Posted on 04/16/2014 6:26:09 PM PDT by Altura Ct.
SOUTH HUNTINGTON, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) – Two Long Island high school students have been suspended for allegedly bringing a Confederate flag to school.
Brother Gary Cregan, principal of St. Anthony’s High School in South Huntington, said the two seniors walked in with a Confederate flag draped around their shoulders during an after-hours sporting event at the school.
As CBS 2′s Kathryn Brown reported, there is outrage and disgust on Long Island.
“The African-American students who immediately saw it really exercised heroic restraint and fortunately a teacher immediately confiscated the flag and took the students out of the gym,” Cregan said.
The students were initially suspended for 10 days, but Cregan decided Tuesday they won’t be allowed back, Brown reported.
Cregan wrote a letter to parents saying the use of any symbols “designed to revive past injustices or to inflame discrimination or racial intolerance, is completely unacceptable and profoundly offensive,” Newsday reported.
Cregan said he sees the flag as a symbol of hate.
“I find it just very hard to even imagine why any student in 2014 would even consider or think that a Confederate flag would be anything other than a symbol of hate,” Cregan said.
“It’s absolutely absurd, I don’t understand why you would bring up things from the past that are hateful,” student Jessica Flynn said.
“It represents slavery to us. It represents racism and prejudice to us,” parent JuJu Quinnonez added. “Believe me, I am all for freedom of speech but to have someone come in to school with that flag draped around their shoulder – I’m not really sure what the intent was.”
In response to those who said the students were exercising their right to free speech, Cregan said there are limits.
“I certainly think this particular symbol of hate falls in the category of something that should be excised from our culture,” Cregan said.
The students haven’t explained why they did it. St. Anthony’s is a private Catholic school and isn’t bound by the First Amendment right to free speech.
Still, the New York Civil Liberties Union said all people should be able to express their views freely, even the offensive ones.
“Our motto is more speech, not censorship or punishment,” NYCLU director Donna Lieberman told Brown. “Helping children understand the impact of this patently offensive expressive activity.”
Tensions are so high among students at St. Anthony’s that the principal said he has security concerns once the suspension is over. He’s made the decision that the students involved aren’t coming back at all.
The teens involved did not respond to CBS 2′s calls for comment.
Do they have a 1st amendment exclusion?
Heroic restraint?
Why can the Mexican Flag be flown anywhere except at the Mexican Embassy and the UN?
Absolute contempt for blacks being shown by the school...
So some animals are more equal than other animals? What happened to the black panthers who blocked white voters from a polling place and put a one million dollar bounty on George Zimmerman?
This took place at a parochial school, so the school administration has every right to deal with them as they see fit -- for better or for worse.
So we don’t agree with you and we are going to deny you and education. it’s indoctrination and “right” thinking or GET THE F*** OUT!
Another young head full of mush. Prolly a proud product of Common Core.
It would seem to me they are implying that Blacks are more prone to violence than whites. I’m sure they didn’t intend to say that but it seems it slipped out.
some flags are good and some are bad, mmmkay?
never mind the fact they’d celebrate people who burn the American Flag....
Shakin' the tree here, boss....
The kids should have taken the Bonnie Blue, Them try and figure that one out
This is CBS’s backhanded racist attempt to show that the black students can control their natural urge to beat the crap out of the idiots who brought the Confederate flag into school.
What CBS is saying is that the black students wanted to beat the crap out of these two idiots, not that they could decide to ignore them or just verbally protest them. Makes them look like savages with savage impulses.
How white of CBS to imply that.
Now, would Jewish students want to beat the crap out of Moslem/Arab protestors if they brought a Hamas flag into their school? Maybe, but they never have to my knowledge over the past 40 years.
The same for the Amish if someone brought a Nazi flag into their school. They would never attack anyone no matter how despicable they might be.
Now, by implication, Hispanic students would attack any gringo who brought an American flag into a Cinco de Mayo rally at their school, as a natural reaction to seeing the US flag on that specific day, despite the fact that they live in America and many are American citizens. How racist of CBS to infer that.
So, there you have it. CBS is saying that blacks and Hispanics (by extension), are violent by nature and have to be restrained from attacking people over First Amendment rights (no matter how stupid the provocateurs are).
I won’t say anything about the school’s Principal. I would just love to shove a copy of the Bill of Rights down his throat, and then say three Hail Marys’ in atonement for doing that. I wonder how one says Hail Marys’ in Hebrew?
Are there any sane principals in our schools today or have them long ago been written off of the Endangered Species List?
Cant fly Old Glory in texas high schools on Cinco De Mayo
But those red, black and green flags are ok.
My alternative scenario would be for the reverse. Allah adherents can be quite violent.
Saw that too.
Seems to imply that the principal thinks it is normal behavior to act without restraint when somebody is exercising their first amendment right.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.