At a South Carolina high-school graduation, this mother was arrested for loudly celebrating her daughter's finishing high-school....as if that's a big deal given the sorry state of public education in this country. An announcement was made before the ceremony stating that any loud interruption for celebration will result in removal by security.
Graduation is a solemn ceremony and boisterous yelling and clapping prevents the next student's names from being heard by their families. Yet this woman decided that the rules didn't apply to her. She would have been outraged if she missed her daughter's name being called because the family next to her was yelling and clapping during it.
Some people have defended her saying that it's racist to punish one person for how they choose to celebrate their kid's accomplishment, but I say it's racist to suggest that black people can't follow simple rules of behavior like everybody else. Michael Gerson called it the "soft bigotry of low expectations". When people are held to lower standards of behavior because of their race, that's racist against them.
She knew the rules. She knew the consequences for breaking them. She paid the price. That's how it works in civilized society.
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