No, not cartoons of Prophet Muhammad (though a panel discussion of them almost resulted in a riot at UC Irvine), but the Confedrate flag, banned on T-shirts — and so far the only T-shirt to be banned — at William Blount High School in Knoxville, Tenn. (HatTip to Howard Bashman)
Previous Entry: There It (The ABA) Goes Again, Again
Next Entry: Balkanization In Baltimore
I’ve been waiting for this one ever since they started changing the names of high school mascots from “rebels.”
Yep, it was only a matter of time. So much for the multi-culti cult.
I have less objection to this in high schools than in other forums. Certainly, the confederate flag has no place on state capitol flagpoles (State-sponsored viewpoints), they certainly have a place as private expression or political speech by private individuals in public fora, and high schools are a gray area for the reasons enumerated in man high school Supreme Court First Amendment decisions.
I believe it would be just as rational (in the same logical tenets, although the symbol perhaps is not as universally known to be offensive) for an hs to prohibit the Conf. flag shirt as it would to prohibit a t-shirt with the n-word or advocating the klan.
If one considers a Confederate flag to be equal to a n-word T-shirt or the Klan. There are plenty of Southerners who would disagree with that.
Sharon writes:
>>>”If one considers a Confederate flag to be equal to a n-word T-shirt or the Klan. There are plenty of Southerners who would disagree with that.”
Oh, I have no doubt. But the slippery slope leads to other symbols and images that “plenty of people don’t find offensive.”
Hey, I still have a big problem with the Cleveland Indians logo.
>>”I believe it would be just as rational (in the same logical tenets, although the symbol perhaps is not as universally known to be offensive) for an hs to prohibit the Conf. flag shirt as it would to prohibit a t-shirt with the n-word or advocating the klan.”
I think that’s a good place to start. I’d go further by agreeing that the public high school is indeed a grey area regarding the first amendment. There is too much room for abuse on this level.
–Cobra
When you say abuse, Cobra, do you mean that the kids are likely to abuse their rights? Or that high schoolers are likely to be abused because they don’t have the power to insist on and get their rights?
I’m OK with banning the C flag on t-shirts in school as long as they are even-handed and also ban BAMN and things of that nature. And I say this, being one of those people who do not appreciate the display of the C flag at all.