11-Year-Old Arrested After Refusing to Stand for Pledge of Allegiance

[Wingnut]

Disruptive Cuban refugee hauled away 

A student at the Lawton Chiles Middle Academy in Lakeland, Florida was arrested after he refused to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. The incident began after a substitute teacher asked the 11-year-old to stand and he refused, explaining that he thought the U.S. flag was racist. The teacher then apparently got into a contentious argument with the boy and asked “Why if it was so bad here he did not go to another place to live,” according to a statement the teacher gave to the district. “They brought me here,” the boy replied.

The teacher apparently then thought that the best course of action was to continue arguing with the 11-year-old. “Well you can always go back,” she said she replied, “because I came here from Cuba and the day I feel I’m not welcome here anymore I would find another place to live.” The teacher decided to escalate the issue “because I did not want to continue dealing with him.” The boy was then arrested after he “refused to follow multiple commands, repeatedly called school leaders racist and was disruptive,” according to Bay News 9. The student denied accusations that he threatened to beat the teacher. He was ultimately charged with disruption of a school facility and resisting an officer without violence, reports the Washington Post.

A student at the Lawton Chiles Middle Academy in Lakeland, Florida was arrested after he refused to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. The incident began after a substitute teacher asked the 11-year-old to stand and he refused, explaining that he thought the U.S. flag was racist. The teacher then apparently got into a contentious argument with the boy and asked “Why if it was so bad here he did not go to another place to live,” according to a statement the teacher gave to the district. “They brought me here,” the boy replied.

The teacher apparently then thought that the best course of action was to continue arguing with the 11-year-old. “Well you can always go back,” she said she replied, “because I came here from Cuba and the day I feel I’m not welcome here anymore I would find another place to live.” The teacher decided to escalate the issue “because I did not want to continue dealing with him.” The boy was then arrested after he “refused to follow multiple commands, repeatedly called school leaders racist and was disruptive,” according to Bay News 9. The student denied accusations that he threatened to beat the teacher. He was ultimately charged with disruption of a school facility and resisting an officer without violence, reports the Washington Post.

[skeeter]

The story quotes the ingrate kid's denial of the charge of a threat of violence but says nothing about the charge he threatened violence.

[Wingnut]

The story quotes the ingrate kid's denial of the charge of a threat of violence but says nothing about the charge he threatened violence.

 It is what the press want it to be..

[Sanguine]

The story quotes the ingrate kid's denial of the charge of a threat of violence but says nothing about the charge he threatened violence.

Yeah, definitely something missing.

[Smokin Joe]

First off, the teacher was a substitute. For whatever that's worth, they didn't know the kid.

An observation: An oath taken under duress is not binding, is meaningless.

If the kid objected, note it. Even ask the kid why. Make that a topic of class discussion, the oath, what it means to others there-- Why swear allegiance to the American flag? Likely most of those kids are more in love with the Republic for which it stands (under God--Is that still in there?), with Liberty and Justice for all, and can express reasons why.

Discuss the concepts of Liberty, of Justice, and how/why the kid considers the flag racist--let the kid express why they think it racist, and then demolish that with some simple facts. Better yet, let the other kids do that.

Being a sub, I would think they could get away with spending at least part of a day on that.
Might even change the kid's mind--at least give them something to think about.

Looking at what happened (as related in the press), I seriously doubt the kid will be any more inclined to stand, hand over their heart, and voluntarily recite that oath. Especially if the teacher or anyone else exaggerated or fabricated any account of a threat and the child is disciplined for that and did not make one.

I see this as a lost opportunity to bring the kid around, an attitude on the kid's part that could have been changed by a wiser teacher, instead of reinforcing whatever imagined issue the kid had with badgering and disciplinary action for not taking a voluntary oath.

[dfwgator]

Sounds like the little brat would be happier back in Cuba.

[Smokin Joe]

Sounds like the little brat would be happier back in Cuba.

Sounds like someone has pumped the kid full of socialist BS about racism. If that's all they have heard, and no one ever confronts the knee-jerk with rational discussion (and behaviour), they not only won't dispossess the kid of the nonsense, they'll end up reinforcing it, which is likely what the substitute teacher did.

[Elderberry]

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2019/02/17/florida-student-11-arrested-after-refusing-pledge-allegiance/2900253002/

Alvarez said she called the office on Feb. 4 because she did not want to keep "dealing with him," according to her statement. An officer and a school administrator tried to calm the student, the Lakeland Police Department said in a Sunday night press release. The administrator asked him to leave the classroom more than 20 times, police said, and the student allegedly made threats while being escorted to the office.

Alvarez no longer works as a substitute in the district, Kennedy said, adding that the teacher did not know students weren't required to participate in the pledge. The district will also review training for substitutes, Kennedy said.

First Amendment rights prevent schools from requiring students to recite the pledge or salute the flag, the Supreme Court ruled in 1943.

[Dexter]

they'll end up reinforcing it, which is likely what the substitute teacher did.

That's probably exactly what happened. The teacher got triggered and handled the situation quite poorly in my opinion.

[Smokin Joe]

That's probably exactly what happened. The teacher got triggered and handled the situation quite poorly in my opinion.

In that opinion we agree. The teacher lost an opportunity to delve into why those kids felt loyalty (or not), and why the absence of loyalty to the USA wasn't justified by facts. They also lost the opportunity to air issues and what might be done about them (one thing you can still do in America, but not so much--if at all--in other places).