# Get bent. B-E-N-T. Bent. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 8, 2006, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-bent-b-e-n-t-bent/343573 "2006-02-08T18:58:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-bent-b-e-n-t-bent/343573/1 "2006-02-08T18:58:45Z")
Yes, it has come to this. Mom is ready to [sue](http://www.cnn.com/2006/EDUCATION/02/08/spelling.bee.ap/index.html) over a blown call at a spelling bee. A spelling bee. It must be terrible to have so little in your life that you have time to consider suing a school district over a fucking spelling bee. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-bent-b-e-n-t-bent/343573/2 "2006-02-08T19:03:02Z")
But…but…little Sara was **traumatised**! She’ll probably hate school from now on, drop out and turn to a life of prostitution and drug abuse, finally dying a broken, fallen woman crushed by the machine that is Competitive Spelling. ---
**Author:** ![Sal\_Ammoniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sal\_Ammoniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sal_Ammoniac)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-bent-b-e-n-t-bent/343573/3 "2006-02-08T19:03:43Z")
I agree. The mom is a complete lightweight. She should put on an explosive vest filled with nails and blow herself up in the superintendent’s office. ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-bent-b-e-n-t-bent/343573/4 "2006-02-08T19:08:13Z")
Great thread title, **Otto**. ---
**Author:** ![Elza\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Elza\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elza_B)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-bent-b-e-n-t-bent/343573/5 "2006-02-08T19:09:46Z")
_If you start to spell the word, you may start over, but the sequences of letters already spoken may not be changed._ That’s kind of what I was expecting to see when I read the article - that she had started to spell the word incorrectly, but went back and spelled it right. I think the mom has a point - it’s the judge’s responsibility to ensure that a correctly-spelled word is given proper credit, but it’s also not something to sue over, for God’s sake. Was this the regional bee that decides who goes to nationals? If so, I understand why she’s upset - some of those kids go 2 or 3 times to Nationals, and they’re damn competitive (watch the documentary “Spellbound” to see it). However, chalk it up to a “Life’s not fair” lesson and get over it. E. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-bent-b-e-n-t-bent/343573/6 "2006-02-08T19:10:50Z")
I thought for sure some Baltimore Ear Nose and Throat specialist had fucked up somehow. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-bent-b-e-n-t-bent/343573/7 "2006-02-08T19:16:17Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > But…but…little Sara was **traumatised**! She’ll probably hate school from now on, drop out and turn to a life of prostitution and drug abuse, finally dying a broken, fallen woman crushed by the machine that is Competitive Spelling. I lost a spelling bee in fifth grade in October, 1968 at 2 o’clock in the afternoon at St. Benedict Elementary in Alameda, California to the Dutch girl when Mrs. Smith pronounced the word governnnnnment. Not that I dwell on it. ---
**Author:** ![thirdwarning](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecccb3/32.png) [@thirdwarning](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdwarning)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-bent-b-e-n-t-bent/343573/8 "2006-02-08T19:16:58Z")
Can’t see this one going anywhere. Show them the rule that says protests must be made before the end of the round. And, probably, the one that also says that protests must be made by the participant. So not only were they way too late, they weren’t even eligible to make that protest. If the rules for this one were like every one I’ve ever been involved with, the kid missed out because she didn’t say anything herself. I’d bet her parents and, if she had one, her coach/teacher, never made sure she knew that and knew how to do it. So Mom may bear some of the blame here. That’s the way it goes. Call it a learning experience. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-bent-b-e-n-t-bent/343573/9 "2006-02-08T19:17:40Z")
From **Otto’s** article: > [@](#): > > The school spokesman says he hopes everybody can sit down together and work something out. He says defending a lawsuit over a spelling bee isn’t a good way to spend school district money. I totally agree. This woman needs to chill out. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-bent-b-e-n-t-bent/343573/10 "2006-02-08T19:22:33Z")
My god, won’t somebody think of the childern!!! ---
**Author:** ![cosmosdan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@cosmosdan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cosmosdan)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-bent-b-e-n-t-bent/343573/11 "2006-02-08T19:22:57Z")
Oh My God!! Talk about trauma. The poor little thing may never spell again. ---
**Author:** ![rockle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/73ab20/32.png) [@rockle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rockle)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-bent-b-e-n-t-bent/343573/12 "2006-02-08T19:24:57Z")
> [@Elza B](#): > > I think the mom has a point - it’s the judge’s responsibility to ensure that a correctly-spelled word is given proper credit, but it’s also not something to sue over, for God’s sake. > > Was this the regional bee that decides who goes to nationals? If so, I understand why she’s upset - some of those kids go 2 or 3 times to Nationals, and they’re damn competitive (watch the documentary “Spellbound” to see it). However, chalk it up to a “Life’s not fair” lesson and get over it. There is some cash involved – see [here](http://www.spellingbee.com/bwg/prizes.shtml). $22k will pay for almost a year of college if invested properly. But Christ on a bike, lady. A “momma bear with her bear claws out” would just eat the referee, as civilized bears should. And riddle me this, Batman: _If she’s a “momma bear,” what could she have out other than “her bear claws”?_ Her “hamster claws”? What is _wrong_ with these people? (And I say that as someone who actually belonged to the world of “competitive spelling,” way back when.) What a moron. M-A-R-O-O-N. Moron. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-bent-b-e-n-t-bent/343573/13 "2006-02-08T19:33:31Z")
> [@thirdwarning](#): > > Can’t see this one going anywhere. Show them the rule that says protests must be made before the end of the round. And, probably, the one that also says that protests must be made by the participant. And that’s the bottom line. If this were so damn important, learn the rules of the game, and don’t sit quietly until the end to avoid “interrupting”. The rules say to interrupt, so open your mouths. YOU screwed up. YOU didn’t protest when the rules said to. YOU waited until it was far too late for anybody to do anything about the result. YOU get to sit at home knowing your screw up was just as much the cause of this as any judge’s mistake. I’d love to hear the school file a countersuit for attorney fees if this goes to court. ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-bent-b-e-n-t-bent/343573/14 "2006-02-08T19:42:43Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > But…but…little Sara was **traumatised**! She’ll probably hate school from now on, drop out and turn to a life of prostitution and drug abuse, finally dying a broken, fallen woman crushed by the machine that is Competitive Spelling. Nah. It’ll happen exactly as you said, but it will instead be because for the rest of her life she’ll be known as “that one girl whose mom is a total fucking bitch”. -Joe ---
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-bent-b-e-n-t-bent/343573/15 "2006-02-08T19:47:34Z")
> [@cosmosdan](#): > > Oh My God!! Talk about trauma. The poor little thing may never spell again. “A-G-E-N… A-G-G-I…” > [@rockle](#): > > And riddle me this, Batman: If she’s a “momma bear,” what could she have out other than “her bear claws”? Maybe her pasties? ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-bent-b-e-n-t-bent/343573/16 "2006-02-08T19:47:42Z")
Hmmm… “spelling bee judge”. OK, I can cross “Dan Quayle” off my “Where Are They Now?” research list… ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-bent-b-e-n-t-bent/343573/17 "2006-02-08T19:48:34Z")
> [@rockle](#): > > There is some cash involved – see [here](http://www.spellingbee.com/bwg/prizes.shtml). $22k will pay for almost a year of college if invested properly. But we don’t even know if this was for the Scripps-Howard bee, or if there were any prizes (cash or otherwise) involved. Even if this were a S-H prelim event, there’s no guarantee little Sara would’ve gone on to win at nationals, or even spell her next word in this bee right for that matter. ---
**Author:** ![Greathouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greathouse/32/2992_2.png) [@Greathouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greathouse)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-bent-b-e-n-t-bent/343573/18 "2006-02-08T19:51:55Z")
> [@rockle](#): > > And riddle me this, Batman: \*If she’s a “momma bear,” what could she have out other than "her bear claws’? Apple Fritters ---
**Author:** ![Elza\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Elza\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elza_B)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-bent-b-e-n-t-bent/343573/19 "2006-02-08T19:56:48Z")
> [@Otto](#): > > But we don’t even know if this was for the Scripps-Howard bee, or if there were any prizes (cash or otherwise) involved. Even if this were a S-H prelim event, there’s no guarantee little Sara would’ve gone on to win at nationals, or even spell her next word in this bee right for that matter. Put her in a padded cell and make her spell the dictionary. If she can do that, she wins. E. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-bent-b-e-n-t-bent/343573/20 "2006-02-08T20:11:35Z")
> [@rockle](#): > > What a moron. M-A-R-O-O-N. Moron. Y’know, when I read this post, I’d scrolled past the username so didn’t know whose it was. Until I got to the quoted part. Then I knew it was **rockle**. If I were straight, I’d be on my way to Pottsville (or whatever ogforsaken hunk of the near-wilderness of eastern PA that begins with “Pott” you’re at) to propose… [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-bent-b-e-n-t-bent/343573.md?page=2)