The popularity of MySpace, Flickr, YouTube, etc., make it oh so easy for a small joke to grow into a very public humiliation that backfires on the too clever joker. In this case, students allegedly set up a fake MySpace account to poke fun at the high school baseball coach. It's too bad no one taught the students proper online etiquette and the potential consequences of crossing the line. But judging by the reactions to this incident, it sounds like a lot of people may be in need of remedial lessons in basic social skills.
One disciplined student is quoted as saying, "Some of the comments were kind of mean, but we weren't trying to be hurtful, it was just a spoof. The things we were doing were all in fun." In other words, mean = fun to these students. As long as the perpetrators get a laugh out of it, no harm done, right?
So, do the parents step in, tell their children to 'fess up, apologize, take their lumps and move on? Not according to the Courier story. One parent is quoted as saying, "I think [the coach] is manipulative and he is a liar. I am sick of the good ol' boys network running roughshod over all of Plano sports." Any guesses where the students' lack of respect for authority comes from?
What do other students learn from the experience? If the Courier story is any indication, it's that the team's playoff chances are too important to jeopardize. One teammate says the players would vote unanimously to take the expelled players back on the team. Another explains why. "Our coach always talks about making the playoffs, but it is going to be really difficult without those two guys. I don't think he realizes how big of a hit this is going to be."
It's hard to satirize the news, when the news itself reads like satire. Real life Plano is apparently living up to its stereotypes.
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