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[2harleys]

JC I'm hoping others follow your lead and write too.  Folks... how about it?  Write to everyone you can think of on this one.  Thanks!

My e-mail has been sent. Someone needs to stop this kind of crap ASAP!!  When will they see it as "offensive" to fly a flag at my home or have a flag on the back of my leather jacket??

[Dyna mite]

Hum...was just wondering if they ran the AMERICAN flag up the flag pole that day or the Mexican??? 

[DDavidson]

This is an update to JCZ's post. Created a new since over JCZ's is over 30 days.

November 11, 2011
MORGAN HILL, Calif. -- A federal judge ruled against three Live Oak High School students who wore T-shirts depicting the American flag to school on Cinco De Mayo.

The judge sided with Morgan Hill Unified School District on Tuesday, stating that the district had the authority to force students to take off or conceal their patriotic clothing.

On May 5, 2010, three students wore American flag T-shirts to school on the Mexican holiday. As students were hanging out on campus during lunchtime, then-Assistant Principal Miguel Rodriguez ordered the students to either remove their shirts or turn them inside out. The students refused, even after then-Live Oak High Principal Nick Boden stepped in.

The teens and their parents filed a lawsuit against the school district the following month, claiming that their constitutional rights to freedom of expression and equal protection were violated.
But U.S. District Court Judge James Ware decided Live Oak High School administrators could "reasonably forecast" that the students' clothing would cause a "substantial disruption to school activities."

On Cinco De Mayo in 2009, racial tensions exploded when a fight broke out between a large group of white students and a large group of Mexican students at Live Oak High, the ruling states.
On that day, Mexican students were walking around the high school's campus with Mexican flags. In response, white students raised an American flag on a tree on campus while chanting "U-S-A."
White students and Mexican students swore and made threats at each other, and school administrators had to prevent physical violence from breaking out, the ruling states.

The three students' lawyer, William J. Becker Jr., described Ware's ruling as "bizarre."
"The court found that the rights of students promoting their Mexican heritage trumped the rights of students expressing their patriotism, and who, incidentally, did not object to Cinco De Mayo activities," Becker said.
"If school officials felt the threat of potential disruption of the school day, they should have canceled the Cinco De Mayo event. Instead, this court held that the solution was to suppress speech that was meant to be supportive of this nation and non-confrontational," Becker said.

Becker said he plans to file an appeal.



Read more: http://www.ksbw.com/education/29748700/detail.html#ixzz1dVVJyBqN

[erniezap]

Unreal!  This country is doomed when we have idiots like this judge determining our rights!

[GregKhougaz]

"Bizaar" is the only way to describe this decision!  Mr. Becker is correct and the judge should be removed from the bench!   

[TN]

proper etiquette cannot be handed down by a judge. i always think of this video when something like this crops up.






TN

[cvobiker]

This is getting interesting and i have no doubts the judge's ruling is going to get overturned. Also this thread needs to be merged into JC's original thread so that we can follow this easier.   

[StevesCVO]

Why is an American school celebrating Cinco De Mayo anyway? 

[erniezap]

This is getting interesting and i have no doubts the judge's ruling is going to get overturned. Also this thread needs to be merged into JC's original thread so that we can follow this easier.   

Done

[kraut]

Hmmm,

the judge saw and heard those 3 boys - and certainly quite a lot of further background and cirumstantial info. You and me don't.

It's perhaps just too easy to call a courts decision "bizzar" after reading just a couple of words from sensation hungry press about a situation you didn't witness nor have any in depth knowledge of 

[Fired00d]

This is getting interesting and i have no doubts the judge's ruling is going to get overturned. Also this thread needs to be merged into JC's original thread so that we can follow this easier.   

Done

For the second time I merged it when the original post was made today I guess he deleted the post and started the thread over again.

 
Ride Safe,
Fired00d
 

[2harleys]

Hmmm,

the judge saw and heard those 3 boys - and certainly quite a lot of further background and cirumstantial info. You and me don't.

It's perhaps just too easy to call a courts decision "bizzar" after reading just a couple of words from sensation hungry press about a situation you didn't witness nor have any in depth knowledge of 

I am sorry, but I cannot see ANY circumstances that trump Mexican activity over American freedom, that happens on American soil!!  Maybe someone can enlighten me on that one.

[kraut]

I doubt you realy will be enlightened, but you asked for it: some events lately taught at least some of us Germans that just showing off any old flag does not neccessarily mean there is any honorable action intended 

Those kids were out for trouble, their teachers stopped them and a federal court decided to hold that up.

I suggest you just respect your own legal system a little more 

[2harleys]

I doubt you realy will be enlightened, but you asked for it: some events lately taught at least some of us Germans that just showing off any old flag does not neccessarily mean there is any honorable action intended 

Those kids were out for trouble, their teachers stopped them and a federal court decided to hold that up.

I suggest you just respect your own legal system a little more 

I will respect our legal system a little more when they quit trying to take our rights away. Did not know it was a crime to show our flag. Mine flys 24-7 above my home and I for one intend that it always stays there. I have a lot of friends that have fought for that right and some that died for that right. I wonder how that judge would work out in Mexico with reversed circumstances??

[DDavidson]

I initially wanted to merge this message into JCZ's post but received a red system message telling me I needed to create my own thread since JCZ's was older than thirty days. Created a new thread and added the URL pointing to JCZ's post. When I hit save my post disappeared so I thought the URL messed me up so I removed it and reposted.  Normally a message is posted stating a post was moved and the reason why. Wasn't trying to steal anybodies thunder.

Anyway,

I see the Judges opinion as saying the School Administrators have the power to prevent problems whether their decision is correct or not. If the School Administrators make the wrong decision then maybe that is a separate issue and should be handled as policy within the school system.

Seems to me the Judge's ruling is correct. It gives the administrators the power to make decisions, whether right (hopefully all of the time) and wrong (hopefully seldom). The administrators had a very tough decision. (How do they avoid conflict with a large number of teenage students?) They were willing to err on the side of school safety. The government seems to err on the side of safety quite often.

The displaying of our countries symbol by one individual can be considered antagonistic to other individuals.

The administrators decided the celebration of Cinco de Mayo was okay. The administrators decided the students wore the American flag t-shirts to antagonize the students celebrating Cinco de Mayo and wouldn't allow the antagonizing.

If the parents think the administrators are wrong then they can vote in a new Superintendent. It's called Democracy.