Spyderco Forums

Seriously WTF is wrong with this principal

http://news.yahoo.com/video/sacramentoc ... s-19585803

Fundamentally agree with your criticism of the principal. Schools are, however, places of limited free speech, not absolute. But to play devil's advocate--principle has duty to provide a structured and safe environment. Starting from the not unlikely assumption that the boys chose to dress "patriotic" yesterday in order to start trouble, not because they "are" patriotic, the principal maybe did the right thing. In addition, the first thing the principal asked the teen to do was to comply with the dress code and to remove his Old Glory headband--the demand to remove the other "patriotic" garb was secondary. If I had to make up a story about what happened, I'd say that when the principal asked the teen to remove his headband, the young man was disrespectful, so additional sanctions followed. I wouldn't read too much into the situation,...

If you ask me it's the principal who was racist. What total garbage. This is when you know political correctness has been going way to far.

I am really restraining myself right now from blowing up.

Seriously.

I really don't think it had anything at all to do with being PC. The region where the event occurred is one of the most conservative in the state--if the same thing had happened in Oakland, I'd be inclined to think PC or political pandering, but in that region, nope. I think the boys wanted to start trouble and the school administration fell right into their trap.

I am going to respectfully disagree with you bud. I don't think the region really has anything to do with it. I can see why one would think the kids were trying to start trouble by wearing American colors on Cinco De Mayo, but I think it was more of making a statement. I don't think they had the idea of "lets wear red white and blue so we can start a fight with some mexicans" The only reason there was any action taken was because of hispanic students complaining about them wearing the U.S.A. colors. It didn't say they were protesting the holiday or causing trouble with other kids. On the opposite end it said they were the ones being teased. Which is muffed up IMO

I think it just should of been left alone. I understand the headband as many schools don't allow headbands of any color. However the T shirts with the American flag on them, there is nothing, absolutely NOTHING wrong with that. It's not like they wore KKK shirts or Gang shirts or anything like that.

They were wearing Red, White, and Blue. This is America.
There shouldn't of been any action against them at all.
Period.

^^^ +1

StangBang wrote: "lets wear red white and blue so we can start a fight with some mexicans"

I think it just should of been left alone. I understand the headband as many schools don't allow headbands of any color. However the T shirts with the American flag on them, there is nothing, absolutely NOTHING wrong with that. It's not like they wore KKK shirts or Gang shirts or anything like that.

They were wearing Red, White, and Blue. This is America.
There shouldn't of been any action against them at all.
Period.

First off to the above quote... one of the guys involved was Hispanic, so I certainly hope this was not the intention...

I wholeheartedly agree with you Vic! Since when is the American Flag a violent symbol in this context? I don't care if they were "trying to start some @#$%". Grr, it's things like this that make me sad to be an American.

In some of our public schools, showing support for our troops on t-shirts is not attire allowed to be worn.

We have Red Fridays. Every Friday you wear a red shirt or sweater with a symbol supporting our troops in the sand box.

It became an issue for my daughter one year when she wore one with an army crest of the Canadian Forces that had two crossed swords.

Long *** story. I solved the issue by purchasing more of the same shirt.

It seems nowadays, that even your patriotic support of whatever flag you look upto is what will be your downfall in the end.

Sad state of affairs.

America seems to be the only place in the world that celebrates another country's military victories.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinco_de_Mayo:

"Cinco de Mayo is a holiday held on May 5 that commemorates the Mexican army's unlikely victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862, under the leadership of General Ignacio Zaragoza Seguín."

This ticks me off more than anything else (and I'm not even American.) Think any other countries celebrate 4th of July? Not likely..

i dont even want to read the click on, im so isck of this crap going on wihtin our country.

This is unacceptable. I find it sad that any American("Mexican-American" or otherwise) would take offense to our flag.

I get the fact that these high schoolers were trying to make a bit of a statement. That's what high schoolers do. And that's ok. To stifle non violent expression like that is disgusting. I hope there are severe consequences for the school officials involved.

From the way things are put, it looks to me that it is ok to be proud to be American, but don't show it in public? :confused:

tonydahose wrote:Seriously WTF is wrong with this principal

http://news.yahoo.com/video/sacramentoc ... s-19585803

I read about this yesterday, which raised just one question. Where are we going?

Age and location probably have a lot to do with my reactions to this.

My age makes me find the idea of anyone wearing of the American flag as an item of clothing more offensive than the idea of a school having the final say as to what can be worn on campus. Of course, in my day, you'd have been sent home for wearing a t-shirt to school, regardless of what color or colors it was. But that was known by all students in advance. So, as with the principal's demand that one stuedent remove a headband, it could not be seen as favoring one group over another. Changing the rules on the spur of the moment is never a good idea, especially if it can be seen as caving in to an group with a separatist agenda like Movimieto Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan.

My location makes me see Cinco de Mayo as what it is around here, an excuse folks, most notably college kids, use to party hearty during that long spell between New Years and Memorial Day. St. Patrick's Day - only with Jose Cuervo, Corona, and Dos Equis instead of Jameson, Guiness, and Harp - nachos and salsa instead of corned beef and cabbage. I realize though, that in the Southwest, it is a considerably more divisive day.

The Deacon wrote:Age and location probably have a lot to do with my reactions to this. (content snipped for brevity)

I realize though, that in the Southwest, it is a considerably more divisive day.

Paul,

I respect you very much, you are knowledgeable and often a voice of reason on a forum of younger and less experienced people. Age and experience definitely tempers one in that way.

The fact remains that these issues are becoming more and more prevalent, regardless of location. I have only lived in this county for a couple of years, and I have seen an explosion in certain influences that obviously came about because of a marked increase in illegal immigration to the region (northeast).

You are welcome to visit me in a large city in a state very close to you, and I will take you to certain neighborhoods that will make you think you are in a different country. Where cinco de mayo is celebrated as if it is indeed a different country.

It is still a celebration of another country's military victory. I do not think people here would be so enthusiastic if it commemorated an Iraqi military victory, but please re-educate me if I am wrong.

If the 4th of July all of a sudden was pushed by pubs and bars all over Europe as a way to sell beer, I think people there would get really annoyed, and I quite frankly do not understand why "cinco de mayo" does not get the same reaction here.

VADER1313 wrote:http://www.infowars.com

A big HIGH FIVE!!! on infowars.com. I've been listening to Alex Jones for quite some time. I don't agree with him 100% on everything he says but his heart certainly is in the right place. He's not corporately controlled like many of the mainstream media talking heads are and he's not afraid to tackle extremely controversial subjects like this one.

For this school principal to ban the colors of our flag that our esteemed veterans gave their lives for is nothing short of an outrage. This is not the freedom our founding fathers intended for us to have here in the USA.

Anyone else notice toward the end of the vid ..."Unified School District" ... Hmmm??? Maybe not so unified.

This is one of those subjects that can be debated all day long. We are a very diverse country and have accepted folks from all walks of life and have given a new start at a better life for many. We stand for Freedom and Liberty and we have sent our soldiers to fight for such and on some instance have sent our soldiers to fight for the freedoms of others. When all said and done ... We Are The United States of America.

This is the USA and we should have the freedom to exhibit the colors we are proud of. The one thing that has went out the window and has done so in such a BIG Way in this day and age is the respect of our own country. Yeah ...we allow those to celebrate what they will to represent their nationality ... that's their right because of the freedom they have here. Remember above all ...You're In The UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Jack!!!

I see this everyday as an LEO ... "Prejucie this, Prejudice That". No ...I'm not!!! I'm part hispanic, half native american, part irish, and part french. What am I prejudice against??? I believe a lot has to do with the way a person is brought up and what's ingrained in them since a child. What I see is a lot of disrespect toward anything and everybody. There is a Huge and I mean HUGE lack of discipline in today's society. I remember hearing this from people I went to high school with. They hated being disciplined and I always heard the samething ... "I'm Not Going To Treat My Kids Like This" or "I Won't Do That To My Kids". Well ... there you have it??? Now they have kids that don't care how they act toward others or treat people and with very little respect for their own country. It's a sad sad reality. Vent Off ...

Take Good Care All and Be Safe Always.

God Bless :)


-raven-

I live in the town that it happened. This was total discrimination, even the school board put out a statement that they do not agree with the principal. It's still causing quite a stir here. This is an agriculture town so its heavily populated with mexicans and while I don't really care if they want to celebrate may 5th(which is actually not celebrated in Mexico accept for where that single battle was fought)Don't discriminate against the Red White & Blue. We actually had a guy move into our neighborhood and fly a mexican flag over an American flag. After a bunch of us talked to him he took the mexican flag down and now when he does fly it its under the stars and bars. Normally I'm a pretty laid back guy who lets people be people but this kind of thing really pisses me off and I let em know it.

The Deacon wrote:My age makes me find the idea of anyone wearing of the American flag as an item of clothing more offensive than the idea of a school having the final say as to what can be worn on campus.

BIG +1 Paul. My father was retired Navy and a true veteran of three wars (World War II, Korea, and Vietnam)... this was his belief as well and how he raised me. I see the wisdom in his teaching and fully concur with him and you.

raven wrote:They hated being disciplined and I always heard the samething ... "I'm Not Going To Treat My Kids Like This" or "I Won't Do That To My Kids". Well ... there you have it??? Now they have kids that don't care how they act toward others or treat people and with very little respect for their own country.

BIG +1 Gil. My father disciplined me as he did those sailors under him in his Navy days... and I'm a better person today for that. More than I can say for a lot of people these days.

Tank wrote:Normally I'm a pretty laid back guy who lets people be people but this kind of thing really pisses me off and I let em know it.

And, BIG +1 Tank. Yes, by all means, enjoy the freedom offered by the United States of America... but, it IS still OUR country, not "theirs"... at least I still the **** hope so... after all, my father put his life on the line in three wars to ensure his family could enjoy its freedom.