Last week, two boys were suspended from school for unfurling a Confederate flag during a multicultural assembly at Hickman High School in Columbia, Missouri.[Student: No racism in flag incident, Columbia Missourian, February 5, 2006 ]

Students played songs and introduced exhibits from a variety of different cultures such as Japanese, Chinese, African American and others.

During a rendition of the song The Yellow Rose of Texas, the boys held up the Confederate flag as a symbol of Southern heritage.

Then they were asked to leave and have not yet been able to return to school...that was last Thursday.

I was chatting about this with a friend of mine—which is to say I was ranting and raving over the injustice—and he offered this alternative scenario:

What if there were students in the audience who lost grandparents or other loved ones in WWII in say...Pearl Harbor? Would an exhibit about Japanese culture that included a big white flag with a red dot inthe middle be allowed...even if it was hurtful and offensive to the descendants of those bombed by the Japanese?

Hmm...my guess? If any students objected to the Japanese exhibit they would be called racists as well.

There will be a meeting Monday (tomorrow) to discuss the status of these two Missouri students. Michael Jeffers, principal of Hickman High School can be reached by email or phone should you wish to share your thoughts with him.

Happy Super Bowl Day!