02.19
MONDAY 02/21/11 UPDATE
The LaFayette Underground Facebook presence is now a Page. A Facebook Page has certain advantages, such as the “Like Box” in the right-hand column, but also has some limitations. The Underground can no longer send or receive Facebook messages or participate in Facebook chats, nor can we view supporter profiles and status messages.
To cover some of the gaps, we have added (or highlighted) several features you may want to explore:
- An AOL Instant Messenger account. You can chat directly with an Underground editor through AIM username lu@cityoflafayettega.com. AIM is now interoperable with Facebook chat.
- The new LaFayette Underground Facebook Page. Add us to your “Likes” and Underground posts (plus our ongoing discussion of local news) will appear in your news feed. Newest posts appear in the right hand column of this site.
- The Underground now also has a Twitter profile. LU Twitter mirrors our Facebook statuses and link posts with limited discussion. The latest Twitter activity is also in the left hand column on this site.
- You can, as always, e-mail The Underground at lu@cityoflafayettega.com. We cannot reply to every message but read everything we receive. All contact is kept confidential.
We are considering several additional features, such as a chat/share bar at the bottom of the site integrating AIM, Facebook chat, and several sharing functions we already provide. If you think those would be useful additions or have any other ideas, let us know in comments or via e-mail.
Thanks for your ongoing support and patience as we work this all out.
Facebook has removed Lin Wood’s profile account, with the same vague reasons as before and no direct avenue of appeal. This is discriminatory behavior on the part of Facebook as there are dozens of obviously fake profiles allowed to continue even as our legitimate account has been shut down, again. Apparently it doesn’t matter if you follow the rules or not, if enough people get pissed off FB will remove you. Another victory for the punks and losers who know they’re above the law. This just reenforces the attitudes we’re here to fight.
If you happen to know a good lawyer willing to help us out, e-mail us at lu@cityoflafayettega.com .
Last weekend The LaFayette Underground Facebook was shut down after a series of complaints from teenagers in LaFayette upset over discussions of underage drinking parties at the Elks Club and in college dorms. The deletion was not due to content (our content was solid) but because our profile supposedly violated Facebook Terms of Service by not being “a real person.” (No word on when Facebook will take action against the other million-plus people posting under an obviously fake name. Failure to do so should be considered discriminatory.)
The Underground is now back on Facebook with a new URL thanks to supporter Lin Wood, who generously contributed his own name and personal profile in order to continue the Underground’s efforts on the world’s largest social networking site. If there was any way to effectively reach as many people without using Facebook we would, but for now that’s what works and we’ll stick with it.
Underground opponents are already attempting to “out” LU site owners and shut down the new Facebook because they don’t like what we have to say. In some communities, news of political corruption or underage drinking would prompt citizens to get engaged and do something about the problem, working with law enforcement or with the political process to make a change – or at least investigate the claims. In this community, however, the same news prompts people to lash out against those who deliver the message, using threats of violence, intimidation, legal action, bullying, and other means to “defend” themselves against the truth when they have no defense for their behavior.
In LaFayette “freedom of speech” isn’t as concrete a concept as the constitution meant it to be, which is why so many Undergroundlings have to keep their names hidden. You can see from the reaction to our article about the LaFayette arson arrest and comments on Facebook about underage drinking parties why The Underground is necessary for the survival of this community, and why the site must remain underground. Some people will kill you for pointing out the obvious.
Is The LaFayette Underground always 100% accurate? We’ve made some mistakes, but when mistakes are known we make corrections. No news source is going to be dead-on every single time, not even the “legitimate” local media that avoids anything controversial or potentially damaging. We post rumors as rumors, news as news, commentary as commentary – and never claimed to be anything other than an amateur blog run by concerned citizens.
Public reaction to some Underground content reveals that we’ve struck a nerve with some folks. The parents who rush in to defend their children for underage drinking, the citizens who defend the actions (or often inactions) of police officers, and those who defend political corruption are now forced into a situation where they must either act against uncovered problems, or make up contrived justification for the immoral, unethical, and often illegal behavior of those they love and support. They have sadly chosen the latter.
Supporting and ignoring bad behavior in the public realm is a form of trickle-down immorality that stains every part of our culture. When church leaders, business owners, parents, prominent citizens, and others with influence show that it’s OK to break the law, teach children that laws only apply to others, and often even encourage debauchery, it’s no wonder we end up where we are today.
Do we tolerate underage drinking? Absolutely. Do we ignore city councilmen, teachers, and other public officials involved in DUI’s? Apparently so. Do we tolerate political cronyism as long as the cronies are Good Christian People™? Yes we do. Do we ignore 30+ arson fires in less than five years? As long as they only happen on the bad side of town. Do we allow our friends, political supporters with deep pockets and good connections, to “get behind” on work at the crematory? We do until Fox 5 comes knocking on their door. Is it acceptable for retired police to hold neighborhoods hostage? Steve Wilson seems to think so. Do we let cops beat their wives? As long as they clock out first. Do we let the same officers get away with murder? Erm no. We don’t do that. That’s where we draw the line. Once the murder is committed, and there’s no possible way to hide who did it, we’ll prosecute. But if the line was drawn where the law lies, it would never get to that point. Not anywhere close.
We live in a criminal culture, a place where bad behavior against others is tolerated beyond what is acceptable, but if anyone dares shine a flashlight into your own corner they had better watch out.
Welcome to Walker County.
I really hope you bring your page back to facebook, albeit without adding all those trouble-making, nasty-mouthed kids. A voice of reason in opposition to any article should always be welcome.
I agree with Leigh Ane, we need you to get back here!!
“The South Will Rise Again!” Hopefully a lot quicker than they did rise … Oh, I forgot … they didn’t rise. Well, you know what I mean … :)
It just goes to show you who the real guilty parties are. I am sure you will find a way to get by the Facebook TOS. Let us know when you do!
If we come back as a non-actual person we violate TOS and run the risk of being shut down any time a 20 year old punk gets pissy about us outing him. But if we set up a page there are several disadvantages, one being a page has to have an administrator which would have to be a real person and thus identify who’s posting everything. Pages also have limited controls over who can post – anyone can “Like” a page and make comments, we would have to delete individual comments individually instead of blocking certain persons. Pages are also a lot easier to ignore – how many people have 500 “Likes” they pay no attention to?
The biggest problem would be as a page we couldn’t see comments and statuses from followers. That puts us at a huge disadvantage with knowing what’s going on in town – a network of 1,750+ people is hard to replace when it comes to knowing what’s going on. Not to mention the inherent difficulty of getting all those people back on board.
I don’t know what we’re going to do.. I guess if the people of LaFayette hate what we’ve done so much they can just have it, teen drinking parties and all. God bless.
— The LaFayette Underground – lu@cityoflafayettega.com
it makes me sad that it came down to this. But look on the bright side you can always start an organization page.
Drew Kelley “You should post something about no serving of alcohol, because LU is eating our fun up.”
It this a partial confession? Hmm…
You could always make a fan page. Hold discussions and what not there.
A fan page is a possibility but again that’s a one-way street. We can’t interact with Undergroundlings as well, seeing their comments on other things and status messages through a Page. More than once we’ve picked up on things going on in the city or county be seeing someone’s post or comment that wasn’t directed to us. So I’m not sure what the answer is.. Nothing as this point would be ideal for what we need. Feels very disconnected not having any way to contact everyone at once – would be nice to have a goodbye post or something, Facebook is really a bunch of Nazis.
– LU
You can make me an administrator. I live in Wisconsin, who’s gonna come up here and bother me?
Just keep thinking about it …
Just let one of the news agencies in Chattanooga know what is going on, a juicy story like that should draw some attention. Just an Idea.
haha. Its about time they shut you down. I can hear that sick puppies song echoing in my mind “One of us is going, yeah one of us is going down!” :p
LaFayette Undergound is not shut down. You see the website you just commented on? Um…the Facebook page was shut down, but as you can see, the website is still alive and well. What’s your point?
Haha, post your name or don’t post at all. Without a name to back you up your comments are officially invalid.
Kevin, about which? The drinking or the Facebook shutdown? Nobody’s going to cover the shutdown, and if we go to Chattanooga media about the drinking they’ll go talk to the sheriff or police chief and be told there’s no problem. We’re here for a reason, if they were willing to touch stuff like that in LaFayette there’d be no need for all the time and trouble we’ve put in.. Which might be pointless at this point anyway.
Maybe we just need to move on, the town doesn’t want what we’re doing. 6,000 people in town, 1750+ on Facebook and five who bother to check on us here after the deletion.. I guess the drunk preachers’ kids and corrupt free-golf-focus councilmen and everyone else who’s lying and corrupting the community can have it since the community is glad to be treated that way.
“If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet.” -Matthew 10:14
— LU
Just start another page, and instead of lafayette underground, name it shit talkers.
:)
To all of you people that were not at the Elks Lodge I was there for the entire evening and one of the six people that looked after the party. There was NO drinking inside or outside of the lodge is was a great party of music and dancinf for the kids. Chuck Fennell
Lafayette Lodge Exalted Ruler
It’s a shame. It makes me sad because I hate to see them win again. You were the voice of reason, L.U. And for a time, those of us who didn’t have parents in positions of authority or money or big job titles got to feel that we had an entity with our best interests at heart. Sure, I don’t live there anymore, but my family and friends do. My recommendation to everyone is to move away from that backwards town, see the world. But for the people still stuck in LaFayette (or there by choice)..I’m sad for them.
Everything has its season, and LaFayette just sucks. I know LU is trying to do something, something that needs to be done, but as much as I didn’t like LaF. before, I like it even less after the last couple of weeks. I would hate to raise my kids here very much longer. One thing about up north is people don’t pretend so much, they tell you what they feel and don’t pretend they are upright Christian people when they aren’t…of course there are some that do, but it isn’t the prevelant cultural thing. Lot less clubby, clique up north too. There are some good people in this town, but I think the people that can do something, or want to do something are just going to leave because it sucks. The schools, the roads, the housing, the council, the parks, the opportunities, the shopping, the entertainment, the arts, the leaders, the churches, the poverty – all suck. I will trade this for the snow in Michigan, I’ll just want to take a few of you that make sense, that are intelligent, wise, articulate, moral, ethical and nice with me :D
Come to Wisconsin, Katie! The snowbanks are starting to melt. :)
You people are hypocrites! I must post my name on here… yet LU hides beneath a bag. Get a life! You people should check out the new FB page, titled “LU Fails”. :p
Please, everyone, do not check that page. Don’t give them attention! Do it for L.U.!
“You people are hypocrites! I must post my name on here… yet LU hides beneath a bag. Get a life! You people should check out the new FB page, titled “LU Fails”. :p”
But, by not showing your name, and hiding behind “haha”, doesn’t that make you one as well?? Will do, and we will be sure to report it for bullying and harrassing. :)
Carrie, I’m heading back to Michigan. We can be neighbors :D
LU didn’t fail, LU has its original site right here. This is where they started. This is where the real content is. They weren’t kicked off for content, just because they had a personal profile and they weren’t a person. Now the just need come up with another presence on Facebook to keep up to date is all. They’ll figure it out after they get over the initial disappointment. David’s page has a cool board, but once again, the facebook presence is good for getting the info out. A page or person to put up the latest on this page or a board/forum would be useful. Don’t know why they can’t do that.
True, I admit I use Facebook more than any other site, so that’s where I get most of my information, through shared links and such. Having all the info on Facebook means I don’t have to check a million websites every day. That’s why this is tragic…everyone is addicted to Facebook, and LaFayette is like a fishbowl..you can’t fart without everyone seeing the bubbles. Having a Facebook page is the top way to reach people, so I guess what we can do is share everyone of their posts on Facebook until they come back. My posts won’t reach any of the morons, because none of my friends are morons, though.
They WERE NOT kicked off for content I mean.
I know it is disheartening when some try to shut you up because they don’t like what you say, but that is all the more reason to continue to say it and say it louder! There may only be a few supporters here so far, but more will come once they realize what has happened. The voices of reason who want to expose the corruption and shadiness in this town will not be silenced and we will continue to speak out until our voices are heard.
All it takes is someone to take the initiative to make a page, then share everything that L.U. posts. L.U., are you going to keep up this website at least?
Chuck Fennel’s comment was #1000 on the site, just FYI..
Those of you on Facebook who have other friends who were Underground readers, please pass along the word of what happened and refer them to this post. We’ll put any future plans and what’s happening next in here.
Thanks for your continued support.
— LU
I think everyone should report the L.U. Fails page for them not being a real person…
Everyone friends with the LU Fails profile is partially responsible for the profile being closed.. The party kids who will someday inherit the town and are once again superior to everyone else. They learned again today that they’re untouchable.
— LU
Just make up a name, put a picture of FogHorn LegHorn up and post away.
Reported. Everyone else should also.
Done. And I know of at least 3 more who have also. :)
I reported also…what comes around goes around, in my opinion.
Brandon: if we do that they can always pull this crap on us again. I may have dug my own grave with the status message about the threats because I said it would be a TOS violation for fake profile instead of a content problem.. There were no content problems, we had at least three sources verifying the account of alcohol at the party and one person fighting us over it admitted “only one person” brought some in, which is all it takes if they bring enough.. But anyway, I may have done it with that, either giving someone the idea to report that kind of violation or setting a message FB might have interpreted as an admission of guilt, which it probably was.
We’re setting up an AIM account..
— LU
I just reported that little punk’s site as unreal and fake profile. DONE!
L.U. I know of so many people who are not real on FACEBOOK, they are should I say
a Role Player page but they use the character’s name, can we not come up with a character name and you can be like the role player except you can use the character name as your name and we will all know you are real and then still be a friend page and keep up with everything that is going on? I mean they would have to shut down every role playing friend page to justify blocking you from doing that. Just thought I would suggest. I support your efforts as the L.U. FB page, it kept me informed about what is going on REALLY in LaFayette and not the sugar coated truths these lawbreaking kids want. Thank you for what you have done and I hope you will come back in some capacity.
J.S.
Keep us posted, L.U. Keep fighting the good fight.
You can reach The LaFayette Underground on AIM Chat, username is lu@cityoflafayettega.com. Might not keep that, but for now we can discuss a few things and hash some of this out, figure out where to go next.
– LU
I am glad L.U. was shut down by Facebook. Time and time again, L.U. demonstrated that he/she could only come up with “hear say” and not actual facts. I just wonder what he/she will now do with all their free time they once devoted to this obsession.
Are you seriously accusing L.U. of having an obsession, when here you are, commenting? Can’t stay off the page, can you? No, you cannot. Which means if LU has an obsession and/or too much free time, you do also.
Adam is Steve’s son. He’s been after us since we said unflattering things about ol’ dad. Hi Adam, welcome to the evolving discussion..
– LU
Just start a FB fan page for LU Lafayette
The problem is someone would have to be the administrator, and LU would have to give up the secrecy that way. And if it’s a fake profile running the page, the fake profile will just get reported again.
i’m sure as more people notice your absence they’ll come looking for you. you’ve only been off facebook for a matter of hours. as you keep pointing out, the WEBSITE is your project, your baby, your magnum opus! the facebook page was just to make us aware of the website. do not be discouraged!
Sorry just scanning the comments, but the new fan pages they send you notifications when someone comments and you can see when someone likes something.
And just have lots of people as admins. People like David, Michelle, me, you know, people who are always commenting.
I agree with Jessica. Open it up to people who’ve been faithful to your message and mission, let them help and do some of the work if they are willing.
Yeah, then I can delete my unfunny comments!
Hey L.U. If you don’t like my other Idea, have you considered twitter as an alternative. There you can have any combo of letters or numbers you want. I don’t go there much but IF I knew you would be delivering new about LaFayette, I’d be more apt to go there. Just saying…. as defined in the URBAN Dictionary…
Yeah, b/c the LU is a lot bigger than just one or two people now.
ooooo! yeah! do twitter! good idea!
“I am Phædrus, that is who I am, and they are going to destroy me for speaking the Truth.”
Twitter sucks.
LOL @ Mr. Moon :p Yes FB is better than Twitter, it twas a suggestion.
It’s really no surprise they had you shut down. Anytime any one tries speaking the truth they try to stop them. I left Lafayette, refusing to raise my children in such a crooked & hypocritical town. I have personal knowledge & proof of how crooked they are, mainly including Sheriff Steve Wilson. It’s all in who you know & how much money you got. And I did contact the Times Free Press regarding what I knew & they were very interested, at first, but then I was politely told they could not get involved.
Angie, that’s very sad. I will have to drag my hubby with me, but we are leaving the town. The sad part is leaving those behind that don’t have much choice to stay, or the young kids that are trapped in the cycle of stupidly provided by their parents…they grow up to be the gas station robbers, and the arsonist, and the statutory rapists and the child pornographers, the ones that give drugs and alcohol to minors….on one side, and then those who do those things and get away with it because they know someone on the other side…but scorn, hate and neglect those on the other side for doing the same things…just not as fashionably or secretly…sad, sad.
In light of recent events. it is my sad duty to reveal the name of the entity known as L.U. aka LaFayette Underground.
The person in question is none other than Irwin Fletcher.
Sorry, Fletch. The people must know.
The reason for reporting fake profiles is “does not represent a real person”. Well, I’m quite sure L.U. is a real person. Anonymity does not remove personhood.
That’s not Irwin M. “Fletch” Fletcher? OMG!!! I should have known!!!
dang it! i’m having “like” button withdrawals! good one lucas.
I agree, we’re a real person… But the TOS also says you have to use your real name, which puts about 25% of the people on Facebook in violation in some way. If we had a lawyer or had a means to appeal it we would, but it’s Facebook – not many options and not much hope… Might as well just close shop.
— LU Fletch
Its all coming out now! Lucas, why didn’t you say something earlier to us! But now those kids are going to get on here and will know who to go beat up or at least direct their empty threats more directly to! Irwin sounds like an old man, but he’s probably young and that just throws people off. So since we know who you are now Irwin Fletcher, please just start your own profile if you don’t already have one…you can do: Irwin Fletcher (The Real LaFayette Underground Unleashed)
I am sorry, but quit being a whiner. You were full of testicular fortitude several days ago and now you are going to sit there and feel sorry for yourself. Are you just all talk? Was it just for excitement, because that is what it seems like is going on now. Its too hard, and now you don’t care enough about what is going on to try. If that’s how it is, that’s fine, I agree, you might as well close shop.
If the Facebook era is over, then it’s up to us undergroundlings to step up and keep on top of the blog entries here. Let’s all post a link to each new entry.
Those punk ass kids as you call them were not the only people that reported you and your holier than thou page and posts. I am glad they closed the page.
At one time, the LU served a purpose, but it has turned into a class warfare, slanderous, libelous, I have more morals than you, gossip rag.
If you want any credibility and would like to make a difference in what actually happens in Lafayette and Walker County, it is time to quit being a gutless coward and attacking people by hiding behind a screen name and a paper bag.
Just like the local politicians and other leaders, you put yourself into the public eye so you must pay the piper and stop crying about threats and saying you must stay anonymous cause some teenager you are picking on made a threat and might beat you up. They showed more maturity than you have. These people you bash receive threats on a consistent basis.
You have pretty much become the National Enquirer.
Yeah, maybe there will be more time to actually write this content if there is less time spent on Facebook. We can always post on other local pages, and someone can make a page without those in charge of the LU being involved, just to keep those up-to-date. However, someone has to be willing to connect it to themselves and manage it.
Sure Marcus, sure. Good job putting on your big boy pants. Good job throwing up the same stuff everybody else did. Maybe it was a good thing the facebook page went down because all of the wonders like you that were on there repeating yourselves over and over again. This site will still exist, and this site is what has all the real content that concerns the city anyway. You can take your big boy pants off now and go back to bed.
Class warfare? Hardly. Not when the opposition is without class.
don’t give up. This is where you started :) like faith said this website is your baby. Your mothership! Don’t let go of your vision. To see lafaytette becoming a better community for all. You’ve raised attention but if you give up now what will become of what you started? You have momentum but don’t let it be stopped! You can do it l.u.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The Show must go on.
Chase Williams Is on the Above Underground saying he’s glad L.U. site is gone. Why does he even bring this up on that site? Bragging perhaps?
Well, if it wasn’t for the threats of the “righteous” L.U. could show his face. If people were civil, there would be a need for anonymity.
soon as i get internet ill make a fan page and add david and jessica as admins, if they dont beat me to it.
also, as soon as someone uses the word “bash” i instantly discredit anything they say.
We need to be able to send out links not just to what’s on the site but to that daily news that doesn’t fit on here… The best way to do that is with an official LU page adminn’ed by someone who doesn’t normally post replies because any comments or replies made by a page administrator show up as the page, not the person (if that makes sense). But with a page we’re going to lose a lot of our ability to know what’s going on in the community because we won’t be able to see people’s statuses, links, photos, etc. that often tip off a big news story nobody else knows about. That’s my main concern about doing it again with just a page.
Those who did this to the Underground Facebook presence may wish they hadn’t when small stuff we had been posting there, like photos of underage drinking parties, go on this site where they will be available forever for anyone capable of using Google. Some of them may also regret their choices in this situation when we stop pulling punches. Believe it or not, we’ve held back on using names and details with some articles and have a few extremely interesting things we’ve not mentioned at all. That kind of restraint may not continue in light of how we’ve been treated.
Not sure how we’ll come back, but if you thought we were pissed off BEFORE… Might be a meaner LU when things get rolling again. Not sure if that accomplishes anything but I’m not sure I care right now about the difference between accomplishment and punishment.
— LU
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by gagreeneyes65, VINCE STALLING. VINCE STALLING said: Fighting the Truth http://t.co/8y5N87c […]
When you open a new account let your friends know. It was a good go before the place got trashed.
My husband and I had dinner at the Elks Lodge Saturday and saw the young people having a party, however, I never saw any alcohol being served by any member of the Elks Lodge. If alcohol was consumed on the property, it was brought in by the party goers. These same young people would have had alcohol no matter where the party was held. You can’t hold the Elks responsible for what happened, if indeed, anything did happen. I seriously have my doubts.
I know of at least two families who have had birthday parties at the Elk’s lodge for young children. Even when the place was reserved, the lodge members still came in and drank alcohol. Apparently they reserve that right, whther it is right or not.
As for serving the alcohol, I don’t think they’d open themselves to liability like that.
The Elks club probably did not serve alcohol to the minors. I don’t think that’s the point. However, if the Elks club knows what is going on, whether or not the person throwing the party provides it, someone else brings it in, etc. they need to clean it up or restrict their renting it out. I know they want to make a dollar like everyone else, and apparently they are making plenty off of these parties, but they should be responsible also. I am also going to bet that at dinner time there isn’t as much drinking as say, 10 PM. The Elks do serve alcohol to their members and I am sure they probably provide a bar for parties, but I don’t think they’d intentionally serve to minors…I am sure someone else was doing that somewhere else on the property, but as most people seem to think, if they don’t see it, it doesn’t happen….lalaland
Please don’t misunderstand. We were not saying the Elks Club sold or served alcohol to anybody, but were highlighting how several recent teen parties at the facility have had alcohol. The party organizers have been aware of it, law enforcement and parents have been aware of it, but everyone considers it acceptable for children as young as 15 to attend parties where beer is available. The last party, held Febryary 12th, resulted in several children as young as 16 being picked up by parents obviously intoxicated and the party’s host was observed driving around town drunk after the party ended.
We posted several things on Facebook about this problem, which resulted in a number of prominent LaFayette citizens defending their children and expressing outright pride in drunken illegal behavior. Our comments offended a significant number of people and led to complaints to Facebook, not for the content but for another unrelated violation of their service terms, which is why we are temporarily without a Facebook presence.
The next party will be held Saturday February 26th and has been promoted as alcohol-free, open to all ages, with everyone in town invited. We plan to get a group together and pay a visit to the party to help the one 19-year-old chaperone keep out alcohol since he’s unable to monitor all of the teens present himself. Since the party planners have publicly stated a desire to keep it alcohol free, they should gladly welcome any help we can provide in keeping it that way, right? We’ll see.
— LU
I’ll help LU, count me in. Well, if I can get a sitter…
Also, I don’t think much of the drinking happens AT the party, my understanding is groups get together BEFORE the party and get drunk then show up, then go to an after party and drink some more.
Well if they show up drunk they don’t need to go in, and the Walker SO needs to come pick them up for underage consumption. Haven’t seen or heard about that happening, either.
This discussion board is so limiting, so non-interactive.. Meanwhile the teens on Facebook so proud of their weekend activities are bragging about this, just saw a comment from one saying we’ll probably come back but won’t dare say anything about them anymore. I dare say the opposite is true.. This might become an outright war.
— LU
In a war of wits, intelligence, and factual truth, they are at an extreme disadvantage.
LHS is on lockdown. Would be great to have this on Facebook.
http://www.catwalkchatt.com/view/full_story/11388909/article-LaFayette-High-School-on-lockdown?instance=home_news_1st_left
Apparently you people with all the negative posts about the party at the Elks Lodge do not have children or you don’t trust them. As I stated prevously I was at the party the entire evening and it was great to see the teenagers having a good time as there is nothing for them to do in this town. The banquet room is completely sealed off from the lounge area and no one could possible be able to get served. There was also several Elks members that had children at the party themselves and they also went into the party room to make sure everything was proper. Again let me make it clear that no one drank at this party. You people need to get a life and learn to trust your own children.
Trust your children? Too funny.
I saw where some of those same kids were acting up on LaFayette Aboveground FB page, and they took the thread off of the page…… That stopped them in their tracks.
I hope nothing bad is going down at the High School my kid is there right now.
I have three teenagers, but when it comes to them, I trust but verify! Whether or not you, Chuck, or other adults observed kids drinking is beside the point. At least 2, if not more, kids were intoxicated when their parents picked them up from this party. Anyone who trusts their teenage kids completely is a fool. Kids are going to attempt to push their boundaries and it is up to us, as parents, to steer them in the direction of making the right decisions. Any parent who trusts absolutely that their teenager is doing exactly what they say they are doing without any verification of those facts, is turning a blind eye because they choose to. More than likely, most of the kids there were just having an honest, safe good time, but there are always going to be those few that will sneak alcohol onto the premises and ruin the fun for everyone. It is the responsibility of the community to do whatever is necessary to prevent this from happening again. No one wants to see the kids who aren’t abusing this privilege lose it, but more must be done to prevent that from happening. There need to be more responsible adults chaperoning these events in order for that to happen. A few adults coming in and out of a room every so often is obviously not making the grade, since kids did drink (whether inside or outside the party room) and were intoxicated when their parents picked them up.
so leigh ane/ how good do you know you kids? do you need to answer this before or after you smoke alittle meth. gezzzzzz goody2shoes from knoll dr. ha ha how funny. please tell the people that you got busted in linwood for meth you tell on some folks and got off the hook dont sit there and your dads place and think your all that.
Chuck Fennell, if you trust ANY teenager as far as you can throw them, you are a complete and total fool. Those who trust their kids will end up bailing them out of jail, or picking them up at the morgue. Maybe you were some weak, nerdy kid who was afraid to taste life, but the vast majority of teens will push all the buttons.
REALLY!!! they let the kids get drunk at the ELKS LODGE? wtf i thought chuck was better than that. guess thats all they do there is drink to bad i dont have enough money to join!!!can someone not do something about this lodge? never been there but, it dont sound like a good place id wanna be
To Whatever2011, I will be the first to admit I have made mistakes in my PAST and I ALONE paid the consequences those mistakes cost me. As far as the juvenile accusations of “telling on some folks”…get a life outside of the drug world and grow up. I paid dearly for my bad decisions and learned from them, so how about you do the same. As far as my living situation goes, that is none of your business and is something you obviously know nothing about, but just to clarify, I live in a house that I PAY FOR, that I PAY TAXES ON, and that I pay the bills for…so bite me.
I could not care less what you think of me now or what you thought of me then, who ever you are, but at least I have the guts to post my REAL NAME when I make a statement and not hide behind cowardly words and fake names meant to discredit. As far as discrediting me goes, keep on trying, as my past experience makes me more aware of the dangers and pitfalls that are out there for teenagers to fall into. I have an open and honest relationship with my kids and I have absolutely no secrets from them.
However, I do welcome you to try out one of our local Narcotics Anonymous meetings to get some help for yourself since you still seem to be stuck in the absurd insanity of active addiction. Unlike the various “party rooms” of my past, in one of those rooms, I would gladly be the first to welcome you.
Honestly i think one of the reasons the police doesn’t do anything is because the jails are overcrowded as is, it costs approx. 23 dollars a day to keep an inmate in jail. There are 200 or more inmates in jail do the math. Also if there are 15 and 16 year olds “getting drunk” or drinking underage then there are completely different laws and ways to deal with juveniles and police realize this the majority of the time kids like in this group grow out of this party stage and become better people. It’s almost part of growing up, you may not have done it as a kid and i didn’t either nor do i encourage it, but this is the society we live in today. This doesn’t just happen in lafayette either, it’s the way things go all over america
These kids who reported you have done nothing but PROVE what you have said all along, and that’s that if someone dares to EVER speak out and try to reveal the truth in this crooked ass town they get shunned and stoned! This is so ridiculous. Over half of the population here all act and think the same, and think that anyone and everyone who thinks or acts any different need to be shunned and burned off the face of the planet. It’s really quite sad how close-minded this town is.
LU, I support you 100%! Since you’ve been forced to move off of FB, this will do nothing but give me more of an incentive to come to this site and read some of the blog posts that I have been meaning to read since…well, since my mother told me about you. XP
In a nutshell, in my humble opinion, society’s biggest problem today is lack of accountability, and the idea that the world owes them, and regardless if they’ve earned it or now, the world OWES them.
Here’s a novel idea for you. Return to Facebook the same way the rest of us do.
Sign in as a real person, with a real face. Be accountable for what you post, as the rest of us are.
Will you, though? I rather doubt it. Heaven forbid you hold yourself to the same standards you seem to expect from others.
It’s a nice thought, though. Don’t you think?
:)
I’ll do it.
Everyone already thought I was YOU, anyway…
My mom completely trusted me when I was a teenager!!!! And I had my first child when I was 17…..just sayin :)
As are threats, violence, and the stupid acts that people and kids do, Lily. L.U. would not be able to get close enough to the source of really what’s going on if he/she/they were unmasked. L.U. is a bigger network than one person who want to see a change in the community. The one bag is shared by many throughout Lafayette.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/LaFayetteRossville-Underground/189010861119593?sk=wall#!/pages/LaFayetteRossville-Underground/189010861119593
Just in case no one else has linked but everyone says it’s LES.
One way to resolve the problem would be for someone in another state to open up a FB profile with the name “LU Officia” Thompson or something like that. Post a profile pic holding a sign “welcome to my FB profile for the LaFayette Underground” and then turn the password over to the Underground. Then the profile is for a real person, who allows the Underground to function through it.
Deffinetly a need for you guys on facebook! Thank you so much for what you do!
Yet a Google Exec. can start a revolution using Fb, even bragging on World News that he used Fb and the revolution would not have been possible without it.
I was gonna say, “hey my FB name is my real name!” But then I remembered that my mom didn’t actually name me Boogaloo Shrimp, much to my dismay. :p
I’m kind of liking your news being posted on here again LU. Just add a Facebook Like plug-in, and I’m sure there’s a “like” plugin for comments too, and it will be like you aren’t even gone at all. And you don’t have to deal with any BS terms of service. I kind of miss the old fashioned websites, personally. Facebook and Twitter and Overstock.com changing to “o.co”…I’m pretty sure we’re going to eventually be using ragged breaths and punctuation to communicate and that just doesn’t sit well with me! Keep it up on here, chisel it in rock, hell, write a letter and send it to us all via Pony Express…if someone has something to say, there’s always a way to get it heard, no matter the venue!
The Rossville/LaFayette Underground Facebook page is not the real original LaFayette Underground, I’d hope you could tell the difference looking it over.. We’re probably going to use a solution similar to what Pastor Travis has suggested above, someone’s real profile hollowed out and repurposed for the Underground. We might, however, start putting more of these quick links here and fewer on FB. As you can see from today’s comments, Facebook is an easier way to reach more people in a hurry and is a better forum for us to cover breaking news, but we also need to have more content here where it’s untouchable and easier to archive and link back to.
I’m considering asking my friend Lin Wood to set up a new profile for us..
— LU
Really sad to hear this. when you make your comeback add me to your list!
I was told by my kid at high school that some of the kids with tudes were even talking in class wondering who in the world is L.U. You did get under their skin and yes they ganged up on you, but once a new page is started, If they start something delete the thread, just like LaFayette Aboveground did to them today. I thought it amusing.
I will try and watch the Rossville/LaFayette page for now, maybe Les will let us know when L.U. is up and running, he did say on his page he did not mind You L.U. taking over and he would sit back.
i wouldn’t mind a new fb page, but only if you stick to facts and no accusations, and don’t make kids having parties the focus point for 2 straight weeks, personally i don’t care about parties i would rather know about the city of lafayette and the important stuff. not a party at elks lodge if you wanna know about that just go to it.
Haha. Very clever! Can’t wait for your return, I miss your posts!
Here’s Lin’s new profile.. http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002115489941
I’m curious if Mrs. Womack still does a school paper and if students have written opinion pieces about LU?
L.u… Ever since you left facebook I’ve been being trolled.. Seriously. I posted a NON OFFENSIVE video a few weeks ago and someone found it and had a problem with it, They messaged me and tried to start some drama… I hate trolls.. COME BACK TO FACEBOOK!!!! :]
Since Lin is allowing L.U. to use their profile for updating and such, I think we should all make a contribution by taking a picture of ourselves holding a sign saying something like “I am the L.U.” or “Friend of L.U.” and tag Lin in it or send it to Lin so he can have more photos of REAL people :D
I’ll do one that says “I read the LU”…but honestly I don’t want to arouse any more suspicion than I am already getting. No offense LU, but the only radar I want to be on is for the work I do, not because someone thinks I’m some kind of shit starter or something. But I’m really glad you got your FB issues fixed and as long as you’re around I’ll be reading!
Also, how lame is it that they had a council meeting on Valentine’s Day! Those men should have been at home pampering their wives, not talking about golf cart batteries.
Jessica: Only three of the five councilmen showed up, barely enough to legally do business. Not really many people in the room either, the usual city employees and a small number of seniors.
— LU
If you are under the age of 21 you are breaking the law if you drink! Doesn’t matter what your Momma’s or Daddy’s let you do, what you think or believe…. it doesn’t really matter!
(1) No person knowingly, directly or through another person, shall furnish, cause to be furnished, or permit any person in such person’s employ to furnish any alcoholic beverage to any person under 21 years of age;
(2) No person under 21 years of age shall purchase, attempt to purchase, or knowingly possess any alcoholic beverage;
(3) No person under 21 years of age shall misrepresent such person’s age in any manner whatever for the purpose of obtaining illegally any alcoholic beverage;
(4) No person knowingly or intentionally shall act as an agent to purchase or acquire any alcoholic beverage for or on behalf of a person under 21 years of age; or
(5) No person under 21 years of age shall misrepresent his or her identity or use any false identification for the purpose of purchasing or obtaining any alcoholic beverage.
It doesn’t specifically prohibit “consumption” but possession in your stomach would also meet the legal standard here and not be allowed. The only exemptions are for religious ceremonies or medical use as employed by a doctor. Some states allow under-21 alcohol consumption with parental permission but not this one.
A law is a law is a law..
— LU
Bring the page back as a business page and you should be fine.
Like the new additions
Your off facebook again?? What now??
sunday, feb 20, 2:36. lin wood is down. any word on that?
I just noticed the Lin Wood page has been taken down. My word, why this time? It was a real person’s profile, I’d be fighting that! Wonder if Henderson was responsible or those punk kids again.
Taken off again??!!!!!
Yeah, saw that too, but noticed it doesn’t say the same thing…so am wondering if they are waiting for verification that he’s a real person or something. I hope he does fight it.
Same as before. They decided Lin Wood isn’t a real person and provide no means of appeal or restoration. Anybody know a brave free lawyer?
— LU
There is obviously some snitchers that both frequent the page you put up and others. I don’t run and tell. I just like your material, it’s down to earth and brings up alot of good points and keeps all of us informed. I’d like to write the guy who invented/owns FB, anybody got his e-mail? LOL I’ll complain.
From an article about what not to do on Facebook:
Don’t Add Too Many Friends
Yes, it’s true, Facebook has banned members for adding too many friends, or at least for adding too many friends “too fast.” What’s ironic about this is that Facebook makes it possible for you to invite a bunch of people at once by importing your address book. If Facebook decides you have a ridiculous number of contacts, you could find your account disabled.
http://www.squidoo.com/facebook-bans
Apparently Facebook has also banned people for being too active. If you spend a lot of time writing on your friends’ walls, it could trigger Facebook’s spam alert.
To avoid problems, you should only add a few friends at a time. Don’t be too post-happy. Try not to be too popular.
Well that bites. It’s good in a way, you know you’re getting under people’s skin. But wow that’s getting pathetic on the part of the anti-fans.
You’ve got to be kidding me. You’re gone again.
however, should one decide to fight fire with fire..
“Please be aware that managing multiple accounts is a serious violation of Facebook’s Terms of Use. If we determine that an individual has more than one account, we reserve the right to terminate all of their accounts.”
so…guy who has the news page and a personal page…oh that’d be a direct violation….
I have seen plenty of bloggers that have their business FB page and then a personal one and they have not been taken off. Why would it be different for someone doing news? That Henderson guy is running a personal and business one at the same time.
Henderson has a Page and a personal profile, not two profiles. He’s in the clear with Facebook TOS. A page is extremely limiting, which is why we’ve tried to avoid using one. Somewhat like trying to do what we did before with both hands tied behind our back and one eye missing. We’ll keep you updated as we can..
— LU
Huh, I just took “multiple accounts” to mean any kind of accounts
Well you can’t login as a page, only as an account/profile. A page is an extension built off of a profile, and an individual can participate in or create multiple pages. So it’s some hair-splitting as to what’s a real person/profile/account and what’s just an extension of that.
A page also can’t participate in FB chat, send or receive messages, view profiles of people who “like” it, or respond to statuses or posts from individuals not actually on the page unless they’re also friends with the page administrator. A page additionally cannot “page suggest” anyone not already friends with the specific page administrator using the page.
In other words, both hands behind our back and one eye poked out. A significant reduction in the level of interaction we’re able to have with readers, a reduction in the ways we can contact people, a complete end to us being able to see what’s going on in the community by observing friends’ status messages, and the end of being able to “friend request” previous followers and people who comment here, as we’ve done before.
All because we pissed some people off and they figured out how to use Facebook’s unevenly enforced TOS like a club to beat us over the head.
— LU
Can you write this site to be more like a forum? This really sucks…I enjoy and look forward to reading your page…You can have the ever changing page on facebook, make it all public and except before long it will be shut down…over and over again. Or you could create a real profile and put a real person with it as the picture, slowly add friends (make everything ublic until you can except them all) and ray it meets codes enough they question it…What about a business page? How much does one cost and how does it work in compairison to a personal profile?
I think that it means you can’t have more than one profile, personal profile, not pages…
Ah, I’ve not looked at all into fb beyond my normal profile. My mistake then for not knowing a page is an extension and not another account. Oh well. If it weren’t for the death threats and the fact that I have children, I would be happy to be your real person. But, I don’t fancy burning to death in my home because people don’t mind their children drinking.
Okay, everyone, just look up LaFayette Underground, AS A PAGE, on facebook now…tell all your friends that is where it is, tell them to go and like and tell them to come read the website.
Well You know lin wood had a brother named wind wood and a cousin named skyline heights I’m pretty sure they would help you out
Setting back up every weekend is too much work. We could have finished editing four blog posts in the time it’s taken to battle this insanity.
— LU
Ray Barker Is copying and posting everything you have said here and putting it on that Henderson site. FYI
Ray Barker is a moron. He should copy that and put that on there. He’s obsessed with Les, which is totally weird.
Definition of cyber-stalker: using the internet to harass or stalk an individual or group of individuals or an organization.
Seems to describe Ray right down to his toenails. Always jumping in with half truths about Les on whatever page he’s on.
Definition of a cyber-bully: the use of information and communication technologies to support deliberate, repeated, and hostile behavior by an individual or group, that is intended to harm others.
Another definition that describes Ray. And gee! He gets to stay on FB venting his venom all over pages with info he rips from other pages he’s not part of. Now, saying he’s these things won’t do any good as he’s part of the good-old-boy network. I believe FB got some pressure from the elite 30 of LU Fails through their parents/connections. I talked to a friend over the weekend and he/she indicates this has been a problem in the past when someone gets pissed at another person. FB has no way to verify information sent on their complaint forums. They also don’t take kindly to lots of folks taking what they see as retalitory action against the initial instigators after a page goes down. However, this friend won’t intervene. He/she wants identity kept quiet for now. Threats don’t just come in from small towns, if you get my drift. This person says to keep fighting the good fight. Enough noise and those troublemakers will draw attention they don’t want, especially when FB notices they’re always complaining about people not connected with them.
Why not just go around the LaFayette cemetery and pick of a name of a dude long gone. If they can vote they surely can have a facebook page…plus it would be a more legitimate sounding name. Then put in personal info but embellish a bit…what are they going to do look through school, voting, and county registers? Plus you can say you went to another school and had a different hometown…long as it is fictional might as well make it believable and harder to prove otherwise.
Assign dude as administrator and he can be your “pen” pal.
I think I could use my own long-established real name profile and still get shut down if enough people got together and claimed I wasn’t real or FB thought I was just a front for someone else. Based on the information Katie posted above, we would risk being shut down for adding too many friends too fast, being too controversial, or anything else that might rock the boat or be perceived as a problem. And if that fails, the ones complaining can always get daddy’s lawyer after somebody. That leaves us with few options – a Facebook profile obviously isn’t workable, and a Facebook Page is extremely limited and backwards. They recently rolled out some changes that hurt even the established Pages, much less new ones.. We set one up but it’s impossible to do anything with and it’s abandoned until further notice.
Now do you folks see why we have to do this and remain anonymous? Do you see why the newspaper doesn’t dare run anything potentially controversial or even potentially debate-stirring? These few dozen people and their children have this town by the proverbial short-hairs, just like their parents before them – if you dare cross them you’ll end up homeless.
— LU
There is no investigation in whether a person is real or not. It’s just some button pusher at Facebook who makes a snap decision.
This thought is probably diminished in it’s mental origions, but…
Thinking outside the box: Static location (unmanned if set up properly)/broadcast @ 2.4 gHz/limited area of propagation (x amount of miles radius)/minimum $ investment in gear/and the best part?
YOU MAKE THE RULES…WFLA did it for years.
Ray Barker
Dumb ass talking to himself again. LOL BAHAHAHAHA
L******/******e Underground
They deleted L.U. today Kicked him off.
…L*****/******e Underground
yeah, i figured that out, immediately after posting, but was too busy reading the lu site to delete the post.
THIS RAY is an @$$