Image courtesy of http://www.rochester.edu/college/psc/courses/08-spring.php.
So much for that grand First Amendment on freedom of speech this Tuesday September 23, 2008. The Colorado Independent has a hot one out on a young fellow, a fifth grader, who created a ruckus at school, with his home-made T-shirt reading “Obama a terrorist’s best friend.” He did not want to remove the shirt, and therefore was suspended on Monday September 22, 2008. See the homemade creation here at the newspaper and here at Hot Air, with the video here at My Fox.
Options offered at school: “switching the shirt, or wearing it inside out, or getting suspended.”
Daxx Dalton, 11-years old, chose suspension. It was not freedom of speech at issue. It was “willful disobedience” and “defiance” per the school district.
“They’re taking away my right of freedom of speech,” Daxx told Fox31 report Christin Ayers. “If I have the right to wear this shirt, I’m going to use it. And if the only way to use it is get suspended, then I’m going to get suspended.”
Daxx Dalton said on Monday he’s willing to leave his anti-Obama shirt at home for a while. “Except on Election Day,” he told Ayers, “when I’m going to wear it again.”
MyFox Colorado noted,
The boy’s father Dann Dalton describes himself as a “proud conservative” who has taken part in some controversial anti-abortion protests. Dalton says the school made a major mistake by suspending his son for wearing the shirt.
“It’s the public school system,” Dalton says, “let’s be honest, it’s full of liberal loons.”
The boy’s father says he intends to pursue a lawsuit against the district.
So what could be the legal opinion rendered? Ed Morrissey at Hot Air ponders nicely and comes up with:
My guess: Because the message is quintessentially political and judges love to slobber over political speech being at the core of the First Amendment (except in campaign-finance cases, of course), they’ll have no choice but to rule for the kid. Sue, Billy. Sue like the wind.
Talk about a first hand lesson in civics!
Image courtesy of http://www.gamepolitics.com/2006/11/10/esa-sends-threatening-letter-to-kotaku-we-disagree.
Image courtesy of http://talktotony.blogspot.com/2006_04_01_archive.html.
See:
- http://coloradoindependent.com/8932/aurora-fifth-grader-suspended-over-anti-obama-t-shirt
- http://www.myfoxcolorado.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=7490636&version=6&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.2.1
- http://www.myfoxcolorado.com/myfox/MyFox/pages/sidebar_video.jsp?contentId=7490863&version=1&locale=EN-US
- http://hotair.com/archives/2008/09/23/video-fifth-grader-suspended-from-public-school-for-wearing-anti-obama-t-shirt/