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
If this thread last much longer I'll be surprised.
Wow, you make it sound great. Kind of like Club Med....
I am, however, greatly offended by the Queer Rainbow flag and the Black Power red, green and black banner. As one who was a student at the University of Wisconsin from 1966-1970, I am also highly pissed at the Che T-shirts that are all the rage. I remember than butcher for what he was...a butcher.
I seem to remember some Germans doing that with an Indian good luck symbol, swastika or something like that.
Well, some folks still believe their ancestors were promised forty acres and a mule. Some of their descendants still want the land and the mule, plus interest.
Lots of silly stuff keeps the war simmering.
"The Real Lincoln is a biography of Abraham Lincoln written by Thomas DiLorenzo in 2002. The biography differs from traditional books about Lincoln in presenting a severely critical view of his presidency.
In discussing Lincoln's legacy, DiLorenzo presents evidence of civil liberties abuses such as the suspension of habeas corpus, violations of the first amendment, war crimes committed by generals in the American Civil War, and the expansion of government power.
DiLorenzo argues that Lincoln's views on race exhibited forms of bigotry that are commonly overlooked today (See Abraham Lincoln on slavery).
DiLorenzo also argues that Lincoln instigated the Civil War not over slavery but rather to centralize power and to enforce the strongly protectionist Morrill Tariff."
My great great great grandfather died for that flag. Right or wrong, it IS my heritage.
That's why they are burning in Hell now. Try as you might you'll never make me, a true American patriot, believe that slavery is a virtuous, respectful, saintly business. So please, continue to wave your Confederate flag and I'll wave mine, the American one.
Sorry, but when these girls say they didn't mean to cause trouble, they're either lying or really incredibly stupid.
This Yankee agrees with you...and I am willing to forgive the fact that he went to "Hudson High"!
The war between the states. :-)
The war of northern aggression. ;)
When are people --just gonna be--people again?
My God! Is this the aptitude of the school board too?In truth,they need a town meeting of parents up there, without this Principle,to decide whether he's mature enough to handle high school students.He could put this incident on his resume',along with All his other FEARS about what might happen,(he might never get another job-in the school system again-ever).For sure in the SOUTH!Not only did he call the students "racist" but the mother and Father as well.All that name calling is fist fighting talk to a Southern--this Principle must of been raised up somewhere else--God knows where?They need to get rid of that dude immediately! Fired and don't let the door hit you in the ass.
"Ashley Thomas said she is proud of her Southern heritage."
She certainly seems to enjoy lots of fried chicken.
"When I wore my General Sherman "I'm Marching To the Beach" T-shirt. I got dirty looks down south."
General Sherman was a terrorist no better than Osama Bin Laden
Don't start, or they will try to take down or change that flag, too. PC liberalism knows no bounds, and will not be stopped by sense of proportion, reason or common sense.
I think you've made the best and worst of the situation known.
I can only add that I think it's stupid to gum up the court system with this kind of malarky when there is still a very real worldwide problem with human trafficking. Lincoln didn't end slavery. He didn't even scratch the surface.
I disagree...others are way more PC sensitive than they should be.
Let's not allow the race pimps, today's racists, turn our good natured ribbing into open warfare again!
Yes, and some pretty creepy elements have spoken against the flag. The flag is inanimate. If someone says they respect it because they respect the people who fought under it, then it's not racist, regardless of what anyone in the insult industry thinks.
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