I guess I understand how this could happen, but I don’t want to.
Student cheerleaders at Evans Middle School in Lubbock, Texas displeased their cheerleading coach by doing the “wrong cheer,” whatever than means, and she disciplined them by ordering the girls to do “bear crawls” and “crab walks” for miles on an outdoor track when in was nearly 100 degrees in Lubbock and the temperature on the track was well over a hundred. Some of the girls became sick under the sun, all of the cheerleaders ended up with first and second degree burns on their hands and knees, and at least one had to go to a burn center.
When they complained that the track was painful, the coach reportedly said that she didn’t care, and to keep crawling. Parents are furious, naturally, and the evil teacher has been placed on leave (she should be prosecuted—Special query for Humble Talent: Would it be unethical for me to add, “and should be shot”?), but what bothers me is that none of the girls had the sense, character and courage to refuse to accept the cruel punishment, and when the coach said that those who didn’t “crab walk” on the hot track would jeopardize their “cheer careers” (Remember, this is Texas, aka. Bizarro World), at least one girl—we would call her a “leader”—didn’t say, “Well take this cheer and shove it, I’m out of here!,” stop crawling, and walk away on her feet. Movie fans of the original “Carrie” will recall that the protagonist’s chief foe refused to do push-ups as her gym teacher’s punishment for mocking her vulnerable classmate in the shower. That character is a jerk, but she is a gutsy jerk.
Yes, yes, these are just Middle School students, and even a cheerleading coach is an authority figure, but something is rotten in Lubbock. I realize I come from a family tradition of members telling authority figures “NO!” when they overreach, but its also an American tradition. After they fire that coach, the Evans Middle School, the school system and the Lubbock community needs to figure out how to better instruct their kids on when they need to stand up for themselves, and to help them develop the values and enabling virtues necessary to do it.
My son drove us crazy as early as the third grade by his obstinate tendency to simply refuse to follow an order he felt was pointless, stupid or wrong. Sometimes that order came from us. When told “Do it or else!” his response always was (and is), “Fine. Go ahead. I’m right and you’re wrong.”
Sometimes he’s wrong, but never mind, my father was like that, the Founding Fathers were like that. Davey Crocket was like that, and Rosa Parks. Those cheerleaders needed a leader, and none were available.
Ethics Alarms 
And here I thought sadomasochistic high school coaches were a thing of the distant past.
Hey, as long as she isn’t molesting the students, she is one of the better coaches.
I keep saying that only 10% or so of people can think independently. None of them are on a cheerleading squad. Sports is for followers. Actual leaders are never selected, quit, or are thrown off sports teams.
I was proud of my stepson when he quit baseball. I had told him about blindly following authority and how he had to decide if the price was worth the benefit. He kept poo-pooing me about it. Well, the coach decided to run them early in the morning in 30 degree weather. My stepson has asthma and he had an asthma attack. He wanted to go to the doctor and the coach said “No, keep running”. My stepson went to urgent care, got a breathing treatment, and a note that said he was not to run under such conditions. The next day he went to practice and handed the note to the coach. The coach, of course, tore it up and told him to run double for the next week for leaving practice without permission. My stepson gave him a few choice words and then quit. I have seen football coaches try to throw students off the team for seeing a neurologist after a concussion. Coaches don’t care about those students, only what they can do for the coach’s record.
The high status of cheerleaders in high school pretty much ensured that none of those girls would quit. It isn’t just high social status among the students, it is an elevated status with the teachers. On my high school graduation day, a cheerleader complained about where I was lined up to go into the stadium. The faculty marshals told me to get back in line where the cheerleader told me to. I told them that I was the valedictorian and I was supposed to be there. The teachers told me that a cheerleader said I was in the wrong place, so I needed to get to the right place or she would throw me out of the graduation. I really wish I had stood up and let them throw me out. Of course, they didn’t have cellphones and the lies that would have been told about why the valedictorian was thrown out of the graduation would have been outrageous.
One of the problems that we are having as a country is finding and training enough engineering students. After talking with freshman, I found that the schools have been giving questionnaires to them throughout school to identify ‘anti-authoritarian’ traits. Those who are so identified are basically put in reeducation. Well, those were our future engineers and scientists. This is why we can’t find engineers and why our scientists will sell out when a politician threatens them. We can’t find anymore Richard Feynmans because we sent them all to reeducation camp.
Homeschool your kids, people.
This makes me feel better about getting suspended from first grade for turning my desk around to copy what the teacher wrote on the rear blackboard. She kept telling me to return my desk to its original position and just turn my head. Well, after a few times of being reprimanded I said some things Mrs. Green did not like so off to the principal’s office I went route to a week’s vacation from school. I was transferred to another teacher who came from Boston and was young and pretty, we got along just fine. She even made me a “culud god” for the pledge.
It is funny that I remember all the times authority figures rained hell down on me but not a single memory of one standing up for me. I wonder why.
My son is firmly in the “I’ll do what I think is right, come hell or high water” camp. There are times his mother and I are concerned he doesn’t seem to be very skilled in the agreeable “Go along to get along” category, which is also a valuable life skill, but at this rate, I’m mostly convinced that growing skilled at getting along with a despicable culture might get him farther than learning to live outside said culture, but that dogged stubbornness might be the more valuable trait.
Reasonable Hazing has a place in society. But nothing that has a likelihood of medically harming a person.