The kid.
Posted on 08/30/2006 9:00:34 PM PDT by Aussie Dasher
A US student who sued school officials after he was made to censor his T-shirt that labelled President George W Bush "Chicken-Hawk-In-Chief" and a former alcohol and cocaine abuser won an appeal yesterday to wear the shirt to school.
The 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favour of Zachery Guiles, who through his parents claimed his free speech rights had been violated.
School officials made him put duct tape over parts of his T-shirt that showed a Bush image surrounded by cocaine, a razor blade, a straw and a martini.
Guiles, who as a seventh grader in 2004 wore the T-shirt to Williamstown Middle High School in Vermont once a week for two months after purchasing it at an anti-war rally, appealed the case after a lower court ruled in favour of the school.
The school argued the images were offensive because they undermined the school's anti-drug message.
The T-shirt read "George W Bush" and "Chicken-Hawk-In-Chief" with a picture of the president's face wearing a helmet superimposed on the body of a chicken.
The back of the T-shirt showed lines of cocaine, a martini glass and smaller print that accused Bush of being a "Crook", "Cocaine Addict", AWOL", "Draft Dodger" and "Lying Drunk Driver".
The appeals court said while the T-shirt "uses harsh rhetoric and imagery to express disagreement with the president's policies and to impugn his character", the images depicted "are not plainly offensive as a matter of law".
The court agreed with the lower court that ruled Guiles' suspension from school should be expunged from his record.
What about shirts that support Bush?
Ah never mind that question.
Yeah I am sure as a 12,13, maybe 14 year old these are HIS views and not you know his parents.
Forget dress code, that kid needs a good, solid, parental ass-whoopin'!
I hope the "justice" system will be equally eager to protect the rights of one or two kids to express their displeasure towards this punk.
The kid.
Or a whoopin' delivered by peers.
Call some toadie macaca and all hell breaks loose, but the left mocks on a daily basis without repercussion.
George is a monkey, Condi is a Parrot, Tony is a Poodle, its all good because the left would never belittle someone or mock them.
The Christians in that school need to start exercising their "free speech" too!
Thank God he wasnt wearing an American flag shirt. He would have been suspended!
From this site:
At 14, Zachary Guiles is a focused and thoughtful citizen. He plays first trombone in the Vermont Youth Symphony Orchestra, likes to ride his dirt bike and to read — especially Michael Moore’s books. And he has a good relationship with both of his parents. ...Meanwhile, Zach is getting on with his own life. Last year was the first time he had been in public school for several years. He is back to being home-schooled this year, although he attends music classes and plays in the school band at Williamstown Middle High School. ...
Tim Guiles said he is not surprised that his son is at the center of a First Amendment firestorm.
“I’ve been involved as an environmental activist for years, and I’ve brought Zach to anti-nuclear protests,” Guiles said. “He has grown up with activism around him … It’s really a natural progression to find this cropping up in his life.”
A few good belts in the ear should help him no-end!
The court was right; the kid has a right to express even offensive and boorish opinions.
The real story is that some poor seventh grader got brainwashed by his parent's sick delusions and dragged into a protracted court battle as a pawn for the moonbat left. I was around that age when Clinton was first elected; I was aware my parents didn't exactly like him but they certainly didn't shove it down my throat like this kid's parents did. Even if they had there's no way in he** they'd have let me wear a shirt like that with Clinton (or anyone else) on it.
Hopefully he'll be sporting Matching Black eyes and a wedgie too...whadda fug...
Would they have ruled the same way if it was a tshirt with Clinton on it pushing a wheelbarrow with Chinese campaign money in it?
Why is a seventh grade wearing clothes with alcohol and drugs? That is against any policy that I would find around my area. Ridiculous.
Actually - that is JUST what should now happen across the country. Get your kids Bush shirts - the court has ruled! How could they then say that PRO bush shirts are offensive while slanderous ones aren't?
Indeed, this ruling could be used to wear shirts with all kinds of messages from our side - can't beat 'em? Thney just gave us a weapon. Use their own methods against 'em
Those parents need a good, solid, ass-whoopin'. Why am I not surprised. I'm a son-of-a-boomer and I'm pretty conservative. A lot of my collegiate peers are also conservative. Most kids are pretty pissed about what ninnies their parents are.
The kid looks real fruity. I'm betting he's already been beaten just for wearing that crappy jacket.
Yep, just like I said in post 13. Poor kid never had a chance to form an independent thought.
The only bright side I see is that he's just about at the age where he'll start to rebel, and since his parents appear to be as far out there as it gets, the only way he can rebel is to become an America-loving, pro-capitalist, preppy Reaganite conservative :-p
Good thing he didn't have a two inch tall plastic Army man with bayonet.
Zero tolerance would have gotten him tossed.
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