I recently wrote about the declining free speech rights of students in the United States. There is another such case out of New Jersey this week where Gregory Vied, 17, has been suspended for refusing to remove a Confederate flag on his truck. In my view, it is a clear violation of free speech and an abuse of the rights of this student to express his views and associations by the administrators of Steinert High School in Hamilton Township.
After the American Civil Liberties Union intervened, the school reduced the original suspension of three days to one day. That hardly resolves the matter. The school is still punishing a student for a symbol on his truck outside of the school in the parking lot.
Vied insists that the flag is not meant to reflect racism but Southern pride. (His connection to his family’s Southern roots might be a tad stronger if the flag did not have “REDNECK” written across it, though it does reflect a group identity). Regardless of the message, it is clearly protected speech and shows the degree to which school officials are not imposing their own views on students — and teaching conformity to these future citizens. The decision is part of a growing line of cases granting sweeping deference to school officials and curtailing the free speech rights of students. I have long disagreed with that trend. In Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, 393 U.S. 503 (1969), the Supreme Court supported the first amendment rights of Iowa residents John F. Tinker (15 years old), John’s younger sister Mary Beth Tinker (13 years old), and their friend Christopher Eckhardt (16 years old) in wearing black armbands in protest of the Vietnam War. In his majority decision, Justice Abe Fortas held that “undifferentiated fear or apprehension of disturbance is not enough to overcome the right to freedom of expression.” In a statement would would seem to fit this case, Fortas found that “the record does not demonstrate any facts which might reasonably lead school authorities to forecast substantial disruption of or material interference with school activities, and no disturbances or disorders on the school premises in fact occurred.” Since Tinker, the Supreme Court has steadily limited the speech rights of students as in the ruling in the “Bong Hits For Jesus” case.
If this flag is banned, how about Free Tibet stickers or Black Pride signs or NRA stickers? We have seen schools cracking down on any bumper stickers viewed offensive but there is a decidedly ambiguous standard for such decisions. We have also seen tee-shirts with NRA symbols and American flags banned by schools. Given their school symbol, the Spartans, I wonder what would happen if students began to show images from Sparta where the helots were treated as sub-humans.
Putting aside the constitutional concerns, why shouldn’t students be encouraged to engage in such speech and associations? Many kids are entirely unconnected today and uninterested in public causes or speech. Rather than teaching about the marketplace of ideas, schools are teaching conformity and authoritarian caprice.
The Southern flag is clearly insulting to many people due to its historical associations. However, it is also a simple of Southern heritage and sacrifice. Robert E. Lee himself identified with the flag while rejoicing in the end of slavery. He stated:
In this enlightened age, there are few I believe, but what will acknowledge, that slavery as an institution, is a moral & political evil in any Country.
So far from engaging in a war to perpetuate slavery, I am rejoiced that slavery is abolished. I believe it will be greatly for the interests of the South. So fully am I satisfied of this, as regards Virginia especially, that I would cheerfully have lost all I have lost by the war, and have suffered all I have suffered, to have this object attained.
This is not to say that I am not sympathetic to those objecting to the symbol but I believe that the image of free speech being curtailed in this way is far more disturbing.
Cigs, alcohol, etc. are not political speech. But, good to see more than just a ball bust from you, pooch!
RWL
you are right about property rights. when on school property you cannot wear t-shirts advertising alcohol, cigarettes, or any other tobacco products. you can’t wear sunglasses or hats in class. when on school property you have to follow school rules.
having said that, when i was in high school it was not unusual to see confederate flags at school and football games.
i graduated from Robert E Lee high school.
Tom Blanton, An eloquent Rebel yell!! I am a born a bred Connecticut Yankee but I detest the way people here and elsewhere denigrate the south. I stick up for you good people all the time. I had family move to Georgia and Texas and they had great neighbors and friends.
Paul Ogden, Some of these uninformed people are on this very thread and have the right to vote. The fact that they have that right frightens and repulses me, but I would fight to defend that right. I worked w/ history teachers who were paid public money and think just like these uninformed people. Their agenda was PC not the Constitution, that is educational malpractice. The education industry is the driving force of this pernicious PC and complicit in the erosion of our knowledge of the document that I swore to protect and defend.
Tom Blanton:
All mankind…being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty or possessions.
– John Locke
Also, we apparently are not instructing people on the basics of American history if we have people who believe that the south was the only part of the nation that would give moral support/sanction to a regime which so violated the most fundamental tenents of human life; the right to live your own life for yourself.
There is much shame to go around, including the racism of Robert E. Lee and Lincoln. Other western nations managed to end slavery without killing 500,000 people, but not Lincoln – then again, perhaps it was not just slavery that inspired America’s first Republican war criminal. And the racism never ends – black people remain slaves in the prison-industrial complex administered in many cases by other black people, all while enlightened white progressives seem to think blacks would be unable to care for themselves without the assistance of these enlightened white folks.
It’s time that those northerners who are so superior to us inbred crackers from the south checked the blood on their own hands and took a long hard look in the mirror. Maybe they can also explain their advanced culture that is shown on Jersey Shore.
My concern is for the people on here who actually think the school has the legal authority to ban a confederate flag. We apparently are notinstructing people on the basics of the First Amendment if we have people who believe that.
The schools are better served to just ignore these flags for practical reasons, if anything. Look at how much negative attention and possible legal liability this brings. Not everything must be rigidly controlled.
The days of entities getting away with being unjust because they are remote and do what they want are over.
If you want to fly the flag of a “country” which enslaved up to 4 million human beings, well that is your right. But who in their right mind would give moral support/sanction to a regime which so violated the most fundamental tenents of human life; the right to live your own life for yourself.
Slavery was and is a moral depravity, a blot on our founding and an institution which should have ended at the birth of our country. To run around parading a flag which symbolizes the enslavement of our fellow man is detestable.
There was nothing romantic about the ante-bellum south, it was a primitive, fedual society which suffered an appropriate fate.
Let the flag fly but I have the right to think the person doing the flying is morally corrupt.
Free hair.
I think the way to bypass the restrictions on free speech such as Tinker would be to say that the school violated the free speech according to the various state constitutions.
nick spinelli
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I truly wonder what PC folks think about Orwell?
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Same as SC folks (socially correct).
They do not know that “Orwell” was a handle like “Dredd” is.
He coined the phrase “bully religion” which originated among certain flag aficionados (Bully Worship: The Universal Religion).
“Hey brother, can you spare me a flag?”
There is a History Channel series on the Civil War, which I record and watch. They did a whole hour on flags, both North and South. For both sides, their unit flag was so important to them that they would tear it into small pieces and each soldier take a piece to protect, rather than have the flag captured. Great shame was attached to losing your flag. A lot of men died for the Confederate flag they are should have their due. Few of those people were slave holders.
In the South, this war is known as the War of Northern Aggression or the Late Unpleasantness. Virginia joined the Confederacy when the North said they were sending troops south to fight. To do that they had to travel through Virginia. Virginia was not going to have federal troops travel through Virginia to attack other states. The war from the southern side was not black-and-white and it was not that way from the north. A black regiment in NYC wanted to join up to fight for the North but was prevented from doing so. They were told “It’s a white mans’ war and it will be fought by white men.”
There was rampant slavery in the border states allied with the North and when Lincoln came out with the Emancipation Proclamation, it only covered states in secession, not the border states. Actually, it did not free anyone. Prior to that some generals were returning captured blacks to their southern owners when they were captured. Finally, one of the generals started seizing them as war contraband and keeping them. He turned them into unpaid laborers (slaves). They went from one slave master to another.
I know that some people like to make the Civil War (War of Northern Aggression) into a simple slavery issue, but it really was not. It is far more complex than that. It was states’ rights, economics, one section of the country dictating to another, etc. It is estimated that 600,000 died on both sides. Both sides deserve honor as far as I am concerned.
It’s a pity some would never be able to make it into the military at all.
Ditto, Nick.
anarmyofficer, Thank you for your service. It is obvious you knew what you were fighting for when you served this flawed, but great country. Pity others don’t.
Is the Nazi Swastika a symbol of Western Civilization and sacrifice in fighting the Communists? Some people certainly saw it that way and still do.
As far as Robert E. Lee and slavery he also had this to say
“I think it however a greater evil to the white man than to the black race, & while my feelings are strongly enlisted in behalf of the latter, my sympathies are more strong for the former. The blacks are immeasurably better off here than in Africa, morally, socially & physically. The painful discipline they are undergoing, is necessary for their instruction as a race, & I hope will prepare & lead them to better things. How long their subjugation may be necessary is known & ordered by a wise Merciful Providence.”
Must be nice to know that God endorses enslaving those subhumans. It’s good for them, you know. Dirty business but can’t be helped, yada, yada, yada.
As a black person, I certainly don’t like the confederate flag. That being said, I support people’s right to fly it, and understand how it can be a symbol of pride for some people.
However, when attending the academy, I had a roommate who claimed that his confederate flag, belt buckle, and other confederate items were for pride. He also felt it appropriate to call me a ni**er, and smile about it, among other degrading things he subjected me to (he never graduated, thank god). Despite that, I wouldn’t say it’s right to infringe upon this guy’s right to fly the flag, racism intended or not. Bigotry is still legal in this instance, and so is “southern pride”.
If the school has legal ground to ask him to remove the vehicle or symbol, then suspension might be warranted. But that would require someone showing that they have the grounds to remove a symbol (not a type of vehicle, or vehicle without a parking pass or something) from their property. If in fact the parking lot is their property, and not rented/leased.
This still feels like another instance in which administrators are using their “feelings” instead of the law (or common sense) to meter “justice” out to their student bodies.
BFM, Nick, Kraaken, et al
Prof. JT (and the student, his parents, his lawyer, etc.) have phrased this discussion/issue as only a free speech/1st Amendment rights subject. This discussions also should include (and Prof. JT and et all, did not even mention this) property rights. Does a public school or public facility have property rights as a individual or private entity does? And what are those property rights that a public institution enjoy? Maybe this article should be about private vs public property rights?
If a public institution/facility is entitled to do all that I mentioned above, and be held accountable for everything that I mentioned above, then a public institution has the same property rights as a private entity/facility?
I hate to say this but I have to: FREE SPEECH DOES NOT TRUMPH PROPERTY RIGHTS!
And, if this were a Nazi flag?
LawyerChuch – If a frog had wings it would not bump its ass every time it jumped. But, what what if it were the flag of Mexico? What ifs are so much fun. 🙂
RWL, you are correct, and the reason is that it is distracting and can insight other problems and possible riots or prejudice warfare among students. This student will have opportunities to express his free speech in his classroom writing assignments, discussions, and debates.
In the south this boys flag would be something to laugh at, in N.J. it can start serious trouble among students. That’s when free speech has to be curtailed.