The BS of the Week

Here at the blog of an American Rifleman, I will do a no-BS assessment of the biggest BS of the week. What's the BS for this week?

Here's the Bull Shit of the week.

The Situation:
A small group of Live Oak High School students decided to wear patriotic clothing on the 5th of May (2010) at their school in Morgan Valley, CA. Some had American flag shirts while everyone was dressed in red, white, and blue. They decided to do this because the 5th of May is Cinco de Mayo for Mexicans, it is a holiday celebrated by the Hispanic community across the nation.

What Happened:
The vice principal approached the students and told them they had to turn their flag shirt inside out and take the patriotic bandannas off their heads. The students refused, and were taken to the principal's office. The students were told their shirts were "incendiary" and could lead to fights because a great majority of the school is of Hispanic origin. They were told they could wear their patriotic clothing any other day, but not on the 5th of May because the large Hispanic student body at the school might take offense during "their" holiday. The students were sent home because they were told if they returned to class with their patriotic clothing, they'd be suspended.

The Bull Shit:
First of all, this is a violation of the 1st Amendment. The students have freedom of expression and can wear patriotic clothes to express their pride of being Americans. Any Constitutional lawyer could have a field day with this.

Second, we do not display and hide our patriotism depending on what day it is for the sake of others. We are AMERICANS. I encourage everyone to show their pride of America every day and we will not stand for being penalized for doing such.

Thirdly, some Hispanic students are outraged for the students' actions and are calling for an apology to be made to the Hispanic community. This is probably the biggest load of crap I've ever had to see.

Fourth, what exactly is a "sensitive day?" Using this slippery slope, the principal and his staff could decide that any day is a sensitive day to wear patriotic clothing, there is no limit to the restrictions that could be made. The worst case scenario is that the staff decides every day is too sensitive to broadcast one's patriotic ties.

Fifth, nobody asked this but what about "American days?" What about the 4th of July during summer school at Live Oak High School? Would a complaint be made if a bunch of Hispanic students wore Mexican paraphernalia on the 4th of July? I don't think so by any means.

Damage Control:
After nearly dying from a heart attack, the Morgan Hill Unified School District told the parents and the media that they do not agree with the actions of the Morgan High School administrative staff. This is great because it is unneeded confirmation for the students, their parents, and the rest of the world that what happened is in fact BULL SHIT.

What Can We Do?
We can write letters! Don't think that your letter does not count, because it does and the more they hear from Americans about this outrage the better the chance is that this will not happen again at Live Oak High School or any other school across the nation. To write a letter, here's the address: Nick Boden is the Principal.

Mr. Nick Boden
1505 East Main Avenue
Morgan Hill, CA 95037

Leadership from the front
I'm not going to ask you to write a letter if I didn't write one myself, so here's my letter. If you choose to write a letter, please try to keep it somewhat respectful and please keep the swear words out of it. I hope you all got something out of this particular post, there is a point to where we as a society can get so liberal and concerned over every single unique person's feelings that we loose our own identity. In this case it wasn't only lost, it was punished. NEVER be ashamed to be an American, always be proud of who you are and what you are doing with your life. Speaking of "who you are," one of the patriotic students is of Hispanic-American descent. Thanks for looking, take care.

VMI Box 209
Lexington, VA 24450
6 May 2010

Mr. Nick Boden... See More
1505 East Main Avenue
Morgan Hill, CA 95037

Mr. Boden:

My name is Ryan Buell and I am a native Californian and an Army ROTC Cadet at the Virginia Military Institute. Usually I look out for my home state in the news, but it is days like today I cannot be proud of my state. I just read the news reports of the incident that occurred on 5 May 2010 on your school campus and I could not be more angered and horrified. From what I understand, several students who were wearing shirts with American flags on them were asked to turn the shirts inside out or face suspension. This was asked of them by your administration staff, and the intent was to supposedly minimize the possibility for fighting or conflict on the Mexican holiday of Cinco de Mayo.

I thought it would not be necessary but I believe your staff needs to be informed that this is the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. We may cherish our colors whenever we please, and we do not hide our patriotism or suppress our freedom of expression on certain days to avoid offending certain cultures. I ask of you, what has happened to your school? What has happened to your administration? When I read the news reports I thought this was some sick joke but apparently that kind of un-Americanism does in fact exist, and in my native state! People have died so that we may express ourselves freely and that we may fly the flag and cherish its presence whenever we please. What happened on your campus is an outrage and a slap in the face to all those Americans that have given the ultimate sacrifice at the altar of freedom to secure our personal liberties. I am truly angered, outraged, and offended that such a thing occurred in my country.

It is my greatest hope that these supposed “qualified professionals” get relieved of duty. It is my sincerest wish that they will no longer be able to serve in the education field where their haphazard influence can infest and pollute the youth of our nation. I also hope that you had nothing to do with this and I write this to express my outrage over what has been committed under your leadership and those responsible under you. I don’t believe I will get a response back, I hope your school gets flooded with letters so that you cannot respond. Freedom is not free, and being proud to be an American SHOULD NEVER BE SUPPRESSED, most especially on our own soil.

With no respect for your administration,

Ryan Buell