?

[KamaAina]

6. Hard to believe, isn't it?

[Jefferson23]

5. That is sickening. K&R

[Cooley Hurd]

7. FWIW; The Rapid City Journal issued an apology:

http://rapidcityjournal.com/news/opinion/editorial/ours-journal-erred-on-anthem-headline/article_32d11ba1-25d2-5d09-a98c-d91d8bcc8a90.html

[uppityperson]

8. thank you for this link and info.

I am glad they retracted and apologized and this racism doesn't surprise me. It is very wrong, but too common in that area.

[KamaAina]

9. And Rapid City has the largest AA population in SD

thanks to a nearby Air Force base.

[Comrade Grumpy]

24. That must be like four people.

Seriously, I grew up in South Dakota. In my high school of 900 there was one black guy.

I never saw any significant number of black people in South Dakota until I went to the state penitentiary.

South Dakota is a deeply racist state. I've heard people refer to the Indians as "prairie n*ggers."

It always puzzled me how the state could be so racist when it didn't have any black, brown, or yellow people. But it had red ones.

[KamaAina]

25. Quite a few more than that.

The population on a military base is roughly reflective of the nation's, in fact, skewed more towards minorities. Essentially all of Hawai'i's AA population is military.

[progressoid]

30. Sioux Falls by chance?

It's changing...slowly - at least demographically anyway. I go there regularly for work and see minor changes.

But it's still pretty racist and Native Americans are still treated horribly.

[Cha]

11. Thank you for that, Cooley..

[randr]

10. Any people who stood by and did not stop the racists are equally guilty

[Lucky Luciano]

12. A bit strong of a statement.

Not everyone gas the guts to confront drunk maniacs.

[randr]

14. That is why drunk maniacs are empowered to act the way they do

Every bully that is confronted becomes the coward that they are.

[Lucky Luciano]

16. Some can become violent in a drunken state.

Just saying I would not call someone guilty for not taking on a potentially shrunken violent person.

[Warpy]

26. You forgot the operative word, it's "RICH drunk maniacs"

Those drunken sky box shitheads felt fully entitled to abuse anybody in the cheap seats.

[Heywood J]

27. Or pulls out their now-licensed concealed carry and claims "Stand Your Ground"

and your family eventually loses the house because you aren't there to make ends meet after the burial.

Will you pitch in to help when that happens?

[Donald Ian Rankin]

31. Only in children's stories, sadly. The real world is less neat. N.T.

[Omaha Steve]

13. Signed sealed delivered!!!

Thanks for posting.

K&R!

[rocktivity]

15. Oh, the drunk maniacs were JUSTIFIED in dumping beer on the kids?

and it took them two hockey periods to get drunk enough to work up their patriotic outrage?


rocktivity

[lunasun]

17. + 1

[LiberalLovinLug]

18. Done!

This headline implies that these kids somehow brought it on themselves. Even though the organizers deny that kids were sitting, even if some were....of all groups that should be excused for paying homage to the flag its the indigenous peoples.

[jwirr]

19. In my experience Native Americans consider themselves as American citizens. Their members

go to our wars, serve in our legislatures and pay federal taxes. So I have a question: was this headline just another line of bull? Who said they did not stand? The drunks in the box? The staff of the Journal? And so what if they did not? I have been to parades in our little community where half the people do not stand for the flag. White people.

[The Jungle 1]

20. What?

Why would anyone expect native Americans to stand and participate in our national anthem. It is not their national anthem! We invaded their country and killed the majority of them. Why would they feel any need to honor our anthem? Why would we expect them to?

We are still screwing them. We are gonna put that stupid pipeline right through their land. Native Americans in North Dakota consider this pipeline an act of war! The Rosebud Sioux are not happy and are willing to spill blood.

[hack89]

28. Actually every native American is born a US citizen

it has been that way since 1924.

[Android3.14]

21. The editor should feel shame

He should apologize, and if the local members of the First Nations refuse to accept his apology, then he should resign.

[mountain grammy]

22. I could never stay away from South Dakota

It's a beautiful and magical place. You can feel the spirits of the first Americans. We have vowed to return twice a year to visit the Crazy Horse Memorial and Cultural Center and for the magic of the Black Hills.

One visit to the Black Hills and you know why the Indians fought so hard to keep it.

"My lands are where my dead lie buried." Crazy Horse

[niyad]

23. k and heartsick r for needed visibility.

[rhett o rick]

29. k&r. Thanks for posting. nm