San Diego school bans US flag

[utvolpj]

SAN DIEGO -- In the wake of last week's immigration-reform protests, one school district is taking drastic measures, banning all symbols of patriotism, both U.S. and Mexican.

Beginning Monday, the Oceanside Unified School District is banning all flags and patriotic clothing. According to school officials, some students are using the garments and flags to taunt classmates.

Some critics of the move are calling it a violation of free speech protections guaranteed by the Constitution.


The American Civil Liberties Union points to the landmark Supreme Court case Tinker v. Des Moines. In that case, school officials attempted to stop students who were protesting the Viet Nam War from wearing black armbands.

"The school has to be able to show a strong likelihood that there is going to material and substantial disruption of school, and if they don’t meet that standard, then they can't censor student speech," said Kevin Neenan of the ACLU.

School officials in Oceanside now say that flags -- whether they are U.S. or Mexican or any other country's -- have now become a divider on campuses, saying that some students are using them to taunt other students

Keith Brentlinger displays the U.S. flag outside Hatter, Williams and Purdy, his Oceanside business.

"To me, it's everything," said Brentlinger "I mean, like I said -- we truly live in the greatest country in the world."

Brentlinger said he was shocked on Tuesday when marching immigration-reform protesters tore down the flag outside his business.

"Some of them just grabbed the flag, and pulled it off its aluminum pole, and it got ripped," said Brentlinger.

Brentlinger told NBC 7/39 that he put up a new flag the next day.

"Some protesters drove up in their car and snagged the flag from our building and took off," said Brentlinger. "I was extremely, extremely upset. I mean, it was just ... insulting is the word."

School officials are saying that the ban is just temporary and that they were just trying to prevent violence. They would not say how long the ban would be in effect.

Link to story

This is starting to get out of hand. :disappointed:

 

[Crakaveli]

i hope california has a major earthquake and somehow becomes it's own island

 

[milohimself]

I can understand the sentiment, numerous Mexican students here have been taunted and intimidated as well by kids screaming patriotism and such. Basically a bunc of flag-toting rednecks yelling racial slurs and telling them to go back to Mexico. If I were in charge there in San Diego, I'd just see to it that the kids who were taunting others with their flags and such were punished accordingly. I don't disagree with the sentiment whatsoever, and it's a reasonable explanation but a better course of action could have been taken...

 

[therealUT]

I think it is a complete disgrace. If the administrators of the school district cannot control a bunch of teenagers, then maybe they should not be school administrators!

Taking away the rights of anyone to wear non-offensive clothing is completely unconstitutional.

 

[la.lovesorange]

flag-toting rednecks

 

[govols]

I can understand the sentiment, numerous Mexican students here have been taunted and intimidated as well by kids screaming patriotism and such. Basically a bunc of flag-toting rednecks yelling racial slurs and telling them to go back to Mexico. If I were in charge there in San Diego, I'd just see to it that the kids who were taunting others with their flags and such were punished accordingly. I don't disagree with the sentiment whatsoever, and it's a reasonable explanation but a better course of action could have been taken...

To bad for the Mexicans then. They are in the US and not Mexico. We shouldn't be taunting them though.

 

[vader]

I think it is a complete disgrace. If the administrators of the school district cannot control a bunch of teenagers, then maybe they should not be school administrators!

Easy to say if you have never tried to control a bunch of teenagers.

Taking away the rights of anyone to wear non-offensive clothing is completely unconstitutional.

Schools do it all the time.

 

[OWB]

San Diego IS Mexico and has been for a while now.

 

[milohimself]

Disclaimer for the easily offended: I didn't mean to say that this applied to all rednecks. I was specifically refering to the ones at my high school who taunt Mexican students.

 

[milohimself]

To bad for the Mexicans then. They are in the US and not Mexico. We shouldn't be taunting them though.

What's too bad for the Mexican students in San Diego? They ought to be dealt with in the exact same way as the kids taunting them with American flags.

I don't think it's necesarily a California... Leave it to a public school board to overreact to a problem. I've met plenty of these people in my HS time and it seems to be a job qualification to have a stick up your butt.

 

[la.lovesorange]

Disclaimer for the easily offended: I didn't mean to say that this applied to all rednecks. I was specifically refering to the ones at my high school who taunt Mexican students.

Offended............who's offended?? I just didnt know they had "rednecks" in "your neck of the woods". :angel:

 

[milohimself]

Yeah, they exist up here. There are some places in Oregon along the coastal mountain range that are more backwoods than you would ever expect to see on the west coast.

Suprisingly enough we're a swing state... Portland and Eugene are loaded down with lefties but the rest of the state is about as red as it gets.

 

[Taylor Moran]

If only the O Charley's Posse was in charge in San Diego :gun: :clapping:

 

[checkerboard_charly]

i hope california has a major earthquake and somehow becomes its own island

wow, i finally agree with u crack. this is ridiculous. i cant stand all this crap.


oh yeah, the ultimate warrior is the greatest wrestler to ever walk the earth. :rock:

 

[Freak]

disgrace

 

[checkerboard_charly]

disgrace

lol. man of few words.