Scurvy
11-16-10, 06:22 AM
13-year-old Cody Alicea rides his bike to school with an American flag mounted on the rear fender. He does it because he wants to display his patriotism and honor his grandfather and other veterans.
A few days before Veteran's Day, he was told to remove it so as not to "offend" anyone or fuel "racial" tensions.
http://img140.imageshack.us/img140/8531/codyalicea.jpg
DENAIR, Calif. -- A Stanislaus County school is forcing a student to take an American flag off of his bike.
Thirteen-year-old Cody Alicea put the flag there as a show of support for the veterans in his family.
But officials at Denair Middle School told him he couldn't fly it. He said he was told some students had complained.
So now the eighth-grader folds up the flag and puts it in his backpack while he is in class.
His father, Robert Kisner, said his son should not have to put the flag away.
"He's got that flag on his bike because he's proud of where he comes from," Kisner said.
But the superintendent said he's trying to avoid tension on campus.
"(The) First Amendment is important," Superintendent Edward Parraz said. "We want the kids to respect it, understand it, and with that comes a responsiblity."
Parraz said the campus has recently experienced some racial tension. He said some students got out of hand on Cinco de Mayo.
"Our Hispanic, you know, kids will, you know, bring their Mexican flags and they'll display it, and then of course the kids would do the American flag situation, and it does cause kind of a racial tension which we don't really want," Parraz said. "We want them to appreciate the cultures."
Parraz said if a disruption arises over a flag, they want it to be taken down to protect the safety of all students.
The teen's mother said she hopes to talk to the school principal to work something out.
If the US flag causes "racial" tensions in America, we need to seriously consider our failure in educating our youth. The next thing we need to do is understand that certain immigrants (possibly anchor-babies) refuse to assimilate to their new home and, instead, try to force us to adapt to their culture. Far too many stories like this show our willingness to pamper the "offended" by removing the American flag from their sensitive eyes. We need to stop bowing to political correctness.
But, here's the irony:
Outside of the school, a large U.S. flag flies from atop a flagpole.
That big ole' flag on top of that tall pole isn't the problem...it's that little racist one on the back of that kid's bicycle over there!
Source (http://www.kcra.com/r/25754519/detail.html)
Now, here's where the awesomeness comes in.
Last Friday, the day after Veteran's Day, the school board changed their minds, allowing Cody to keep the flag on his bike.
Ed Parraz, the Superintendent of the Denair School District told us a school supervisor asked Cody to take down the flag. The supervisor will not be fired or face repercussions. Parraz says the supervisor had information that Cody Alicea's safety was at risk because of the flag. Some students had complained about it and had apparently made threats.
They finally decided (after receiving national attention) that they should be focusing on punishing the bullies instead of the victim. What a novel idea!
Cody got a huge surprise, when the American Legion Riders along with other patriotic Americans decided to escort him to school yesterday morning, hopefully delivering a peaceful message to the "offended" anti-American thugs.
http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/2381/45526667.jpgVeterans and patriots arrive early Monday morning to support Cody.
http://img12.imageshack.us/img12/3508/25450209.jpgCody and his proud grandfather.
http://img535.imageshack.us/img535/1551/11481613.jpgCody was a little emotional by the huge turnout of his supporters.
http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/8836/28130658.jpgA veteran brings Cody to tears when he gives him his Purple Heart hat during a rally outside Cody's school.
See more pictures here (http://livewire.kcra.com/Event/Many_Rally_To_Support_Boys_Flag_Display).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6U2hB-Pz4zs&feature=player_embedded
As a proud American and veteran, this gave me chills...but completely different than the Chris Matthew's thrill-down-the-leg thing.
A few days before Veteran's Day, he was told to remove it so as not to "offend" anyone or fuel "racial" tensions.
http://img140.imageshack.us/img140/8531/codyalicea.jpg
DENAIR, Calif. -- A Stanislaus County school is forcing a student to take an American flag off of his bike.
Thirteen-year-old Cody Alicea put the flag there as a show of support for the veterans in his family.
But officials at Denair Middle School told him he couldn't fly it. He said he was told some students had complained.
So now the eighth-grader folds up the flag and puts it in his backpack while he is in class.
His father, Robert Kisner, said his son should not have to put the flag away.
"He's got that flag on his bike because he's proud of where he comes from," Kisner said.
But the superintendent said he's trying to avoid tension on campus.
"(The) First Amendment is important," Superintendent Edward Parraz said. "We want the kids to respect it, understand it, and with that comes a responsiblity."
Parraz said the campus has recently experienced some racial tension. He said some students got out of hand on Cinco de Mayo.
"Our Hispanic, you know, kids will, you know, bring their Mexican flags and they'll display it, and then of course the kids would do the American flag situation, and it does cause kind of a racial tension which we don't really want," Parraz said. "We want them to appreciate the cultures."
Parraz said if a disruption arises over a flag, they want it to be taken down to protect the safety of all students.
The teen's mother said she hopes to talk to the school principal to work something out.
If the US flag causes "racial" tensions in America, we need to seriously consider our failure in educating our youth. The next thing we need to do is understand that certain immigrants (possibly anchor-babies) refuse to assimilate to their new home and, instead, try to force us to adapt to their culture. Far too many stories like this show our willingness to pamper the "offended" by removing the American flag from their sensitive eyes. We need to stop bowing to political correctness.
But, here's the irony:
Outside of the school, a large U.S. flag flies from atop a flagpole.
That big ole' flag on top of that tall pole isn't the problem...it's that little racist one on the back of that kid's bicycle over there!
Source (http://www.kcra.com/r/25754519/detail.html)
Now, here's where the awesomeness comes in.
Last Friday, the day after Veteran's Day, the school board changed their minds, allowing Cody to keep the flag on his bike.
Ed Parraz, the Superintendent of the Denair School District told us a school supervisor asked Cody to take down the flag. The supervisor will not be fired or face repercussions. Parraz says the supervisor had information that Cody Alicea's safety was at risk because of the flag. Some students had complained about it and had apparently made threats.
They finally decided (after receiving national attention) that they should be focusing on punishing the bullies instead of the victim. What a novel idea!
Cody got a huge surprise, when the American Legion Riders along with other patriotic Americans decided to escort him to school yesterday morning, hopefully delivering a peaceful message to the "offended" anti-American thugs.
http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/2381/45526667.jpgVeterans and patriots arrive early Monday morning to support Cody.
http://img12.imageshack.us/img12/3508/25450209.jpgCody and his proud grandfather.
http://img535.imageshack.us/img535/1551/11481613.jpgCody was a little emotional by the huge turnout of his supporters.
http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/8836/28130658.jpgA veteran brings Cody to tears when he gives him his Purple Heart hat during a rally outside Cody's school.
See more pictures here (http://livewire.kcra.com/Event/Many_Rally_To_Support_Boys_Flag_Display).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6U2hB-Pz4zs&feature=player_embedded
As a proud American and veteran, this gave me chills...but completely different than the Chris Matthew's thrill-down-the-leg thing.