Posted on 09/06/2002 6:44:16 PM PDT by stainlessbanner
free dixie,sw
And as an institution of alledged learning, it is the school's job to educate those who have such a distorted and inaccurate view of history. After all, a mind is a terrible thing to waste.
As for the Skynyrd and ZZTOP shirts - I had my share, too.
From Mike Christopher:
Thank you for your interest.Let me point out the student dress code states"shirts must have no writing,pictures or graphics that unreasonably attracts the attention of other students or cause disruption or interference with the operation of the school".The Confederate battle emblem unfortunately fits in this category and students at Cherokee High knew this when they purchased the shirts.This dress code is over two years old.The administration of the school was and is upholding a policy set by the board.I personally am saddened that the emblem that should be used to honor those that died in The War Between the States has unfortunately become a symbol for bigotry and racial hatred.Two days before the anniversary that we Americans realized how hated we are by much of the world we should not allow anything to divide us.Hopefully, in the distant future,this discussion will be mute; but not today ,and certainly not as long as students us the battle flag to break rules or any citizen, whether from the North ,South ,West or East uses it as a symbol of hate or intolerance.
My reply:
The battle flag is a proud, ,historical symbol. It is my educated opinion that the only ones who are using it as a divisive symbol of racism are those who are also doing the complaining. Every complaint reveals a glaring ignorance of its history. That the battle flag was an accepted part of both American and southern history was a given until the likes of Jesse Jackson and the spokesmen for the NAACP decided they needed a divisive issue to keep racism alive in order to further their political agenda and this looked as good an issue as any and an easy one to sell to the ignorant. Funny how they never mention that one of the most notorious "hate" groups in American history used the stars and stripes far more extensively and for a longer period of time than the stars and bars, only having adopted it in more recent times. Also funny how they never mention that it was the stars and stripes that flew over the slave ships. But facts are irrelevant to the cause of racebaiting. I would just think that educators would have better sense than to kowtow to it.
There is nowhere in the Constitution of our country that promises any the freedom from being offended. I am truly ashamed of southerners who would bow to this kind of political correctness run amok. It is un-American, unconstitutional and uncalled for. The whiners need to deal with it and instead of complaining they should be thankful that they live in a country where people are still free to express themselves, even if they don't like the way some choose to do it. There is a very big difference in those who proudly display the battle flag and those who are claiming to be offended by it. Those who display the flag are exercising the freedom of expression, and while others may not value their sentiments, they have violated no one's rights. Those who would ban the flag cannot make such a claim.
The district she is in has a much higher proportion of black students to white than Cherokee HS does, but she says that it has never really been a problem.
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