13-year old not allowed to fly American flag at school.

[Tiberius Jim]

This story broke a few days ago quite near my hometown.

13-year-old Cody Alicea rides with an American flag on the back of his bike. He says he does this to be patriotic and to honor veterans, like his own grandfather, Robert. He's had the flag on his bike for two months but Monday, was told to take it down.

A school official at Denair Middle School told Cody some students had been complaining about the flag and it was no longer allowed on school property.

"In this country we're supposed to be free," said Cody. "And I should be able to wave my flag wherever I want to. And they're telling me I can't." Cody had to take the flag off his bike and put it in his backpack, where he kept it all week.

Link

Since then, the school has backpedaled due to the outrage their actions caused, and have oh-so graceously allowed the kid to fly the flag. That's great and all, but he never should have had to remove it in the first place. Apparently, the students who were complaining about the flag were several groups of Hispanic students (who I would bet good money flew a Mexican flag back on May 5th)

It's just unbelievable. I don't care what country you're from...if you live in America, you should expect to see it's flag. How seeing the flag of the country you reside in could in any way be offensive just boggles the mind. Hell, in some countries if you fly anything *but* the flag of said country, its not the flag that gets banned...its you...from existing.

Anyway, the really cool part of the story happened this morning when hundreds of local motorcycle riders, many including veterans...and as well as my own parents...escorted Cody from his home in Denair, CA to his school.

This morning, about a hundred people, including some coming in from the East Coast escorted Cody to school. After arriving at Denair Middle School the group recited the Pledge of Allegiance and the National Anthem.


The teen who was told to remove the American flag from his bike the week of Veterans Day is now back proudly carrying Old Glory, with the blessing of his apologetic school district, but that hasn't stopped an online army from rallying around the flag.

Link

If I owned a bike I would have totally joined my folks down there. They got up at about 4:45 this morning to make it over there for the escort. I think it's great how people have rallied around the kid.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

While I find patriotism generally distasteful there's something a bit fucked up about not being able to display the American flag in the United States of America.

 

[Trekker4747]

Yeah, this story was fucked up. I'm sure the school has more than a few flags flying around inside and outside the building.

 

[ares93]

^ this is actually nothing new. you guys are not alone. this wave has also reached europe. people are not allowed to raise swedish flags here because, and i quote, "We live in a multicultural society, and it is disrespectful to any foreign citizens." my mother is a kindergarten teacher (closest translation i believe) and they have now been forced to remove the swedish flag outside and replace it with the county's flag.

utterly distasteful. its not strange that this country is going to hell when people have this view on patriotism. patriotism is essentially considered racist.

 

[captcalhoun]

we get pricks like this when there's big sporting events on and people start flying English St. George's cross flags or the Union flag. claiming it's jingoistic and shit. it's not, it's people having a bit of pride in their nation and showin support for their athletes.

 

[CaptainStoner]

While it's stupid to disallow the flag for the sake of some oversensitive, anti-American Hispanic parents (the kids had to get it somewhere), the response with all those bikers is just the kind of creepy nationalism that makes one want to ban ALL flags at schools, simply because it engenders politics which are disruptive to the school. A school should not be a political battleground for the egos of parents, nor a place for indoctrination, it should be neutral.

 

[JarodRussell]

You can't wave your flag in front of school children!!!

 

[Admiral Shran]

A school should not be a political battleground for the egos of parents, nor a place for indoctrination, it should be neutral.

Exactly, it should be neutral. Which is why the school shouldn't have involved itself in the first place.

 

[JarodRussell]

A school should not be a political battleground for the egos of parents, nor a place for indoctrination, it should be neutral.

Exactly, it should be neutral. Which is why the school shouldn't have involved itself in the first place.

No, if it really wants to be neutral, it should make sure that it's indeed neutral. Which would mean that the kid can wave his flag everywhere he wants except when he is going to school.

 

[SiorX]

^Struck me that way too.

I am not a fan of overcautious or knee-jerk reactions which actually end up disrupting freedom of expression in a misunderstanding of inclusiveness. Sounds like the initial banning of the flag might have been just such a reaction.

However, flags are potent symbols. And sometimes people use those symbols to exclude, threaten, or bully. It would be equally wretched if kids were made afraid of speaking up lest hordes of bikers descend upon them.

Might be a case of cultural difference. I love rallies against social injustice, but flag-veneration scares the living fuck out of me. That might be down to the country in which I grew up.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

When I was a kid there was an American flag in every classroom. Shit, it wasn't even that long ago. And we said the Pledge of Allegiance every day. Have things changed that much?

 

[Trekker4747]

A school should not be a political battleground for the egos of parents, nor a place for indoctrination, it should be neutral.

Exactly, it should be neutral. Which is why the school shouldn't have involved itself in the first place.

No, if it really wants to be neutral, it should make sure that it's indeed neutral. Which would mean that the kid can wave his flag everywhere he wants except when he is going to school.

No. This is America. That is or national flag. If people are "offended" by that they're welcome to leave. The school, I'm sure, has a flagpole on the front lawn, flags in classrooms and if it's a grade school I bet they say The Pledge every morning. They probably even teach American History and recognize American Holidays like Presidents' Day and the like.

There's no reason at all whatsoever the flag should've been banned there. Those "offended" by it should of asked themselves why they're offended by the flag of the country they are living in.

 

[RJDiogenes]

If this is true-- and one has to wonder considering the news source-- then it's pretty ridiculous. Just more evidence that the Left Wing has become nearly as bad as the Right Wing.

 

[CaptainStoner]

Exactly, it should be neutral. Which is why the school shouldn't have involved itself in the first place.

No, if it really wants to be neutral, it should make sure that it's indeed neutral. Which would mean that the kid can wave his flag everywhere he wants except when he is going to school.

No. This is America. That is or national flag. If people are "offended" by that they're welcome to leave. The school, I'm sure, has a flagpole on the front lawn, flags in classrooms and if it's a grade school I bet they say The Pledge every morning. They probably even teach American History and recognize American Holidays like Presidents' Day and the like.

There's no reason at all whatsoever the flag should've been banned there. Those "offended" by it should of asked themselves why they're offended by the flag of the country they are living in.

The initial decision was stupid, but at least it had to do with the actual children and their school environment. And there is probably more to it. Maybe the Hispanic kids weren't allowed puerto rican flags, and there was an antogonistic thing going on already, disrupting the school. So the school decided no student flags on grounds.
I think its far more likely that the school made their decision based on that kind of situation. And rather than allow for the possibility that there was a reason behind it all - and that kids do egg each other on and need to be reigned in - a bunch of rightwing adults decided to get all righteous and have a nationalistic whoopty-doo.
There was another story a while back about a school banning kids from hugging. And people reacted with various outrage, and what's so wrong with hugging, etc. But kids are kids. They'll use anything to disrupt their schools. Once it starts to annoy a few teachers they'll keep doing it, others will join in, etc. So you end up with ridiculous policies to break up the behavior.

 

[1001001]

And rather than allow for the possibility that there was a reason behind it all - and that kids do egg each other on and need to be reigned in - a bunch of rightwing adults decided to get all righteous and have a nationalistic whoopty-doo.

Nationalistic Whoopty-Doo!!

That would be a great name for an album. Maybe by Green Day?



As always, Rush has the right perspective (the band, not the drug-addled hypocrite):

Better the pride that resides
In a citizen of the world
Than the pride that divides
When a colorful rag is unfurled

 

[Spot's Meow]

No, if it really wants to be neutral, it should make sure that it's indeed neutral. Which would mean that the kid can wave his flag everywhere he wants except when he is going to school.

No. This is America. That is or national flag. If people are "offended" by that they're welcome to leave. The school, I'm sure, has a flagpole on the front lawn, flags in classrooms and if it's a grade school I bet they say The Pledge every morning. They probably even teach American History and recognize American Holidays like Presidents' Day and the like.

There's no reason at all whatsoever the flag should've been banned there. Those "offended" by it should of asked themselves why they're offended by the flag of the country they are living in.

The initial decision was stupid, but at least it had to do with the actual children and their school environment. And there is probably more to it. Maybe the Hispanic kids weren't allowed puerto rican flags, and there was an antogonistic thing going on already, disrupting the school. So the school decided no student flags on grounds.
I think its far more likely that the school made their decision based on that kind of situation. And rather than allow for the possibility that there was a reason behind it all - and that kids do egg each other on and need to be reigned in - a bunch of rightwing adults decided to get all righteous and have a nationalistic whoopty-doo.
There was another story a while back about a school banning kids from hugging. And people reacted with various outrage, and what's so wrong with hugging, etc. But kids are kids. They'll use anything to disrupt their schools. Once it starts to annoy a few teachers they'll keep doing it, others will join in, etc. So you end up with ridiculous policies to break up the behavior.

That's sort of the way I've seen the whole thing. The story has been on the local news for several nights now and it's really just begun to irritate me. They may have had actual reasons for banning his flag, I feel for school administrators and teachers who find themselves in these delicate situations daily and no matter what they decide someone will be unhappy. As you said, kids will use anything to rile up the staff sometimes, which is why ridiculous rules that seem silly without explanation may be put into place. For instance, schools banning those colorful bracelets, which seem innocent enough, but are used to represent the sexual acts they are willing to perform. It probably wasn't the best choice to ban his flag, however, the reaction to the whole situation is just overkill. Some people seem to see this as a sign of the downfall of Western civilization or are using the situation to perpetuate their fear of Hispanics moving in and obliterating the Constitution. It all seems a pretty ridiculous reaction, especially when the details of the situation aren't really that clear and they already changed their mind anyway. Escorting the kid to school on motorcycles with flags strikes me as extremely unnecessary.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

Yeah, this isn't kosher. Students complaining isn't enough unless they're actually disrupting things. Even then, common sense should indicate that it's the other students who are disrupting, not the kid with the flag. Probably nothing more than an overly cautious school, but still not allowed.

 

[Trekker4747]

In my experience, going through a long elementary/middle school career of being picked on, when something happens schools think it's easier to just try and to "remove the problem" by reducing the situation (i.e. move the picked-on kid's locker, change his classroom(s), etc.) than it is to punish or discipline the bully.

So in this case it was "easier" to tell the kid to stop practice his First Amendment rights by displaying the freaking American flag! than it was to tell those who were "offended" to get over themselves and deal with it.

 

[Gil T.Azell]

I'd of told the school to Fuck off,
Go fly old glory.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

In my experience, going through a long elementary/middle school career of being picked on, when something happens schools think it's easier to just try and to "remove the problem" by reducing the situation (i.e. move the picked-on kid's locker, change his classroom(s), etc.) than it is to punish or discipline the bully.

So in this case it was "easier" to tell the kid to stop practice his First Amendment rights by displaying the freaking American flag! than it was to tell those who were "offended" to get over themselves and deal with it.

Yeah that's the real problem - the school's "solution" sends the message that avoiding controversy and confrontation is the highest possible value, and far more important than such things as freedom of speech or common sense. It teaches kids that there's nothing actually worth fighting for, and life is all about giving in to whoever yells the loudest.

However, having bikers enforce patriotic flag-waving as a value does strike me as creepy in its own right. Also funny. I can't help envisioning this as an episode of Sons of Anarchy. I don't know where Denair, CA is, but just the name makes me think it can't be too far from Charming.