The Hypocrites at Mattel

Yesterday morning when I arrived at my son's high school there were four LAPD cars splayed around the corner. One black and white looked like it had narrowly missed jumping the curb and the motor was still running. I guess they were in a hurry because when I glanced up the street I saw three of LA's finest scouring the bushes in someone's neatly manicured front yard. Another officer was slowly walking along the sidewalk peering into the gutter. I guess my Peet's Christmas brew hadn't kicked in because my first thought was, I wonder what they're looking for? Then I noticed a teenager in a sideways baseball cap standing near the officers with his hands cuffed behind his back. Lined up against the brick wall in front of the school were another three hefty teens in baggy jeans and white T-shirts, two with shaved heads. They also were cuffed. Still they didn't appear to be too upset about it. Two of them were grinning like Santa had come early this year.

Of course leave it to the 15-year-old to know what's up. "Hah, they're looking for drugs," my son said nonchalantly getting out of the car. "Love you, mom."

Have a good day, sweetie!

I don't mean to sound glib. But the presence of cops has come to be such a familiar sight at my son's high school not to mention other LA campuses I've almost become cavalier about it. As in, "What are those rambunctious youngsters up to now?" This week a highly quoted study from the University of Michigan reported that teen drug use last year was mostly flat except for cigarettes. I guess they forgot to poll the students at my son's school because there's a rampant crystal meth problem on campus. And it's hardly just our urban schools. A few weeks ago eight students at the lovely suburban middle school several of my daughter's soccer buddies attend got busted in the girls' bathroom doing meth. Two of the girls were 12. After a big community meeting at the school where there was much hand-wringing and the principal burst into tears, the drug users were ousted and shipped off to other schools. Now that's going to end the tweaking, don't ya think?

Last spring I transferred my son to his current school because even though he was in a much ballyhooed "gifted" program the teachers weren't exactly gifted. The place was also getting to seem a bit too prison-like with its ever-present graffiti and occasional gang shooting near the school swimming pool. And this is considered one of the "best" high schools in LA. His new school has a good reputation but like many LA high schools the average class size is about 85. Is it any wonder they have a truancy problem? A drop-out problem? Or kids openly snorting meth outside the guitar class? I think it was my son's second day when I got THAT bulletin.

The sad thing is he has some great teachers. But there's only so much they can do. I don't think quelling racial violence or sniffing out drugs was part of their job description. We're always giving lip service in this country to the "importance" of education but it's so disingenuous it makes me want to burn a flag. California used to have the best public schools in the country and now we're tied with Alabama or is it Mississippi for last place. What other state, mind you, has a governor who speaks like an action figure? It all goes back to Prop. 13, which basically destroyed California's once fabulous schools.

On another topic. I just heard that Mattel, the parent company of American Girl, caved in to the right-wing nuts who were boycotting American Girl because of its support for Girls Inc. Can you spell S-P-I-N-E-L-E-S-S? Mattel was raising money for Girls Inc.--a nonprofit group also funded by such fringe elements as CBS and Wal-Mart--through sales of bracelets on American Girl's website. Now in an abrupt and disgusting turnaround Mattel has yanked the campaign, severed its ties. What hypocrites.

I know Girls Inc. will survive. The question is, will Barbie? If there is truly a God she will die a slow and horrible death. In another fun study this week the Brits found that girls ages 7 to 12 routinely maim and torture their Barbies in part because they don't find them warm and cuddly. How's that for publicity, Mattel? If only the Brits had asked me. I could have saved them a lot of phone calls and money. I used to put Ken and Barbie in Barbie's pink plastic convertible and then shove them down our precipitous driveway as hard as my 10-year-old arms could. Ken always crashed of course and Barbie was invariably thrown from the vehicle suffering massive head injuries. My friends tortured their slutty Barbies too. We all took immense pleasure in it. So glad the younger generation is keeping up the tradition.

Take that, Mattel!