Jackson Jambalaya

Something, something, something.... Ignorance is not a defense.

"Politics should not be a part of MHSAA’s process. Politicians tend to make a mess out of everything and have the unique talent to find bad situation and make it even worse. That has clearly happened here." -- by Politicians injecting themselves into an administrative matter.

can we put an end to this horseshit and move on? nobody wants to take responsibility for what they did. let some white kids do that and they would be expelled

Make up your damned minds. First it was said this was a part of the skit that had been performed many times without issue. Then it was claimed the skit was almost impromptu, having been inserted to coincide only with this particular Friday night as the overall skit was a developing theme. Now the magnificent trio suggest the skit with the guns was developed months ago.

Get your shit together and stop pandering to voters.

Ichabod Blount is mighty brave to be jogging around in plain view and knock LEO’s like they are second class citizens.

Hold on here! We have three politicians exerting what they assume is their 'political influence' while accusing a non-political body of using politics in its decision? Read that back to me one more time....

I agree - the children ARE being punished for what should have NEVER been permitted on the field. That is at the feet of the band director and the principal. Brookhaven was not the first performance of that show.

I'm sorry this is a lesson that is being learned. However, when Brandon High School's band wanted to play as part of their program "How Great Thou Art" they were prohibited from doing so.

What's worse? Acting out the shooting (or holding hostage) of LEOs, or playing a Hymn - both as part of their performances. Apples and Oranges maybe. But in both instances the kids were the ones who were affected.

David Blount what have you been smoking? I thought Shad White was an easy target!

David Blount is never one to let the chance to pontificate on crap that he knows nothing about or has bothered to learn anything about - and in this case has shown his absolute political motives by inserting himself with two other similar legislators.

What the hell does the opinion of three political individuals have to do with the running of an independent association? None, but don't let that get in the way of David and a mike and a podium. For them to speak - as "legislative members" (certainly not legislative leaders, but let's not get picky or accurate) about this subject is nothing more than the injection of Councilman Aaron Banks doing so last week - politicians trying to bully their way forward and their opinion onto the regulatory body established to keep politics out of this kind of issue.

Thanks for all your opinion sharing David - hopefully we will all remember it the next time your family has to finance a reelection campaign for you.

“Seek responsibility and take responsibility for your actions” was one of the principles ingrained in me during OCS. The FH band, JPS, parents, politicians, and Jackson as a whole could do with a little taste of that lesson. Why the HELL should they get a pass when they want everyone else’s ass hung out to dry when they see an issue. Yes. I’m dropping the card. Call me a racist.

What we have here is political effluence, not influence.

Is it not against the law to have fake guns on a school campus?

This is pure jive. Politicians pandering to what they perceive as their political base by decrying "politics". Amid academic failure and social rot these self-appointed leaders have found a rallying cry to divert their constituents attention from their ineffectiveness. The MHSAA should announce they will no longer sanction JPS activities, and just let them descend into their own hell.

Doing stupid shit, especially in public where there can be negative effects on others, has consequences and repercussions. Pay the price for your mistake and move on.

Three butt-hurt demorats

Indirect punishment happens all the time. Just because someone tells you do to something stupid and you do it still makes you partially responsible. Take it as a lesson learned and do better next time.

Senator Blount - I would have expected you to better choose your arguments, and your allies. Siding up with these two show you for what you actually are, while pretending to be above the fray.

Instead of defending this idiocy of JPS, you should be - but of course don't have the cojones to do so - arguing to do something positive about the JPS system as a whole. You'd think that the performance of a high school band was the end-all and be-all of our high schools in Jackson with all the attention being paid by politicians telling us to take politics out of the enforcement of MHSAA policies. Hell, how about worrying about the absolute failure of the rest of the programs at Forest Hill and all the other high schools being perpetrated on all citizens as being educational institutions while consistently failing to provide a minimum of anything of educational value to these students - including the 11 seniors you are so worried about that are in the FH band.

They should be lucky that the only punishment is that the band director was fired and the kids can’t go on the field.

Flip the races and those kids would be in deep crap.

Only in JPS where the kids get an automatic 50, which should also be against the law. Isn’t that doctering grades/transcripts?

Shame on you, Blount

So let’s take away the fact that the officers died that week, no disrespect intended, and assume these HS students were under a magnificent spell cast by their director. At what time or place is it appropriate for HS students to arm themselves with fake guns and pretend to shoot police officers? Off all places a HS football game? Please vote these clowns out of office. The band knew what they were performing and should suffer the consequences. If we are to believe that they are so easily led by their band director that they are innocent of the atrocious act they committed then we should also believe these kids are so mentally challenged that they should be returned to elementary school.

David, a lesson to be learned: Any time you find yourself on the same side of an argument as Kenneth Stokes, it's time to reassess. Everything.

Your position on this matter is going to come back to haunt you in your future political life, and like this band leader and the students, you'll have to deal with the consequences.

Methinks Blount is up late tonite working on his "I was only kidding" speech.

Blount signed this damn thing? Oh, Jesus Christ.

I want to know how all those wanting the kids punished for following the instructions of the authority figures at school are going to explain to their kids when to follow and not follow instructions from those in authority.

Also, let me know how to explain which authority figures they should ignore and how to go about ignoring them.

We are all setting terrible examples for our future generations in this political climate.

I agree that Kenneth Stokes lies, exaggerates and is self-promoting and will say and do anything to win. Seems to me the only difference between him and our current President is the color of their skin.

Just have to say this:

I am about tired of references to any kid in school as being a scholar. Back in the day, we weren't even students, we were pupils. When I went to law school and graduated with honors, I was a law student, not a law scholar.

References to "scholars" at Forest Hill HS are offensive to true scholars everywhere. They are freakin students. If you want to call them scholars, fine. Give them participation trophies and orange slices, too.

But to me, Aristotle was a scholar. A kid in the band at Forest Hill is a student. Maybe even a pupil.

I have seen the photo of the three kids holding the AK-47s on the field every morning on the news. They do not look like they were coerced or innocent. In fact, they all look like criminals. I would expel anyone involved directly in the "skit". If I had to bet, all those kids holding the guns will be part of the criminal justice system within 5 years. I would also bet that if you drug screened the lot of them, they all would be positive for something. Thug life shouldn't be part of any curriculum as it is already a given in Jackson.

@7:21, just another butt-hurt democrat.

October 24, 2018 at 7:41 AM. Thank you. Well said. "Scholars" what a bunch of BS.

I am a NE Jackson white GOP. I think the kids should be allowed to complete their band duties for the rest of the year. They should not be penalized for this incident.

However, the band director, at least (and maybe the principal) should be fired permanently. There is no excuse for this at all, much less in the wake of the cop killings.

Regarding Blount, rather than bitch about his ongoing in-your-face liberal stands, why not spend your energy finding him both a primary and a general election opponent for 2019? He is beatable.

@ 10/24 8:21am

Who pissed in your Cheerios this morning? That is an awfully broad brush you are painting those kids with. I am sure if you take a cross-section of most large groups of that nature, you will find some that fit the picture you painted, but I think you are being a bit ridiculous in your assessment. Is that what your high school band was like when you were in school?

Lately we have seen problems when a man shows pictures of two women on facebook. We have seen people lose their jobs because someone thought something they said was racist. We have seen policemen lose their jobs because they stopped a person for looking like a wanted person.

The thing that these people all had in common is they were white people that some black person complained about. In their case there was no excuse accepted.

Now we see band members openly disobey the law in the middle of a football field in a city that had just seen their policemen killed.

Now add the people of Jackson, the city council and many politicians try to tell us they kids were completely innocent. They not only want the kids not to be punished but the teacher to get his job back.

Wonder if any of these people will feel the same way and yell just as loud when some white person makes such a mistake?

Every year we see athletic programs and extra curricular activities at various schools being suspended or put on probation by the MHSAA. Most are not allowed to compete in scheduled events or championships. Happens all the time. This incident got blown all out of proportion because of the Brookhaven killings and the national media attention focused on that. The timing of the Forest Hill halftime show gave the media a feeding frenzy which refuses to die down, especially in the racially charged atmosphere surrounding JPS. It boils down to an unacceptable display of firearms at an MHSAA event. That's all. Bad taste is subjective and should be left out of the discussion of MHSAA penalties. If the MHSAA would make their ruling accordingly, they can dispose of this thing and remain consistent in the future. If they give in to the angry rhetoric and JPS bashing to address the "hurt" they caused the Brookhaven community, they are asking for trouble in the future. Bad taste and "hurt" can be interpreted differently in different circumstances and will rise up and bite in the future. Assess the penalties and stand by them...but be consistent.

This only became political because it got so much media attention. Politicians are like rats, they can smell the cameras and they can't resist. Turn off the cameras and this thing becomes just another sad incident. Let's move on.

FACT CHECK: No rules were broken. The incident was in poor taste for a city who had lost two officers, but there is no such rule for half-time shows. Also, David Blount's district covers south Jackson, and he should support his voters who believes that the students are not being treated fairly. These were children following instructions from their band director, and that's what students are taught to do.

4:08....Really? No rules broken? How long have you lived under a mushroom?

4:08; It is a violation of law (and every public school's policy) for anyone (unless authorized) to bring or possess a firearm or replica of a firearm onto any public school property. And you say 'no rule was broken'. FACT CHECK? Right.

As to this....

From October 24, 2018 at 10:08 AM: Wonder if any of these people will feel the same way and yell just as loud when some white person makes such a mistake?

This has nothing to do with race, although black folk are always quick to leap in that direction. Mistake? How about looking up the definition of that word.