South Carolina Woman Arrested For Cheering Too Loudly at Daughter's Graduation

[bcp]

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[dmccarty]

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Pretty funny. I immediately thought of sending the cartoon to a friend but then I quickly realized he died last week. He would have liked that cartoon....

ALS sucks.

Later,
Dan

 

[DwightD123]

I applaud that the woman was removed for doing what she was told not to do, in the manner in which she was warned she would be removed. I've read some other stories regarding this matter, and so far, all of the students and parents that are being punished are being punished in the manner in which they were told they would be punished for the infractions they committed. I can't see anything wrong with this. Again, if you don't agree with the rules of the ceremony, and can't behave as prescribed, don't go.

AYE COMMANDANT!!

OK need to do a reality check here....She was ARRESTED...for cheering. Not escorted out, not fined, not corrected...arrested. This is not the actions of the America I know and love we need to keep that in check lest we forget the lessons learned by Nazi Germany.

Now so you don't get the wrong impression I understand the rule and agree with it. What I am concerned about here is the punishment didn't fit the crime. If there are aspects I am unaware of like she was lewd or wouldn't stop so that the rest of the ceremony could continue then maybe that changes things. But I still can't buy into your thoughts above. They have the feeling of a school board member that has been tainted by too many years of not being able to control the other members of society. Relax and laugh a little, Comandant. This is America and people that shout for their kids on graduation day do not deserve to be arrested.


Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

 

[rtimgray]

If you check out some of the news articles from papers and stations around Florence, I think you will find that there is more to this story than was portrayed by the national media. For instance, Shannon Cooper was one of four people arrested. There were 30 officers there to police around 9,000 attendees. There is also a considerable number of first hand accounts that agree that Cooper not only applauded and cheered, but made quite a scene that went on for a bit, and did not simply walk out of the auditorium as she was instructed to do, and that was what she was arrested for - not cheering. Other reports indicated a great number of people were encouraged to quiet down, did, and were neither removed nor arrested.

I have yet to find a video that shows what actually happened at the event - I would love to see one and re-form my opinion as necessary.

Regardless of all of the above, some of which is unsubstantiated, I believe the facts are these:

1. Graduates had agreed that they wanted no cheering/applauding during the ceremony, and were to instruct attendees of these rules and the consequences thereof, which was at least ejection from the venue.

2. The woman in question was aware of these desires and rules and chose to ignore them.

3. She carried out her (premeditated) plan to cheer and holler.

4. She was apprehended and has to face the consequences.

In my opinion, if she wants sympathy, check the dictionary between simple and syphilis.

Compare this to the following:

1. The speed limit is 55 mph on a road that I travel on my way home. I know this because the sign says so.

2. I'm aware of it, but I don't like it. I choose to drive faster.

3. I drive 64 mph on my way home.

4. I get pulled over by a Law Enforcement Officer. I might be issued a verbal warning, a citation, or I could get arrested if I become beligerant and do not cooperate.

Now, the reaction of the LEO may be considered by some to be heavy handed, to others it may not. Other people probably travel that road at speeds greater than mine and were never pulled over. The only certainty is that if I had obeyed the rule (speed limit), I would not have been pulled over for that particular infraction.

You may consider it heavy-handed and I respect your position. I think that she got the minimum of what she deserved for deliberately violating a rule. As I stated earlier, given thousands of high school graduations that occur across the nation every year, and we have heard about a tiny number of them, I don't think that we have a problem of Orwellian proportions - I think we have a couple of loudmouths that didn't think the rules applied to them.

Good luck and take care.

 

[jdfire]

Follow the rules = no risk of reprisal.
Don't follow the rules = run the risk of getting in trouble.

Seems pretty simple to me.

 

[wjoerob]

At some communities, it seems the cheering is designed just to show off or to humiliate a favorite student. But for some, it is just another drunken party event. No kidding, I've known of some where men come in only bib overalls, people use air horns, come drunk, whatever. But how do you legislate what should be the community "norms" for behavior at a public event (even if it is something to honor students' accomplishments)? And let's be honest, for many students that's where they come from, and it's what they'll never be able to rise out of.

 

[greasemonkeyok]

The "lady" was a rule breaker, and apparently belligerent. Belligerent rule breakers are often times breaking more than one rule at a time, and such arrests lead to finding more serious crimes. Booker Danno.

 

[toppop52]

In 1994 when my son graduated high school, this screaming by every member of certain families had gotten under way and was annoying but tolerable. In 1998 at my daughter's graduation it was a royal pain, everyone that knew certain people screamed their names or nicknames at the tops of their lungs, it was impossible to enjoy the ceremonies because of it. By the time of their college graduations you would think this group to be a little more subdued, oh no! Screaming, dancing in the aisles and crap that looked like some third world coronation! All this came after they were warned against, asked politely or otherwise dissuaded from acting as fools so those that wanted, could actually see and hear the ceremony. So I absolutely applaud her being arrested and hope other schools do the same until some civilty is brought back to campus!:thumbsup:

 

[Alan L.]

I've got to be on the side of the "establishment" in this case. Every graduation ceremony, including my own, that I have ever been to, they have asked the parents/grandparents/friends/etc. to refrain from cheering/clapping/etc. until after the entire ceremony is over. This is pretty standard fare.

Also, at every one of those that I have attended, including my own, some parents/friends/etc. obviously felt that they were excluded from this and chose to cheer/hoot/holler/etc. when their child's name was called. This usually resulted in a reminder by the MC to not do this.

I personally don't think you're asking a lot of people to sit and behave like adults while the ceremony goes on. Again, at all of the ones that I have attended, there is a time for cheering/clapping/hooting/hollering/etc.

I think the folks that choose to ignore that are rude and inconsiderate to others. I've got no problems with the perpetrator being arrested or at minimum escorted from the venue. Denying diplomas is also fine by me. After all, they're not asking people to perform brain surgery - just behave.

The other part of me also says if you don't like the rule, then don't go the graduation ceremony. You'll still be graduated, still get your dipoloma, the ceremony is just that - a ceremony. If you want a raucous reaction when your name is called, gather all your supporters in a room of your house, have somebody call your name, and everybody can cheer. Problem solved.

I applaud that the woman was removed for doing what she was told not to do, in the manner in which she was warned she would be removed. I've read some other stories regarding this matter, and so far, all of the students and parents that are being punished are being punished in the manner in which they were told they would be punished for the infractions they committed. I can't see anything wrong with this. Again, if you don't agree with the rules of the ceremony, and can't behave as prescribed, don't go.

Or go ahead and get on the plane and start talking about blowing it up, don't sit down and latch up your tray table, and other disorderly conduct, and then see what happens.

Just my opinion. I think these people got what they deserved.

Good luck and take care.

This is preposterous. I'd say kicking them out or denying the diploma would also be preposterous, but to arrest the person? How ridiculous can you get? Graduation is a formality, there is nothing criminal about cheering and any person who "got offended" really needs to get a life.

 

[toppop52]

This is preposterous. I'd say kicking them out or denying the diploma would also be preposterous, but to arrest the person? How ridiculous can you get? Graduation is a formality, there is nothing criminal about cheering and any person who "got offended" really needs to get a life.

Any civil person that wasn't offended when these loud mouths overshadow the ceremony for their own selfish "look at me", crap, should get a hearing aid.