Posted on 06/04/2008 2:40:17 PM PDT by MplsSteve
Three high school seniors have been barred from Bloomington Kennedy High School's graduation ceremony tonight at Target Center because of what the school district is calling a prank involving Confederate flags.
Rick Kaufman, a spokesman for the Bloomington School District, said three male students brought the flags onto school property Tuesday morning. He said they were suspended after "carrying and waving" the flags in the parking lot as parents and students arrived at the school.
Bloomington Kennedy senior Kellie Rezac is a friend of the three boys and helped organize a protest outside the school earlier today. Rezac said the flags were on the boys' cars, it wasn't a prank, and her friends aren't racists.
She said they've flown the Confederate flag before and simply admire the "Southern lifestyle" and TV shows such as "The Dukes of Hazzard."
Dan Fredin, 18, one of the students who was suspended, said one of the boys complied with the request and another drove his truck home and returned to school later.
"They didn't even drive 100 feet into the school parking lot and the teachers and [security guards] came out and said remove it from sight," Fredin said.
(Excerpt) Read more at startribune.com ...
I guess the first amendment is long gone. Waving these flags comes under the first amendment. We had better get off our butts and start campaigning the way we do against illegal bills. Saturate the senate and the house and make these jerks start going by the constitution. and if a state is doing it then the conservatives of that state had better get rolling on this. One of the problems is that too many conservatives have fallen under the PC hammer an are afraid of being called racist.
Whew - this was close!!
If they had brought day old bagels on campus, they could be in jail right now on charges of carrying lethal weapons on school grounds.
But, since it was a flag instead, they are fortunate they weren’t hung from the nearest tree for their heinous crime.
I’m becoming very intolerant of zero tolerance policies enacted by school administrators who are overpaid, underworked and underqualified. I’m waiting for the left to discover that life isn’t “One-Size-Fits-All” attire.
That’s why some people build homes, other people manage banks and others fix cars.
“There’s no historical significance here, it’s just some young punks trying to cause trouble.”
If there is no historical significance to the flag in Minnesota would it cause trouble and with whom?
The fact is, there is no historical significance to this “offense” at the sight of a CBF. This is a relatively new (within my adulthood), PC driven phenomenon.
25 years ago people would have taken them for Dukes of Hazzard fans or rural “good old boys”. What has changed? The onset of PC. People were purposely conditioned to be offended by the CBF.
I misspoke - there’s no POSITIVE significance. On all of these threads, there’s always people from the South who yammer about how the flag is a part of Southern culture. Let’s say I grant that, even though I’m really not convinced. I don’t see how you can pretend that slavery was not a major factor leading up to the Civil War. As a student of history, I know that there was a lot more going on, but it was still very significant. That’s why so many people find it offensive, at least in this part of the country. But, even if for the sake of argument I accept that it’s not offensive along racial lines, Minnesotans actively fought AGAINST the Confederacy in the Civil War. If nothing else, it’s treasonous, and so is any American flying it for that matter.
It’s pretty clear that these kids had no intention other than making people upset. They knew it would be found offensive, and even if you don’t think it is, they thought it would be, and many people found it to be.
Also, it’s not new. Ever since the advent of TV, and especially now with the internet, the regional differences in the country are less pronounced than they used to be. Maybe the CBF was never offensive where you live, but it has been here my entire life. I think that’s true in most of the Midwest and Northeast.
“The Africa flag”? What flag is that exactly? The flag of the country of Africa?
Exactly right L98Fiero.
This school is my Alma Mater ‘75 and it would not have been a big deal in those days. This is a perfect example of PC run amuck. Everyone seems to be looking for something to be offended at. I am sick to death of it.
Iwas at kennedy when this happened. It was a whole lot of yelling over somthing soooo little. I personally know Justin, joey ,and dan. There really nice guys. they should’nt have been punished that harsh.Kennedy is more then half Mexixcan and black i think that is why people got so upset over it. well ill tell ya im going to get a 70 Dodge an make it the general Lee and see what they say with the flag on top of that. No seriously i am. i bet it’ll be all over the news again
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