If you grew up in the United States, you’re more than familiar with standing for the Pledge of Allegiance every morning. There’s no doubt that many students tune it out, but the Pledge contains some powerful stuff — and when it’s the center of a disagreement, tempers can escalate quickly.
This story takes us out to Lakeland, Florida.
An 11-year-old at Lawton Chiles Middle Academy reportedly opted to sit out the Pledge of Allegiance earlier this month. What began as a protest ended with the sixth-grader facing charges.
It isn’t against the law to sit for the Pledge.
While it might seem disrespectful to many, no one is compelled to follow, or even stand for, the Pledge. The United States stands for many things, but it is by no means a dictatorship.
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The student explained his reasoning.
When asked to stand by the substitute teacher, he reportedly said that “that flag was racist and the national anthem was offensive to Black people,” according to a local report.
About the anthem…
It isn’t in any of the lines that people actually sing, but The Star-Spangled Banner does have a line about slaves, which would seem to contradict the whole “land of the free” message.
Things quickly escalated.
The teacher reportedly told the student, “Why, if it was so bad here, he did not go to another place to live?” Needless to say, things didn’t go smoothly from there.
An argument ensued.
The teacher, who’s from Cuba, doubled down on her stance, and reported that she eventually sent the student to the office because she didn’t want to deal with him anymore.
Soon after, the student was under arrest.
A school resource officer said he was arrested after refusing to follow multiple commands, calling school leaders racist, and being disruptive. He was not arrested because he refused to stand — he was arrested for what happened after.
The student disputes some of the account.
While school officials say he threatened to beat up his teacher, he told local reporters that he never made such a threat. His mom’s angry, too, saying things were dealt with poorly.
The student was charged.
He was taken to a juvenile detention facility and charged with disrupting a school function and resisting arrest without violence. His mom says that it wasn’t necessary for the school to arrest an 11-year-old.
The teacher wasn’t aware of a policy.
The school district says that students aren’t required to participate in the Pledge of Allegiance, but that the teacher wasn’t aware of this rule. The district says she won’t be teaching at any of their schools again.
The student’s mom is angry.
“I want the charges dropped and I want the school to be held accountable for what happened because it shouldn’t have been handled the way it was handled,” she told reporters.
The district says they’re investigating.
Presumably, things will blow over for the student as well. But as of the time this story was written, he was still facing charges after his arrest earlier this month.
It’s a difficult issue.
America means different things to different people: for some, it’s a bastion of hope. For others, it’s a symbol of misery. When these opinions get tangled up, it’s hard to resolve things amicably.
What do you think?
There are two things at play here: how Americans mark the Pledge of Allegiance, and how this drama between a student and the school player out. Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
