Thirteen-year-old Cody Alicea decided to hang an American flag on his bike, which he rode to school to honor his grandfather and other veterans. Great idea, right? Well, not according to the willy-nilly suits who run Denair Middle School near Turlock, California. It seems some other students complained about the flag. The principal then sent down the edict that Cody had to remove the American flag because it was offending other students.
Apparently, as of today, the school has relented in the face of public embarrassment. Cody and his father were interviewed this afternoon on the John and Ken radio show (KFI 640 am).
This is California, folks.
3 comments:
They allowed him to have it on his bike for two whole months before saying anything. Then it became obvious that letting him keep it there might put him in danger of the other students. Obviously the safety of the child comes above all else.
Really though, who cares about crap like this? Pathetic talk radio hosts and their listeners, I guess.
Anonymous,
Maybe they should have told the objecting students that this is America and we celebrate the American flag.
This kid's right to have an American flag on his bike is no greater and no less than the right of Des Moines, Iowa high school students to wear black arm bands to school to protest the war in Vietnam, the right of students at a public university to form a chapter of SDS, and the right of another high school student more recently to wear a t-shirt to school with a depiction of George W. Bush and the words "International Terrorist," (that is, if the school allows students to wear t-shirts, at all and in general).
In addition, it is undeniably ludicrous for public institutions in any nation to forbid display of that nation's own flag. Citizens may burn the flag as an act of political protest, but duly constituted authorities may NOT forbid a citizen to display it.
Patriotism is not mandatory, but it damn well is allowed, and may even be encouraged without any constitutional violation.
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