Recently New Hampshire Congresswoman Shea-Porter had a constituent arrested for asking a question, a violation of the First Amendment.
Although schools can limit speech to a certain extent, it's going to far to label a student a bully and then suspend for merely asking a question is going to far.
At Jihad Watch:
"But whether standing up or not, this issue's not about the pledge of allegiance or anything else. This is about bullying and it's about discrimination." So says Ahmed Bedier, who knows a bit about bullying himself.
And he's right: this case is about bullying. But who is doing the bullying, and who is being bullied?
"Patriotism or prejudice? Teen suspended for criticizing Muslim student," by Elizabeth Dinh for ABC Action News (Tampa Bay), August 31 (thanks to herr Oyal):
SPRING HILL, FL -- While showing off her JROTC uniform, 16-year-old Heather Lawrence told us joining the Army is her next big goal, to follow in the footsteps of her father and grandfather.
"Our flag represents everything that our country is," she said.
The teen says an issue over the American flag is why she was written up and handed a five-day suspension from Springstead High School this week for criticizing a Muslim student. Heather says the other girl was sitting down during the Pledge of Allegiance.
"You know, I made a not-so-kind remark, and I do sincerely apologize for referring to the thing on her head because that had nothing to do with it." Heather told us, "But I told her, 'Why don't she act like she's proud to be an American?'"
Despite the open apology to the girl, who wears a hijab, the President of the Tampa/Hillsborough County Human Rights Council says Heather's actions were harmful and the school was right for taking action.
"But whether standing up or not, this issue's not about the pledge of allegiance or anything else." Council President Ahmed Bedier said. "This is about bullying and it's about discrimination."
Bedier says the Muslim student's family contacted him and claims she did stand up for the pledge....
Dhimmitude:
The Muslim student walked away from Heather's confrontation. A school staff member then reported the incident...
Eleanor: The school enforces zero tolerance rules because they don't want to weigh the evidence or the circumstances, as they do by suspended fighting students: those that instigate, and the ones that fight back even though not to do so might imperil their lives.
In the sectionbelow the story we find a comment by Hugh Fitzgerald who makes a good point about the "bully effect" of Muslim dress, in this case the hijab:
You know, I made a not-so-kind remark, and I do sincerely apologize for referring to the thing on her head because that had nothing to do with it." Heather told us, "But I told her, 'Why don't she act like she's proud to be an American?'"
Heather Lawrence was correct in what she did, and had nothing to apologize for. However, she is wrong in her believe that "the thing on [the Muslimah's] head had nothing to with it." The hijab was an outward and visible sign of an inward pledge of allegiance, a pledge of allegiance to the only object of that Muslimah's loyalty -- that is to say, Islam itself. She is dedicated, because of the texts and tenets and attitudes of Islam, which she has grown up with, in a family -- an entire country is not necessary -- suffused with those attitudes, of hostility to the legal and political institutions of an Infidel nation-state. Why would she stand during the Pledge of Allegiance? For that Muslim girl, such a pledge makes no sense -- unless of course she chooses to comply in order only to camouflage the views that Islam teaches, or because -- and that would be the ideal outcome -- while continuing perhaps to call herself a Muslim, and even wearing a hijab in order to avoid trouble with her family, she does indeed feel able to wholeheartedly participate in the Pledge of Allegiance. How many Muslims do you think fit that third description, and how many fit one of the previous two?
Muslim women that veil themselves in the West, even though the dress form is not mandated by the Koran, are poking the rest of us in the eye, bullying us, daring us to say something so that they can strike back as did the Muslim girl in this story who was only asking a question about patriotism, not even about dress or Islam.
The fault lies in the minds of the administration, the school board, and in the community that sees discrimination in that question.
We must actively protect the First Amendment as perception of discrimination is subjective, or soon we will not be able to say anything as offense will be taken toward everything.
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