Parents of 'Panty-Less' Teen Teach Wrong Lesson

The lead paragraph of a TBO.com news story published online on May 16 summed up quite well what is shaping up to be the basis of a strong “culture war” debate in the Tampa Bay area and perhaps nationally as well. Here’s how the article starts out. “You remember the famous scene with Sharon Stone in "Basic Instinct," right? 'Nuff said. A 16-year-old teenager at Sickles High School in [Tampa] Florida is now facing the same "problem," as a result of going "commando" so as to avoid panty lines in a yearbook picture. Unfortunately, it's now resulted in the Sickles High School "yearbook crotch photo" incident.”

It seems the 16 year old who is the focus of the story, when deciding what to wear for the pottery club yearbook photo, opted for a green form fitting mini-dress. Worried that she might display ‘panty-lines’ she decided to pre-empt the problem by not wearing any panties at all. She then compounded the folly of her decision by being less than lady like in her seated pose and unintentionally doing her best Britney Spears imitation.

As expected none of this came to light until the yearbooks were printed and distributed at which time the “oops” was discovered subjecting the “unfortunate” teen to a lot of ridicule from her peers- - -so the story goes. And, just as unfortunately but also just as predictably, the teen’s parents have threatened to file a lawsuit unless the school- -at the school’s expense- - rounds up the yearbooks, corrects the photo and redistributes the redacted publication. In the meantime the ‘victimized’ teen is being allowed to stay home apparently too embarrased to show her face at the school.

This is so wrong on so many levels I don’t know where to begin. So let me just say that it would have been a cold day in Hell that anyone of my daughters would have been purposefully portrayed by their mother and me as an “unfortunate victim” for reaping the consequences of her own stupid decision.

No matter how “embarrased” she might claim to be she would be in school, all day, each day. She would also be “grounded” for at least 30 days. Every morning before leaving for school she would be subject to an “underwear check” from her Mom and again when she got home. Then, the cost of a one week “charm school” class focusing on how to be a “lady” would be deducted from her allowance/savings. Any lawyer attempting to represent her in an action against the school, the photographer, or the yearbook publisher would be physically rebuked, publicly named and actively reviled. In short, my daughter would have been allowed to learn the lesson that stupid decisions make you the “unfortunate” but deserved bearer of lousy and often embarrasing consequences but NOT an “unfortunate victim”.

For more detail go to: http://www.huliq.com/3257/80958/yearbook-crotch-photo-embarases-sickles-high-school-student