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 ...
These kids were not too bright for one reason. The racial democraphics of Kennedy HS is now about 40% minorities, of which a large share are black. That's quite a change from I was there and it was 95% white. These kids are lucky that they didn't get assaulted by some angry homeys.
Comments or opinions - anyone?
When the Africa flag is considered a symbol of hate then I’ll listen to arguments that the confederate flag is as well.
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This happened in Minnesota; not quite the south but if these kids have the right to burn flags then they have the right to wave them as well. Down here in North Carolina, I don’t think this would be an issue even in the ‘government indoctrination centers’; but I wouldn’t bet a pay check on it…
---So why don't they move to Hazzard County and rename themselves Bo, Luke and Cooter?
We are being too tough on today’s kids. What is wrong with a few pranks? Everyone seems to have lost their sense of humor. I’m getting tired of this PC culture. Let the kids have some fun and if some feathers get ruffled BFD.
Public government schools are loaded with kids that are not too bright, taught by leftist, America haters and Communist. Are these kids also banned from graduation ceremonies?
That said, I think the authorities were right to head this thing off immediately which probably prevented a fight and maybe these boys getting hurt.
“simply admire the “Southern lifestyle” and TV shows such as “The Dukes of Hazzard”
That comment is offensive to Southerners. Is that why they are being suspended?
If the flag were for the Rainbow Coalition or the Crescent Star of Islam, they probabaly would have garnered special praise from the Administration.
Because they represent a non-PC former nation, it is forbidden.
Political correctness only works when you give away everything and accept things as the Liberals want you to, nothing less.
If you say radical Islam produces terrorists, that is racist and non-PC; if you declare all white people are bitter and hold onto their guns, then you are Barack Obama and revered by the Media.
“These kids are lucky that they didn’t get assaulted by some angry homeys.”
It’s been at 40%+ black here my whole life and I see Confederate Battle flags every day. Same deal in a town I lived in that was 70% black. It’s on our state flag, for goodness sakes, supported by a good margin of the vote.
It’s been my experience that if “angry homeys” want to assault someone, they’ll find a reason.
But its ok for kids in Kalifornia to display the Mexican flag?
“Just some good-’ole boys, never meanin’ NO HARM; beat all you ever saw been in trouble with the law since the day they was born.”
My alma mater too, class of ‘71. Not likely that any of my teachers are still around, and I sure don’t remember security guards or much trouble there either.
Things have changed in Bloomington, but I’m thinking about moving back (from Hastings); I still like it.
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I’m always torn about issues like this. In a public space, they have the right to do this. On private property, they have the right to ban it. Since it’s a public school, I guess that’s public space in a way, but it’s also owned by the school district, so its arguable that they have the right to make rules like this. High schools are tricky like that; freedom of speech has to be balanced with not allowing kids to be disruptive. At a 40% black school, I’m pretty sure the intention was to be disruptive.
MplsSteve - I didn’t realize how much Bloomington had changed over the years. Are you sure it’s really 40%? I grew up in Edina, which has roughly the same demographics as when I was a kid.
“That comment is offensive to Southerners. Is that why they are being suspended?”
not to this Southerner - it was a silly but cute show someone would have very thin skin to be bothered by it.
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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