Cry-Baby of the Week

It’s time, once again, to despair at some idiots who don’t know how to handle the world:

Cry-Baby #1: Leanda Probert

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The incident: A black woman was sent a computer generated password that said “charcoal shade”.

The appropriate response: Maybe some initial offense that disappears once you discovered the password was computer-generated.

The actual response: The woman took her story to the local paper and demanded an apology.

Two years ago, 31-year-old Leanda Preston was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, a condition that causes full-body pain and tiredness.

Last week, she received a letter asking her to arrange an appointment with an NHS pain management clinic in Somerset, England. The letter contained a computer-generated password for her to use on the hospital website when making the appointment. The password was “charcoal shade”.

An outraged Leanda spoke to someone from the NHS, who told her the password was made up of randomly selected words.

So Leanda took her story to her local paper, the The Weston Mercury. Speaking to the paper, she said she was “very taken aback and highly offended,” when opening the letter. She said that, initially, she felt the NHS was “having a laugh” and “taking the mick.”

“The letter must have been put in an envelope by someone. Why did they not proofread it and realise it could be offensive?” she said.

For some reason, a spokesman for NHS North Somerset felt the need to apologise for this. In a statement he said, “North Somerset CCG would like to apologise for any offence that the password contained within the letter may have cause.” Adding, “The password was generated automatically by the central choose and book system with the words themselves randomly selected by an electronic database.”

Leanda says she is yet to receive an apology personally. 

Cry-Baby #2: Sheboygan Falls High School


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The incident: A high school basketball player threw up the “three-point” hand sign in a photo.

The appropriate response: Nothing.

The actual response: Police were called and the boy was suspended from his basketball team. 

Earlier this month, the Sheboygan Falls News ran a story about Jordan, Jamal and Juwaun Jackson, three basketball playing brothers at Sheboygan Falls High School in Wisconsin. The paper took a photo of the three boys (which you can see above) to accompany the article. In the photo two of the boys are gesturing with their hands.

Jordan, the boy on the left of the photo, explained the gestures to TMJ News. “When you make a three [point shot] everyone does this sign,” he said. “Probably you’ve seen LeBron James do it or someone.” He explained that his younger brother’s hand sign was just him “pointing at the camera.”

According to the school, parents got in touch to complain that the boys were doing what “looked like gang symbols.” So the school called the police to report it (!!!). I feel at this point it’s worth noting that the town of Sheboygan Falls is 95% white.

The local police investigated the photo (!!!) and were “able to confirm that the sign was indeed a gang sign.” However, police chief Steve Riffel acknowledged that the boys “posed no threat to the community.

This wasn’t enough to stop the boys being punished, and both Jordan and Jamal were suspended from the school’s basketball team. They missed one game, but had their suspension lifted after complaints. 

The local chapter of the ACLU has announced that they are investigating the incident. 

Who here is the bigger cry-baby? Let us know in this poll right here:

Who is the bigger cry-baby?

Previously: The guy who tried to eat someone’s heart during a chess game Vs. the guy who shot some people for texting in a movie theater

Winner: The text shooter!!!

@JLCT