Nope, sorry, the school does not get to arbitraily designate random words as “bad” and prevent kids from saying them. “Gay” is not a profanity and was not used in a derogatory fashion. Furthermore, the kid was never told not to say the word before he said it. The school doesn’t have a fucking leg to stand on.
From one of the linked articles:
OK, maybe I’m just emotional this morning, but this just made my eyes tear up. That poor kid. I wonder if an African-American child saying “black” in school would have engendered the same reaction, 50 years ago?
I noted that astro kindly gave us a link to the school’s information, including the principal’s e-mail address. Is anyone else thinking of e-mailing them with a finely-crafted missive? I sure am…
That was just the school profile submitted a few years ago. The personnel and the addresses have probably changed by now. There was another link posted in the second page of this thread by Amanita that had the school board #'s and email addresses that would probably be of more use to post to. The Principal has probably already had her account swamped.
The First Amendment is part of the Constitution and thus is the supreme law of the land. Article IV:
Violating the Constitution means breaking the law.
And no one here was suggesting that students have unlimited free speech rights in school. I linked to the case on point, which is Tinker. Generally, schools may not suppress student speech unless the speech is disruptive. county’s line started with “what law was broken” and when it was explained to him the law in question was the Constitution he reiterated his “what law was broken” nonsense. When it was pointed out again that the law in question was the Constitution his response was “just because you say so doesn’t make it so” without offering any support for the notion that the claim of First Amendment violation was incorrect. Couple that with his “he’s just a little kid” attitude and his “this isn’t very important” attitude and pile his most recent “gay linguistically equals motherfucker” implication and it all adds up to county is a dumbfuck.
I’m thinking it would be more like a kid in the 50s having to explain to a friend what it meant when other kids called him “Oreo.” “It’s because my mommy is white and she’s married to a black man.” Segregationists would have been utterly appalled, and in some backward school districts the kid might have been subjected to the story of the sons of Ham, who were meant to plow the fields.
Either way, it stinks like last month’s diapers.
Yeah, good call… your analogy is better than mine.
And even still, if some kid had said that they were Jewish and it caused a giant uproar, would it be permissible to make the kid not say the word “Jewish” anymore?
According to today’s Daily Advertiser:
Like it matters anyway. That very article links to a Washington Post article with the kid’s full name and picture.
Ah, so first he couldn’t explain the real reason for the discipline, then after thinking about it for a while he says that the mother hadn’t been given the full report. So will the mother get the full report? And why would the mother get an incomplete report in the first place? What the hell is going on here? Why do I suspect this guy is totally full of shit?
The article says that everyone on the school board is standing behind the Principal’s actions and waiting for the mysterious “full report,” with the exception of a man named Rickey Hardy. Hardy feels that a public apology is neccessary. Good for him. It’s nice to know that there are at least some folks around here who can smell bullshit brewing and aren’t afraid to speak out.
Here is a story with more reaction from board members:
I smell some serious CYA going on here.
As I write this, a bus from the Lafayette School District is stopped right in front of my building, letting off elementary school students. I wonder what all the kids think of this…
Probably nothing at all. Kids have their own lives, most adult stuff goes whoosh right over their little heads.
Which is probably a good thing.
And Supt. Easton wins some kind of Idjit Stonewall of the Month Award…
The thing is, what the fuck is the kid supposed to do? Lie? Say “no comment”? Some things are un-fucking-parodyable.
How the fuck do you get he’s just a little kid “attitude” and
this isn’t very important “attitude” out of a post? You got no body language, no tone of voice, just the words. I didn’t say that this wasn’t important and it is a kid we are talking about.
And as far as the law is concerned; just because you say a law has been broken; well that doesn’t make it so in my book. If this thing gets to court we will see…me, I’m not so sure that there will be a ruling against the school. But, unlike you, you fucking moron, I could be wrong.
How, exactly, is Otto “fucking moron” in this instance? He has cited the Constitution and Supreme Court precedents to support his position, whereas you have cited nothing other than your own ill-informed opinion.
A close friend of mine has been corresponding with Lafayette Parish School Board members on this issue. She is an alumna of that school system, and took this very personally. This is the most recent email she’s received.
Date: Thu, 04 Dec 2003 09:10:10 -0600
From: “Dr. David Thibodaux”
Subject: Re: Boy Punished for Talking About Gay Mom
The Lafayette Parish School System values diversity, teaches tolerance, and will not abide bigorty of any kind on any of our campuses. We have policies in place which guarantee this. Having said that, it must be granted that sometimes policies are not followed by some employees, but we are not certain at this time whether or not that is the case now.
I have asked everyone who has sent messages to me simply to give us the time we need to get all the facts in this case. Our Board voted unanimously last night to have a special meeting on Dec. 11 at which time we expect to have all the forms, documents, and staff involved on hand for our examination and consideration. Our Superintendent is still involved in the investigation process to make certain that what we have next week will be complete and accurate. After we have a chance to examine all the evidence, the Board will address this issue. If mistakes have been made by this district, I know that the people on this Board have the character to stand up and say that, but we must examine the evidence first.
Thanks for your interest and concern.
Dr. David Thibodaux
President, Laf. Parish Scl. Board
Uh, it might be coming from your use of the phrase “little kid,” your use of the word “shit” to describe the idea that Marcus’ rights have been violated and your dismissal of the issue of violating his rights as “thin.”
See above.
Anyone else suspect that the revised, full report from Easton will have a big blotch of white out, and will claim that the child actually said, “Gay is when a girl licks a girl”?
Well, that won’t hold much water around here as the consensus opinion is that a little kid in school apparently has the same constitutional free speech rights as an adult in a rented hall.
And apparently suggesting anything other than the SDMB PC view point is an “ill formed opinion.”
Apparently some people expect a legal citation saying that a little kid cannot say certain things in school. I say those people need to have their mouths washed out with soap.
Speak fer yerself. 
Yo dumbfuck!
Are you doing this on purpose, or are you actually honest to god this STUPID?
NO ONE here said anything that could remotely, anyplace outside your severely limited capacity, be interpreted as indicating they believe “a little kid in school apparently has the same constitutional free speech rights as an adult in a rented hall.”
What we have done, over and over and over again, is direct you to the Tinker decision, which is the United States Supreme Court case which established the binding precedent which would apply in this circumstance. See that blue underliney thingy in the previous sentence? That is called a “hyperlink.” If you click on it, a new browser window will open and the text of that decision will appear. No, it’s not magic; it’s the miracle of science!
In case your withered synapses can’t cause your fingers to move your mouse to the “hyperlink,” let me quote some of the decision for you.
The reason your opinion is “ill-formed” has nothing to do with political correctness. Way to resort to the single lamest argument possible, though. Can’t argue the merits of your own position? Label the opposing viewpoint “PC.”
No, the reason your opinion is ill-formed is because you have not made use of the information available to you in forming it.
I don’t expect that. After all, I already provided one. That would be, for those of you scoring along at home, Tinker.
(footnotes omitted, emphasis added)
According to the published reports, Marcus and his classmates were standing in line to go to recess when his classmate asked him the fateful question. Now it has been a while since I’ve stood in line for recess, but somehow answering a question asked by a classmate doesn’t strike me as something that “materially disrupts classwork or involves substantial disorder or invasion of the rights of others.”
Feel free to argue the opposite view. Or feel free to continue to mewl like an idiot. Or feel free to piss off.
The kid is 7! This is how many/most kids that age spell! My son is 8 and this is about how most of the kids in his class spell. Here is an example from his journal: "tomorow my stichis are geting out. It take’s a year to be a normil scar it will stert red than it will be white. I’m so prud that my stichis are geting out and i’m happy about it. " So go ahead and tell me how stupid and uneducated my son is.
I wouldn’t waste the bandwidth arguing with county. He’s standing in a soundproof booth with his hands over his ears, saying, “La la la la I can’t hear you!”
Robin