Stereotypes. How many do you buy into?

I’ll be honest and say that I probably buy into way more than I should. I truly try not to, but you know how that goes. One of them is that I absolutely believed that all High School cheerleaders are snobs and biotches. Well guess what? They’re not! And I’m very proud to say the cheerleaders who smashed that stereotype are right here in Colorado!

JEFFERSON COUNTY – The Evergreen High School cheerleading squad has always imagined itself as somewhat different. So when the new girl at school, who is disabled, tried out for the team, there really was no doubt what would happen.

Coach Tammy Dufford has heard it so many times, the old line that high school cheerleaders are among the most judgmental people around.

“Generally, high school cheerleaders are known to be an elitist sort of group and kind of exclusive,” said Dufford.

However, Dufford says she had no doubt her girls would accept a fellow cheerleader with different abilities. Someone like freshman Megan Bomgaars, who has Down Syndrome.

Bomgaars is new to Evergreen this year. One of the first things she did was march into Dufford’s office and announce she intended to be a cheerleader. And she now is an Evergreen cheerleader.

“I just want to have friends at school,” Bomgaars said.

And she has found those friends in her fellow cheerleaders at her new school.

“I love this place,” she said.

Bomgaars is a smiling and enthusiastic face on the football sidelines, but sometimes struggles to keep pace with her teammates quick moves and rapid cheers.

This is the time of the season when teams, including Evergreen, go from cheering at games to competing at tournaments.

Megan’s mother, Kris, expected that her daughter would travel with the cheerleading team, but not compete.

“She said, ‘Tammy, I totally understand if you don’t think Megan can be part of that. I don’t want her to bring down the girls’ scores,” Dufford recalled.

Dufford checked with state cheerleading officials. She says they informed her there is no direct precedent of a cheerleader with Down Syndrome competing in mainstream tournaments. Dufford says she was told it would be up to judges on how to handle the situation.

The coach left the final decision up to her players. No discussion was necessary. They insisted that Bomgaars remain on the team for the competitive portion of the season.

“We always just assumed she’d be right there with us,” said cheerleader Katy Evezich. “She’s part of the team.”

“We could get graded off if she’s a little bit off on her dance,” said cheerleader Stephanie Dufford. “But we’d rather have her on the squad and get a lesser score than not have her at all.”

For a group that’s supposed to be so concerned with judging, they sure don’t seem to care.

The Evergreen High School cheerleaders, every one of them, will compete in the Jefferson County League Tournament Wednesday at Columbine High School.

(from 9News.com)

Is that cool or what! I’m so proud of those girls. Hopefully if this story gets around enough, more cheerleaders will follow suit and change that stereotype which plagues them all!

Cheerleaders, Snobs, Evergreen Cheerleaders, Stereotypes

I found something extremely interesting over at Digital Daydreaming today. If you go here, you’ll see what I mean. It is a web site called Tolerance.org: Dig Deeper. I’ve taken only one test so far and believe me, it was a real eye-opener! Mighty, mighty interesting, to say the least; and not just the test results, but the whole concept. Maybe you should go see for yourself, eh?

I have had these thoughts rambling and rumbling their way in circles inside my head for the last 24 hours, so I figure it’s high time to allow them escape. I will try (I promise) to spare you the ping-pong effect of my thought processes as they are freed through my fingertips. ;)

Yesterday a friend of mine (Mark) offered an “open mic”, so to speak, on his journal. I took him up on it. After leaving my comments, the thoughts began swirling, and I haven’t been able to make them stop (not that I really want to). So, what are they, you ask? Okay, I’ll tell you. ;)

more…

It is said that familiarity breeds contempt. I’m not there …. yet. But I know that, in my experience, familiarity certainly has bred a cautious nature. I don’t like it. With each new episode of past memory, the brick and mortar grows ever-higher. I find myself hiding behind the wall in an effort to find protection from what I’ve come to know by heart. And yet … I allow myself the slightest hope that this time will be different, because ….

the good is oh, so good ….

but the other is …. oh, so familiar.

Such is life.

So … I happened to turn onto Court TV today, and they’re profiling a case in Ohio against a woman who is accused of vehicular homicide, stemming from a case of alleged road rage. Due to the accident which ensued, a 6-month fetus was killed, and the mother gravely injured. The woman who is on trial fled the scene, going directly to work. Supposedly, she told her co-workers that she thought she had caused an accident, then said, “no one cuts me off”. My feelings? I believe, after listening to the evidence, that she is guilty of causing the accident. My question to you is, is she guilty of homicide? What do you think? I say yes. The fetus killed would have been born in 3 short months. He had all his fingers and toes (they showed his footprints and handprints taken by the hospital). He would have been a breathing person had it not been for this woman’s carelessness. But what I’m really interested in hearing are the thoughts of those who would term themselves far-left pro-choicers. Those of you who say a fetus is not a person until it is born. Do you maintain that belief in this instance? Or would you qualify your opinion under varying circumstances.

C’mon, don’t be shy …. let me hear what you think!