Well, a later article on the topic
School Reverses Course after Ordering Student to Remove American Flag from Bike(Fox News, November 12th, 2010) reports that the school has reversed its decision and that the boy can have a flag on his bicycle after all:
A California school has done a U-turn after it forced a student to remove an American flag attached to his bike, saying the Stars and Stripes could spur racial tensions on campus.
Cody Alicea,13, had been flying the flag on the back of his bicycle for almost two months to show support for veterans like his grandfather, Robert Alicea. But just in time for Veterans Day, school officials at Denair Middle School told Cody he would no longer be allowed to display the flag, citing complaints from other students. Now, after a public outcry, the school has decided that the grand old flag can come back.Notice that the school reversed its decision due to "a public outcry". So you see, publicity and protest can make a difference. That's why incidents like this should be made known to the public.
But why had the boy been ordered to take the flag down anyway? Notice the kind of logic which had been employed by the school superintendent to justify such a ban:
Superintendent Edward Parraz says the school was trying to avoid racial tensions that stemmed from a "little issue" that arose when Hispanic students brought Mexican flags to school on Cinco De Mayo. "That's when it all kind of started, and I think it carried through so that when Cody started doing his flag everybody said well why isn't he getting in trouble?" Parraz told Fox40.com. So the school asked Cody to remove the flag, both to keep the peace and for his own protection. "It was a safety concern that that particular campus supervisor called at that particular time based on information she had heard," Parraz said."Safety concern" - "information she had heard"? Does this mean there was a threat of violence against Cody?
Cody says he complied with the request to avoid trouble, but he asked the school to reconsider because he believed the decision was wrong. "I'm supposed to be free in this country and I should be able to fly the flag wherever I want to," he told Fox40.And there were complaints:
Parraz says the school got flooded with so many complaints from upset parents both inside and outside of Denair that he was called into to "handle the situation." ... Parraz says the school decided on Friday to allow Cody to display his flag again, and now it will be shifting its focus to the students who complained.OK, the Americans won that skirmish. But how is the school going to handle the issue now?
"In no way did we want to take that right away from Cody," Parraz told Fox40 on Friday. "…We think we know who the instigators are that were trying to do that and we need to meet with their parents and those students to just kind of explain that this isn't what we want to have. We want to make sure that our kids can appreciate a safe environment and be able to have the American flag.""To just kind of explain that this isn't what we want to have"? What kind of mealy-mouthed talk is that? How about warning any troublemakers that this is the United States of America, we fly the American flag, and if you don't like it go to Mexico or somewhere else and fly the flag of your choice. But if you choose to remain in our school, violence won't be tolerated.
