# Teacher Orders Kid to Lose Romney Shirt **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 4, 2012, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-orders-kid-to-lose-romney-shirt/636714 "2012-10-04T17:04:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-orders-kid-to-lose-romney-shirt/636714/21 "2012-10-04T18:54:53Z")
There are over 3 million teachers in the U.S., and I’m only including K-12. Among that large number there are certain to be some idiots and other assorted numbskulls. For some reason whenever one is discovered, no matter where, the entire national media jumps on it. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-orders-kid-to-lose-romney-shirt/636714/22 "2012-10-04T19:02:04Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > Need to see shirt. > > Sorry way, way, too much room for nonsense to happen, otherwise. Either show me the shirt, so I can decide for myself, who was out of line, or don’t run the damn story, I say. [http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/politics/Romney-High-School-T-Shirt-Flap-172627871.html](http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/politics/Romney-High-School-T-Shirt-Flap-172627871.html) Watch the video. See the shirt. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-orders-kid-to-lose-romney-shirt/636714/23 "2012-10-04T19:04:11Z")
> [@Sitnam](#): > > This wouldn’t fit in the ‘Stupid liberal idea of the day’ thread\*\* Bricker\*\*? Or are you just so proud that you finally have real evidence of a liberal mistake you’d like to showcase it? I don’t regard this in any way as representative of liberals. It seemed to me like typical Pit-worthy RO at a single foolish teacher. Why would it belong in the stupid liberals thread? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-orders-kid-to-lose-romney-shirt/636714/24 "2012-10-04T19:09:24Z")
I love it when he bats the big, brown innocent eyes. “Who, me? Perish the thought!” ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-orders-kid-to-lose-romney-shirt/636714/25 "2012-10-04T19:21:15Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > I don’t regard this in any way as representative of liberals. > > It seemed to me like typical Pit-worthy RO at a single foolish teacher. Why would it belong in the stupid liberals thread? Because we’re already screwing with you about this topic in the other thread, so this thread is causing an unnecessary duplication of effort on our part. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-orders-kid-to-lose-romney-shirt/636714/26 "2012-10-04T19:24:01Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > I love it when he bats the big, brown innocent eyes. “Who, me? Perish the thought!” ::sigh:: What I meant to say, of course, is that I was certain this teacher was a union member, saved from incompetence and dismissal by virtue of onerous union pressure. And a socialist. Of course. Happy now? Sheesh. There’s not one shred of anything I said in this thread that suggests I was saying anything other than what we do all the time in the Pit: be outraged, recreationally, at some idiot. I didn’t generalize this to all teachers, all liberals, or even all idiots. And look what the idiot gallery dredged up in a desperate effort to pretend I DID say such things. ---
**Author:** ![Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Living_Well_Is_Best_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-orders-kid-to-lose-romney-shirt/636714/27 "2012-10-04T19:27:40Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > And look what the idiot gallery dredged up in a desperate effort to pretend I DID say such things. Well you do have a reputation. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-orders-kid-to-lose-romney-shirt/636714/28 "2012-10-04T19:33:17Z")
> [@Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](#): > > Well you do have a reputation. And nothing keeps a reputation going like making shit up to be consistent with it, eh? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-orders-kid-to-lose-romney-shirt/636714/29 "2012-10-04T19:39:41Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > And nothing keeps a reputation going like making shit up to be consistent with it, eh? In your defense, I don’t think you have ever been found to actually make things up. ---
**Author:** ![BigAppleBucky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigapplebucky/32/178_2.png) [@BigAppleBucky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigAppleBucky)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-orders-kid-to-lose-romney-shirt/636714/30 "2012-10-04T19:41:45Z")
If I were a high school teacher who saw a “safe for work” level political statement on a kid’s tee shirt, I’d be thrilled. Most kids don’t give a damn these days. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-orders-kid-to-lose-romney-shirt/636714/31 "2012-10-04T19:43:42Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > In your defense, I don’t think you have ever been found to actually make things up. Correct. I don’t. But the responders in this thread cannot make the same claim, can they? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-orders-kid-to-lose-romney-shirt/636714/32 "2012-10-04T19:52:06Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > And look what the idiot gallery dredged up in a desperate effort to pretend I DID say such things. Could you be more specific about who’s in the idiot gallery? I want to know whether I should be offended by being included in it, or by being left out of it. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-orders-kid-to-lose-romney-shirt/636714/33 "2012-10-04T20:09:58Z")
Getting back to the OP, the teacher was wrong. But how wrong is going to depend on the school’s policy. Did the school have a policy prohibiting message shirts (as many do)? If so, then the teacher was correct in enforcing that policy. But the teacher was wrong in offering her political opinions in argument against the student’s. If political messages are prohibited, it goes both ways. And the teacher’s message was more offensive than the student’s. And if the school doesn’t have any policy against message shirts, then the teacher can add making up her own rules to her other mistakes. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-orders-kid-to-lose-romney-shirt/636714/34 "2012-10-04T20:13:50Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Could you be more specific about who’s in the idiot gallery? I want to know whether I should be offended by being included in it, or by being left out of it. Nah. “The wcked flee where no man pursueth.” ---
**Author:** ![Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/bc8723/32.png) [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unauthorized_Cinnamon)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-orders-kid-to-lose-romney-shirt/636714/35 "2012-10-04T20:33:12Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Getting back to the OP, the teacher was wrong. But how wrong is going to depend on the school’s policy. > > Did the school have a policy prohibiting message shirts (as many do)? If so, then the teacher was correct in enforcing that policy. But the teacher was wrong in offering her political opinions in argument against the student’s. If political messages are prohibited, it goes both ways. And the teacher’s message was more offensive than the student’s. > > And if the school doesn’t have any policy against message shirts, then the teacher can add making up her own rules to her other mistakes. As far as I know, schools in fact can NOT have a policy prohibiting shirts with political messages, under _Tinker v. Des Moines_. As long as it’s not obscene and it’s not likely to disrupt the classroom, the kids have an actual right to wear such shirts. So it makes the teacher’s actions doubly bad - illegally suppressing free speech and doing it on the fly with personal viewpoint discrimination! ---
**Author:** ![3\_20\_59\_or\_bust](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/47e85d/32.png) [@3\_20\_59\_or\_bust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3_20_59_or_bust)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-orders-kid-to-lose-romney-shirt/636714/36 "2012-10-04T20:42:20Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > ::sigh:: > > What I meant to say, of course, is that I was certain this teacher was a union member, saved from incompetence and dismissal by virtue of onerous union pressure. > > And a socialist. Of course. > > Happy now? > > Sheesh. There’s not one shred of anything I said in this thread that suggests I was saying anything other than what we do all the time in the Pit: be outraged, recreationally, at some idiot. I didn’t generalize this to all teachers, all liberals, or even all idiots. > > And look what the idiot gallery dredged up in a desperate effort to pretend I DID say such things. This is funny. ---
**Author:** ![dba\_Fred](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c37758/32.png) [@dba\_Fred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dba_Fred)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-orders-kid-to-lose-romney-shirt/636714/37 "2012-10-04T20:54:05Z")
So in addition to guns and religion, now we have to bitterly cling on to our [T-shirts?](https://patriotpostshop.com/images/products/467/large_1f38fd47-c3f6-4bcb-953a-7fabadac31c4.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Kearsen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/82dd89/32.png) [@Kearsen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kearsen)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-orders-kid-to-lose-romney-shirt/636714/38 "2012-10-04T21:18:10Z")
If only that teacher could be fired… ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-orders-kid-to-lose-romney-shirt/636714/39 "2012-10-04T22:25:29Z")
> [@Kearsen](#): > > If only that teacher could be fired… I’m having a real hard time telling if things are serious or not today… but in case you are, why do you think that the teacher can’t be fired? Tenure does not protect you from discharge for just cause. ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-orders-kid-to-lose-romney-shirt/636714/40 "2012-10-04T23:47:24Z")
Apparently some geometry teachers struggle with humor. It is a difficult concept. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-orders-kid-to-lose-romney-shirt/636714.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-orders-kid-to-lose-romney-shirt/636714.md?page=3)