I guess this is the new PC: “Patriotic Correctness”. Any time you don’t like something, just whine about how it’s disrespecting America and we’ve got soldiers at war, dammit.
I must say, though, that AFAICT from the article, the school’s response was a model of principled common sense. They’re going to continue broadcasting the foreign-language versions of the Pledge as planned, but preceded by the English version, in order to reassure the clueless sector.
As a side note, a town councilman was recalled in Estes Park last night because he wouldn’t say the Pledge of Allegiance before meetings. This article is from the Denver Post. This comment struck me as especially telling:
I don’t get it, isn’t this the land of the free?
I hope you had your sarcasm voice on for this post.
You *do *know there is no “offical” language in the USA, right? :dubious:
Gah! But there is an official spelling for the word official.
Seems to me that making people recite the Pledge of Allegiance in foreign languages is a pretty good step in indoctrinating the world. If the Nikes and McDonald’s didn’t get them, this will.
The weird thing is, I could easily see non-Americans getting all offended by having the Pledge recited in their languages. Smacks of imperialism, you know? Turning the whole world American?
I’m betting that this moron begins each day with “I pledge of a legionce.*”
*Full version:
I pledge of a legionce
To the flag
Of a United States of America
And to the Republican
For which it stands
With amber waves of purple majesty
Invisible
Underdog
Deliver us from freedom
Amen
I have a (Indian) friend who defied his family to join and go overseas. His first language is most definitely not English. Just one case among many.
My (Anglo) kids have memorized the pledge in Spanish; they recite it in both English and Spanish at every morning assembly. How would our man Linton would feel if he knew that?
Poor kid.
He’ll just have to wait for National Intolerace and Ignorance Week.
Hmm, the school pupils need two years of foreign language study in order to enter the University of Maryland?
Why shouldn’t they need two years of foreign language study anyway? I mean, even those who have no plans to go to university?
Oh well, one happy smug kids with a few days of school and his name in the newspapers. Blech. 
Oho, I just had an amusing thought.
Now, isn’t Maryland the state that uses the tune of the German song “O Tannenbaum” (sorry, unsure how to type the umlaut) for its state song/anthem (sorry, unsure of the correct terminology)?
That being the case, isn’t it fun to consider how this boy will huff and puff whould hhe ever hear anyone singing "The Red Flag2 to that very same tune?
Tee hee hee.
Yes, I know that “The Red Flag” was not originally written for that tune but for “The White Cockade”, but I might be willing to bet a few pennies that this boy doesn’t know that.
Ha
Ha
and thrice ha!
Celyn needs to study English more. That ought to be one kid (singular) ad a few days off school.
I think that saying the pledge in a Glen Burnie accent does it more damage than any foreigner can, and I live there.
And I need to use that kid’s reasoning next time I’m in a fix, or just feeling crabby:
*Cop: *“Mr. Shakespeare, do you know how fast you were going?”
Me: “Hey, we’re at war – we got soldiers over there!!”
What, he speaks Hindi? I find that offensive. Why would he speak a language that no one understands? Don’t you realize that there’s a war on? We’re there to remove Osama bin Hussein from oppressing millions of new American Christians. They should all be punished for 9/11, the damned cow worshippers. Stupid Indians and other Irackuiees should be bombed until they learn what freedom is all about.
There are a lot of 15 year old idiots (y.o.i.), and only 52 weeks in the year. Even if we label him the idiot of the day, that’s only 365 15 y.o.i. who get recognized. It’s not like 15 y.o.i. have to be pushed to perform acts of idiocy; naming just 52 or even 365, however, might push them to perform acts of grand idiocy. The last thing I need is for my son to try to compete for the accolade 15 Year Old Idiot of the Week.
There was a poll on that story? I "meh"ed it so fast I didn’t see the poll.
What the kid and his dad seem not to notice is that the school translated the Pledge into other languages as part of Foreign Languages Week!!. In an increasingly globalized world, I see nothing wrong with encouraging our sadly monolingual populace to learn to speak the languages used in the rest of the world. How on earth is that unpatriotic? Now if the kid were protesting that he shouldn’t have to speak Amharic or Tigrinya in order to buy something at 7/11, he might have a point.
And I’m offended by your offense. Why do you discriminate against Gujarati, Marathi, Telegu, Malayalam, Tamil, Urdu, Assamese, and Konkani?
Kudos. This post elicited a real life laugh.
I don’t know, but I suddenly have a craving for a samosa and some shrimp korma.
I think my favorite part is when he had to be told what language the pledge was recited in on Tuesday. How hard is it to have some sense of what French sounds like??