We have previously discussed the ongoing controversy over the confederate flag as well as past cases of student speech being curtailed. This story combines those themes after Jordan Beattie, a student at Cossa Academy in Wilder, Idaho was banned from flying the confederate flag that his girlfriend had given him. He was told that the flag was interpreted to be a gang symbol.
Schools officials said that they found an image of the flag on a gang site used by the local police but the Caldwell Police Department Gang Unit told the media that it was unsure as to where the school received that information. Caldwell Police Department Captain Frank Wyant said “We don’t look at the Confederate flag as a gang symbol. We don’t encourage anybody to take it down. Those are their rights and that’s what we’re here for is to protect and uphold those rights.”
Caldwell Police Department uses information from the website http://www.idahogangs.com. which lists the Confederate flag as an identifier of possible gang ties for “Aryan” gangs though it can also be simply a confederate heritage symbol.
I fail to see the basis for the decision. This is clearly not being used as a gang symbol and anyone with a Confederate flag could be similarly barred because some group happens to sometimes incorporate the symbol. It is also a symbol used by others for cultural or historical identification.
We have previously discussed cases where students were punished for displaying the Confederate flag, including cases involving flags on cars. There is a growing presumption against student free speech, particularly when it comes to unpopular or divisive symbols. This extends in this cases and earlier cases to symbols on cars in a parking lot — outside the school building or classrooms. I find that troubling from a free speech perspective.
What do you think?
Source: Scripps Media
Sometimes free speech backfires on a person. Trump for instance, the mouth that doesn’t rest. I think maybe this time his misogyny his bridges to Fox News. Too funny.
http://hotair.com/archives/2015/08/25/fox-news-staffers-warn-trump-to-back-off-of-megyn-kelly-after-feud-reignites/
“Roger Ailes allegedly warned Trump two weeks ago that if he didn’t lay off Kelly, he and the network would “go to war.” Well, here you go. War.”
Annie,
How would the first amendment “backfire on ignorant racists”? Would you point out which of those people in that photo were the “ignorant racists”, which were the enlightened racists and which were non-racists, whether ignorant or enlightened?
The solution to bad speech is MORE speech.
Olly,
I’m not advocating taking away their right to their freedom of speech. I’m pointing out the First Amendment may just backfire on ignorant racists. I want them to keep on spewing and waving that flag.
DBQ – awesome post. Thank you for clarifying the difference between unalienable and inalienable rights, which I often mix up.
Unalienable rights are a fail safe to prevent us from throwing away the freedoms we fought so hard to win.
Yup, it’s called freedom of speech. Apparently YOU have not figured it out yet.
http://a1.img.talkingpointsmemo.com/image/upload/c_fill,fl_keep_iptc,g_faces,h_365,w_652/vwm8dk031y6otgqrqqhu.jpg
Oklahomans welcome President Obama with Confederate flags. Figure it out yet?
http://utmbs8iu6w2vs3oz2ez0dj16.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/ISISmeme.jpg
First, it wasn’t just “white” kids banned from wearing T-shirts with American flags, it was blacks, browns, everybody.
The Civil War, next to the Revolutionary War, was a major part of our history. I disagree with Burns. The South had a different way of life. The Cotton Gin would have changed the economic system of the South. What would have happened to the slaves? Set them free? With no ability to become part of society, not unlike what happened anyway. The importance of studying a time when people were not treated equally and the sacrifices made to correct that is vital. Did Lincoln have ideas of how to incorporate blacks into our lives? His VP didn’t care and we struggle to this day. What if Lincoln had lived? How would our country be different. Do we ban flags of every country we have fought? No. Nor should we remove statues of Confederate leaders. It’s all part of our history and we must never forget.
Democracy is a lousy way to govern. Trouble is, it’s so much better than all the others.
“Minion” and ‘ilk’ are words that are in common use today in propaganda. They are not neutral. Propagandists and informed readers know this.
HenryH
Minion please.
One of our more prolific female commenters here has stated often that ALL rights come from government.
I know!….. and this is why it is so important to protect the individual unalienable rights that are ours and do NOT come from the Government. The Bill of Rights was devised precisely to protect us from the Government and to protect us from the will of mob rule (aka democracy).
If the Government can remove our rights or if enough people can be persuaded to vote for something, then we are all in peril. If the people vote to allow slavery would this be acceptable to those who you referenced? I doubt it. If the people voted to ban women from being able to have abortions….Nope…they would be squealing like stuck pigs.
Democracy may be fine for a family meeting or a small club, but in a large and very diverse country, where many voters are, to put it kindly, information challenged, democracy can be a very dangerous and oppressive system. Be careful what you wish for…you might get it.
The unalienable rights that we have are rights according to natural law, a right that cannot be taken away, denied, or transferred. You can not surrender, sell or transfer unalienable rights, they are a gift from the creator to the individual and can not under any circumstances be surrendered or taken. All individual’s have unalienable rights
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
INalienable rights are different. Inalienable rights: Rights which are not capable of being surrendered or transferred without the consent of the one possessing such rights.
Trump will win. Pundits on CNN and Fox are wrong and should open their eyes. Mexican Americans will vote for Trump. He is a path forward. Other minorities who do not like gangs running their cities will vote for him. Democrats will vote for him over Hillary the 8th or any of the others.
DBQ,
One of our more prolific female commenters here has stated often that ALL rights come from government. Isaac has never been shy about his support for the rights of the collective over the rights of the individual. Two peas in the same pod.
Isaac thinks this is correct….he posted it. “” If a collective or government entity decides not to allow the Stars and Bars that is democracy. ”
Sooooo. Let me ask this. Do you agree with the following statements about democracy?
If a collective or government entity decides to allow slavery that is democracy.
If a collective or government entity decides to not allow abortion that is democracy.
If a collective or government entity decides to deport all illegal aliens that is democracy.
If enough people vote to bring back anything like drawing and quartering heretics or to ban anything, re-institute slavery or indentured servitude, ban abortion, ban birth control, insist that everyone belong to the Holy Rollers religion……that is OK with you? After all it is a democracy when the majority of those who vote get to say what happens no matter what….. or is it only with those things that you like and agree with?
OR….do we have the protection of ALL of our rights through the amendments to the Constitution to protect our rights, even those that you might not like or find objectionable, like being able to show the Confederate Battle Flag?
If you like a democracy, then you need to accept that sometimes mob rule is not necessarily for the good and that the rule of the crowd is not always just.
Context is everything.
History classes need to be accurate. Period. No politics should color the class one way or the other. It should neither dwell on the negative to the exclusion of the positive, nor vice versa.
As a mother, it is true that many schools teach that America was a bad, bad place in an entirely anachronistic point of view. America is judged by today’s standards, while no other country seems to be. For instance, Portugal was one of the most prolific slaving countries, and yet we don’t teach school children to hate Portugal.
Partisan politics do not belong in the classroom. It has long been documented that our education system has been controlled by Liberals. That is just as wrong as it would be if it was controlled by the GOP.
Keep personal, partisan politics out of the classroom.
“No need to destroy history, teach and remember all the bad parts, don’t revere them and lament about the good old days, maybe they weren’t so good.”
This is actually a good post Inga/Annie. Teach ALL of it, good and bad. We dishonor the people that fought against those that sought to keep the United States from advancing towards “a more perfect Union” by eliminating all references to that enemy. It would be one thing if human nature had evolved passed infringing the natural rights of others but that will never be the case. Instead of erasing the evidence of our “bad” history we need to highlight it so that we can recognize the steps we are taking to repeat it.
Olly:
You’re right. There are similarities with destroying our own cultural heritage and relics of our past.
The Confederate flag means different things to different people. We don’t get to say what speech people are allowed to engage in.
Exactly right SWM, I couldn’t agree more. He is using them and depends on them to be the xenophobic, racist, ignorant people they are. He is even playing to the evangelicals now, lol. Some comments about the “War on Christmas”, lol.
http://www.politicususa.com/2015/08/24/donald-trump-declares-war-war-christmas.html
All the duopoly does is get out their base. They really don’t want to activate the 40-50% of people who never vote. They are unknown and unknown scares the hell out of the duopoly status quo.. Well, this salesman is activating that disaffected crowd. He’s getting more people into the showroom looking to buy. Watch out, Republicans and Dems, it’s going to be a very bumpy ride!