Colorado - The Ignorance State
2023-10-22 21:24:42 UTC
This "teacher" should have the shit kicked out of them, then their
teaching credentials revoked.A Colorado middle schooler was reportedly kicked out of class for
having several patches on his backpack, including one of a Gadsden
flag â sparking a social media uproar.
The 12-year-old student at the Vanguard School was ordered to remove
the patch of the flag â which features a coiled rattlesnake and the
phrase âDonât tread on meâ on a yellow background â before he was
allowed to return to class, according to footage of a meeting
between the childâs mother and an administrator posted to X,
formerly Twitter.
The administrator at the public charter school tells the boyâs mom
that he cannot display the patch due to the flagâs âorigins with
slavery and the slave trade,â the video of the meeting shows.
However, the mom replies that the Gadsden flagâs origins can
actually be traced to the Revolutionary War â not slavery.
The seventh-grader also reportedly had other patches depicting
semi-automatic weapons, which the school said violated its dress
code policy.
The clip of the meeting was posted by conservative author Connor
Boyack and quickly went viral online, drawing attention across the
country and sparking a nationwide debate over the history and
relevance of the flag.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, even weighed in to defend the
boy, Jaiden.
âThe Gadsden flag is a proud symbol of the American Revolution and
an iconic warning to Britain or any government not to violate the
liberties of Americans,â Polis tweeted in response to the video.
âIt appears on popular American medallions and challenge coins
through today and Ben Franklin also adopted it to symbolize the
union of the 13 colonies. Itâs a great teaching moment for a history
lesson!â
The flag was first used by the USâs first naval commander-in-chief
as a personal ensign during the American Revolution, according to
Britannica.
In more recent years, it was adopted by the conservative Tea Party
movement and has become increasingly associated with right-wing
politics.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ruled in 2016 that the
flag itself is not a racist symbol but is âsometimes interpreted to
convey racially-tinged messages in some contextsâ while
investigating a US Postal Service employee complaint about a co-
worker wearing a hat with the flag.
Following public outrage, the schoolâs board of directors called an
emergency meeting and walked back its demands that Jaiden remove the
patch, the Denver Gazette reported.
The school notified the student and his family on Tuesday that he
may return to class with the flag emblem on his backpack, according
to the local newspaper.
âFrom Vanguardâs founding, we have proudly supported our
Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the ordered liberty that all
Americans have enjoyed for almost 250 years,â the board wrote in an
email to Vanguard families. âThe Vanguard School recognizes the
historical significance of the Gadsden flag and its place in
history. This incident is an occasion for us to reaffirm our deep
commitment to classical education in support of these American
principles.â
However, the school district said the dispute over the Gadsden flag
that garnered so much attention is only part of the story.
âThere has been National media attention on our charter school, The
Vanguard School, related to a student having the Gadsden flag on his
backpack,â Harrison School District 2 administrators said in an
email obtained by the newspaper. âUnfortunately, this story is
incomplete.â
The child also had multiple patches of semi-automatic guns on his
backpack.
âThe patch in question was part of half a dozen other patches of
semi-automatic weapons,â the administrators said. ââŠThe student
returned to class without incident after removing the patches of
semi-automatic weapons from the backpack.â
https://nypost.com/2023/08/30/colorado-middle-schooler-kicked-out-
of-class-for-dont-tread-on-me-gadsden-flag-patch-that-teacher-
claims-originated-with-slavery/