Posted on 01/06/2006 12:05:39 PM PST by stainlessbanner
BURLESON — Two North Texas high school students who were kicked out of class for displaying rebel flags vow to take their fight to court. They said they are proud of their heritage, but Burleson High School education officials maintain the Confederate symbol is offensive.
Ashley Thomas remembered how it all started. "Principal comes up and says, 'You've got to get rid of your purse... it's racist."
Ashley and Aubrie McAllum both received purses patterened after the Confederate battle flag from their parents for Christmas. Both girls decided to take their presents to school.
"I don't have 'KKK' written on me or anything; it's just a purse," Aubrie said. "Doesn't have anything to do with what color you are."
The students were asked to leave their purses with the principal; they elected to leave school after calling their parents.
Ashley was sent home three times this week. "I'm at the point where I really don't know what to do," she said. "I want to keep going to school and get my education, but this is my life. I was born and raised in the South. Why is the flag so bad?"
Here's the answer, from Burleson ISD spokesman Richard Crummel: "It's a violation of the dress code," he said. "We don't want students to wear anything that might cause a disruption, and that symbol has done that in the past."
"Then that's a heritage violation on her, on me... on all of us," said Aubrie's father, Rick McAllum. "So we can push it."
McAllum belongs to the Sons of Confederate Veterans. Ashley's mom, Joni Thomas, is from New York. But the parents of both girls praised their daughters, and vowed to fight.
"I'm hiring a lawyer," Thomas said. "I'm going all the way with it, because I think it's wrong."
Burleson High School, with a 2,200 student enrollment, is about 90 percent white, 8 or 9 percent Hispanic. There are very few African Americans.
"We want to be sensitive to everyone; make it comfortable in school for all our students," Crummel said.
Both girls said they have never been in trouble and don't want trouble now.
But they don't want to back down, either.
School officials know controversy often follows the Confederate flag, and they will not let it in.
The girls as of Friday, decided to go back to school
This is not about the Civil War but a purse! I have seen worse pictures on purses. They just have to complain about something. If they had a picture of Che ? on them, no one would have said a word.
Hmmm. I suppose you wouldn't want to mention the 1833 compromise bill on the tariff proposed by Clay, signed by Jackson, and supported by Calhoun. But for goodness sake, don't mention the Dred Scott decision? John Brown? Popular Soverignty> The Kansas-Nebraska bill? The uproar over whether Kansas was going to entered as a slave or as a free state? Yeah, you better not mention any of that, because if you do, you're earlier statement that the Civil War had nothing to do with slavery will be shown to be clearly delusional.
Sure the tariffs were a hot-button issue and I would grant that they added fuel to the conflict; but to say that the issue of slavery was not a factor in the Civil War just make you look silly.
Lee's actions involved attacking SOLDIERS.
Sherman's explicitly involved attacking CITIZENS.
Sherman was a terrorist.
So's the union flag. When are we getting rid of that?
However, you can't deny that the rebel flag has been taken over by some pretty creepy racist elements in the 20th century. Most people associate it with these elements, not with the civil war.
Does that mean that the assuming masses should therefore dictate what symbols the rest of the people can use? History is complex and symbols have various meanings at different times. Just because some group hijacks the meaning of a symbol doesn't make it illegal to use. Otherwise Buddhists wouldn't be able to use the swastika or they would be accused of "hate crimes". I say let free speech rule.
Show me a historical factual quote of a Southern diplomat stating that the only reason their state was voting for succession was because of slavery....please...
I have a great life and cherishing my heritage is a major part of it. You should be so lucky!
Oops, sorry! I guess you meant that post to go to blaquebyrd...
next time...close your mouth before inserting your foot
Outstanding. Thanks for posting.
Yes, and how tragic that poor farmers would be roped into defense of what amounted to a civil insurrection designed to perpetuate the plantation culture.
By your logic, Eisenhower was a terrorist for the firebombing of Berlin.
"By your logic, Eisenhower was a terrorist for the firebombing of Berlin."
Did Ike intentionally target citizens or target German factories?
I did for one summer or fall and boy, that was enough for me. I do not want to do that ever again! One hundred pounds is a lot of cotton.
Schools should be allowed to limit what students display on their clothing or handbags.
There is nothing about a confederate flag that should prevent anyone from displaying it if they so choose.
I have several ancestors who fought for that flag, too. One had a bad foot so he could not fight but he did his part by making shoes for the soldiers.
Show me a historical factual quote in which Lincoln states that he wants to outlaw slavery in the states. The most he wanted to do in 1860 was to limit its spread to the territories. He made a very fine legal case for his position in the 1860 speech at Cooper Union. But territories are not states and thus why should say, South Carolina, care whether or not there are slaveholders in the western territories if they were only concerned about state's rights?
Are you referring to the "War of Northern Agression"?
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