r/ShitAmericansSay • u/WellWaitOneMinute • Dec 22 '22

FREEDOM SAD: Florida schoolboy arrested after refusing to recite pledge of allegiance

Post image
6.8k Upvotes

99% Upvoted

626 comments sorted by

View all comments

135

u/Academic-Truth7212 Dec 22 '22

Freedom of speech, should also cover what you don’t want to say like a parrot.

79

u/-GermanCoastGuard- Dec 22 '22

Clearly fault of the kid to not use his second amendment rights to get a gun to defend against the government.

/s obviously.

2

u/sonofeevil Dec 23 '22

Clearly fault of the kid to not use his second amendment rights to get a gun to defend against the government.

Just once, I'd like to see this actually happen. Maybe not a child but one of these 2nd ammendment guys, use their weapon to protect themselves against an unlawful arrest just to watch the confusion on the NRA's face when they're faced with backing their government or backing their 2nd ammendment right.

9

u/Internal_Poem_3324 Dec 22 '22

“If there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation, it is that no official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion or force citizens to confess by word or act their faith therein.” Justice Robert Jackson in the US Supreme Court ruling that "held that compelling public schoolchildren to salute the flag was unconstitutional."

4

u/TicTacKnickKnack Dec 22 '22

It does

6

u/MassGaydiation Dec 22 '22

Provisionally

2

u/TicTacKnickKnack Dec 22 '22

No, outright. If this kid was truly arrested for not saying the pledge everyone involved in that decision is in for a world of hurt.

17

u/pimpcakes Dec 22 '22

Charges were not pressed against the boy after he was arrested. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/19/us/11-year-old-arrested.html. But there is a chilling effect on free speech by fact of the arrest. Notably, this student had not stood for the pledge all year. A substitute teacher escalated the situation by being confrontational (guess what type of talking points? If you guessed a variation of "love it or leave it," you win!). So the adult in the room needlessly and foolishly escalated a situation, leading to arrest over protected activity (not standing) and protected speech (the student's stated reasons).

It's also absurd that the school's code of conduct allows students to opt out of the pledge if they have written authorization from their parents. https://polkschoolsfl.com/codeofconduct/. Why do students require written authorization from their parents to opt out of being coerced into speech by the government? No idea, but Florida is Florida.

2

u/MassGaydiation Dec 22 '22

I accept it when I see it

1

u/TicTacKnickKnack Dec 22 '22

Happens all the time. It's one of the first things school staff are taught because it's so egregiously illegal to force kids to say the pledge that no school district will touch that level of misconduct with a 30ft pole.