The shirt was offensive.
But the principal is taking the attitude that it's okay to physically assault someone whose speech offends you, and that the continuing physical threats which are keeping the kid from returning to school are understandable and to be expected.
Also, the principal gave the same punishment to the kid expressing the offensive thought, and the kid who physically attacked him.
I have to wonder out loud what would happen to a black kid who made a racial slur against whites? You can't tell me that never happens. Would he be punished?
In some parallel universe, perhaps...
There's offensive and then there's offensive.
This guy's shirt called for lynchings -- I'd have punched the kid too, and I probably would have punched him harder than the kid who did punch him.
A white kid would be branded racist for daring to question the black kid's remarks.
This is a true incident. My friends son was approached at school by a black youngster. The black youngster touched his face and said "you look like a strawberry". My friends son the said "Well you look like a chocolate bar". His remark was overheard.
These were grade school students. My friend's son was suspended, but the black youngster was not. I see no reason for any action on the part of an adult to this situation, but that is not the way the multicultural school staff saw it.
The kid who smacked this moron should be given a medal.
Whites are offended every day. Just turn on the TV and you'll see offensive speech. I cringe every time I hear "white people have no rhythm". How about the classic movie "white men can't jump"? White men are the target of choice for every racist out there. Al Sharpton said that people weren't helped in New Orleans because of their color, which infered that all whites responding to the disaster are racists. THAT is offensive. THAT is personal. Should Al Sharpton be punched and "expect" it?
The same people out there crying about free speech won't rear their heads over this one. The ACLU was behind the kid with the "bush is a terrorist" shirt before he left the school grounds- where are they now?
This story illustrates how we have been trained to respond differently to similar situations. I feel sorry for the white kid and the black kid. They both showed stupidity and they both reinforced their own beliefs in the other.
Funny the double standard. Many years ago I was at a birthday party at a notoriously liberal black comedian's house -I hope that's vague enough. She had a very large collection of racist memorabilia. If I had the same collection displayed in my home, I doubt I'd have a friend in the world.