# Violating my rights **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 15, 2010, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/violating-my-rights/564211 "2010-12-15T05:51:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Snnipe\_70E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5a626/32.png) [@Snnipe\_70E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snnipe_70E)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2010, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/violating-my-rights/564211/81 "2010-12-16T05:33:05Z")
If the kid really wants his shirt back. 1st move talk to principle. 2nd step small claims court. The cops are not going to get involved for $15. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2010, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/violating-my-rights/564211/82 "2010-12-16T05:33:58Z")
Put your request in writing. After you learn to write. ---
**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:** [December 16, 2010, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/violating-my-rights/564211/83 "2010-12-16T05:45:40Z")
> [@Chillafrilla](#): > > Most of you are defending my principal saying ohh that’s a bad shirt I’m glad your principal took that shirt away .. Well to me that shirt is art and diffrent people look at art diffrently to you guys it se bad " ohh I would never let my kids wear that" well they will wear what ever they want .. Well anyways today I went back and asked for my shirt back in the most respectful way possible I said " um excuse me .. Can I please have my shirt back I will not wear it on campus and I’m going to return the shirt for a refund or credit .. She said " No I’m not giving you back that shirt it’s Pornographic and your sexually harassing me" I said in responce " it’s my shirt and I won’t wear it I just need my shirt so I can return it and get my money back" .. She said “NOO I’m not giving it back” basically she was screaming at this point … After she goes to her office and I bring my friends mom to try to get my shirt back .. And she said " NOO I’m only giving it back to > your mom" and my friends mom had to leave .. After I stayed to ask for it again and she calls my mother but my mother said not to return it .. So I say I’m 18 it’s my property why can’t I get my shirt back and she said … " I’m not returning the shirt and I’m not giving you anything for the shirt .. Then I tell her it’s my property and what your doing is stealing from me that is theft .. ( at this point she screams and looses control) " if you don’t leave my office I’m going to call the police and show them the shirt so you can get arrested for sexually harassing and bringing pornography to school campus and exposing minors to this pornography" then I reply “you would arrest me for a shirt that wore and I’m asking back politely” and she’s Said “Yes!!” so I reply again “but it’s my property and your stealing from me” then she say " prosecute me then" and after that she called security and escorted me off campus again .. First of I don’t think this is right and I respected her so what should I do now … Drop it. If you went to the authorities and told them what you just told us in that manner, I think the first thing they would do is call your principal and ask if she wants you back there at all. There are lessons to be learned here: Righteous indignation =/= Right, and fast talkin’ ain’t gonna impress no one with real authority. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2010, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/violating-my-rights/564211/84 "2010-12-16T05:46:26Z")
You should learn proper grammar, spelling, and punctuation. That’s what you should do. And if that shirt is “art”, then I’m Marie of fucking Roumania. ---
**Author:** ![Chillafrilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f6c823/32.png) [@Chillafrilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chillafrilla)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2010, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/violating-my-rights/564211/85 "2010-12-16T05:47:05Z")
These are fast responces and I’m typing fast that’s why theirs so many grammar errors ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2010, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/violating-my-rights/564211/86 "2010-12-16T06:25:00Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > You should learn proper grammar, spelling, and punctuation. That’s what you should do. > > And if that shirt is “art”, then I’m Marie of fucking Roumania. And I’m the Superintendent of all Principles. You’re not going to win the “this is art” argument and you’re own mother voted the shirt off the island. Either it was a lesson learned or good money spent to impress your friends. If the responses seem like harsh tough love it’s because strangers thought enough to nudge you up a year in what hopefully will be a well adjusted life. We’ve all been there and done that. ---
**Author:** ![Chillafrilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f6c823/32.png) [@Chillafrilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chillafrilla)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2010, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/violating-my-rights/564211/87 "2010-12-16T07:13:40Z")
Like I said well all have diffrent points of view I what is art and what’s not to me it is art … So stop being a smart ass and tell me it’s not cause to me it is ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2010, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/violating-my-rights/564211/88 "2010-12-16T07:17:33Z")
> [@Chillafrilla](#): > > Like I said well all have diffrent points of view I what is art and what’s not to me it is art .. So stop being a smart ass and tell me it’s not cause to me it is Uh huh. Best of luck with your windmill. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2010, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/violating-my-rights/564211/89 "2010-12-16T07:19:09Z")
Seriously, if you can’t communicate any better than what you’re doing in this thread, a T-shirt is the least of your problems. You will never be able to articulately state what you think your rights are, let alone make an argument defending them. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2010, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/violating-my-rights/564211/90 "2010-12-16T07:49:39Z")
What you haven’t worked out is that art and pornography are not mutually exclusive. Beyond that, your opinion doesn’t really matter. What matters is the Principal’s opinion and in this case the school board would easily side with her. One of the lessons learned in life is the ability to objectively look at yourself. Unless you have Asperger’s Syndrome this is just part of the learning process. ---
**Author:** ![BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2010, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/violating-my-rights/564211/91 "2010-12-16T08:28:52Z")
How does only the principal’s opinion matter about whether or not the shirt can be returned? We discussed confiscation for a reasonable period of time upthread. Check the student handbook, and if there’s something about a reasonable time period, next time she threatens to call the cops do it yourself. ---
**Author:** ![Soliloquy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5ac83/32.png) [@Soliloquy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soliloquy)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2010, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/violating-my-rights/564211/92 "2010-12-16T09:11:48Z")
I assume you’re asking about your civil rights, such as the right against illegal search and seizure. Your principal, as a private citizen and not an agent of the government, is not subject to search and seizure laws and thus cannot violate your 4th Amendment rights, so the answer is no. Don’t show up at school wearing offensive clothes and you won’t have to worry about your “rights”. Jeebus. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2010, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/violating-my-rights/564211/93 "2010-12-16T09:13:00Z")
> [@BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](#): > > How does only the principal’s opinion matter about whether or not the shirt can be returned? Because she deemed it pornographic and his mother deferred to her opinion. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2010, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/violating-my-rights/564211/94 "2010-12-16T11:39:48Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > I signed my own absence notes and report cards when I was 18 and in high school. I simply told my parents they were out of the picture. Legally, there wasn’t much they or the school could do about it. Having come upon a box of blank report card forms in the office, I typed up, signed and mailed other student’s report cards to their parents when I was 16 and in high school. “Gary is trying, very trying.” “Suzie is . . . well, she just is.” I simply kept my mouth shut, so no one knew who did it. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2010, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/violating-my-rights/564211/95 "2010-12-16T11:53:13Z")
Is your friend’s mom a milf? Is your mom a milf? Now that you are 18, what are you going to do about it? ---
**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:** [December 16, 2010, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/violating-my-rights/564211/96 "2010-12-16T12:40:50Z")
> [@Chillafrilla](#): > > Like I said well all have diffrent points of view I what is art and what’s not to me it is art .. So stop being a smart ass and tell me it’s not cause to me it is You can determine for yourself what is art..but the Principal gets to determine whether or not that “art” is appropriate in a school setting. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2010, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/violating-my-rights/564211/97 "2010-12-16T13:46:36Z")
If you want the shirt back, probably the next step would be to make a demand in writing - with a copy to the school board. Send them registered mail. Then file a police report, and file in small claims court. Try calling the local media as well (tho don’t expect them to portray you in the manner you seem to imagine yourself.) Does your school have a paper? You could REALLY make this into a first amendment issue if you work at it… I find the rights of students over 18 to be an interesting issue. I was surprised to find I had no right to my college kids’ grades once they turned 18, even tho I was paying their tuition and otherwise supporting them and declaring them as dependants. And I don’t care how fast you are typing, a paragraph break or two wouldn’t slow you down too terribly. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2010, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/violating-my-rights/564211/98 "2010-12-16T14:47:54Z")
> [@Chillafrilla](#): > > Like I said well all have diffrent points of view I what is art and what’s not to me it is art .. So stop being a smart ass and tell me it’s not cause to me it is You need to understand something. It doesn’t make any difference what it is to you. The principal is in charge. If the principal decides that the T-shirt is offensive, then it is. And nobody believes for a minute that you wore it to school with any other intent than to disrupt and cause trouble. Don’t bother the police about this - they have much more important things to worry about than this nonsense. _In loco parentis_ means that while you are in school, the school is acting in place of your parents. Your mother can overrule them in some circumstances, but she agrees with the school. Therefore, your rights have not been violated, because your mother gets to tell you what to do. So STFU and chalk this up to “lessons learned”. If you want to be treated as an adult, then act like it. Or at least dress like it. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2010, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/violating-my-rights/564211/99 "2010-12-16T15:26:57Z")
Write the following words on your chest: “I want my shirt back.” Then go to school shirtless. ---
**Author:** ![Chillafrilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f6c823/32.png) [@Chillafrilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chillafrilla)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2010, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/violating-my-rights/564211/100 "2010-12-16T15:42:02Z")
Did you even read the post I said she want to call the cops not me I don’t want to make this a big deal and the high school I go to had like 70 kids in it and most of them are rebel mother fuckers [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/violating-my-rights/564211.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/violating-my-rights/564211.md?page=6)