Tea Party Patriots Plan Cinco De Mayo Protest Of American Flag Shirt Ban At Morgan Hill School

[alp227]

MORGAN HILL (KCBS) —A single American flag flies in front of Live Oak High School in Morgan Hill on an average school day, but there may be more than 50 on Monday as a group of Tea Party activists plans to protest the school’s 2010 decision to send students home for wearing the American flag on Cinco de Mayo.

The Gilroy-Morgan Hill Patriots have planned for a Cinco de Mayo U.S. Flag Rally in protest of the Ninth Circuit Court’s ruling siding with the school district over the decision. The court ruled earlier this year that officials at Live Oak High School were justified in sending students home in order to keep a safe-school environment. The school had a history of tension between white and Latino students, and administrators feared at the time that the shirts would inflame those feelings.

At a recent school board meeting, a number of speakers from the Latino community urged that the rally be held elsewhere, but Georgine Scott-Codiga, president of the Gilroy-Morgan Hill Patriots, said the rally will be “peaceful” and that she doesn’t understand the outrage.

“We’re not trying to be divisive of anything; it has nothing to do whatsoever with Cinco De Mayo. The issue here is a freedom-of-speech issue,” she told the board.

full: http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2014/05/02/patriots-plan-cinco-de-mayo-protest-of-american-flag-shirt-ban-at-morgan-hill-live-oak-high-school-free-speech/

Yeah right. The local "liberal media" fail at journalism once again...a bunch of comments on web pages related to this rally suggest this rally might not be as peaceful as the Tea Partiers promote it to be.

And geez, I can NOT imagine what it's like to live as a tea party supporter, whining because a high school sent students home for wearing American flag T-shirts FOUR YEARS AGO and IGNORING the possible racist intentions the kids who wore the shirts had. PZ Myers called the Live Oak Four "craven little cowards" because the boys chose passive-aggressive behavior (wearing the T-shirts) rather than straight-up sharing their thoughts!

As I've said before, if this is what passes as patriotism in modern America, I wish to have no part in it. Sheesh. Being a "patriot" sure puts you in company with the most shady, bigoted, and narrow-minded types around.

[doc03]

1. I thought wearing a flag as clothing is disrespecting the

flag.

[lunasun]

8. That was when antiwar hippies wore it - Hate loving teabaggers = it is patriotic now

[Open_n_Shut]

12. Still falls under free speech..

Whether it falls under the "Flag code" or not...

[RKP5637]

2. Much as with religion, the concept of being a patriot has been maligned by the asshole side of

America.

[Jake Stern]

3. So kids in the United States were sent home for wearing an American flag

because it offended folks?

Wow.

[delta17]

5. Yeah. This was a terrible decision.

[alp227]

6. Y'know, if you're wearing that shirt on CINCO DE MAYO, you can't have good intentions.

The kids were dumb for doing it. The school was DUMBER for making them change their shirts. Hell, if the kids decided to be more explicit, I would support discipline once the line between dissent and harassment is crossed.

[Jake Stern]

13. Get back to me when they're actually doing things like spewing racial slurs.

It wasn't like they were going around beating Latino students over the head with a flag on a pole. It wasn't even a real flag, just a picture of a flag.

Would you support the same actions by the school if the roles were reversed and Latino students were sent home for wearing Mexican flag shirts?

[alp227]

15. I already answered your questions re discipline.

I just wish people would actively say what they mean instead of passively/aggressively hiding behind national symbols.

[delta17]

4. The students should be able to wear a flag T-shirt.

This is the kind of thing that makes us look bad. If they were taunting other students, deal with that separately. But there is nothing about a flag T-shirt that is inherently offensive. The only restrictions on clothing should be gang related clothes, drug related or obscenity. The court was wrong on this one.

What if this was reversed? If this school sent Hispanic students home for wearing a Mexican flag shirt, there would be outrage.

[gater]

7. Actually, one should never wear the flag as clothing...

The U.S. Flag Code, section 4-(d) states: "The flag should never be used as wearing apparel, bedding, or drapery...."
If one wants to display the flag on their person, there are options available for patches and pins which are appropriate, respectful and patriotic.

[Paladin]

11. Has anybody let that fuckwit Duck Dynasty guy in on this?

You know, the one you never see without a stars n' stripes do-rag plastered across his forehead.....

[delta17]

14. I know it is against Flag Code.

Flag code isn't law, though. The issue isn't about good taste, it is about whether they have the right to wear them. I think the First Amendment is pretty clear on this one.

[oneofthe99]

9. I support the Tea Party Patriots on this demonstration

[Xipe Totec]

10. What did they wear on St Patricks day? nt

[UTUSN]

16. I don't know much - just bwah-ha-HAH!1 n/t